What is the best perk/profession to start with ?

[Tubik Gleba]

What is the best perk/profession to start with ? 

[LadyWYT]

I'm assuming you're talking about which class to pick in the vanilla game, and not something modded. In which case I would say that Commoner is probably the best one for a brand new player to pick, as it offers no drawbacks to its playstyle and will be a solid choice for doing everything the game has to offer. Personally though, I would pick whichever class sounds the coolest and go from there. There may be some drawbacks to work around, but nothing terribly difficult, and the game will be more enjoyable if you're playing a class you actually want to play as opposed to whatever was supposed to be the "best". And if you try a class and decide that you don't like it, you can always start a new world with a different class(I think there's also a console command to switch your character class as well, but I don't know what it is).

If you're referring to the professions in the XSkills mod...I would say either pick a profession that you really enjoy, or pick one that will make the gameplay loops you don't enjoy that much less tedious.

[Streetwind]

The easiest class to start the game with is Malefactor, as it is specifically statted out to make the earlygame more easy: you find additional resources and food in almost everything in nature, and you get more loot from ruins as well. In addition, animals are less likely to detect and react to the player, which makes both hunting prey and avoiding predators easier. Its special recipe, the sling, is one a lot of players sleep on - it's not the strongest of weapons, but it fires fast. And its ammunition is stupidly cheap, zero effort, and you can pack a huge amount into a limited inventory. The biggest downside of the class is reduced combat potential, especially melee - which is perfectly fine for a new player, as they should be avoiding combat anyway. It does however lead to the Malefactor being quite weak in the lategame.

The Blackguard is in many ways the polar opposite - the early game is more difficult, but it becomes a real powerhouse in the hands of an experienced player. Avoid this if you're just starting out.

The Hunter is quite balanced across all stages of the game, and probably the overall strongest class after all is said and done. A perfectly good pick, even for a new player. Additional food from hunting, better ranged combat, better craftable ranged weapons. The increased movement speed is probably its most popular feature, and it helps with getting away from danger as well as with the tedium of long-distance travel. The main downside, less ore yield, is probably not as big as most people think it is, because ore really is very plentiful out there. New players may struggle with prospecting, which is fair... but especially experienced players can pretty much ignore this downside completely.

The Tailor is an okay class if you play with class-exclusive recipes enabled. Its pros and cons don't look that convincing, but the recipes available are absolutely worth it. On the other hand, you could just turn class-exclusive recipes off, and choose a class with better traits... and the downsides this class has do make it harder to find food and early resources. I'd avoid this class on a first playthrough.

The Clockmaker is weird, and hands down the weakest class overall. None of its upsides matter in practical gameplay, except for the movement speed (which the Hunter also has). The downsides on the other hand do matter, a lot. Sure, it has a fun gimmick where you can tame a certain kind of monster and have it follow you and fight for you... but then again, you can have that with any class if you turn off class-exclusive recipes... Definitely avoid as a new player.

And finally, the Commoner. This is the class for you if you're afraid of red text. Unfortunately, most classes have more upsides than they have downsides, so this leaves the trait-less Commoner as the objectively second-weakest class in the game (just after Clockmaker). It can still be a decent starter, since you don't have to account for a weakness... but in doing so, you're actively forgoing advantages that would make learning the game easier.

 

TL;DR: pick Hunter or Malefactor to have a leg up as a new player.

 

Edited June 26, 2024 by Streetwind

[LadyWYT]

44 minutes ago, Streetwind said:

TL;DR: pick Hunter or Malefactor to have a leg up as a new player.

You stated it all a lot better than I! I completely forgot about class-exclusive recipes as well. I would definitely recommend new players turn that option off if they are playing singleplayer, as the sewing kit isn't obtainable otherwise(I don't think it drops as loot from anything and traders don't sell them for some reason). And while sewing kits aren't necessary for standard gameplay, you'll need them to maintain your favorite pieces of clothing and keep them useful.

48 minutes ago, Streetwind said:

The Blackguard is in many ways the polar opposite - the early game is more difficult, but it becomes a real powerhouse in the hands of an experienced player. Avoid this if you're just starting out.

Agreed, for the most part, though I would argue that the extra health can sometimes allow you to sometimes survive situations that other classes probably wouldn't, and it's the ideal pick if you love melee combat. That being said, those kinds of survival scenarios don't come up that often, and if the health is that much of a concern the starting health pool can be easily increased via the world options.

[ifoz]

Honestly, I always say to pick whatever class you think looks coolest or whichever's backstory snippet interests you the most!
Even the worst class debuffs aren't a huge factor in defining a playthrough.

[Maelstrom]

16 hours ago, LadyWYT said:

while sewing kits aren't necessary for standard gameplay, you'll need them to maintain your favorite pieces of clothing and keep them useful.

Not exactly.  Flax fabric is a generic recipe and repairs clothes.  Just not as much repair as sewing kits.

[LadyWYT]

3 hours ago, Maelstrom said:

Not exactly.  Flax fabric is a generic recipe and repairs clothes.  Just not as much repair as sewing kits.

WHAT?! I'm gonna go try this! I didn't even know that was a thing, I thought it had to be sewing kits. Now I can turn the class-exclusive recipes back on like I had originally!

[Maelstrom]

You're welcome.  

[ifoz]

8 hours ago, LadyWYT said:

WHAT?! I'm gonna go try this! I didn't even know that was a thing, I thought it had to be sewing kits. Now I can turn the class-exclusive recipes back on like I had originally!

Flax twine restores 10%
Any linen sheet or any cloth restores 50%
Sewing kits restore 75%

[Ven]

I usually play a tailor or blackguard. It worth mentioning that the tailor despite his fragility is the most sociable class, if you play in multiplayer. You can't find or buy from traders tailored gambeson which is de-facto the most advanced light armor in the game. You can't repair that gambeson without tailor's hands either (bears and nightmare drifters tear that thing apart like paper). As well as warm winter clothes that help a lot in the northern climate when temperature goes below -30C. Only for that single fact you become a super star and everyone wants to trade with you and have you around. A perfect class for running a workshop in the village (+ no ore penalties, only lower mining speed).

Blackguard is probably the hardest class to start with, not depending on game mode, if you prefer to live alone. You will be hungry. All the time. Very hungry. You can't pick berries well, your lowered ranged potential obstructs wild hunting, for hunting with melee weapons will need to think smart, making traps, luring animals to pits etc. The only real advantage you will have of all that early game on - 5 extra hitpoints. And that does matter a lot. Even in survival difficulty wolf bite takes away 12hp which is enough to oneshot any naked class without nutrition(8-10 hp). But not the blackguard - that hp bonus will let you survive 1 such bite and a chance to get out alive. You can suffer hunger, cold and even stability damage before death much longer than others. You can fall off higher places and stay alive where other classes would be pancaked. Every combat encounter will forgive you 1-2 extra hits other classes couldn't take. And as it was mentioned above already - this class starts to shine in the endgame as nothing else would. On the standard difficulty, fully equipped in the blackguard armor, iron\steel shield, with max nutrition bonus(32.5hp) and a bunch of healing poultices you become virtually immortal.

Clockmaker's ability to spare tg on repairing translocators is often undervalued. Because Vintage Story is about roads. Where are roads - there is life. There is trading. And translocator chains is the fastest and the only way to cross tremendous distances in mere minutes, connecting different settlements over 30-50km. And for that to find and fix all translocators you would waste a good trunk or two of temporal gears. Which makes the clockmaker a perfect road engineer in the endgame 

Edited September 20, 2024 by Ven

[Veil]

Hunter is by far the best starting class imo, because of the ranged accuracy increase and animal yield.
This is because most animals run away from you, so ranged weapons are incredibly useful when hunting for food.

[Zane Mordien]

I vote hunter. Food is a struggle when you are a new player. Black guard is my vote once you are experienced. There are tons of food options once you have it figured out. Get that garden planted ASAP!

Edited October 6, 2024 by Zane Mordien