I want to help, but my opinion that all the classes are give or take equally strong right now means I can’t really…
What should I do now?
I think there are too many things that we can’t really have a BEST class or a WORST class. Every class has stuff it’s good at. Melees, for example, are effective at rushing abysses while ranged classes are safer to play for bosses such as Oryx 2 and FFA Tomb. Melees are riskier in FFA Tombs and Oryx 2, while ranged classes usually are weaker at rushing abysses (exceptions include Necro with strong pet, prot, Mystic with stronger pet, etc)
The few classes I see a lot of hate for though, I’ll seek to defend here:
Assassin: It might not be the class that excels at doing a lot of DPS or having a very nice ability, but it is really easy to play. The poison can land soulbound easily, and it helps for crowd control as well. His balanced leather defense is nice for players who are newer and not as experienced, and thus benefit from the run and gun style.
Samurai: Prior to the buff, I disliked this class too, but now with the 30 defense it has, I see it as a somewhat squishy melee that provides a piercing attack. For the most part, swords cannot pierce (and the one that does, Indomptable, is quite rare). Thus, Samurai’s ability to clear out lots of minions or gods quickly via its pierce makes it a very viable class, and with a CC you can even comfortably rush abyss. The waki is nice for dealing a burst of damage and inflicting a useful debuff in the process.
Huntress: Archer’s very good, and I’m an Archer fanboy too. But there is also something to be said for Huntress. The ability is much easier to use. It stays around, unlike the quiver which has to be aimed like a sniper shot. CTrap is much easier to paralyze things with than a quiver, and even the slowed that most tiered traps inflict can be useful, especially when the enemies cannot be paralyzed. Since Huntress differs from archer only in its ability, and I think the ability is quite nice to have as an option, I’ll leave this bit here.
Sorcerer: Like the assassin, this class doesn’t have an ability like it’s staff counterpart Wizard that does a crazy amount of damage. But also, like assassin, it’s really easy to use. I find my sorcerer to be very enjoyable to play when I feel lazy and don’t even want to aim a parasite spell on my wizard. It’s always a nice feeling to hit enemies that aren’t even on your screen yet, and reap a nice pot from them in the glands. In endgame dungeons, the sorcerer tends to get outclassed, but I find it enjoyable to play anyways.
Mystic: This class is excellent, and with certain items (Conflict) becomes extremely powerful. It’s very nice for crowd control and group rushes, and the curse ability can seriously help the group’s DPS. Bad mystic players who stasis recklessly and annoy other players give the class a bad name, but when played effectively, the class can be incredibly good.
Ninja: It’s not tanky, but it does big damage. If you want the pierce with more defense, go do a samurai. If you like the spicy life, play a ninja (I love how he shoots fast and with a doku can shred through gods lazily). It’s not for everyone, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a very fun class to play.
Trickster: I’m too lazy to keep typing another paragraph, but long story short, Trix is very similar to Ninja. Pressing spacebar accidentally can be instant death, but when played well, the decoy can act as both a stun and a paralyze, locking an enemy in place while other classes attack it. I personally have found myself loving the trickster who decoyed O2 so my warrior could get soulbound safely and comfortably.
Bottom line: I think many of these classes get hate because they don’t align with the playstyles of certain players. Some people don’t like the strategic play of tricksters and mystics, others want a class that excels and are willing to play harder classes like Ninja for that. Others don’t like the lazier classes of assassin and sorc because they are fine with increased difficulty for increased reward.
