Though some classes may shine at different things, there is no objectively best class. Even the class that does the most damage isn’t necessarily the best, as the abilities and weapon variation balance things out. This guide aims to help you choose a class that you’ll enjoy playing. Note that when you first start playing, you will have little option in class choice.
Factors you should consider include strengths and weaknesses, how experienced you are at surviving, whether you intend to max the character, and the stats of your pet. A powerful pet with Heal and Magic Heal improves survivability even more than maxed VIT and WIS.
Usually, your main goal will be to max your character’s stats. It is often helpful to create a separate account/character for pot farming with a good class for the godlands. Mules (alternative accounts used for storage) are also helpful.
For information on class-specific gameplay, see the class guides. There is a page for a comparison of classes’ damage per second.
The Wizard is the first class you’ll encounter when you start RotMG. He is a long-range glass cannon, designed for dealing maximum damage to a single target from medium to long range. He is capable of both insane burst and sustained damage from long range, but Wizards tend to struggle with bulk.
Who would want a Wizard?
Those looking for a class to farm pots in the godlands (unmaxed or maxed) and to do endgame content when maxed reliably and efficiently would be well served by a Wizard. The combination of spells (aimed directly on a target) and staff give many opportunities for soulbound claiming and pure damage alike.
Who would not want a Wizard?
Wizards aren’t especially frail once you have maxed Defense, but fraility is still a big issue (doubly so without a healing pet). Wizards also have no utility; no (de)buff, poor speed, are poor rushers, etc.
Players with poor internet connection may also find their “spellbombs” not landing completely on the enemy, no matter how skillful they are. Even if you are skilled, most spells are quite difficult (if not impossible) to aim.
The Priest is a extra-long-range healing class. Although they have low defensive stats and even lower offenses, their range and powerful healing ability can keep themselves and thir group alive even through the toughest of battles.
Who would want a Priest?
Played conservatively, Priest is, 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: being able to support the lives of entire groups of players at a time.
Beyond that, Priests are a very versatile class - equally capable at soloing and at team play, and capable of defeating almost any boss in the game (given ample time). The piercing is a nice plus. A wide array of UT statuses only support this fact. A Tome of Holy Protection grants Armored, which easily makes up for your Robe defense. The Tome of Purification is one of the few items that can cure statuses (though sadly, on yourself). Other tomes can give Speedy (helps with rushing) or quite a bit of offensive capability.
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. Players might rely on you, and rage if they don’t get healed (much more prevalent before the advent of pets).
Necromancers are a hybrid between the Wizard and the Priest; a medium-to-long range, DPS-centric, staff-wielding class. They have the ability to steal HP to simultaneously heal teammates and damage foes. While lacking the pure damage of a Wizard, the healing, coupled with the natural HP bonuses from Skulls, makes them far more durable than your average Wizard.
Who would want a Necromancer?
Those who enjoy staff classes but die often as Wizards should definitely consider playing Necromancer. With the long range of the staff, superior bulk (due to Skull HP), healing, and pretty good DPS, the Necro is an ideal training class for newbies looking for their first maxed (or 4/8) character.
Necromancers (unmaxed or maxed) do very well at farming pots in the Godlands even without a good pet, and can solo dungeons moderately well. They are even better for dealing with events like the Skull Shrine, thanks to the massive amount of minions to heal from.
Who would not want a Necromancer?
Those looking for a class that does one thing well should not consider a Necro; in many ways it’s a jack of all trades and a master of none. Its damage is inferior to a Wizard and its heal is less reliable than that of a Priest.
The Necromancer is often overshadowed by the Wizard. Assuming you can survive with both classes, Wizards are just outright better when there is a singular target - which includes most Dungeons. (If you can’t survive consistently, there’s an obvious difference)
The Mystic is one of the more unusual of RotMG’s classes - a fast staff class with an ability that doesn’t directly impeds the enemy, but instead temporarily stops combat from occurring. They also inflict a debuff that increases damage dealth on enemies. While Mystics in the hands of poor players and trolls have given them a bad reputation as a griefing/trolling class, a well-used Mystic is quite powerful, 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. Stasis can help control an otherwise overwelming force of enemies, while keeping a stasis-immune boss damagable. All the while, the Curse debuff increases the damage of the entire group.
Mystics are a very strong rushing class, due to their speed and ability to outright disable most enemies. Very useful for solo dungeon farming, especially as they can further boost their speed with the Soul of the Bearer or the rarer Orb of Conflict.But this utility is no more prevalent than in “fullskip” Lost Halls runs, where Mystics help the whole group rush through the dungeon. Mystics generally have a wide variety of purposes in all sorts of group scenarios, in addition to their generally useful Curse.
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. Both the Wizard and Necromancer have superior offensive capabilities, not taking the Mystic’s buffs into account.
Furthermore, if you are using an orb which provides Speedy (Soul of the Bearer or Orb of Conflict) it can be difficult to control so beware as you can easily slam into things.
On a more meta level, Mystics have a tendency of being one of the least-appreciated classes in the entire game, and making a mistake (or in more extreme cases, doing your job right) can result in them being flamed by other players. Players that are uncomfortable with this risk should likely try to ensure that they know the strategy of the class inside and out before taking the Mystic into battle.
The Sorcerer is a long-ranged, fast, pure offense class which lacks the raw damage of staff classes but compensates with the extended damage of a wand class. His ability, the scepter, allows him to dish out spammable, instantaneous burst damage across a large number of targets at once, which scales well with their Wisdom stat.
Who would want a Sorcerer?
Sorcerers, with their high speed, long range, and high vitality, are very safe damage dealers. Their ability, the scepter, allows them to strike a large number of targets instantaneously, making them the single best godlands group-based pot farmer. With low MP costs on the scepter, maxed Sorcerers can inflict massive amounts of damage on many enemies by simply spamming the ability. Sorcerers excel at crowd-control, which makes them strong candidates for those who often play in groups.
Who would not want a Sorcerer?
Sorcerers do considerably lower damage than staff classes, even with their scepters. While certain UTs (namely the Lumiaire) make up for this, Sorcerers still have a relative lack of single target damage.
While they do have their unique advantages, in the end, against most bosses, the Sorcerer is seen as an jack of all stats and an in-between of Wizard and Priest. Like all other robe classes, he is quite squishy, and will die very quickly if the player isn’t careful.
The Bard is a class who uses a bow and wears robes. Unlike their more offensively-oriented cousins, the Bard takes on a support role, using the Lute to buff the range of allies and provide other benefits to themselves and their teammates.
Who would want a Bard?
The Bard is a good choice for players that are both patient and team-oriented. Bards are most notable for their ability, which buffs both range and defense - helping the group approach safely. Inspired also increases shot speed, which generally increases accuracy.
As a solo player (or if there’s other Bards around), a fairly high DEX gives a good damage output. Most UT bows are single shot, taking full advantage of Inspired - letting a Bard deal full damage from a wand range. A selection of untiered lutes (like the Snake Charmer Pungi) give extra utility. Tiered lutes give a DEF buff both on-equip and on-use, giving them a bit more bulk than the average robe class.
Who would not want a Bard?
Bards struggle most with their weapon choice, the bow. The tiered bows’ optimal range is not improved by Inspired, while wearing a robe (as opposed to leather) makes it harder to approach enemies in the first place. While UT bows alleviate this issue, the reliance on said UTs is often difficult for newer players.
The Lute also messes up certain items, namely the Sword of the Colossus. As that sword converges at the end of its range, and lutes increase range, inconsistent lute usage can screw players over. Note that this is an endgame item: like the Mystic, you can get flamed for this, but usually only in endgame quality groups.
The Summoner is an incredibly long-ranged offensive class who can summon up to 3 minions that follow the player’s cursor while attacking. While their DPS is somewhat lacking compared to other offense-oriented classes, the versatility and range of their summons provides them utility and unparalleled safety.
Who would want a Summoner?
With the extended range of a Wand and the ability to deal consistent damage anywhere the cursor can reach, the Summoner is possibly the safest non-Priest class in the entire game. Combining the DPS of their weapon and minions can result in the Summoner outputting respectable amounts of damage from an incredibly long range, allowing players to contribute to group battles without needing to approach danger.
Players that appreciate a more strategic approach to battle may also appreciate a Summoner, as their ability to precisely move and position summons can significantly improve the Summoner’s performance, and lend them utility in combat when in the hands of an experienced player.
Who would not want a Summoner?
In terms of damage output, a Summoner fares poorly against other DPS-centric classes like the Wizard, and if they are unable to summon their minions for some reason, this gap only increases. UTs like the Lumiaire (again) close the gap, but only if you can get them first.
The main appeal of the Summoner, the summons, are also their main downfall. Even with MP buffs and recovery, continously using the Mace to replace expired summons is prohibitively expensive, necessitating careful timing of summons in order to maximize DPS. In addition, players who dislike micromanagement may not like the Summoner, as it requires players to be holding down the Control Summon key and redirecting their minions almost constantly, while also focusing on their own shots and those of the enemy.
The Rogue is a fast, medium-ranged character with an ability that can shroud it from enemy view for a limited time, making it the ideal class for sneaking past foes, rushing dungeons, or soloing bosses.
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 build up wealth very quickly.
Rogues are a great class for those looking to obtain a large amount of loot in a short amount of time, especially given that they’re a great 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. A backup Rogue is great for gathering DEF potions from Toxic Sewers and Abysses of Demons if you are maxed and have at least a good rare pet.
Who would not want a Rogue?
Rogues are not team players. If enemies are shooting at your allies anyway, invisibility won’t help you. Outside of rushing, Rogues don’t offer much to the group, themselves. A few UT items (Cloak of Bloody Suprises and Collector’s Monocole) can at least give endgame Rogues damage, though are difficult to obtain.
The Rogue playstyle is also inherently risky. Laggy connections can leave you in the middle of a group of enemies, uncloaked. Rushing in general can be dangerous. Also, without much range, Rogue’s aren’t the most efficent in the actual godlands. Finally, Rogue heavily competes with Trickster; the latter can rush faster, support a group, and if skilled enough, will avoid damage all the same.
You may be surprised to see these two classes grouped 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 the differences based on their abilities that will be covered in a separate subsection.
Who would want an Archer or Huntress?
Bow classes excel at crowd control due to their wide spread and piercing shots, and can mow through mobs from lowlands to godlands with little effort. Their abilities 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 have pretty decent range, but not as much as the robe classes. But in order to use tiered bows effective, you have to get up close, without the benefit of heavy armor. Fresh Archers/Huntresses are terrible at dealing damage at long range.
The whole purpose of these two classes, crowd control and status infliction, are less useful in endgame dungeons. Players who haven’t maxed a class should not worry, but as more bosses are immune to both Slow and Paralyse, these classes become less useful to a group. Most dungeons are single target, making single shot UT bows much more desirable (so tiered bows are less useful).
Which one: Archer or Huntress?
This is a classic debate, with numerous arguments running for both. In general, the Archer has an edge over the Huntress when dealing with bosses due to the range, precision, cheaper ability cost, and availablity of paralyze on tiered quivers. However, the Huntress’s traps give her an edge against spread out mobs and in dungeons such as Abysses. 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 are generally far more forgiving when it comes to landing them. The better class for you comes down to which ability you prefer; quiver or trap?
The Assassin is a medium-ranged dagger class that trades the evasive abilities of the other two dagger classes for a long-ranged AoE attack that deals unmitigatable damage over time. 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 places such as Wine Cellars.
Who would want an Assassin?
Assassins are masters of hit and run tactics. Their poison range is infinite, their speed high, and their damage decent. A few uses of the poison is all you need to guarantee soulbound damage (thus, loot at all). Poisons deal damage in a wide area over time, which helps in crowd clearing.
Assassin has few group roles, but the Crystallised Fang’s Venom is one of two (realistic) ways to inflict the devastating Armor Break status, and the poison can very occasionally be used to kill bosses through invulnerability phases. It is also the strongest dagger class.
Who would not want an Assassin?
The Assassin is a class without much of an identity past “get soulbound”. It might be the best DPS dagger class, but the majority of daggers are quite weak compared to similar weapons. That doesn’t even consider that dagger range is often just uncomfortable enough to really approach with. But even Tricksters aren’t far behind, thanks to their superior offensive stats.
The Trickster, like the other two dagger classes, is a medium-ranged fighter with high speed. Her signature Prism provides a combination of teleportation and decoying abilities, which while difficult to master can provide incredible benefits in terms of mobility, enemy control, and damage avoidance.
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 easily bait out or ward off a number of dangerous enemies and bosses that chase or use targeted attacks, and its high DPS (technically best of the dagger classes) gives it the ability to perform well against larger bosses as well. Tricksters excel at rushing, with their ability to teleport allowing them to blitz through dungeons or simply get out of danger if the going gets rough. 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 and great challenge should look no further.
Who would not want a Trickster?
The Trickster is often considered the hardest class to master in RotMG - requiring simultaneous manipulation of the player, the teleportation, and the decoys - 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. The 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 at a Rogue or melee class instead.
The Ninja is a close-range DPS class capable of doing immense DPS to a large number of enemies at once. Capable of some of the highest sustained speeds in the game through their Star, Ninja is incredibly adept at dodging and rushing, and has some standoff firepower in the form of a long-ranged shuriken. Its incredible DPS and speed are offset by its durability - for a class that must get into melee range of an enemy, it’s quite fragile and can easily be killed.
Who would want a Ninja?
Ninjas are a great all-around class for those who like to “go deep”. With incredible 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 star offers some stand-off firepower for getting soulbound on targets that the Ninja can’t get close to.
Who would not want a Ninja?
The Ninja has extremely high DPS, but it struggles from having a combination of short range, fragility, and extreme speed. As a result, it’s a high-risk class that is extremely unforgiving to make mistakes with, and is a poor choice for people looking for safe classes with which to build up wealth. Also, high stat caps make the Ninja prohibitively expensive for many players. People with laggy connections/computers should approach the Ninja with caution - a combination of high speed and an ability that is meant to be switched on and off quickly make Ninja extremely dangerous to play under laggy conditions, client-side or server-side.
The Warrior is a pure offense melee class, capable of the (second) highest sustained DPS in the game. With the ability to boost everyone even further, Warriors can pound most enemies to the dust. As a melee, they are limited by short range.
Who would want a Warrior?
Warriors are another class that dives deep. Warriors can shred dungeons and event bosses alike. While not as fast as a Ninja, the sword and Berserk buff generally gives a Warrior a lot more firepower. In addition, superior defenses along with a Helm and heavy armor give actual durability to go deep.
Who would not want a Warrior?
Warriors rely heavily on the user’s skill to dodge enemy attacks. Speedy also complicates dodging, at least when you aren’t used to it. Another melee would be more suitable for newcomers and those less comfortable with the close range.
The Knight is the tank of RotMG. Packing a defensive score that can rise to an average of 80 when fully geared, along with 75 vitality, it can eat tons of bullets; and, with its shield, can stop most enemies from shooting altogether.
Who would want a Knight?
Those who want a tank should look no further. Knights are the single best all-around realm class, eminently capable of taking on all the event bosses and killing them - whether solo or in a group. The Shield can not only decimate smaller enemies but also prevent many bosses from attacking at all.
Knights are also a good 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, especially since their DEF stat is much higher than any other class. They are good for those who have accumulated a good amount of wealth and are trying out maxed melee classes for the first time. The Knight’s stun requires it to be extremely close to the enemy, meaning that a missed stun can spell certain death (especially in Wine Cellars).
The Paladin is a melee combat healer class. It’s capable of doing significant damage from up close, but is also capable of both boosting teammates’ damage, healing them, and granting them a temporary maximum HP buff.
Who would want a Paladin?
Paladins are a more magical melee class, relying more on their ability in solo play. This makes Pally generally less risky than a Warrior, and doesn’t require the DEF investment of the Knight. Paladins are great for team support, even if there’s other Paladins around.
Who would not want a Paladin?
Paladins lack the efficiency of Knights and Warriors - they lack both the pure DPS of Warriors and the powerful stun and defense of Knights. As most of the healing occurs over time after using the seal, it may not be able to save you in a high-risk situation where you need a large amount of heal instantly. Additionally, if your pet doesn’t have high enough Magic Heal, you won’t be able to perma-buff and thus will have lower DPS and survivability if you’re not buffed, so in this case timing your buffs will be crucial.
The Samurai is a heavy armor class that uses the katana instead of the sword, giving him increased range at the cost of some of his DPS. His wakizashi allows him to cripple enemy defenses, allowing other players to deal more damage to enemies.
Who would want a Samurai?
Samurai are much less “heavy armor” class than the three sword classes. A superior weapon range (enhanced with certain UTs), a fair range on their ability, and heavy armor make them a safer pick than the more conventional melees. The Waki also gives them immense burst damage and a fairly useful debuff.
Who would not want a Samurai?
The Samurai is frailer than the sword classes, with lower HP and no innate defense. They are also weaker due to their Katana. Players comfortable with close would rather pick a more damaging class, especially with the fact that a singluar good Samurai (with good MHeal) can provide all the group utility the class needs. Wakis are also quite awkard to aim.
