We got the info on the latest unveiled classes in EverQuest Next!

Class Mechanics

Combat in EverQuest Next has been described as something that will contain a lot of elements of skill, including body placement and attack timing. At the Classes of EverQuest Next panel, Mann gave us an inside look as to how the classes will be distinguished and how different character builds will be utilized in gameplay. As far as class functionality, each class will have a primary ability that you can’t multi-class out of, but also have a secondary ability that you will be able to swap out for customization.

Multi-classing in EverQuest Next will be supported by Keywords, which are the system that allows abilities to talk to each other. Keywords are divided up into two main categories: Origin and Damage Type.

There are six Origins, all with very different identifying characteristics: Martial, Nature, Divine, Psionic, Elemental and Arcane. Additionally, seven different damage types were introduced. These damage types will combine with the origins to customize characters. The damage types are:  Lightning, Physical, Shadow, Fire, Affliction, Radiance and Water.

For example, the cleric is a Divine Fire and a Divine Radiance class. So, that means all of his abilities will have the divine flavor, but the Cleric’s abilities will fit fairly strongly in fire and radiance mechanics. Similarly, the Tempest is Nature Lightning and Nature Physical. The Tempest’s abilities will all have a Nature flavor to them in particles or visual effects, but the Tempest’s abilities will be stronger with Lightning and Physical mechanics.

According to Mann, “These are some of the options that you guys will have in the future. So if we talked about releasing 40 classes, this is just 20. If you look at and you see how all of these different symbols work together, you can kind of get an idea as to where we’re going when we talk about multi-classing. The things that share symbols will be usable together and you’re going to borrow from them and use all those options." [video]

We were warned that this image “may or may not” represent the classes we’ll see, but it gives us a pretty good idea of the direction EverQuest Next devs are taking with class development. Even though there’s been no formal unveiling yet, developers have talked about classes such as the Rogue and Beast Lord being added to the game as well. It will be exciting to see how this list expands and changes as the game develops more. Terry Michaels stated we can expect to hear a lot more about EverQuest Next over the next year, including the announcements of additional races and classes.  Be sure to check back with ZAM for all of the breaking information!

 Racheal "Afista" McKenny, Contributing Writer