Class specialization

Now if there's one thing that belongs in Starbound it's classes. By having classes it makes the gameplay much more exciting, dynamic and diverse all at the same time and playing with a group of friends enhances even more when you all specialize in something different. It also gives it a replayability factor.

Thing is the devs have stated that you shouldn't have to pick a class at the start of a game and your stuck with it. Thus meaning if you want to play a different class, you have to create an entirely new character. Which I agree can be annoying especially for casual gamers. An easy fix for this is having class specializations such as a skill tree or something similar and when you level up or progress I'm the game you can spec into a certain role.

There could be an endless amount of specialization one could spec into such as: melee fighter, tank, ranged damage dealer, healer, utility, magic user... And many, many more.

By having this, everyone can find and enjoy their own play style which suits them. By having specializations, you would be able to respec, by talking to a certain npc on your space station or something similar. It could be free, or cost a certain amount of gold.

By having specializations, it takes out the annoyance of having to reroll if you want to play a different class but at the same time giving a class plenty of depth. If there's one thing I learnt about diablo 3, is that there wasn't enough class customization. Let's hope Starbound doesn't fall into that category.

 

The devs mentioned all "class" types would be formed by the gear you equip. Tiy also mentioned he wanted to make sure that there would have to be SOME commitment to your class, so you couldn't just swap out mid-combat, you'd have to return home to change out your equipment. So that solves both the need for wanting classes, and makes it approachable for everyone

 

Yeah, I did read something along the lines of what you said. To me, that lacks a bit of depth, and isn't the most interesting approach. But who knows, it could be more fun than I expect. I just think by having specializations, it could add some really cool passive abilities to each class and make you feel a lot stronger as you progress through the game and not just have a stronger weapon.

 

I have faith that the Devs will make it feel every class is fun. Besides it makes things ultimately more flexible, what you're suggesting makes for a more rigid system, because once you fill out a skill tree, the only way to reset it would most likely be extremely expensive, and time consuming setting up another skill tree. Besides it can be just as in-depth AS a skill tree.

Plus I'm sure they already have class set bonuses in mind, like say you go for a ranged set, maybe your energy meter recharges faster to compensate for all of the projectiles you'll be firing

 

There most likely won;t be classes, but accessories, much like in Terraria, you can essentially make up an infinite number of classes with different combinations of accessories, just like Terraria, I think Tiy said this somewhere, but I can;t quite remember where.

 

Yeah, but the reason I like skill trees is because you can have multiple "set bonuses" in one. Where as with equipping a new set of gear, sure it might be a better set bonus but you lose the old one, which might also be nifty to have. Guess I'll just have to see when the game comes out I guess. Hopefully the combat and skills are in depth enough for me to want to play it. It's like a battle between Starbound and Torchlight 2 for me haha, although I will be getting both, one will just consume more of my time.

 

Yeah, i know what you mean, but Terraria could only have soapy combinations, with Starbounds procedural generation of everything, you could make a really strong working class setup thr was amazing at a particular combt role, idk, I like classes as well, but I'm also a fan of the freedom the accessories give you. Id be fine either way, but I'm almost positive Tiys said that there would e Tech items (accessories) instead of classes

 

I think what you might be talking about is this... Tiy- "something im really trying to do, and part of that is slowing the game down, will be giving players a role to play in a team i dont want to say "classes" because there wont be classes but one of the choices you have to make is Should I be an all rounder? Or should I be one component in a team, For example, you could equip lots of healing items, and armor that gives you healing bonuses and play as a healer its not a class, but the role is there. I don't like the idea of sticking a role to a player because i think thats just an artificial way of making the player play the game again."

And this about switching roles:- " i dont want players to switch *rapidly* between classes by that I mean i dont want a player to have different armor sets in their inventory and flick between them, so one second theyre a healer, the next they're a tank so my solution is make playing a role require a lot of items so youll need to stash your other items back at base so effectively you can bring a new build to each new planet."

Based around collecting armor, just have to see how it works out I guess. I myself would prefer something a little more in depth, so you have more abilities etc instead of just left and right click. Would love to have the option of having an arsenal of abilities, all used for different situation.

 

I don't really enjoy classes when it comes to RPG settings.
I've always hoped for a game where I could just use any ability I wanted to (tech being abilities now)
I guess the perks will be nice but I'll mostly likely just play as I want.

 

I don't think that having gear based "classes" takes away from the depth of the game AT ALL. Its by FAR how I prefer it, especially since this game ISN'T an MMO. You literally do not know what will happen from one world to the next, so you have to be much more versatile with your character in order to survive across a UNIVERSE of different challenges. It also gives each member of your team the FREEDOM to learn what role they best fall into without having to start numerous characters to do so. Being able to simply swap out gear and slip into a whole new role on your team opens up MORE possibilities, not fewer. As for bonuses vs skill points, again, skill trees are a primary feature of MMORPG's. Starbound is meant to be an adventure game, and as such, they're not looking to bog a character down with intensive character sheets and menus that people have to learn. Bonuses and abilities will come along with your gear, which again allows you to experience a broad array of different things your character can do.

 

If the classes are gear based they can be changed in a moments noticed. one second your a tank then the next your a healer. this would allow you to carry multiple outfits to customize for the situation on the fly.
I found this useful in terraria especially when I didn't know what to expect my first time around. so it should be useful in this game too.

 

I like the sand box method that they are looking to create. The idea that the gear you get will help you determine your role. I have always been so very annoyed when it comes to classes, it removes possibilities and only suits min/maxing.

I personally am not interested in another "warrior, Mage, barbarian, rogue" pigeon hole game. Way to many MMO's and Diablo clones out there that do this already.

 

Yeah, in Starbound the whole idea behind the devs is to give as much diversity, freedom, and creativity as possible. That's why they're making everything in the game procedurally generated. So it wouldn't make sense to tie the player down with a specific role that they can play without being able to change it. Think about single player? As LadyAijou pointed out, there's too to be a near infinite variety of enemies, planets, stuff. So a class system would really only work in multiplayer. I liked Terraria's accessory system, and I hope they do something similar in Starbound. While I don't dislike classes, I just don't think it would work in SB

 

You guys keep going on about being locked down to a specific role... Why does a skill tree mean you are locked? Why couldn't you reset your skill tree before you load out to a new planet? Just like you would with gear?

I don't know, maybe I'll just rely on torchlight 2 for that rpg feel. It seems like Starbound is going to be nearly as simplistic as terraria in that sense. I just see games like borderlands, and without their skill trees the classes would have no depth at all and feel very boring and hey, you can respec whenever the fuck you want in that game, why does Starbound have to be different.

I don't see how not having skill trees makes the classes more in depth either... If they had skill trees there could be multiple abilities you could pick up from different trees to make some really cool hybrid specs, load out with like healer type gear but spec into melee damage or something of the sorts. It just brings in way more possibilities.

 

No, I am against classes. Specialization doesn't really increase replayibility and it's useful only in case of team gameplay where responsibilities among team members are divided. Even in most RPGs I prefer proficiency one can achieve through practice and devotion allowing one to undertake tasks and develop skills he or she finds the most fitting and interesting, even if there are some limits making it hard to master every skill liked. Specs, mixing etc are for number crunchers who fail and cannot live without minmaxing their characters. I, though, prefer my skills fit my goals and way of playing the game, not the other way around. Especially in sandbox games which are about free expression of player's ideas.

Sure, you can suggest ability to freely reset skills and class, add skill trees, mixing classes etc at will but at that point it gets away with the whole idea of fixed occupation and role and makes the whole idea just a waste of time spent on implementation.

 

I see what you are suggesting, however... why NOT just do it WITH gear, as is the way the dev's seem to be aiming for? Why the need for trees.? I mean in the game I'm "me"... and depending on what I'm wearing/carrying around/riding/have chosen that day for a companion... this determines who I am for this adventure. Like the Lady stated, this is an adventure game and I am glad to not have my gal worry about what talents she needs to choose before she steps out her airlock every morning.

 

The reason people keep advocating Skill Trees, Levels, and Stereotypical Classing is because they are familiar. They offer a set path and confine the user to a specific goal. When you remove this warm and fuzzy blanket, your left with a large and open world where anything can be done. It is why Dungeons & Dragons became so popular but Shadowrun (Another book based RPG) was less popular.

In Shadowrun your character was just a compilation of skills that you trained. You made your own archtype in this way. Focus on hacking and some guns, you have a decker. Focus on Small arms and medicine, you have a combat medic. But it was up to you to make the character your own...and that can be hard. People are very used to having their paths handed to them.

FPS games used to have exploration...now most are on rails. The majority of MMO's use classing, only Eve Online really lets you do what you please with any character you make. There is a certain amount of psychology involved in why people desire a stereotype over a "Build Your Own Class" system. But well...this game is not looking to use Stereotypes...so people can either like it...or they can lump it. And if they lump it...I will not be shedding a single tear for them.

 

Heh.

Well said, thanks Lady :)

However, the skill trees comes more from the RPG part than the MMO part I think.

 

One of my favorite games at the moment is path of exile. They have classes, but they are free to grab any skill they want. They also have a mighty big skill tree. I can guarantee it will have 10x more customizability with "roles". But I guess that's because it's strictly an ARPG. The reason why I like skill tree is because it gives you access to a wider array of abilities, thus making you feel more powerful throughout the game. Hell If I wanted a click and shoot skill based game I'd play call of duty.

I guess I will just gave to wait till the game comes out and see if it can keep me playing longer than the 15ish hours terraria did.

 

Tiy (i think) mentioned that you will only be able to switch gears while at your space ship. Someone said something about it somewhere above your post.

I can understand where you're coming from. You want to be able to have access to all of these abilities so you can be really powerful. The only thing is that in Starbound you're not this warrior with abilities they've trained their whole life to gain. You're just an adventurer who survived the destruction of your planet. I think it wouldn't make sense for your character to be really powerful and have hotkeyed abilities at your exposal. Personally, I don't want to be a powerhouse that can kill things just like that when I become strong enough. When you can become that powerful, the game becomes boring because you know you're going to win no matter what.

If Starbound was a hack-and-slash game trees would be a good idea but in the game you're just an adventurer who explores planets. Skill trees would make the game boring once you've maxed out any skill because you can no longer progress and there is no reason to go kill that monster for it's XP when you can avoid it and get more loot.

Even the Devs have stated that even to the most top-geared players, planets with difficulty levels of 100 will still be difficult so to keep the game challenging. With skill trees and abilities, you'd probably be able to fly through these levels like nothing because you would have so much power and that defeats the purpose of keeping the game fun by always adding a challenge.