Should all races have access to play all classes?

In general I think the majority of classes should be non-restricted, but I’m ok with colour classes that are race specific, such as the “Dwarven Defender” example that was used.

That said, please don’t make this the norm. I think there’s defiantly room for a few of them per race, but I don’t want to see more restricted classes then non-restricted ones.

While we’re on it though, I’d also be ok with some gender restricted classes, so long as it is logical.

Here is the problem I see with restricting certain races from getting certain classes. The main reason given for allowing us to multi-class is to stop us from feeling the need to re-roll later in the game. If you restrict certain classes you then in affect are making some re-roll. Because when you start playing the game you won't know which class is best for what you want until you unlock it.

Not enough choices in the Poll...

Every races should have the capacity to obtain almost every class, but some classes being harder for some races. A dwarf who wants wizard might have to cozy up to some elves to learn it, etc.

I am also not opposed to race specific specialty classes like suggested in the panels "Dwarven Defender" and such, so long as every race has at least one.

We had been talking about this very subject over on irc...

irc.globalgamers.com
#eqnext

*cough* Greenmist *cough*

In a game that is all about breaking paradigms it seems ridiculous to impose restrictions based on previous old stuff. We are trying to revolutionize the game industry doing things the same is just well fighting against the primary principal of the whole project.

Ogre's do not have to be dumb or trolls, Elves do not have to be smart or magically inclined. Think a bit outside of your box and the box you are trying to stuff EQNEXT in and take a moment and consider the possibility of discussing philosophy with a 9 foot ogre and how cool that could be.

This I like. Excellent idea. I'm partial to the idea of having classes restricted, or -severely- penalized based on race, but I do want to stick to as many options as possible, customization, sandbox and all that. It seems to me through great trial and error, a race should be able to gain a class he/she/it/goo wouldn't normally be able to - but it won't be easy to acquire, -or- stick with, and the faction changes and such will shift how he deals with certain places forever.

I really do dislike most "lore" reasons for restricting classes because it rarely applies to restricting those same races from varied crafting professions or all manner of other skills. A knuckle-dragging Ogre that can barely piece together a sentence is somehow a masterful artisan of the most delicate of jewelry and cloth... right...

If because of the new lore some races are by default very unintelligent, it needs to be very well written and well explained why this might translate to no wizardry among that race if we're going to outright say "No X Wizards ever!" If I'm to play a Troll that has somehow explored the depths of every cavern, fought his way through every monster, and delegated information and led troops in a myriad of lands... yeah I better damn well be smart enough to be able to toss a fireball if that's the class I choose.

Honestly lore restrictions come down to two things: good/evil and intelligent/unintelligent. Almost always are the dumb evil races able to be all of the neutral or more sinister of classes but it also seems that the intelligent good races are not exactly restricted. I have no idea what EQ put in place for restrictions in the past but to use WoW as a glaring example of the arbitrary nature of class restriction: look at Humans. The only thing they cannot be currently is a Shaman, a spell caster exceptionally in-tune with the living elements of the world. They can be Warlocks, evil spell casters who make deals with the devil on a regular basis for power as well as Paladins, holy arbiters of light clad in heavy armor. Meanwhile Night Elves cannot be Paladins since they don't REALLY believe in the light... or something... (despite members of the Argent Crusade being Night Elf) but they also can't be Warlocks because they just don't fiddle with that sort of magic because its evil and corrupt... (despite them being Mages now when formally they shunned anything but Priestess magic).

Restrictions honestly feel very tacked on and restrict the themes one can even use in RP if you're into that sort of thing. A highly cruel and intelligent Ogre sounds amazing to RP as, because you can give into your more brutish nature at times while still being scarily suave. If I can only play a dumb as dirt Ogre... why bother? If we're to be playing an avatar that we can craft into a specific person, we should be able to make that "dumb" race a cut above the rest just as we can make that "good" race stoop to some rather unsavory activity.

Finally, no penalties. When it comes to PvE balancing I just hate how unless you do all your research beforehand you can pick the "wrong" race for the class you want to play because "Oops, you picked Ogre, sorry that you love flinging spells, they just have a -10% penalty to everything they do, should have rolled a Gnome!" PvE needs to be balanced and having some of that balance hinge on your character choice before you've even gotten into the game is just not fair. Let all the differences in output come from the gear you acquire, the group you associate with, and your own personal skill and growth with the character... not because Trolls R 4 Dumb and Gnomes are the most intelligent of all.

id be ok with this, as long as the option is there through some sort of gameplay where you can choose any class you want with any race

Coming from a Palladium RPG and D&D background, I have always be very reluctant to increase stats. What someone usually wants to improve with stat increases can almost always be better justified by granting the character a "blessed" or "magical" artifact.

I'm coming from the standpoint of a DM, of course. The only stat I've been more lenient on improving for a player is the Strength of a character. Woe unto the player who opens THAT can of worms however. What goes up, can ALWAYS come down.

Return to stupid ogres says I!

But says nothing about if you have only 4 abilites tied to that class or if there are more you can choose from. As I said I think it is just the four but I don't think it has been explicitly stated.

I'd actually also like to see religion based classes, where you complete a quest line for a specific deity and you can unlock a class specific to them. But now you've locked yourself into that class choice or at least make it extremely difficult to change that choice. While I can understand the need for freedom, they also keep talking about the consequence of choice, something like dedicating yourself to a deity should be taken seriously.

Please no. As a Paladin in EQ2 I’m still annoyed I couldn’t betray to Freeport. Putting weird moral requirements on classes is restrictive in a bad way and does not even make in-universe sense. You don’t suddenly forget how to wear armor or swing a weapon because you tuned evil, and there’s plenty of evil gods to go around as well, don’t force me to be X or Y just to play a class I like.

Haha, seriously. Even if I missed the start of this one. Looks like we'll have more to beat to death for a bit, at least.

I think this question is more appropriate with the multi class system they are putting in placr.

Keep in mind, originally Ogres were -not- dumb. They were cursed in the original lore. We know they're going back to their more militaristic roots, at least, but we don't know how "intelligent" they will be. It's a reboot, a lot of things might be changing. As it is, Teir'Dal don't strike me as particularly evil, sadly.

What if the race could offset the penalty? I am for penalties, but I also see a way to offset said penalty by extra practice, more tutoring, whatever it takes. I read a few posts ago the average American reads at the 8th (?) grade level. These people have the ability to increase their reading level through practice, tutoring, mentoring, etc. Thoughts?

After all the price of freedom does come with consequences so I agree lets make it realistic to the lore that we've taken such a liking to.

We wouldn't want people only playing their favorite races now would we?

I voted to be able to play as any class on one char. I agree with not being able to access some classes forces someone to roll an alt. With new lore they can make it work. It would take away from your main character or kill it altogether if you found a class that you enjoyed down the road. If I found that class "x" was my favorite but I couldn't access it on my main, I would be forced to reroll and lose my progress or lose more time on my main. Just because I enjoy class "x" doesn't mean luck of the draw won't make it be the class I find of 40....

Could you imagine finding 30 classes on 1 character, then finding out your alt has access to the class you like the most. You'd have to sacrifice the class on your main or losing all that time on your main. If I have to reroll down the road then I can't have my characters personal story they talk about be linked from the beginning of the launch.