Giving each Class an Identity

[Omega Haxors]

Right now the current way the class traits are designed is based on a "one big downside and a bunch of little upsides" This makes the classes unique and it makes them balanced, but it doesn't make them fun or really meaningful to choose. Saying "You can do this a little better but you can't do that" in essence just makes it so that you just can't do something on that playthrough.

However across all my playthroughs I did notice two standout classes which actually do something right: The Malefactor and the Blackguard. Why? Because they actually have a class identity. Malefactor is a class which is really great for newer players as it's more forgiving while Blackguard is great for experts who are capable of surviving the harsh downsides. Both of them are "If you're a X play as Y" classes. Clockmaker comes close as being a dungeon exploration class but its upsides and downsides are practically nonexistent making it a pretty boring choice.

So here i'm going to take the existing classes and redesign them to each have an identity and unique way of playing. I'm going to attempt to stay true to the original design.

Blackguard: The relationship between you and the world is fraught with animosity. Fighting is just a constant of your life now.
This class is pretty much perfect so not much is going to be changed. However I do want to shift around the perks a little bit.
First off, the hunger downside is going to be doubled to 60% and it's going to be docked with a nasty -25% move speed penalty
However to make up for this, they will no longer suffer speed and hunger penalties on armor. No excuse, make that plate set.
And you're going to need this, because enemies will now aggro on you from MUCH further away, and preferentially too.
The other perks are getting removed completely. Not being able to gather materials or use bows is just a punishment, and I want to do away with these.
Instead, you will draw bows 20% faster, throw rocks 20% harder, at the cost of severely diminished accuracy, making ranged more ideal for close quarters.
The mining speed now applies to all forms of digging, not just rocks. This can be a downside as you will often overzealously break more than you intend.
Heavyhanded makes a return, but this time it's a trade off. All tools work 50% faster but lose double durability on use.

Blackguards are always on 100% of the time. They will remain that way up until the moment it kills them. That is the Blackguard way.

Malefactor: You need to be careful when you're out stealing. Don't get spotted or your goose is cooked. You nearly didn't survive last time.
This class exists as basically a new player choice with some strong late game uses but its downsides are boring. Lets have some fun with this.
First off going to remove all the traits except the sling. Most of them will be more or less returned later in far more interesting ways.
Drifters will mostly ignore Malefactors, seeing them as not a threat and being just as pitiful as they are. Maybe they did something to earn that reputation.
Other enemies, especially mechanicals, however have quite the vendetta against you, and will be very quick to deliver a swift justice straight to your skull.
Your bones will liquify if you see an enemy or unfamiliar player, causing you to freeze for a short period and emit a lot of panicked noises (like taking damage)
After this happens, you will be put in an anxious state which causes you to move slower. But if you got hit out of it, you get a speed bonus and lose the ability to attack instead.
Adds the ability to cower: Sitting while looking down will make enemies lose track of you if they don't have line of sight, and drop aggro if they're a drifter.
All classes gain a 100% chance to pick up a vessel and clutter if they're sneaking
Gain exclusive crafting of a looting bag: An item you can put a lot of stuff into but must empty into an inventory in order to get it back.

In essence, Malefactors are slow and methodical with a talent for extracting from the environment, but their trauma leaves them fractured in confrontation.

Clockmaker: You go far, you go wide. Nobody ever appreciates you, but without you they are way worse off. Discover the world then report back your findings.
They get to keep all their upsides (except the bonus damage to mechanicals)
Teleportation tuner: Clockmakers can use any static translocator to return to their spawn location by sitting on it instead.
Home teleportation: Clockmakers can make an exclusive consumable item which will return any player to their spawn location.
Remember all those downsides removed from other classes that reduce drops? Yeah, they're all on this guy now. Not much of a hands-on guy.
Furthermore he's also really weak in combat and has a really low life pool. You're going to want to use your mobility to avoid conflict altogether.

As a Clockmaker, you're mostly just there to observe the environment and learn. When it comes to actually interacting with it, you fall quite short. Use your inventions to make up for these shortcomings.

Tailor: A live of adventuring just isn't for you. With so many things to create at home you can stay back and enjoy the finer things of life. Maybe they might like them too.
This class was invented specifically for a mechanic and it shows. This one is going through a total overhaul.
First, it was clear that the developers were afraid of making so many exclusives for this class so it only gets a few recipes. This is bad.
Clothing is now overall going to be exclusively obtained from this class and from trading. Let other classes make only the simple stuff.
Tailors share a lot of the downsides of Clockmaker,  but with more of a focus of staying at home rather than going out to explore.
What this means is you now have a -30% move speed penalty, but also a -30% hunger reduction. You also break stuff slower.
Finally, your speed when chiseling blocks is twice as fast to help you when chiseling a lot of structures.

Unlike the Clockmaker who is out in the field and inventing stuff which makes life suck less, Tailors prefer to assist the team from at home and make life worth living.

Hunter: 
I'm not going to sugarcoat it, this class is basically one big long list of upsides that don't matter at all with a downside that can be negated.
However, it has some of the most solid core design. It knows what it wants to be and it pulls that off. So lets work with that.
Animals have the reduced tracking range that malefactor used to have, it just makes sense here.
The speed bonus is being removed in favor of a stalking: use your reduced tracking range to get close enough to snare your prey with a short range projectile.
Alternatively, you can set traps (such as stick traps) to catch them that way. All classes can make these but only hunters can use them effectively.
Crude bows and Crude arrows are no longer exclusives but can only be used with each other and have terrible accuracy, requiring you get up close.
Crude arrows of all types can be crafted. They have the same damage as normal arrows but with far worse range, and only work in the crude bow.
Sniper: Bows take longer to draw but have better range and deal increased damage.
Meticulous: Damage dealt by all weapons is -20% and you break blocks 50% slower. However all tools have a 50% chance not to use durability.
Encumbered: You suffer double move speed penalties from all armor.

Hunters are great at securing an individual kill but their hunting style leaves them quite unprepared for rushdown or group confrontation.

Overall:
I wanted to get rid of any attributes which punish the player for picking the wrong class, or for not picking the right class. Instead, I wanted each class to have an identity and a unique way of playing. This is why every change is meaningful and designed around a particular playstyle. Hunters are slow but precise and excel against single targets. Blackguards are unstoppable and over-the-top, never stopping to relax. Malefactors are cowards who are great at stealing and not being noticed, but crumble when confronted. Clockmakers are very good at traversing and surveying the environment but struggle to apply the knowledge themselves. Tailors prefer not to explore but rather process what materials they do have. Each class was designed in a way that attributes can be added and removed without the class as a whole needing to be rebalanced, which means that more ideas can be added as they come up, and can be removed if they're not fun.

Edited September 3, 2023 by Omega Haxors
Conclusion

[l33tmaan]

EDIT: Whoops, made a new post when I meant to quote. I have also made an oopsie.

Edited September 3, 2023 by l33tmaan

[l33tmaan]

19 minutes ago, Omega Haxors said:

Cockmaker comes close as being a dungeon exploration class but its upsides and downsides are practically nonexistent making it a pretty boring choice.

Does it now?

[Omega Haxors]

18 minutes ago, l33tmaan said:

Does it now?

Oops, fixed that.

[Farkin]

Hmm, maybe this is just me but I personally don't really like how the classes are balanced. 

I think it makes more sense in a game like this, rather than reducing damage capabilities, to focus on other effects that may influence gameplay.

For me, it just feels obnoxious to be nerfed and essentially trapped doing a particular playstyle. In my mind a hunter is someone who knows how to track and kill animals, using a bow is good and all but I think instead of nerfing its melee damage, simply giving it more damage to animal entities makes much more sense. Our ancestors didn't always use the bow and javelin to kill prey, and the Neanderthals were fairly successful with either wrestling or stabbing them to death.

The same goes for Blackguard. From what I know the lore says they were soldiers who fought against drifters? Maybe give them bonus damage against drifters.

Minecraft is a game you can play however you want in, and although I am aware of the commoner class, I feel like how the current classes are implemented takes maybe a little bit too much freedom away from a player, ie. too much incentivization into a particular type of combat (take the hunter, 30% ranged damage increase is massive and 15% melee damage just makes it so much more undesirable to use a melee weapon).

Malefactor imho is one of the worst of the classes simply due to how much you are neutered in terms of your combat capabilities, which forms an integral part of the game. The sling is good but why would you use it when there are alternatives? Especially for midgame, it seems to lose all relevance outside of the commonality of rocks. The -33% detection is nice but I would argue that if there was a stealth attack gameplay mechanic implemented this would be much more useful than what it currently is. 

The Tailor might be my least favorite class in the game, it only gives mild cosmetic recipes and a marginal durability upgrade at numerous downsides to combat and survival.

I suspect the balancing has been done more in mind toward multiplayer.