Best "Character Class System" in games?

[renegade7]

Dwarf Fortress: your dorfs all have "labors" that can be set on or off. They will perform tasks that the player sets based on their skill level relative to other dorfs with the same labor enabled, and will build up skill in those labors over time, and there are dozens. Some skills level up very quickly (mining, cooking) others very slowly (surgery, siege engineering). It's an interesting mechanic because it adds a massive layer of depth to traditional RTS classes and a lot of economic and strategic consideration.

Golden Sun: throughout the game you encounter creatures called Djinni. They correspond to the 4 alchemical elements, wind, earth, water, and fire, and they have their own stat increases and penalties that a character incurs by equipping them, which can even amount to changing the character's class. There's a lot of experimentation there, and I like that (because apparently I can't go a day without bringing up Golden Sun here).

Children of Mana: while really rather a forgettable entry in the Mana series, it did have a really neat class system. Your characters all have a grid, and you can change the character's abilities by placing gems in the grid. The effect of the gem was based both on the position in the grid and on its position relative to other gems. Throughout the game, you would acquire upgrades to the grid's size.

 

[sanquin]

I'd say any D&D based system. I like customization and a wide variety of talents/skill to pick from. I haven't seen anything more in-debt than what can come from D&D class systems. Okay, games like Neverwinter using 4.0 aren't that great...but anything 3.5 and before, yes please.

For instance, starting from a standard fighter class I could make:
-An archer
-A tank
-A melee dps
-A magic knight
-A spellblade
-A paladin (mixing with cleric)
-A spellbow
-etc

Starting from a basic mage I could make:
-A controller
-A dps
-A utility mage
-A battlemage
-A spellbow
-etc

And these are just some general class possibilities. It doesn't take into account specific talents, stat allocation, gear and it's enchantments, etc. A melee dps fighter could either be a heavy hitter, a critter or a grappler, to name a few possibilities.

 

[Danbo Jambo]

Mass Effect 1 nailed it for me. Enough variety to keep things interesting, but enough balance to make most classes playable and enjoyable (with the right team of course).

Dragon Age:Origins is up there with that too, with only the mundane-ness of the warrior class letting it down (which they addressed really well in awakenings with the addition of a few AOE talents)

 

[RoonMian]

Eve Online. Enough said. No classes at all, do whatever the fuck you like. Elder scrolls games go maybe a tiny little bit into that direction as well.

 

[Doom972]

I don't like having to pick a class because it always feels like an arbitrary limitation. I like games that allow me to make the character I want to play and Fallout 1 & 2, with their SPECIAL system do it the best. It a part of what gives those games so much replay value.

It's worth mentioning that Game of Thrones (The RPG) has a very similar system (It's pretty much SPECIAL in everything but name) except instead of picking traits, it allows you to pick specific advantages and flaws that must balance each other out. If this can be added to the original SPECIAL system, that would be awesome.

 

[Mister K]

I really like it when I am allowed to tailor characters in any way I like. For example, Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy X. Sure, party members from those games start in some role, but you can always switch it up a bit.

I'd also like to mention Souls games. You may start with a certain gear and (maybe) spell, but in the end you will always end up with the character YOU want to play, not one defined by the way you started.

 

[GoodOmens]

I'm not sure if it's a "class system" exactly, but I love the classes available for play in the roguelike TOME. In addition to some pretty standard ones (Berzerker, Archmage, Rogue) you've got access to (among others):
Oozemancer: Controls oozes, mucus and moss, and eventually becomes them.
Solopsist: A psionic who believes that the world is all a figment of his imagination, and that the giant snake isn't really eating him...and it works.
Paradox Mage: A mage who focuses on time and motion, as well as manipulating gravity, whose spells push the bounds of reality until, sometimes, reality strikes back
Doomed: After a failed deal with a demon, the Doomed has developed a hatred of all living things, and that Hatred manifests in psychic abilities
Marauder: A dual-wielding, dirty-fighting scrapper.

Then each class gets several talent tress (similar to Diablo or WOW) to further customize. Your Solopsist can focus on sleep abilities, or beams of pure mental force, or manifesting hammers from the Dream Forge. Your Doomed can learn to summon shadow minions or encase the world in darkness. Your Archmage can...win the game because they're crazy powerful.

 

[Ihateregistering1]

Although it's definitely an ARPG ala Diablo (as opposed to a Dragon Age or Baldur's Gate type RPG) I thought the character creation/class system in Titan Quest and Grim Dawn was really interesting and well done.

There are no real character classes to choose from. Instead, everyone starts off as a default level 1 character. Then when you hit level 2, you get to choose your first "Mastery", which is a broad archetype of the usual fantasy classes: warrior, tank, rogue, hunter, plus several different magic types (storm and lightning, necromancy, fire and earth, etc.). Each has its own individual skill trees.

Then, when you hit level 8 (or 10 in Grim Dawn) you can choose a second mastery, or not and just continue to focus on the first. Want to play an Assassin/Necromancer? Rogue and Spirit Mastery. A bad-ass fighter who uses cold based magic (Sub-Zero Wins!)? Choose Warfare and Storm. A Hunter/Archer who uses healing magic? Choose hunting and Nature. To add a little more depth, each combination has a different name, so there are technically over 16 different character classes. Good times.