Poll: Mage, Thief or Warrior?

[happyninja42]

Personally, I lean towards stealth in most games to start off with. Being sneaky, gaining info, and thinking things out before I take action is the way I operate.

Spoiler: As an aside, all paths in Elder Scrolls lead to Sneaky Archer.

I went Argonian Spellsword in my first time. It was pretty fun to interrupt the dragons' shout with a double-handed lightning bolt. But yeah, I sneaked all the time (to the point it reached the 100 skill points) and shot arrows to unsuspected enemies whenever I had the chance.

That's more an issue of restricting your own playstyle though. I LOVE stealth characters, but when I made characters that specifically weren't meant to be sneaky, because it didn't fit their background, I just had to remember not to do it. My Son of Talos, he never sneaked, he also never looted the cairns of his fallen kinsmen in the tombs, and lots of other unique things that were specific behaviors for him. I could've sneaked around with him sure, but it wouldn't fit the concept, so I didn't.

Just because Sneak and Archery are there, doesn't mean you have to use them. xD

 

[CaitSeith]

Personally, I lean towards stealth in most games to start off with. Being sneaky, gaining info, and thinking things out before I take action is the way I operate.

Spoiler: As an aside, all paths in Elder Scrolls lead to Sneaky Archer.

I went Argonian Spellsword in my first time. It was pretty fun to interrupt the dragons' shout with a double-handed lightning bolt. But yeah, I sneaked all the time (to the point it reached the 100 skill points) and shot arrows to unsuspected enemies whenever I had the chance.

That's more an issue of restricting your own playstyle though. I LOVE stealth characters, but when I made characters that specifically weren't meant to be sneaky, because it didn't fit their background, I just had to remember not to do it. My Son of Talos, he never sneaked, he also never looted the cairns of his fallen kinsmen in the tombs, and lots of other unique things that were specific behaviors for him. I could've sneaked around with him sure, but it wouldn't fit the concept, so I didn't.

Just because Sneak and Archery are there, doesn't mean you have to use them. xD

It was pretty much my first time playing a TES game. But for what I understood from the character creation description (and the starting skill points) Argonians tend to be sneaky and treacherous (even though Kaijits are considered the true masters of that art). So I rarely felt out-of-character when doing some sneak archery.

EDIT: And as part of the characterization, I opted to use light-armor only.

 

[Fijiman]

Usually I end up as a warrior-thief, sneaking around and getting the drop on people while taking everything that isn't nailed down, but not afraid to pull out the ax and smash some heads in when it's called for.

 

[Malfrun]

Warrior, sword and board.
I can't get more boring, right?

Nah, nothing boring about it. It can be really fun depending on the game. Some games are built so that you feel like a total badass playing a sword/board. Others, not so much. I personally enjoy all 3 playstyles, but it varies from game to game. Like Dragon Age 2, for all it's story faults, had a fun combat system that I really enjoyed. And it was one of the times in recent history, where I preferred to play a warrior instead of a mage/thief. I think it depends on how much combat momentum you have when you are diving into the thick of it. If you are constantly engaged, with some kind of attack, or defensive maneuver, triggering a reaction attack, etc, it feels really damn fun, and engaging, and leaves me wanting more.

But, since most games, well I won't say most, but a lot of games, don't balance it well, it tends to feel 1 Notey as a warrior. At least with the thief, I have more agency on how to deal with a problem, if the mechanics are sub par overall.

Yeah, you do feel pretty badass. I think what I like most about using a shield is that it makes the most sense in a real fight. I don't really believe you'd get nearly as far just two handing a weapon (dark souls is a perfect example). It is a video game though so I guess I shouldn't worry so much haha

 

[maninahat]

In theory, the mage. In practice, I've never played a mage class in a videogame that has ever been fun or well designed. In fact, most games that try to have the three will invariably fuck up at least one of them (especially if one of them is a mage), encouraging you to play the others.

 

[HybridChangeling]

Sneaking forever. Thief/Stealth class is all about finesse and find paths, cover, and avoiding noise and light, which is admittedly easy but never not entertaining, especially in Fallout. Nothing is more fun then lining up critical after critical as the enemies freak out at seemingly nothing dropping them. Whether it's a smartly done stealth game or a exploit fest, sneaking feels like the game at it's fullest. Mage always gets overpowered fast and warriors tactics never change other then just smacking things until it's over. People can rock those classes, but for me it's stealth all the way.

 

[Secondhand Revenant]

Mage! If I'm gonna be in a fantasy setting I tend to prefer to be something much less ordinary than a sword wielding humanoid.

This assumes they didn't make mage suck.

I'm also partial to a rogue because stealth is fun, but the games that seem to do stealth really well don't seem to be games where fighter and mage are an option.

Warrior is tolerable sometimes. Just not exciting enough to me.

 

[Shingeki no Gingerbeard]

I like barbarians and bows, so Warrior or Thief; depending on specific mechanics and campaign setting.

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

Theres always been a cathartic joy in hitting enemies with large weapons and shrugging off their attacks like they were swinging toy swords so I guess warrior has my vote. Too bad we tend to suffer late game (damn quadratic wizards)

 

[CrazyCapnMorgan]

Ever since I've found The Elder Scrolls and these kinds of character systems...

Spoiler: All I can say is

All of the above ^_^

 

[happyninja42]

I'm also partial to a rogue because stealth is fun, but the games that seem to do stealth really well don't seem to be games where fighter and mage are an option.

Almost like they devoted their time and energy to making a good stealth game. xD Of course, doesn't always work well, just look at the Thief reboot. *shudders*

 

[chocolate pickles]

Warriror usually. I find in most games, good armour/weapons and a high hp pool will get you through most situations, whereas if your playing a physically weak rouges or mages, you usually will get stomped at some point.

 

[Secondhand Revenant]

I'm also partial to a rogue because stealth is fun, but the games that seem to do stealth really well don't seem to be games where fighter and mage are an option.

Almost like they devoted their time and energy to making a good stealth game. xD Of course, doesn't always work well, just look at the Thief reboot. *shudders*

Well... yeah exactly XD

In non-stealth focused games it tends to feel more like an advantage in combat than its own proper method

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Always sneaking...thiefing, err...thieving. But in a good way, right? Hopefully with knives and the odd magic involved. Playing Magicka 2 recently has installed some appreciation of the colourful arts. But stealthy, sneaky theiving thief always. There feels more challenge and greater feeling of achievement from successfully pulling off thought provoking plans. The tense feeling is almost horror-like in certain games. Even JC3 i been doing as stealthily as the mechanics allow.

 

[RedDeadFred]

It really depends entirely on the game for me. I voted warrior though since the most recent game I've been playing with this kind of system was Guild Wars 2 and I mained warrior for the longest time. Now I play revenant which is mostly a warrior type, but with some mage influence (as far as gameplay goes anyway).

However, in Elder Scrolls games, my first and favourite character is always a Dunmer assassin, followed by a Breton mage.

When I played Diablo 3, I picked barabarian since that appeared to be the easiest class to do solo play with.

In Torchlight 2, I played the Ember Mage because blinking around wile firing off the multi-shot skill (can't remember its name) because that was the most fun playstyle.

So ya, open to all, but I think I tend to play warriors more often, especially in multiplayer games where they are often the most self-sufficient.

 

[zidine100]

Mage.

They are just to damn versatile.

For example

Can a warrior summon a fireball. No. But a mage can cast a spell to buff his strength and armour and fight light a warrior. (depending on the rule set)

Can a theif call lightning down open his foes? No. But a mage can open locks and make themself invisible.

 

[The Enquirer]

It depends on the mechanics of the game, but I tend to prefer the concept of sneaking around, even in shooters and taking out primary targets or objectives.

Though full guns blazing can be pretty damned fun if I do say so myself. I've never been much of a mage.

 

[Proto Taco]

In case my badges and avatar weren't transparent enough, I'm fond of the shadows.

Although I've found I tend to play rogues a bit different than most. If the game allows me I always like to try and sneak by without ever alerting anyone I was even there. I also enjoy the option to use my charisma to talk my way out of tough scrapes, but if I must kill someone I prefer it to be quick and clean with a X30 Sneak Attack buff or something of that ilk. I tend not to snipe or use bows a lot simply because you never know what casually approaching with a quick grin will get you. If it gets you in trouble that's what the daggers up your sleeves are for.

My favorite 'rogue games' so far have to be Mark of the Ninja, for sneaking and stealth combat, and Shadowrun Returns (pretty much any of them) for the charisma and quick talking. Assassin's Creed is OK, for combat, but it gets tedious fast, so I've never been too enthralled by it.

Bethesda on the other hand....well Bethesda never changes, and they tend to treat stealth less as a gameplay mechanic and more like a damage buff, so I tend not to rely on them for my stealth fix.

That said, I IMMENSELY enjoyed rising to the head of the Dark Brotherhood, assassinating the Emperor and then sitting smugly across the table from Maven Black-Briar while she threatened to have her 'contacts' in the Dark Brotherhood assassinate me if I crossed her...If only she knew.....

 

[Mike000]

Definitely depends on the system.
Vancian (pre-memorized) magic is a crap design, but is still better than a d20's "curve."

But in a well-designed ruleset, a magically-enhanced fighter or rogue is usually tons more fun than a "pure" anything. See: the Witcher, for example.

 

[MrCalavera_v1legacy]

Paladin... that's what i would said in the old days.

Nowadays i go sneaky beaky if game allows me(that is, if it doesn't gimp my attempts too much). Warriors are overplayed and with mage you frequently have to spend some time in the meek phase, before becoming someone that can stand on his own.