How would you revamp Vintage Story's classes system?

[LadyWYT]

36 minutes ago, Jacsmac said:

This suggestion might sound counter-intuitive at first, but I recommend that each class should lean more into specific crafting recipes and gameplay styles. If the hunter is better at using bows and the blackguard better at using swords, maybe the way combat works/looks for them should change a bit to reflect the difference; if the malefactor is so good at foraging and scavenging, why is the only thing left to show this a sling and not better traps?
If every class gets a large set of specific crafting recipes (like how many clothes the Tailor can make), then there is more incentive for trading to be between players rather than just having the tailor do all the trading with their exclusive recipes and such. If each class has their own fighting style, the choice of class holds more weight than a few stat changes.

I wouldn't mind being able to craft Blackguard armor as a Blackguard.  I've always thought it just a little strange that they can make their namesake weapons but can't make the armor. 

I don't know what sort of unique craftables each class would have though. Clockmaker seems like it could have some interesting steampunk cosmetic, or at least, some bonuses to working with Jonas tech once more gets added. More traps for Malefactor makes sense, but maybe they could craft different styles of masks to wear as well. Hunter could perhaps craft a special hunting knife that makes the butchering job even faster, meaning they could give those knives to their friends to help with hunting/livestock processing.

2 minutes ago, Slam said:

This seems to be applying to a server with random people, what if a group of friends being communist, then the entrusting of task, doesn’t become a problem and min maxing becomes more a problem.

Anyone is susceptible to greed, and any player can get tired of always being relegated to the same tasks all the time. I'd say it's still a self-inflicted problem in this scenario as well, and one best fixed by the players themselves. There's nothing wrong with min-maxing, but if a player is doing it to the point they aren't having fun anymore, that's a problem for the player to fix themselves, generally, rather than change the game for everyone else.

 

5 minutes ago, Slam said:

I ment like tailor is able to create valuable items that can be consistently sold, I think tailor items being treasure is nice, limits the player less on how they customize their character, but treasure is not consist income unlike growing field of flax then turned more profitable via turning it to cloths.

if the tailor had the trader class, I would change the quest, (I don’t know what quest are like, so maybe what I’m saying is stupid) not like better rewards or easier quest but on option to add on top of it, so more work, but more reward, other classes could do something similar, but tailor would be able to do it for any quest, not just quest more related to a certain class. The tailor would also be able to sell more before the trader stops buying, be able to buy special bulk deal, request certain category’s of items for the next restock (ie bricks, doors, linen bags).

I'm not entirely sure that I follow here, but it sounds like you're suggesting some sort of reputation system with individual traders? In that if the player buys/sells with a particular trader often enough, they can have more options when dealing with that trader? That seems like a pretty good idea to me. It's something that all classes could take advantage of, with Tailor perhaps earning those kinds of benefits a little faster thanks to refined manners/more business sense.

From just a flavor standpoint though, I do think it would be cool if NPCs were more polite/friendly/eager to deal with Tailors than other classes. One aspect I enjoy about Blackguard is that NPCs aren't necessarily rude when they encounter one, but they aren't really thrilled to see one either since Blackguards have a bit of a dubious reputation(you don't really know if they're there to be helpful or stir up trouble, maybe both). Of course the NPCs are still in the very early stages of development and I'm sure interactions like that will be fleshed out more later, but it is an aspect I'd like to see leaned into more heavily.

[Jacsmac]

31 minutes ago, Slam said:

I notice traders sell class exclusive equipment, such as the recurve bow, perhaps better then learning them via recipes?

Trading for exclusive items also sounds like a good idea; after all, the traders definitely have their own skills if they can create the other goods that they sell.
Unlockable recipes do seem like a handful to implement, too. Maybe classes can have their own crafting tool like the sewing kit, required for their recipes, but the crafting tool is the only exclusive part, and you can trade for it or find it in ruins like the sewing kit.

[HalfAxd]

20 hours ago, Thorfinn said:

This one. If we were talking a full-on RPG either classes or skills would be appropriate, but this is more of an exploration/builder. The classes seem tacked on, and while not the intent, is at the root of a lot of the balancing discussions.

I always play as Commoner... I am not a fan of buffs and debuffs to make me feel like I'm playing as one thing or another... I want the freedom to do what I want.

For those who like classes, perhaps giving points to assign at the beginning of the game to let people craft their own class... providing freedom to do what they want.

[Slam]

44 minutes ago, LadyWYT said:

I'm not entirely sure that I follow here, but it sounds like you're suggesting some sort of reputation system with individual traders? In that if the player buys/sells with a particular trader often enough, they can have more options when dealing with that trader? That seems like a pretty good idea to me. It's something that all classes could take advantage of, with Tailor perhaps earning those kinds of benefits a little faster thanks to refined manners/more business sense.

I was just thinking as a tailor exclusive, but I suppose that would work too, as long as reputation doesn’t just mean cheaper prices. Though maybe requesting of materials and bulk buying should be more limiting then the tailor as they would’ve had experience requesting and bulk buying fabrics for they’re crafts.

[Calmest_of_lakes]

22 hours ago, Thorfinn said:

This one. If we were talking a full-on RPG either classes or skills would be appropriate, but this is more of an exploration/builder. The classes seem tacked on, and while not the intent, is at the root of a lot of the balancing discussions.

Now that I have given this more thought, I do have to agree with you. The class system really does feel tacked on. 

[CastIronFabric]

2 hours ago, Calmest_of_lakes said:

Now that I have given this more thought, I do have to agree with you. The class system really does feel tacked on. 

I like the idea of classes in some cases, its tricky, sometimes good sometimes bad so what I am about to say is not a 'anti' endorsement of classes but rather something to ponder.

Wurm = 100+ skills

Minecraft = no skill system. best selling game of all time

I am not saying that is a argument for one way or the other but rather evidence on the table that should provide all of our assumptions with a pause.

(I mention Wurm specifically because Notch worked on that project before starting minecraft)

[QueenGeeBee]

Ive thought about the class system since I started the game, and ive mostly come away with this stance.

I do not like classes being made different through exclusive crafting recipes. I understand you can turn off the exclusive recipes, but i want classes to be different in a gameplay sense vs unique items. I dont mind if some classes are better at crafting things, like maybe discounts on certain items, or producing multiple additional items like threads or arrows or whatever.

I think Hunter and Blackguard are decently balanced. Everyone can use a ranged weapon and hunt animals, but hunters get more out of ranged weapons and more animal drops. Everyone can wear heavy armor and engage in melee, but blackguards are more proficient at wearing that armor and swinging their swords.

The way i think they can make the classes more unique is to make mechanics that everyone can engage with, but improve how the specific classes perform them.

Tailors should get some kind of boon related to trading, because it would give them even more of a niche to comfortably sit in. Everyone could buy and sell things to a trader as normal, but maybe tailors can get a bonus gear here or there. I think its okay to give a class thats almost entirely just crafting recipes a strong bonus to lean on.

Clockmakers just need more jonas tech stuff to shine, and maybe like improving fuel efficiency or duration or whatever for the powered gear. Everyone can use the tech, but clockmakers can use them much longer would probably be ideal. Maybe they could have a bonus with bombs too, since bombs are complicated inventions and when i think inventors, i think gizmos and cool bombs.

I could see a dockworker/sailor class that actually makes boats theyre piloting faster / better fishing drops and maybe a faster swim speed, idk, could be fun.

[Broccoli Clock]

As I mentioned before, I like the classes, they can be turned off in singleplayer although the vast amount of stuff you can't craft due to a class restriction can be bought from the trader, the recursive bow for example, you don't need to be a hunter to buy/use one. They are pretty cheap too. It's in the multiplayer environment that it really shines though, allowing a much better level of streamlining skills.

What I would not like to see is a contextual class, which is quite common in other games. I've played a lot of 7 Days to Die, it has clothing items that affect the character, one of them is a hat that provides better barter prices. You can rock up to a trader, sans hat, ask for prices, then right in front of that person you can place the hat on your head and suddenly the prices of things are lower? That's beyond stupid.

You: "I want to buy that, but I don't have enough money"
Trader: "Oh, well, nothing I can do"
* you put on hat *
You: "How about now?"
Trader: "My what a fine hat, of course you can get a discount"

The 'choose a class and stick with it' (and if it all goes all Pete Tong then you at least can force the issue with a command line) I think works very well for this sort of game. A fluid one, I believe, would ruin the whole class structure (..the only class structure I don't want destroyed!)

[Bumber]

On 3/2/2026 at 4:44 PM, Zane Mordien said:

I wish they would buff the translocator to let it go further and the clockmaker should be able to repair it with one temporal gear and 2 rusty gears, set the teleportation range up to 10K and pick the direction. If that seems to powerful then maybe they could add a second temporal gear to pick the range and direction since they know how these things work.

We're presumably fixing something that's already linked to a destination. Maybe let us know the distance and direction before repair so we can know which ones to ignore.

[Broccoli Clock]

48 minutes ago, Bumber said:

We're presumably fixing something that's already linked to a destination. Maybe let us know the distance and direction before repair so we can know which ones to ignore.

Not going to lie, I like the antici..pation (as Dr Franken Furter would say) in finding out where I am when I translocate. I understand the frustration if you have had to grind in order to get the gears and it shoots you off in the least favourable direction and possibly only a short journey. Removing that gamble would make translocators, imo, pretty dull - albeit useful - as there would be no surprise. 

I don't know the lore behind translocators, maybe if there is some it can shed a light on how they are meant to act.

[LadyWYT]

7 hours ago, Broccoli Clock said:

I don't know the lore behind translocators, maybe if there is some it can shed a light on how they are meant to act.

The only lore I'm really aware of in that regard:

Spoiler

Tobias mentions that the plans he gave you for the rickety translocator are ones that he modified from Jonas's original plans in order to allow for easy pairing over long distances.

Judging by his description of possible side effects of the original translocators, it also sounds like they can be dangerous things to use for normal humans.

In any case, to state without spoilers, basically translocators are finicky things, and it seems very difficult to link them over long distances. Given how scrambled the world is, the broken translocators we're able to find and repair have perhaps lost their original links and thus need to search for whatever the most convenient link is. Thus it makes sense after a fashion that they might be more prone to connecting to other nearby translocators, rather than ones that are far away.

 

8 hours ago, Bumber said:

We're presumably fixing something that's already linked to a destination. Maybe let us know the distance and direction before repair so we can know which ones to ignore.

This would be nice, but it's the kind of thing I'd rather see as a feature for a player-built translocator. That way it's a cool late game piece of tech that the player can set up however they want to make travel between specific points easier. The repairable translocators would still be useful in the early game, just more of a gamble in order to keep it balanced.

 

16 hours ago, QueenGeeBee said:

I could see a dockworker/sailor class that actually makes boats theyre piloting faster / better fishing drops and maybe a faster swim speed, idk, could be fun.

It seems like a job that would be covered by Commoner, but on the other hand...having a proper Sailor option would be pretty cool, especially for more nautical playthroughs. That being said I'm not really sure what strengths/weaknesses the class could have that wouldn't overlap with the other existing classes, or that would keep Sailor a workable option for more land-based maps as well.