Poll: Mage, Thief or Warrior?

[Barbas]

"Very good. The letter that preceded mentioned you were born under a certain sign. And what would that be?"

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[HEADING=1]MAGE, THIEF OR WARRIOR?[/HEADING]​

I've never been able to decide which of the three was better. Based on your own personal experiences with various card games, board games, books and RPGs, which of the three have you naturally gravitated toward and what was the appeal that drew you in and which games did the class the most justice with their mechanics?

I have to say that although the CD contained a faulty installation and the game lagged like a pregnant cow on some levels, while also crashing and failing to display many textures, Dark Messiah: Of Might And Magic saw the most interesting (if somewhat clunky) use of the Source and Havok engines. You could kick people into conveniently and improbably placed traps, set oil jars alight, use rope arrows and set various magic traps on floors. I remember being hooked it from the beginning, which made the gamble of trying to run it even more tense. Purple textures, people. Purple, shiny textures everywhere. GabeN, show us mercy. ( o_o)

 

[The Eupho Guy_v1legacy]

Warrior. Subtly is for scrubs.

In all seriousness, I generally prefer melee combat over ranged (apart from in Skyrim, where my character has somehow morphed into a stealth/archery character). If brute force is inadvisable, my fallback is thief.

[EDIT]

I have to say that although the CD contained a faulty installation and the game lagged like a pregnant cow on some levels, while also crashing and failing to display many textures, Dark Messiah: Of Might And Magic saw the most interesting (if somewhat clunky) use of the Source and Havok engines. You could kick people into conveniently and improbably placed traps, set oil jars alight, use rope arrows and set various magic traps on floors. I remember being hooked it from the beginning, which made the gamble of trying to run it even more tense. Purple textures, people. Purple, shiny textures everywhere. GabeN, show us mercy. ( o_o)

Oh Dark Messiah. I never could finish that game. Ran into an amazing LP of it though a few years ago, so I finally know how it ends.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLED4C2EECDF7A198F

 

[CeeBod]

Warrior. Subtly is for scrubs.

In all seriousness, I generally prefer melee combat over ranged (apart from in Skyrim, where my character has somehow morphed into a stealth/archery character). If brute force is inadvisable, my fallback is thief.

Stealth/Archery is my wheelhouse in every single game I play, although it can be somewhat hard to use that playstyle in Cities: Skylines. I'm a natural-born coward, so I like to have an escape route available to run away and hide if it all goes south - which is easier if you don't just Leroy Jenkins in.

I'm also an instinctive sniper: I'll never forget my first game of Laser Tag almost literally bumping into a flanking sneaky enemy whilst I was doing sneaky flanking myself. We were both surprised, but his reaction was bunny in the headlights, mine had been to instinctively hip-shoot and I'd put a flickering laser light right between his eyes. It didn't count obviously, you're supposed to shoot the sensors, but it was still cool, and whilst I was still admiring my shot, he recovered and shot me on the harness!

I found the mechanics of the Hunter class in WoW were the best fit for me: Use a Pet's aggro to hold the enemy at arms length whilst killing them, stay outside of the range of all that nasty AOE damage that so many bosses put out, and whenever it all goes wrong you run to a quiet spot and pretend to be dead - I was always more happy to be bottom of the "number of deaths" meter rather than top of the damage meter on any raid! )

 

[Aerosteam]

If you're talking about mage in general, as in any and all types of spells, that's the clear winner.

NO TO WARRIOR. THEY'RE BORING.

 

[aba1]

I have always been a stealth type. I snipe in shooters and sneak when I have the opportunity. Wizards never appealed to me surprisingly because I know they are often very powerful but I just never get much appeal from them.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Traditionally I go for the fighty type, but as of late I've turned to the stealthy side.
I've never played a game where the wholly magical option didn't feel extremely handicapped.

 

[Zhukov]

Either warrior or thief, depending on the exact mechanics on offer.

I generally start out with something straightforward and tanky when I'm learning the ropes. Those kind of characters are generally simpler to play and their durability tends to make them more forgiving. Plus, if it's a multiplayer game then teams always appreciate a willing meatshield instead of a seventh wannabe lone wolf sniper.

Later on I'll try something rogue-ish. Depends on how the game works. If sneaking allows me to one-shot enemies then I'll usually end up using it.

Mages? Mages are for nerds.

Seriously, magic-users in games are always thematically dull as fuck. Oh whoop-de-do, another clown in robes shooting fire out of their hands, I'm enthralled. Plus squirting elementally themed particle effects at the enemy just isn't as satisfying as straight up bludgeoning or sticking pointing things in them.

 

[Vancleef]

All of them, really. There is always some aspect of the trinity that I find appealing. Mages or magic users in general are cool because who doesn't like having the power of the elements, nature, arcane, light etc.
I like rogues because I like being sneaky and having the element of surprise (I like sniping in games) and having mobility - which is by far the most important thing for me when it comes to choosing a class.
Lastly, warriors appeal to me because contrary to what I wrote about being sneaky and staying back, I also greatly enjoy being reckless and charging into the fray with a blunt/sharp object and swinging at anything that looks like a bad guy. Either emerging victorious or taking lots of enemies with me.

Thing is... A basic warrior person is just someone who's really good at hitting stuff, which can seem very boring at times, especially when that guy over there can summon lightning strikes and elementals and the other one can turn into beasts and control the power of nature etc.

Warriors are a bit dull in comparision, but they are straightforward and get the job done. They can kill stuff and take hits and don't have as many glaring disadvantages as some other classes/archetypes. (Mages/rogues being extremely squishy when out of their element for example).
It's very much a flavor of the month thing for me.

 

[Wintermute_v1legacy]

I always go for warrior types. I'm terrible with mages, archers, pretty much anything that doesn't smash things with a huge hammer axe sword mace.

 

[Evonisia]

So long as the mage doesn't amount to ranged-but-the-effects-are-shiny, I always go with magic. I legally consent to having children with you if you implement some kind of teleporting ability as well.

 

[hermes]

I tend to go with Warrior, because they are the most balanced throughout the campaign.

Mages are fun and powerful when they are in the higher levels, but in the early moments they are akin to a handkerchief holding a gun with very few shots and a long reload time. Hitting something until they don't move is a pretty effective way of dealing with almost anything at lower levels...

 

[Mister K]

It depends on a game, really.

In Planescape: Torment I tailored TNO to be a mage (but only because it was best for the story) and I plan to make one of my characters in Divinity: Original Sin to be Fire/Earth mage.

In Arcanum, I made a warrior who knew a few basic tech recipes and was a smooth talker.

In Baldur's Gate II, I am playing Fighter/Cleric (hopefully I'll someday finish the damn thing).

But overall, I tend to first check if peaceful, persuasive and/or plot revealing options are limited to a certain class. If yes, then I pick such class.
If not, then I either go for some kind of warrior or warrior with magic. Also, it's all about hammers and maces, baby.

 

[RJ 17]

God I hate to be one of those that gives "that response" of "Well it depends on the game"...but...well...it depends on the game/mechanics we're dealing with.

For instance, in Dragon Age: Origins, Mages were hilariously overpowered with massive AoEs that are capable of wiping out the screen in a matter of moments. In Skyrim, on the other hand, mages are hilariously underpowered to the point that if you're not using mods and you try to go straight-mage you're going to be completely useless in the late game since your magic doesn't scale with your level.

As a general rule: I tend to prefer mages. I like having power and magic generally tends to be powerful. If, however, I'm playing a game with mechanics like Skyrim in which the usefulness of a mage is severely limited, then I then I tend to prefer being a sneaky class such as a thief/rogue/assassin. I like getting them massive crits!

So yeah, really my generic "class" would be DPSer...I've never been one to enjoy tanking. I don't mind being a healer, but I'd file that under "mage" as well since it's a caster class. Generally though no warrior class type has ever appealed to me.

 

[SlumlordThanatos]

My problem is that I tend to prefer a character who can do a bit of everything.

Granted, bows and other ranged weapons have never really been my thing, but I like the appeal of sneaking to the perfect ambush spot, tossing a fireball into a clueless, crowded mess hall, and then finishing off any stragglers with my sword.

Overall, however, I tend to prefer stealth. If I can, I try to take some warrior talents to keep from being useless in a stand-up fight where stealth isn't an option, but my playthroughs in Skyrim and other similar games normally revolve around sneaking around and murdering everything instantly.

 

[Rack]

With a well done mage, warrior and thief I'll go mage. There's an appealing flexibility to magic, where you can shape the battlefield, summon allies or debilitate your enemies.

 

[Terminal Blue]

Rogues are generally my thing.

Mages often feel like something I should like. After all, they're usually the nerds of the generic fantasy setting. When everyone else is out practising with weapons or learning how to pick locks they're busy reading up on stuff, which I can relate to! Unfortunately, mages are also superheroes.. sure, rogues and warriors can be superheroes in the sense that Hawkeye, Black Widow or Ozymandias are superheroes, but mages are often literally interchangable with superheroes and I'm not really into superheroes. Furthermore, the way magic is depicted in fantasy settings often breaks my suspension of disbelief.

But yeah, rogues for me always take me back into the mindset of playing the original Thief games back in my teens (especially since most video games with stealth elements inevitably borrow liberally from thief). I like playing characters who try to solve problems creatively rather than simply charging in and murdering it..

When I played MMOs, I normally rolled healers because.. well.. I'm generally good at it, but there's also a point about how I am in social situations. In groups like to be a support character, or preferably a non-combat character. My early experiences with roleplaying in a group (pen and paper) were very mechanics-light settings where non-combat skills were important to have. I like being the guy who isn't necessarily best in a fight but is handy to have along, whether it's fixing injured group members, picking locks and disarming traps or haggling with merchants.

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

Rogue is where it is at for me. I like the idea of using guile and cunning to outwit my opponents and in most games Rogues are also the class(es) capable of dealing the most burst damage. Mages are often a no go for me simply because they tend to be mechanically special in a way that just jars me (such as having a limited number of spells in D&D material, crafting their own spells in older Elder Scrolls ec.) and more often then not I just don't see the appeal in being able to do everything in a way that other classes can't. Mages either feel stunted and boring or overpowered and thus equally boring.

 

[kris40k]

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.

 

[SlumlordThanatos]

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.

If I do want to play a sneaky archer character, I just go and get the Dawnguard crossbow and upgrade it fully.

Never saw the appeal of summoned weapons.