Melee/ranged roles for classes

[Griebel]

While playing the IE-games (apart from PST) I always form parties consisting of three melee classes, usually paladin+fighter+cleric and 3 ranged classes, usually ranger or bard+rogue+wizard. This system developed after playing PST where you just crowded the enemy with up to 5 melee fighters and 1 ranged classes, though mostly I used 4/2 after obtaining Nordom. When fighting in narrow corridors this is (for me) not advisable unless one or more of the meleetypes are using pikes or halberds and just jabbing at the enemy over the shoulders of the frontliners because they otherwise can't touch them. Even using 3 melee guys can cause the third guy to just have to stand around twiddeling his/her thumbs, unless it is a supportcaster like the priest.

Reading the descriptions of the classes I understand only the ranger will be a good ranged class. The wizard will be (only?) slinging spells and the rogue will be mainly melee. Fighters can be second to rangers, as in: "while fighters are often thought of as being primarily melee-based, they can specialize in a variety of weapons, including bows, crossbows, and even firearms. They're unlikely to outclass rangers at their own game, but fighters can be almost as dangerous at a distance as they are up close".

 

But what about the others? The chanter, the druid and the cipher? The cipher reads as another melee type, as in: "wielding knives engulfed in purple flames that "cut away" the souls of their victims". The druid also seem to be mell-oriented.

 

The 3/3 system has always worked best for me in all of the IE-games (apart from PST). I dislike equipping everybody with a second weapontype (melee vs. ranged) and investing those scarce skillpoints in a skill I seldomly use. I use vanilla classes because I get a headache from munchkinising to get übersuperduperfantasticawesomeleetz ninja/pirate/barbarian/wizards who can tackle the game on their own.

[jethro]

Probably there is a class that will be good at using a gun

 

Also I don't see that 3/3 rule of yours as some sort of balance or optimum for a game. If this game puts much of its tactical intelligence/difficulty into how you position your party then ranged combat gets in the way because it is relatively position-independent.

[Prometheus]

I think the melee/ranged roles will be like this:

 

Fighter: Melee. You need to be in melee to use most of your abillities. The only way you could use a ranged weapon effectively is to begin a fight with a shot from a ranged weapon.

Monk: Melee. The enemey needs to hit you, so that you get wounds.

Barbarian: Melee.

Paladin: Melee/(Ranged). You need to be near allies, but you could also buff other ranged characters. So I think it will be possible to play a ranged paladin.

Cipher: Melee/ Short Ranged. You can use your abillities with ranged weapons, but you need to be close to the target.

Rogue: Melee/ Short Ranged. You can use most of your abillities with ranged weapons, but you need to be relatively close to the target.

Chanter: Melee / Ranged. Their Buffs have a large range, so you can use a ranged weapon.

Wizard: Melee/ Ranged caster. You can use an Implement(ranged magical missile weapons like rods) as an weapon, if you don't have any spells left.

Priest: ranged caster/melee. closer-range casters than wizards, but they aren't particularly strong in melee.

Druid: not enough information, but Josh Sawyer said that they are primarily a caster and that they can be powerful melee opponents in spirit forms, but that is a limited-use ability.

Ranger: ranged. best character for ranged weapons(bows, crossbows and firearms).

 

So I think, that the primarily ranged characters  are: Chanter, Ranger, Priest, Wizard and Druid.

[Griebel]

Thank you, Prometheus. That was the kind of information I was looking for. My system isn't THE system, but it works best for me. Glad to know I can just ease into this game without breaking my routine. I tried other formations, but keep getting back to this one.

I hope there will be some kind of demo so we can get a feel for how the various classes work in the real game instead of only pen and paper. Get some feel for ranges and positioning.

[IndiraLightfoot]

 

übersuperduperfantasticawesomeleetz ninja/pirate/barbarian/wizard 

 

Leave my uncle Kopfweh alone. All he wants to do is to clear out ominous areas with his two kukris effectively while singing ring-a-ring roses, else he gets a migraine. 

 

Solo munchkin building can be so much fun, but that's something that usually comes later on, when you have played the game for a while.

[rjshae]

Ranger: ranged. best character for ranged weapons(bows, crossbows and firearms).

 

If the weaponry is historically correct, then I'd expect that smoothbore firearms won't be very accurate at extended range. They may turn out to be better suited for fighters and rogues.

[Prometheus]

 

Ranger: ranged. best character for ranged weapons(bows, crossbows and firearms).

 

If the weaponry is historically correct, then I'd expect that smoothbore firearms won't be very accurate at extended range. They may turn out to be better suited for fighters and rogues.

 

Josh said that ranger is the best class for using an arquebus, that is why I added firearms to the list. See quote below:

 

 

If I wanted to be the best arquebusier in the world, what class should I be? I'm thinking rogue or fighter, but who knows.

Ranger would be ideal but rogues can also be pretty brutal with them. Fighters are not great ranged characters since so many of their Abilities are focused on being in melee. However, if you want to use one of your weapon sets to open with a volley of gunfire and then switch to melee (Darklands-style), you can do that. It just leaves you without a lot of other options mid-fight (unless you increase your total number of weapon sets).

 

[Diagoras]

Josh said that ranger is the best class for using an arquebus

 

 

Interesting, thanks for the quote. I know what class I'm picking, then.

Edited November 6, 2013 by Diagoras