Dungeons And Dragons Online Begins Testing Update 56 And Class Archetypes
As far as MMORPGs go, Dungeons and Dragons Online has one of the most complex and customizable class systems around and it’s about to be expanded even more with the introduction of class archetypes in Update 56. These new archetypes will allow players to further customize their builds just like specializations or advanced classes in other MMORPGs.
Archetypes will have access to different enhancement trees as their base classes. It could only be one tree that’s different, or all of them as is the case with a pure caster Druid that would have no need for its Wild Shape forms. They’ll also have different class feats, spellbooks, and even alignment restrictions. One Paladin archetype, for example, could be the polar opposite of lawful good. There are some limitations to multiclassing with archetypes though.
“You can multiclass into an Archetype or a regular class just like you can with regular heroic classes, but you cannot multiclass an Archetype with its base class or another Archetype of the same class,” explained developer Standing Stone Games. That means that a Cleric archetype can multiclass as a Fighter, a Fighter archetype, or any other class and archetype except for the Cleric class and other Cleric archetypes.
According to Standing Stone, archetypes allow them to fill in the gaps between existing classes without significant overlapping in roles and builds. Plus, rolling out archetypes is decidedly easier than creating new classes without retreading old ground.
“Archetypes are easier for us to build than regular classes which means we can release more of them more frequently. It also means that we can do weirder things with them,” said the devs. “It is our hope that players look at Archetypes the same way that we do - as a feature that is absolutely full of potential and a way for us to get funky fresh with our existing classes in a way that isn't intrusive or overcomplex. We want to bring the coolest and most unique stuff out of the books and to the game so that players can experiment, refine, and explore these new and unique options. And, well, they're just a lot of fun to design.”
The first three archetypes that will be making their debut in Update 56 are the Cleric’s Dark, the Bard’s Stormsinger, and the Paladin’s Sacred Fist, all of which are currently in their first round of testing on the Lamannia Preview Server along with the update’s other contents.
