Codex Alera MMO — Classes

So, I decided this needed to be its own post and the primary post will simply link to this and other posts.

Classes

Combat is with standard weapons such as 1h swords, 2h swords, staffs, bow, etc. Any class can use any weapon (with a few exceptions like the Balest) but some are better suited to certain fury specializations and certain classes get bonuses to particular weapon types. Skill with a weapon is increased through use. Armor is treated similarly with Light, Medium, Heavy with some bonuses and penalties depending on your Furycrafting.

All Alerans start with a very modest skill in Watercrafting that provides a very limited amount of self-healing.

Weapon usage costs nothing, but different classes will have special weapon skills which use willpower to execute. Furycrafting also requires the use of willpower. Secondary Furycrafting affects each class in different ways, both with added stat bonuses as well as unique skills being unlocked.

Bonuses or penalties to armor are marked as “# / # / #” where the number is simply a relative value reflecting either a penalty, no effect, or a bonus. So “1 / 0 / -1” means the class has a bonus to light armor, no effect for wearing medium armor, and a penalty for wearing heavy. Armor penalties are simply an across-the-board debuff of stats, ability cast times, cooldowns, etc. There is a lot of room for adjustment in this area for sure though. Some Secondary Furycrafting disciplines will change or remove certain armor penalties.

“Weak to” simply means that Furycraftings of that type have a slightly bigger affect on that class.

Alerans

These are the classes available to the Aleran player characters and roughly correspond with the Legion Knights. Secondary Furycrafting abilities are unlocked at higher levels and would be limited to probably 2 sub-disciplines beyond the base class.

Knight Aeris

This is a stealth class with medium-high close ranged damage and emphasis on light or medium armor.

Caveat: Not sure exactly how you would integrate flying combat when only one class can do it. It would need to be balanced by all classes having some kind of limited ability to snare, pull, leap-to, etc. Having them be almost entirely melee would probably also address this potential imbalance.

Key Attributes

• Armor: 1 / 0 / -1
• Stealth ability
• Flying ability
• Weapons skills are hasted
• Bonus to 1h swords and daggers

Secondary Furycrafting

• Fire (short range burst dps)
• Metal (increased melee/ranged avoidance)
• Wood (improved stealth and add limited, medium-range archery)

Weak to Earthcrafting

Knight Flora

This is a ranged high damage archery class with limited stealth (slow moving)

Key Attributes

• Armor: 0 / 1 / -1
• Huge bonus to archery (damage, accuracy, rate of fire, etc)
• Specialized abilities in archery

Secondary Furycrafting:

• Metal (increased melee/ranged avoidance, bonus to heavy armor if worn)
• Wind (hasted weapon skills, avoidance bonus, quick dash/jump?)
• Earth (increased weapon damage/range)

Weak to Firecrafting

Knight Ignus

This is a ranged high damage casting class

Key Attributes

• Armor: 1 / 0 / -1
• Bonus to staffs and daggers
• Large burst damage with cast times
• Instant low burst but high DoT skills
• Limited AoE DoT fields (short duration)
• Self and group power regen over time abilities
• AoE Debuffs

Secondary Furycrafting:

• Wind (faster DoTs, ability to freecast on a cooldown)
• Earth (Massive and long duration AoE DoT fields)
• Metal (Bonus to swords, add procs of burst/DoTs to weapon skill)

Weak to Water

Knight Ferrous

This is a medium damage highly defensive (even blend of avoidance and mitigation) melee class.

Key Attributes

• Armor: 0 / 0 / 1
• Bonus to 1h weapons
• Medium damage avoidance
• Medium damage mitigation
• Special abilities to boost health and/or reduce incoming damage for short periods
• Immune to fear, highly resistant to other charm-like effects

Secondary Furycrafting:

• Wind (hasted weapons and cooldowns, increased avoidance)
• Earth (major weapon damage bonus, bonus to 2h weapons)
• Wood (bonus to archery, roots/snares)
• Fire (weapon procs, resistance to fire/ice improved)

Weak to none

Knight Terra

This is a high damage melee class with high mitigation and access to special armor and weapons such as huge mauls and the Canim Balest.

Key Attributes

• Armor: 0 /0 / 1/ 1*
• *Access to “ultra” heavy armor with huge damage mitigation bonuses (low avoidance)
• Access to “ultra” heavy weapons with huge damage bonuses (longer cooldowns)
• Medium damage bonus to 2h weapons
• Minor damage bonus to all other weapons
• Large bonus to health

Secondary Furycrafting:

• Wind (Minor hasting and movement speed boost)
• Wood (bonus to archery, roots/snares)
• Fire (weapon procs, improved fire/ice resistance)
• Metal (improved avoidance/mitigation and melee damage)

Weak to none

Knight Aquos

This is a healing class that goes way beyond the simple watercrafting every class gets. It’s also the only class able to heal damage to health (not just restore lost health).

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Key Attributes

• Armor: 1 / 0 / 0
• Bonus to staffs and daggers
• AoE group healing (burst and HoT)
• Large burst single-target healing
• Large single-target HoT
• Large single-target DoT
• Medium AoE debuffs
• Heavy single-target debuff (long cooldown)
• Self only water shield (heavy avoidance, no mitigation, channeled)

Secondary Furycrafting:

• Wind (hasted casting, freecast on a cooldown)
• Earth (AoE snares, bonus to heavy armor)
• Metal (Bonus to 1h weapons but penalty to healing ability)

Weak to fire

Canim

These are the classes available to the Canim player characters.

Warriors

This is a heavy armor class with a blend of mitigation and avoidance.

Key Attributes

• Armor: 0 /0 / 1
• Bonus to all weapons
• Access to the Balest
• High mitigation
• Medium avoidance
• Permanent, low-level debuff aura
• Heavy weapon strikes can proc fear
• Short duration heavy debuff auras and single-target

Hunters

This is a medium-high stealth ranged or melee class

Key Attributes

• Armor: 0 / 1 / 0
• Stealth ability
• Bonus to 1h and balest
• High burst damage skills
• Medium avoidance and mitigation

Ritualists

This is a light-medium armor ranged casting class, with emphasis on AoE and with healing abilities.

Key Attributes

• Armor: 1 / 1 / -1
• Bonus to daggers and swords
• Large single-target burst healing
• Large single-target HoT
• Large PBAoE burst healing (short-range)
• Large AoE burst damage (long cooldown)
• Large AoE DoT (long cast, long duration)
• Devastating single-target DoT (channeled, short duration, highly visible)

Marat

These are the classes available to players who choose to start as a Marat. Since they have no Furycrafting, they would instead have some kind of herbalist skills for the basic self-healing.

Clan Gargant

Marat of this clan start with a Gargant mount. These will likely need to be scaled down slightly from the books and can only be ridden outside of cities. High level of melee damage.

Key Attributes

• Armor: 0 / 1 / -1
• Bonus to 2h weapons
• Heavy mitigation
• Medium avoidance
• Large bonus to health
• Natural regen (medium)
• Generally short cooldowns on their abilities

Clan Horse

Marat of this clan start with a horse mount and they focus on ranged damage and stealth.

Key Attributes

• Armor: 1 / 0 / -1
• Stealth ability
• Bonus to archery and 1h weapons
• High avoidance
• Low mitigation
• Natural regen (low)
• Hasted weapons
• Fast run speed

Clan Alera

This is another liberty taken with the story for the purposes of gameplay mechanics/balance and for making the game fun. These Marat have bonded with an Aleran and have access to Furycrafting. I’m not sure if this should be an exact duplicate of the Knight classes or maybe a non-specific and broad range of choices from any type of Furycrafting. The first would be much easier to balance but the former would be potentially a lot of fun for players.

Icemen (Gadrim-Ha)

All Gadrim-Ha have some level of watercrafting, meaning they can all heal pretty well and they also have the ability to call up storms (AoE damage). Beyond that, I haven’t really fleshed them out. Probably something along the lines of the Peace/War speakers with one being more combat/dps oriented and the other being more healing oriented. Possibly giving some level of stealth to all of them as well. Ideas are definitely welcome!