The Next New Class

[KreepyKritter]

So... with all the buzz surrounding Druids, I thought I'd troll the depths of the forum for a bit of perspective regarding the other classes that might make an appearance in DDO in the (not-so) distant future.

Now, I'm not talking Prestige Classes/Enhancements, I'm talking about fully formed, unique, classes. Sure, we're all hot to get Druids in our sweaty mits, but what about the others?

The other side of this coin is 'We'd really rather the rest of the PrE's were finished first before we start seeing new classes rolled out' or 'Can we have the existing classes fixed first?' and I hear all this and I'm right there with you, but with the advent of the Half-Bloods, I think it bears considering what we (the players) want next in the way of classes.

My top three (please feel free to disagree and share your own) in order of my own personal preference:

1: Druid (Of course)
2: Warlock (Because nothing says lovin' like an eldritch blast to the face)
3: Psionics (Because we all have to dream of something and I dream of controlling YOUR dreams)

[xoowak]

I think everyone wants druids. Probably my favorite class to play in PnP. I don't really see warlock happening, as it would combine the problems of ranged and arcane DPS. Psionics would be great. I'd particularly like to see psychic warrior, I think psions might be too similar to wizards when translated to DDO.

Besides Druids and PsyWars, I'd like to see Binder and Duskblade.

[ProdigalGuru]

I have it on good authority that the Devs have solved the polymorph problem, and Druids will be coming sooner than you might think.

ANOTHER class?

I do not really think there is much more room or need for one.

Plenty of room for more races though.

[Lithic]

I have it on good authority that the Devs have solved the polymorph problem, and Druids will be coming sooner than you might think.

ANOTHER class?

I do not really think there is much more room or need for one.

Plenty of room for more races though.

I have it on bad authority that the Dev working on new classes just got completionist, and will soon have lots of "unfortunate setbacks" in new class development.

[Sartax]

I have it on good authority that the Devs have solved the polymorph problem, and Druids will be coming sooner than you might think.

ANOTHER class?

I do not really think there is much more room or need for one.

Plenty of room for more races though.

I agree on the Races thing - I think there are plenty of classes to choose from, but the racial differentiation would really make the game more fun. half-elf and Half-orc were decent, but i'd like to see possibly some of the following:

- Shifter
- Gnome
- Changeling

Especially seeing as they are in the adventurer's guide for Eberron.

[Zachski]

I agree on the Races thing - I think there are plenty of classes to choose from, but the racial differentiation would really make the game more fun. half-elf and Half-orc were decent, but i'd like to see possibly some of the following:

- Shifter
- Gnome
- Changeling

Especially seeing as they are in the adventurer's guide for Eberron.

- Kobold (Just needs to add some animations and armor designs, Update 13 would be reasonable for those)
- Dragonborn (Because Eberron lore has changed regarding dragons and half-dragons, and it'd be nice to actually have a half-dragon race for once. DDO would be the first and currently only MMO to have them as a playable race.)

[donfilibuster]

I think everyone wants druids. Probably my favorite class to play in PnP. I don't really see warlock happening, as it would combine the problems of ranged and arcane DPS. Psionics would be great. I'd particularly like to see psychic warrior, I think psions might be too similar to wizards when translated to DDO.

Everyone wants druids.

Warlock plays like the wizard prestiges, only it don't have spells, it's all blast, SLAs and light melee.
While the building blocks are there, it dun really fit it in any existing class so better have its own.

Psionic's power points were the first points pool used natively by a d&d class and is very much like the spell points we have in ddo.
If we have accepted the spell points variant on ddo there's no reason to not allow power points as well.
Keep in mind that psionic classes *do* have a larger pool of points than arcanes and have an easier time replenishing them.
Wizard lovers need not complain.

[KreepyKritter]

Warlock plays like the wizard prestiges, only it don't have spells, it's all blast, SLAs and light melee.
While the building blocks are there, it dun really fit it in any existing class so better have its own.

Nnnnnngh... not really. The wizard prestiges make a preset selection of spells available as spell-like abilities. Warlocks get spell like abilities like Bards get songs (as has been mentioned). Imagine it like a Bard's fascinate ability... except instead of making Mob's stand around useless, it kills them.

Warlock is as similar to Wizard as Druid is to Cleric in my opinion.

[Doxmaster]

Warlocks are fun, but let’s think about each of their abilities in game terms.

Really. I’m going to list each and every ability they have or can get and we can deconstruct each of them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eldritch blast (Xd6 of magical damage. Possibly force, possibly untyped…) - Basically Arcane bolt OR the magic missile Spell like ability. Yes, archmage gets two different abilities that approximate the most basic warlock ability and an archmage could have both at the same time, if he wanted.
~~~~~
Eldritch burst (eldritch blast changes from single target to area of effect) –either Arcane blast or the Chain magic missile SLA. Worst than either of those two options, since it can’t be cycled with eldritch blast, but magic missile can be cycled with chain mm. An archmage with chain mm And arcane blast is laughing in the face of all warlocks atm.
~~~~~
Damage reduction (Slow progressing DR/cold iron, up to a max of 5DR/cold iron)- a minor ability that is completely blown out of the water by stoneskin wands AND basically all DR items.
~~~~~
Deceive item (A warlock always rolls 10 or better for UMD checks.)- this could be implemented several ways, but it basically comes out to warlocks rocking at UMD.
~~~~
Fiendish resilience (fast healing 1 for 2 minutes, which can progress up to fast healing 5)- Kind of nice for guarantied healing.
~~~~~
Energy resistance (energy resistance 5 verses 2 elements, which progresses up to energy resistance 10 to those same elements.)- Nothing to write home about.
~~~~
Imbue item (a warlock is able to create magical items without knowing the spells required for that item) Wonderful! Except we don’t have D&D crafting in DDo, so warlocks wouldn’t actually get this ability.
~~~~
At this point, warlock is a good deal behind an archmage wizard except in regard to UMD.

Let’s start on their least invocations. I will omit the obviously impossible ones, such as Spiderwalk and Darkness, since they have absolutely no ingame approximation. Some will have to be ballparked, but those two are obviously not even under consideration.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Frightful blast
(– Any creature struck by the invoker’s Eldritch Blast also becomes Shaken for 1 minute (WillNeg). Subsequent Frightful Blasts donot stack, but do reset the duration. Effective Spell Level: 2nd.)
- A minor debuff. Not very useful.
~~~~~
Sickening blast
(– Any creature struck by the invoker’s Eldritch Blast also becomes Sickened for 1 minute.
(FortNeg). Subsequent Sickening Blasts do not stack, but do reset the duration. Effective Spell Level: 2nd.)
-Another minor debuff. Not very useful.
~~~~~
Eldritch Spear
(– The maximum range of the invoker’s Eldritch Blast increases to 250’ with no range increment.
Effective Spell Level: 2nd.)
-the enlarge metamagic, for eldritch blast only. Somewhat useful.
~~~~~
Hideous Blow
(– As a Standard Action, make one melee attack. If the hit is successful (even if it does not
damage), then treat the opponent as if he/she were also hit with the invoker’s Eldritch Blast (including any special effects due to Eldritch Essence invocations).
Effective Spell Level: 1st.)
-the warlock makes a single attack and, if it hits, eldritch blast is applied as well as normal damage. This is a crude approximation of sneak attack that affects basically everything.
~~~~~
Baleful utterance
( By speaking a syllable of Dark Speech, the invoker chooses one of the following to occur:
a) all non-magic glass, crystal, etc., in a 5’ radius Burst that weigh less than 1 lb/lvl
are shattered. An attended object gets a Will save to negate. Otherwise, no save.
b) a single solid object weighing up to 10 pounds per level can be shattered. An
attended object gets a Will save to negate. If an attended object was destroyed, then the
creature touching it must make a Fortitude save of be Dazed for 1 round and Deafened
for 1 minute.
Effective Spell Level: 2nd.)
-Lowers the larget’s AC and/or attack bonus if they fail a will save, and the target is dazed for 6 seconds. This is actually pretty nice.
~~~~
Beguiling influence
(– The invoker receives a +6 bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, & Intimidate checks.
Effective Spell Level: 2nd.)
-self buff that gives a bonus to bluff, diplomacy and intimidate. This would be fairly nice for an Intimi-tank warlock, which would be an interesting niche to see them fill.
~~~~~

Breath of the Night
– Creates a 20’ radius Spread by 20’ high area of mist around the invoker, which grants Concealment to everyone within it. Does not block Line-of-Sight.
The mist dissipates in 1 minute, or can be
dispersed immediately by a Moderate wind or the fire of a torch.
Effective spell level 1st.)
-this is Obscuring mist, the arcane spell. It is useless.
~~~~~
Dark one’s own luck
(The invoker receives a luck bonus to one saving throw equal to his/her charisma modifier (up to his/her class level). To change which saving throw benefits, the invoker must first dismiss the current effect as a standard action.
Effective spell level: 2nd)
-Makes incredible saves easily achievable.
~~~~~~
Earthen grasp
– A Medium-sized arm of soil rises from the targeted hex of earth or sand. It attempts to Grapple any creature in its hex or one that is
adjacent. If not directed by the invoker, it attacks randomly. The arm has a Strength of 14 + 1 per three invoker levels. The arm can make one
Grapple attempt per round and does generate an Attack of Opportunity. If successful, it attempts to Pin the target, which does (1d6+Strength modifier) hp of lethal damage each round The arm has AC 15, Hardness 4, and 3 hp per Invoker level.
Effective Spell Level: 2nd.)
Earth grab, copied straight from earth elementals.
~~~~~~
Entropic warding
(the invoker is surrounded by chaotic energies. Ranged attacks that target the invoker have a 20% miss chance.
Effective spell level: 2nd)
-Blur, for ranged attacks only.
~~~~~~
Leaps and bounds
(the invoker receives a +6 on balance, jump and tumble checks.
Effective spell level: 2nd)
A weak jump, tumble and balance buff that only applies to the warlock himself.
~~~~~
Miasmic cloud
(the invoker creates a 2-‘ spread of mist, which grants concealment to anyone who enters it’s area. All creatures, excluding the invoker, within the mist become fatigued (fort save negates, spell resistance applies) until 1 round after then leave the area of effect. The mist dissipates in 1 minute, or can be dispersed by a moderate wind or the fire of a torch.
Effective spell level: 2nd)
-a very good spell if it isn’t able to harm allies; this is roughly waves of fatigue, with a fort save added on. At a low level too. If it CAN harm allies, it is a terrible spell.
~~~~
See the unseen
(the invoker gains darkvision 60’ and can see invisible creatures and objects within his/her range of vision.
Effective spell level: 2nd.)
-roughly the same as true seeing. Self only.
~~~~
Summon swarm
(simmons either a swarm of bats, or a swarm of spiders. The swarm attacks any creature within it’s area The invoker has no control over the swarm’s movement or target.
Effective spell level: 2nd)
-Summons an unfriendly swarm of spiders or rats. This would not be appreciated.
~~~~
Voice of madness
(one target is confused.
Effective spell level: 2nd)
-I’m not sure what this would be like, to be honest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A mixed bag; a few of the least invocations really stand out and a few more have situational usefulness, but the vast majority are useless. A warlock could pick Earthen grasp, Baleful Utterance and either Dark One’s own luck or Beguiling influence if they want to be an Intimi-tank and never miss any of the other options..

I’ll do lesser, greater and dark invocations later.

[Templarion]

No new stuff until old stuff is fixed.

1) How about making Cleric as good as FvS first?
2) How about balacing Drow and Elf on the level of other useful races?
3) How about tuning Epic difficulty to suit better to people's needs?
4) How about <you name it>.

[wsh1973]

I would really LOVE to see Anti-Paladin as a new class. I've played evil knights (Shadowknight, Darkknight, Anti-Paladin etc... ) in other games and I really enjoy the class. If it's not really viable as a class, at least consider making a build within the Paladin line. PLEASE?

[Drakos]

Warlocks are fun, but let’s think about each of their abilities in game terms.

Really. I’m going to list each and every ability they have or can get and we can deconstruct each of them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eldritch blast (Xd6 of magical damage. Possibly force, possibly untyped…) - Basically Arcane bolt OR the magic missile Spell like ability. Yes, archmage gets two different abilities that approximate the most basic warlock ability and an archmage could have both at the same time, if he wanted.
~~~~~
Eldritch burst (eldritch blast changes from single target to area of effect) –either Arcane blast or the Chain magic missile SLA. Worst than either of those two options, since it can’t be cycled with eldritch blast, but magic missile can be cycled with chain mm. An archmage with chain mm And arcane blast is laughing in the face of all warlocks atm.
~~~~~
Damage reduction (Slow progressing DR/cold iron, up to a max of 5DR/cold iron)- a minor ability that is completely blown out of the water by stoneskin wands AND basically all DR items.
~~~~~
Deceive item (A warlock always rolls 10 or better for UMD checks.)- this could be implemented several ways, but it basically comes out to warlocks rocking at UMD.
~~~~
Fiendish resilience (fast healing 1 for 2 minutes, which can progress up to fast healing 5)- Kind of nice for guarantied healing.
~~~~~
Energy resistance (energy resistance 5 verses 2 elements, which progresses up to energy resistance 10 to those same elements.)- Nothing to write home about.
~~~~
Imbue item (a warlock is able to create magical items without knowing the spells required for that item) Wonderful! Except we don’t have D&D crafting in DDo, so warlocks wouldn’t actually get this ability.
~~~~
At this point, warlock is a good deal behind an archmage wizard except in regard to UMD.

Let’s start on their least invocations. I will omit the obviously impossible ones, such as Spiderwalk and Darkness, since they have absolutely no ingame approximation. Some will have to be ballparked, but those two are obviously not even under consideration.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Frightful blast
(– Any creature struck by the invoker’s Eldritch Blast also becomes Shaken for 1 minute (WillNeg). Subsequent Frightful Blasts donot stack, but do reset the duration. Effective Spell Level: 2nd.)
- A minor debuff. Not very useful.
~~~~~
Sickening blast
(– Any creature struck by the invoker’s Eldritch Blast also becomes Sickened for 1 minute.
(FortNeg). Subsequent Sickening Blasts do not stack, but do reset the duration. Effective Spell Level: 2nd.)
-Another minor debuff. Not very useful.
~~~~~
Eldritch Spear
(– The maximum range of the invoker’s Eldritch Blast increases to 250’ with no range increment.
Effective Spell Level: 2nd.)
-the enlarge metamagic, for eldritch blast only. Somewhat useful.
~~~~~
Hideous Blow
(– As a Standard Action, make one melee attack. If the hit is successful (even if it does not
damage), then treat the opponent as if he/she were also hit with the invoker’s Eldritch Blast (including any special effects due to Eldritch Essence invocations).
Effective Spell Level: 1st.)
-the warlock makes a single attack and, if it hits, eldritch blast is applied as well as normal damage. This is a crude approximation of sneak attack that affects basically everything.
~~~~~
Baleful utterance
( By speaking a syllable of Dark Speech, the invoker chooses one of the following to occur:
a) all non-magic glass, crystal, etc., in a 5’ radius Burst that weigh less than 1 lb/lvl
are shattered. An attended object gets a Will save to negate. Otherwise, no save.
b) a single solid object weighing up to 10 pounds per level can be shattered. An
attended object gets a Will save to negate. If an attended object was destroyed, then the
creature touching it must make a Fortitude save of be Dazed for 1 round and Deafened
for 1 minute.
Effective Spell Level: 2nd.)
-Lowers the larget’s AC and/or attack bonus if they fail a will save, and the target is dazed for 6 seconds. This is actually pretty nice.
~~~~
Beguiling influence
(– The invoker receives a +6 bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, & Intimidate checks.
Effective Spell Level: 2nd.)
-self buff that gives a bonus to bluff, diplomacy and intimidate. This would be fairly nice for an Intimi-tank warlock, which would be an interesting niche to see them fill.
~~~~~

Breath of the Night
– Creates a 20’ radius Spread by 20’ high area of mist around the invoker, which grants Concealment to everyone within it. Does not block Line-of-Sight.
The mist dissipates in 1 minute, or can be
dispersed immediately by a Moderate wind or the fire of a torch.
Effective spell level 1st.)
-this is Obscuring mist, the arcane spell. It is useless.
~~~~~
Dark one’s own luck
(The invoker receives a luck bonus to one saving throw equal to his/her charisma modifier (up to his/her class level). To change which saving throw benefits, the invoker must first dismiss the current effect as a standard action.
Effective spell level: 2nd)
-Makes incredible saves easily achievable.
~~~~~~
Earthen grasp
– A Medium-sized arm of soil rises from the targeted hex of earth or sand. It attempts to Grapple any creature in its hex or one that is
adjacent. If not directed by the invoker, it attacks randomly. The arm has a Strength of 14 + 1 per three invoker levels. The arm can make one
Grapple attempt per round and does generate an Attack of Opportunity. If successful, it attempts to Pin the target, which does (1d6+Strength modifier) hp of lethal damage each round The arm has AC 15, Hardness 4, and 3 hp per Invoker level.
Effective Spell Level: 2nd.)
Earth grab, copied straight from earth elementals.
~~~~~~
Entropic warding
(the invoker is surrounded by chaotic energies. Ranged attacks that target the invoker have a 20% miss chance.
Effective spell level: 2nd)
-Blur, for ranged attacks only.
~~~~~~
Leaps and bounds
(the invoker receives a +6 on balance, jump and tumble checks.
Effective spell level: 2nd)
A weak jump, tumble and balance buff that only applies to the warlock himself.
~~~~~
Miasmic cloud
(the invoker creates a 2-‘ spread of mist, which grants concealment to anyone who enters it’s area. All creatures, excluding the invoker, within the mist become fatigued (fort save negates, spell resistance applies) until 1 round after then leave the area of effect. The mist dissipates in 1 minute, or can be dispersed by a moderate wind or the fire of a torch.
Effective spell level: 2nd)
-a very good spell if it isn’t able to harm allies; this is roughly waves of fatigue, with a fort save added on. At a low level too. If it CAN harm allies, it is a terrible spell.
~~~~
See the unseen
(the invoker gains darkvision 60’ and can see invisible creatures and objects within his/her range of vision.
Effective spell level: 2nd.)
-roughly the same as true seeing. Self only.
~~~~
Summon swarm
(simmons either a swarm of bats, or a swarm of spiders. The swarm attacks any creature within it’s area The invoker has no control over the swarm’s movement or target.
Effective spell level: 2nd)
-Summons an unfriendly swarm of spiders or rats. This would not be appreciated.
~~~~
Voice of madness
(one target is confused.
Effective spell level: 2nd)
-I’m not sure what this would be like, to be honest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A mixed bag; a few of the least invocations really stand out and a few more have situational usefulness, but the vast majority are useless. A warlock could pick Earthen grasp, Baleful Utterance and either Dark One’s own luck or Beguiling influence if they want to be an Intimi-tank and never miss any of the other options..

I’ll do lesser, greater and dark invocations later.

First they don't hafe Eldritch Burst. This is actually the Eldritch Blast modified with a Shape Invocation. There are actually several Shape Invocations; 1) Chain (allows you to chain the blast from target to target, only first takes full damage others take 1/2), 2) Line (Blast hits everything in a 60' line), 3) Spear (you covered this. it changes the max range of blast from 60; to 250'), 4) Cone (blast becomes a 0 range 60' come effect), 5) Sphere (Blast becomes a 20' Diameter AoE attack ala; fireball), 6) Glaive (blast becomes a hand weapon resembling a glaive), 7) Burst (blast becomes a burst effect centered on you). There might be a few mor but these are the populas shape invocations.

Secondly, you ignored several Essense invocations including the most popular, Vitrolic Blast. This makes your Eldritch blast Acid damage and ignores SR (thats the important one) as well as making it a DoT continuing damage for 2 rounds. Many of the Essense Invocations are just minor debuffs, but still important.

The main issue with implementing Warlock would be the way Ray attacks work in DDO. Other than that an arcane that doesn't run out of SP but in turn has very limited ability. The UMD is a biggie here however. They get the Take 10 ability (no other class gets that as a class feature), and they can use UMD in place of spell requirements when crafting magic items (not yet pertanent to DDO). The DR is nice (any damage mitigation would be), ER to twl types of energy (choosen by player, more damage mitigation), Unlimited access to Detect Magic (not a DDO issue), however Fast Healing would be great (especially if they had AP's options to increase). All in all a nice class I would think is very doable in DDO using exclusive toggles for the Shape invocations and another for essence invocations.

[DevHead]

Druids could be pretty boss, but Rangers can too....if they actually got decent animal companions. -_- Though I can just picture a Call Lightning wreaking havoc.

Warlocks...oh dear sweet DDO gods please. I stopped playing casters, but I would play a Warlock immediately. They're a big ole slice of pwnage pie. Mmmmm....pie....

As much as I'd like to see these classes, it always worries me how they'd translate to DDO. D:

[Ullysses]

1: Druid (Of course)
2: Warlock (Because nothing says lovin' like an eldritch blast to the face)
3: Psionics (Because we all have to dream of something and I dream of controlling YOUR dreams)

1: Druid - Coming "SOON"

2: Warlock - Not familiar with this class from PnP, from what I've seen is similar to the 'Archmage' wizard prestige, I'm sur there are differences, but enough for a totally new class, or maybe another wiz/sorc prestige?

3: Psionics - See this mentioned a lot, but it would take a lot of work, a total new 'spell' line would have to be added, as well as the obvious feats/enhancements. Plus psionic defences added. (Defences/Resists/immunities to all the added spells/abilities) If Druids have taken this long, won't hold my breath for Psionics.

After Druid, I don't really know what other class I'd like to see. The base classes are all here, and finished PRE's will cover pretty much anything I see missing. Psionics would be the next big step, but I'd mostly like to see more races first. Gnome, Tiefling, etc.

[Stormanne]

Given the setting, I think most players would like to see artificers. Especially is there are to be any changes to how crafting is done in DDO...

[Aashrym]

Artificer

[Nightsun33]

Artificer

/signed

[Bodic]

Artificer

/signed

What they said.

[Quarterling]

Artificer

/signed

[Monroid]

Artificer

It's only a matter of time, to be honest, can't imagine a MMO about Eberron without them

... and I got neg repped because of this comment, now that was weird!