A cleric plus a ranger is a little more on the right track for a druid. But I think druids deserve a lot more than that. Shapeshifting is such a big part of most fantasy Druids.
A summoner with cleric+ranger augments could probably fit the Druid name. I'd assume Summoner's abilities will be long-form (that is, a summon's existence), so instead of a separate being coming to life, the summoner would turn himself into said being. And then any of active abilities would have healing properties on them. And you have yourself a druid.
And here's a pic of L2's class called Monk
It was a melee fighter class whose buffs were called Totems and were linked to different animals (rabbit would give you evasion and speed, wolf gave you crit dmg and atk, and so on). And being a spiritual being, this class had several range attacks in the form of fireballs and white (spirit) balls. So smth like a fighter with mage+bard augments could probably pass off as a Monk (with mage+fighter already being called Battle Mage).
So you can definitely find some ways to combine the current classes to fit some stereotypical design.
I think we generally get stuck with Shaolin as the model for a monk. For instance, the Jedi were monks. I think it's good to have some unarmed combat options, and some shapeshifting options, but I think there are some interesting original ideas that can be added to Ashes in the existing class grid.
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DygzMember, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
I find it strange that you even have to ask this question. A tremendous amount of RPGs and MMORPGS have Monks along with Fighter and Tank and Druids along with Ranger and Cleric.
I'm not aware of another RPG that has Tank as any kind of class name.
Monks are light armor wearing hand-to-hand combatants that use evade mechanics instead of raw armor and are meditative precision fighters.
In Ashes...any class can wear any armor and wield any weapon, so...
If there is some form of weapon class that is hand-to-hand... any class will be able to do that if they wish.
Some classes will be better at it than others. I might expect that to be true for the Martial Archetypes, like Fighter, Tank and Rogue.
Druids are often shapeshifting, nature-controlling, healers and support.
Ashes does not have shapeshifting. If the devs choose to add shapeshifting after launch, they could do that by adding an augment school to one of the existing Archetypes or via Social Org augments or Religious augments, rather than adding a new Archetype.
So yes, there are other healers in the game and other fighters in the game but that’s a very strange point to make. It’s such a nonsensical generalization.
Might seem that way to someone who doesn't understand the Ashes game design.
Why have rangers with bows when fighters also have sharp pointy things that can damage enemies. Why have different types of mages when they all cast spells just the same? It’s about style, lore, playstyle and relatability.
In Ashes, any class can use any weapon, so...
Rangers wield sharp pointy things that damage enemies and Fighters can wield Bows.
Ashes also has:
Strider - Ranger/Fighter
Hunter - Fighter/Ranger
Protector - Cleric/Ranger ( I don't know why Protector could not be named Druid)
Soulbow - Ranger/Cleric
No thanks to a new class in the first couple of expansions at least. *Maybe* a couple of years down the line they can add one new archetype. A new race is easier to implement from a game mechanics perspective, but it has to fit the lore too obviously.
I would honestly rather they expand on the augment system or add some master levels or some such, than increase the number of classes. Differentiate the 64 classes even more and make the class choice deeper, instead of adding more shallow classes.
Comments
And here's a pic of L2's class called Monk
It was a melee fighter class whose buffs were called Totems and were linked to different animals (rabbit would give you evasion and speed, wolf gave you crit dmg and atk, and so on). And being a spiritual being, this class had several range attacks in the form of fireballs and white (spirit) balls. So smth like a fighter with mage+bard augments could probably pass off as a Monk (with mage+fighter already being called Battle Mage).
So you can definitely find some ways to combine the current classes to fit some stereotypical design.
In Ashes...any class can wear any armor and wield any weapon, so...
If there is some form of weapon class that is hand-to-hand... any class will be able to do that if they wish.
Some classes will be better at it than others. I might expect that to be true for the Martial Archetypes, like Fighter, Tank and Rogue.
Ashes does not have shapeshifting. If the devs choose to add shapeshifting after launch, they could do that by adding an augment school to one of the existing Archetypes or via Social Org augments or Religious augments, rather than adding a new Archetype.
Might seem that way to someone who doesn't understand the Ashes game design.
In Ashes, any class can use any weapon, so...
Rangers wield sharp pointy things that damage enemies and Fighters can wield Bows.
Ashes also has:
Strider - Ranger/Fighter
Hunter - Fighter/Ranger
Protector - Cleric/Ranger ( I don't know why Protector could not be named Druid)
Soulbow - Ranger/Cleric
A rose by any other name...
I would honestly rather they expand on the augment system or add some master levels or some such, than increase the number of classes. Differentiate the 64 classes even more and make the class choice deeper, instead of adding more shallow classes.
But we kinda need the base game to come out first before even bothering with all this... Let's e what they have before wanting more.