The Classes of Pantheon

Pantheon's August newsletter revealed the last of the classes the upcoming MMORPG will have available at launch. Do they remind you of anything?

If you answered, "those are the classes in EverQuest," then you'd be exactly right! I find parallels interesting, especially since most of them appear to have the same names. There are a couple of differences, though.

I don't see a Necromancer or a Bard. That posts a few problems when the classes are broken up into archetypes.

If we stick with the classes and their typical archetpyal roles, especially as seen in EverQuest, then the above are how things would shake out, with Monk being more in a role of "puller" than DPS, but still very much capable of being a DPS utility. 

The word utility is important. In each of the class pages, their roles are listed as either tank, healer, dps, and then "utility" is tagged alongside them. There may be utility roles that fill the void of having a Bard-type class alongside Enchanter.

Right now the Enchanter is the only class I saw on the class pages that had the crowd control label. That's going to put the Enchanter in a very, very key role going into launch. In EverQuest, the Enchanter class was already one of the most crucial spots in any group, but it could have been filled by a Bard as well -- though never fully replaced given the Enchanter's abilities.

Overall, what Visionary Realms really means by the words utility and support will go a long way toward determining how these class archetypes shape up. I love buffing classes and classes that exist to make the entire group better. I like utility classes, cc classes, pulling classes, and really any class with a strictly defined role. 

I hope for a lack of homogenization, and meaningful class mechanics that make each class feel like an entirely different play-style. Which class will I play? I think that'll be a choice I have to make closer to launch after I can either get my hands on the game or see more gameplay.