This is a guide on how to choose the right class for you. Despite what zealots will tell you, there is no one “best class” - the best class is the one you enjoy playing the most! This guide aims to help you choose a class that you will enjoy. Even the class that does the most damage isn’t necessarily the best, as the abilities and weapon variation balance things out.
First: a quick flowchart for those who don’t have any preconceived opinions on classes and want to take a conservative, fairly safe approach to building and maxing multiple characters, courtesy of Dalla (see original forum post here):
If you want some more detail, read on (the following is taken from this guide).
The first class you’ll encounter when you start RotMG, the wizard is a long-range pure offensive class designed for dealing the maximum amount of damage to a single target from medium to long range. It plays the role of the “glass cannon”: while capable of dealing high single-target damage via staff and spell, the Wizard is also the most fragile of classes (with moderate/low health and def caps and average speed). Wizards are most useful when used in the godlands and against single, high-health targets such as Oryx (1/2), Sphinx, Thessal, and the Tomb Trio.
Who would want a wizard? Those looking for a class to farm pots in the godlands (unmaxed or maxed) and to do tombs and wine cellars reliably and efficiently would be well served by a wizard. Wizards are also decent at doing non-cube/skull event bosses: the Pentaract, Sphinx, Hermit, and Landlord are all easy handled by wizards. Through spell-bombing (using the spell many times generally directed at one target), they can easily claim soulbound loot on practically any
monster in the game.
Who would not want a wizard? Those who like playing recklessly would be poorly served by a wizard. Wizards are also deficient in the areas of mob control, rushing, and team support; and those looking for a class to do those things should look elsewhere. Although wizard is generally regarded as a flexible and powerful class, low survivability is an important flaw of the wizard. Those with poor Internet connection may also find their “spellbombs” not landing completely on the enemy, no matter how much skill they have.
Necromancers are a hybrid between the wizard and the priest - a medium-to-long range, staff-wielding class with a healing ability. While lacking the pure damage of a wizard, its healing ability, while situational, boosts survivability over wizard.
Who would want a Necromancer? Those who enjoy staff classes but die often as wizards should definitely consider playing necromancer. Necromancers do quite well at farming pots in the Godlands even without a good Pet (unmaxed or maxed) and can solo dungeons moderately well. Necromancer also possesses superior team-support abilities over the wizard, making them ideal in a group. They also perform well against the Landlord, Hermit, Pentaract, Sphinx, and Skull. The good DPS and ease of use of the staff, combined with a healing ability, make Necro the ideal training class for newbies looking for their first maxed character.
Who would not want a necro? Those looking for a class that does one thing well should not consider necro; in many ways it’s a jack of all trades and a master of none. Its damage is poorer than that of a wizard, its heal is less reliable than that of a priest, and its performance against events is outshined by all other long-ranged classes except perhaps sorcerer. Due to the skull’s reliance on enemy numbers to heal, Necros heal very poorly against single targets such as sphinx and tomb bosses, and in these situations becomes little more than a crippled wizard without a spellbomb; those who intend to do these kinds of encounters often should definitely look elsewhere.
Mystic is one of the more unusual of RotMG’s classes - a fast (60 speed) staff class with an ability that neither directly impedes the enemy nor benefits the player, but instead stops combat from occurring. While mystics in the hands of poor players and trolls have given it a bad reputation as a griefing/trolling class, a well-used mystic is quite powerful and is capable of a unique and extremely powerful form of team support.
Who would want a mystic? The mystic is the ultimate class for those who enjoy strategy - the stasis allows mystics to control a battle, rather than to simply kill enemies or heal teammates. Due to its speed, and its ability to put almost any enemy out of commission for a short time, mystics also do well at rushing dungeons. Those who wish to provide long-ranged team support at events will enjoy the mystic’s ability to stasis enemies around a stasis-immune boss, allowing the entire team to focus fire on the boss itself rather than its minions. Its most significant niche is probably the Tomb of the Ancients, where its combination of speed, long range, and stasis make it extremely useful to have, especially in “buffed” or “dirty” tombs where two or more bosses are awakened at once. With an orb of conflict, the mystic can meet (or even exceed, for high-DEF enemies) a non-spellbombing wizard in burst DPS.
Who would not want a mystic? The mystic is not a straightforward class to play, and those who just want to shoot enemies and spam their abilities should not consider a mystic. The mystic also lacks the sustained DPS of its staff-class stablemates, the wizard and the necromancer. Furthermore, the mystic is extremely unforgiving with the Orb of Conflict - at 90 speed, it’s extremely easy to slam into an enemy before one can react, making it a poor choice for those with poor reflexes.
The priest is a long-range healing class. Although it does the lowest DPS of any class in the game, its powerful healing ability can keep it, and its teammates, alive.
Who would want a priest? Played conservatively, priests are, bar none, the safest class in the game. Those looking for a forgiving, easy-to-play class should look no further. Priests are also the class of choice for dedicated team-support players. Beyond that, priests are probably the most versatile class in the game - equally capable at soloing and at team play, and capable to defeat any boss in the game. Those who want a class that can do everything will enjoy the priest.
Who would not want a priest? With horrendous DPS, especially against single targets, the priest is not a good class for those who are impatient. The priest’s low DPS also means it fares poorly when competing for soulbound loot with heavy-damage classes, and in these situations it is rare for a priest to get loot; those looking to get soulbound on everything should choose a DPS class instead. Pre-Pet builds, players expected priests to heal them and rage when they don’t; players uncomfortable with this situation should not play Priest.
The Sorcerer is a long-range pure offense class. Its ability, the scepter, allows it to do soulbound damage across a large number of targets.
Who would want a sorc? Sorcerers, with their high speed, long range, and high vitality make very safe damage dealers capable of doing damage safely and efficiently. Their ability, the scepter, allows them to strike a large number of targets with a small amount of damage instantaneously, making them the single best godlands group-based pot farmer. Sorcerers excel at crowd-control, which makes them strong candidates for those who often play in groups.
Who would not want a sorc? Sorcerers do rather poor single-target DPS with their wands, and in terms of pure offense are completely outclassed by wizards, which is preferred by many offensive players. It also doesn’t perform that well against event bosses. In short; if you’re not looking for a godlands potfarmer, look elsewhere.
You may be surprised to see me group two classes into one section, but there’s a good reason. Both of these classes wield bows, wear leather armor, and carry identical stat caps. Their gameplay is very similar in most respects, with some differences based on their abilities that I’ll cover in a separate subsection.
Who would want an archer or huntress? Bow classes excel at mob control due to piercing, and can mow through mobs from lowlands to godlands with little effort. Both classes also do well against non-cube/skull events. Coral bow turns them into the best solo godlands potfarmer in the game, and doom bow allows them to complete the Tomb with ease. Their abilities also offer powerful mob control abilities, allowing them to slow, paralyze, or (with archer) daze enemies to help themselves and their teammates.
Who would not want an archer or huntress? Bow classes, being medium-range classes, have shorter ranges than staff and wand classes but lack of extra speed or defense possessed by dagger and sword classes; this can be quite frustrating at times, especially in wine cellars. Without the UT bows, they also struggle in tombs due to the spread and piercing on three-shot bows. When unmaxed, they are terrible at giving soulbound damage with tiered bows at long range. The bow is one of the rare cases where med-high tier (T8-10 or so) weapons cannot really substitute the top-tier or UT weapons due to a comparatively poor performance. If you cannot get your hands on a UT bow or T11+ bow before using these classes, you’ll have an incredibly hard time until maxed.
Which one: archer or huntress? This is a classic debate, with numerous arguments running for both. In general, archer has an edge over huntress when dealing with bosses due to the range, precision, and piercing of the quiver (not to mention higher damage for less MP), while huntress’ AOE-effect traps give it an edge against mobs and in dungeons such as abyss. While able to reach the target at a higher speed, quivers generally require one to be more accurate in order to hit an enemy; whereas traps take longer to affect the enemy but have a large AOE.
For further reading:
The rogue is a fast, medium-ranged character with an ability that can shroud it from enemy view for a limited time. The cloak means that enemies will not fire at rogues, but it does not shield them from shots fired by omnidirectionally-shooting enemies or enemies shooting at other players, leading to the common occurrence of a rogue being “killed” by another player.
Who would want a rogue? Rogues are an excellent maxed class for those who like to play alone. Their cloak makes them capable of quickly and efficiently destroying godland pentaracts, cubes, and skulls, and soloing difficult encounters such as the Tomb, allowing a skilled rogue player to gain wealth very quickly; as a result, rogues are often the class of choice for those looking to obtain a large amount of loot in a short amount of time. Rogues are also the best class for those who like to rush dungeons. Rogues are great for adrenaline junkies - their high speed, combined with the inherent risk associated with playing them makes rogue a very exciting class to play.
Who would not want a rogue? The inherent risk associated with playing as a rogue makes them a poor choice for those looking for a safe class to play. Rogues also have limited use in team play (aside from rushing dungeons to allow non-cloaked players to bypass enemies when reaching a certain objective, e.g. a sarcophagus in a tomb) Also, rogues are relatively inefficient at farming the godlands and don’t do that well against large bosses that fire in all directions (Sphinx and Thessal in particular). Also, those with laggy connections should avoid the rogue, which is the most vulnerable to dying due to lag of all the classes.
The assassin is a medium-ranged dagger fighter that trades the defensive abilities of the other two classes for a long-ranged AoE DoT attack. Its poison is considered to be among the easiest ways to obtain soulbound loot in the game, and as a result assassins are often used in wine cellars.
Who would want an assassin? Those looking to get good loot while playing in a team against event bosses are best served by the assassin, whose poison allows them to gain soulbound damage easily from a safe distance. The assassin is in particular the class of choice for those who wish to get loot at wine cellars (even unmaxed).
Who would not want an assassin? The assassin makes a poor solo class due to the inefficiency of using poison as a primary damage tool: as a hit-and-run attacker with a long recharge time, the assassin simply takes too long to kill anything without resorting to its dagger, which it cannot use without taking a lot of risk (as it lacks the defensive cloak or decoy of the other two dagger classes). It’s also extremely tricky to use against bosses with short periods of vulnerability due to the delay between tossing a poison and the poison landing; if you intend to farm dungeons, don’t use an assassin.
The trickster, like the other two dagger classes, is a medium-ranged fighter with high speed. Where it differs is its ability, the decoy, which is perhaps the most complex and difficult to master ability in RotMG. When the decoy is used, the player teleports to the mouse, and a decoy is generated that walks about eight squares (to the top of the screen, if you’re using off-centered view) in the direction that the player was going. Successful use of the trickster rests on juggling both the decoy and the teleport while dodging and doing damage to the enemy, which makes the trickster one of the most difficult classes to use in the game.
Who would want a trickster? The trickster is the class of choice for people looking for a high-damage dagger class that can do solo and group play equally well. The decoy allows the trickster to perform well doing cubes and skulls, and its high DPS (the best of the dagger classes) gives it the ability to perform well against large bosses such as Thessal and Sphinx as well. Tricksters excel at rushing, with the ability to teleport away from danger. Trickster is known for being an extremely fun class to play due to high speed, teleport, and the complexity of using the decoy; those who want excitement should look no further.
Who would not want a trickster? The trickster is often considered the hardest class to master in RotMG and is extremely unforgiving if used improperly (teleporting onto a boss will spell instant death, and this happens often to newbies used to putting their mouse on an enemy and hitting space with other classes) which makes it a very poor choice for inexperienced players. Trickster is also not particularly efficient for farming events - while fully capable of taking them on, it takes time for a trickster to place a decoy and take advantage of it; those looking for pure event-farming efficiency should look a a rogue or melee class instead.
The ninja is a close-range DPS class capable of doing immense damage to a large number of enemies at once. Capable of the highest speed in the game through a speed boost that continuously drains mana while it is applied, the ninja is incredibly adept at dodging, and has some standoff firepower in the form of a shuriken that pierces obstacles (but not enemies). It’s incredible DPS and speed are offset by its fragility - for a class that must get into melee range (4.2) of an enemy, it’s relatively fragile and can easily be shot up by enemies.
Who would want a ninja? Ninjas are a great all-around class for those who like to “go deep”. With respectable DPS and ability to pierce targets for even more damage on multiple targets (or single targets mobbed by minions), the ninja can dish out punishment to any enemy that it reaches. It also boasts the highest speed in the game, making it an excellent rusher and map-traverser, and can move with a great deal of precision due to the instant toggle-ability of the star. The shuriken offers some stand-off firepower for getting SB on targets that the ninja can’t get close to.
Who would not want a ninja? The ninja is a class that must get close to its enemies, but is relatively fragile. As a result, it’s a high-risk class, and is a poor choice for people looking for safe classes with which to build up wealth. Also, it’s extremely expensive to max - high stat caps make the ninja prohibitively expensive for people without a large amount of wealth in reserve. Furthermore, people with laggy connections or laggy computers should approach the ninja with caution - a combination of high speed and a ability that is meant to be switched on and off quickly make the ninja extremely dangerous to play under laggy conditions, client-side or server-side.
The warrior is a pure offense class. Capable of the highest sustained DPS in the game, and equipped with an ability that increases it even further, it’s capable of pounding most enemies to dust in seconds. However, it’s limited by its short range.
Who would want a warrior? Warriors, along with tricksters, are considered one of the most fun classes to play in Realm by many veterans. Those who want to farm skulls and cubes would be well served by a warrior - at 4.5k DPS when boosted, the warrior can shred through a cube or skull in mere seconds while dodging the attacks using a speed boost on a tiered helm or taking the attacks with the armor boost from jugg. Warrior’s high DPS also makes it excellent for use against other events, and nets it soulbound in any high-competition situation.
Who would not want a warrior? Warriors lack the healing of the paladin or the stuns of the knight, relying heavily on the user’s skill to dodge enemy attacks. This makes them unsuitable for those new to melee, or those uncomfortable with dodging at close range. Like all melees, warriors are inefficient at pot-farming in the godlands; those who wish to do so should invest in a ranged class instead.
The knight is the tank of RotMG. With over 80 defense when geared up and maxed, and 75 vitality, it can eat bullets; and, with the shield, can stop enemies from shooting altogether.
Who would want a knight? Those who want a tank should look no further. Knights also are the single best all-around eventer in the realm, eminently capable of taking on all the event bosses and killing them whether solo or in a group. Their stun makes them the most versatile melee class, giving them both the ability to stop a large enemy from firing and to decimate small mobs. Knights are also the best class for newbies who want to try out melee for the first time, since its high defense and stun ability make it extremely forgiving.
Who would not want a knight? Knights are expensive to max and to gear up - They are good for those who have accumulated a good amount of wealth and are trying out maxed melee classes for the first time. They are arguably the worst farmer in the Godlands out of the melee classes, but the Stun is a tool which gives the Knight an edge over the other melees, also being able to tank hits without getting much damage.
The paladin is a healing melee class. It’s capable of doing signficant damage from up close, but is also capable of both boosting teammates’ damage and healing.
Who would want a paladin? Those who want a melee class, but who are frustrated at the slow recovery time of the warrior and the knight should choose the paladin, whose 75 wisdom and healing ability allow it to get back into a battle very quickly. It’s also great for team support, and use of the oreo seal (Seal of Blasphemous Prayer UT) allow a paladin to take on cubes and skulls without losing a significant amount of health.
Who would not want a paladin? Paladins lack the efficiency of knights and warriors at events - they lack both the pure DPS of warriors and the powerful stun and defense of knights, and the 1.4 second oreo boost only lets them get in two or three hits before they have to retreat (this becomes even less effective when dealing with minions surrounding the boss). Timing is also crucial with paladins; those who cannot keep track of time and those with high-latency internet connections (which can induce a pause between hitting spacebar and receiving the invulnerability/healing) should not use one.
The forum threads for Dalla’s flowchart and Tarbomb’s class guide contain some enlightening discussion on the merits of different classes - check it out!
For information on class-specific gameplay, see the class guides.
Class DPS wiki page.
