Top Five: MMO Classes

• Based on the idea from Bio Break and We Fly Spitfires, here are my top five (because we only do five here at Bullet Points) favorite MMO classes.


• Adventurer (FR) - Alphabetically, we start with the oddest choice on the list: a class that has no combat, crafting, or any other ability whatsoever. Instead, an adventurer levels up by exploring the world. There's no specific benefit for leveling up, but it is awesome to be rewarded for doing something you're going to do anyway. And this best thing about playing an adventurer is discovering a play style I never knew I enjoyed.


• Mage (WoW) - I've tried a lot of classes in World of Warcraft (as has anyone with altitis). The one class that stuck with me was the mage. I'm sure you're scratching your head (or something else [Please Don't Tell Me What!]) and thinking, "Mages? The ones that stand around and throw fireballs all day long? Is this guy crazy? How boring is that?" Mages in WoW are not boring. If fact, mages have so many fun tools in their arsenals, from polymorphing to teleporting to turning someone into a ticking time bomb, I am never at a loss for something fun to do. Since Wrath of the Lich King launched, mages have been the most stable class as far as patches go. You could see it as lack of effort on behalf of Blizzard. Instead I think mages are so cool, they don't want to mess with us.


• Mesmer (GW) - The first of two Guild Wars classes I enjoyed was the second I ever played. The Mesmer class is so different from anything else I'm used to. A mesmer doesn't attack anyone. They can't heal. What they do is control their enemies. I know there are similar classes in other MMOs, but mesmers also have the best style in just about any game I've played.


• Ranger (GW) - My second Guild Wars class is the first one I played. That makes this the nostalgia choice. Although the ranger is primarily a bow and arrow class, I love the vast number of options on how to do that. There is the classic Barrage ability for raining arrows on enemies. There are ways to poison, blind, cripple, and set your enemies on fire. And there was skill combinations to spike devastating damage on a single target. Whenever I go back to GW, it is invariably my ranger that I return to.


• Warden (LotRO) - I tried to play LotRO a couple times and could not get past the first few levels before unsubscribing again. It wasn't until Mines of Moria and the release of the Warden class that I really enjoyed my time in the game. And it all comes down to the Gambit system. Instead of rows and rows of hotkeys, all primary combat abilities are controlled by four buttons, three to establish the gambit and one to launch it. Learning each new gambit, the logic of how each is put together, and the timing of when to use them kept me involved in the game until level 40, a height I never dreamed of in the game. My warden is still waiting for me to take her out of Evendim and onto greater adventures. Someday, because it was so fun, I know I will.