Classes in DayZ (let the shitstorm commence)

[Osiris1 0]

I like it.

I find the people who hate classes with righteous fury really blew it when they tried RPGs. Usually because it was such a COOMPLICATED THIING OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD I HAVE TO CHOOSE STUFF!?!?!? AESHDFGJNSOGIDMNOHG.

Classes define more specific, unique gameplay from person to person while offering benefits suited to certain playstyles. While such a system would certainly take a while to conjure up, it's not impractical.

Though I do also like the above-mentioned idea of getting better at what you do. Of course, if you're going to try and avoid RPG elements for the sake of avoiding RPG elements, you're SOL on that feature, since that's also a WoW element (professions).

Regardless, getting better at what you do is more realistic, though classes are certainly viable. I prefer saved stats recording you getting better at something (yes, like skinning, or accuracy as headshots on zombies/players are achieved).

[wolfstriked 143]

Instead of classes what about allowance to choose your skills.Everyone is the same but you get a skill point to put towards what you want.This way we can all do everything but some are better than others at it.Three simple ideas but good for gameplay I think are....

Medic skill point allows bandaging more wounds with just one bandage.

Military skill allows less sway while aiming and more endurance.

Hunter skill allows one to survive longer with less food/water.

[mind_grenade 24]

I almost want to say you ripped my idea of skill traits as well like the medical/mechanical stuff and turned it into a childish dream-up but I don't care enough to get into it.

I don't think having some sort of background to your character is a bad idea' date=' but I think all of that should wait until Day Z actually fleshes out and we get to see what direction the devs are taking this thing into

[/quote']

First of all, I hadn't seen anything suggesting classes yet after a search, and what, you came up with classes? I'll have to let every other RPG in existence know. There are like 4 things you can do in DayZ, it's kinda fucking obvious what classes would be.

And secondly, an Alpha phase is when features get added. If it's going to happen, it WOULD happen now. It's not like it'll get past Beta and then rocket will change it up entirely yet again.

[Maple! 0]

maybe' date=' rather than classes, characters should be able to learn how to do things. Perhaps a helicoter repair instruction booklet? Maybe there should be a computer terminal with instructions on how to repair helicopters somewhere before you can go out and repair one. i just dont know...

Implementing some sort of class system would be a very difficult thing to implement properly.

[/quote']

I like this idea a lot. Kind of like America's army, you can't just be a medic unless you actually learn how to do it.

I mean, sure you can fix a helicopter in the game, but do you know how to fly it? It's pretty hard compared to BF3 or any other game.

[prometheus111 1]

I say we need a behind the scenes, progression based skill system. A skill system where as you use bandages, you're able to use bandages quicker. Etc.

Currently if someone takes all your stuff from you they might as well kill you because then at least you'd have a bandage, flashlight, and painkiller and likely full health when you respawned. If a behind the scenes progression based skill system were implemented, your character would still be worth something to you because you would have accumulated skills.

Right now if someone held you at gunpoint and told you to drop all yourself, you'd just attempt to kill them because what are you worth without your gear? They might as well just kill you for your gear rather than attempting to rob you and leave you alive.

If we had skills to progress in, our characters would be worth something besides the gear we carry.

This, I think, would be something to greatly decrease even bandit killings. Not just for the sake of decreasing kills but for the sake of opening up roleplay options like the robbing one above. What's the point of leaving someone alive if you're going to take all their stuff? You might as well just kill them since they'll likely just respawn anyways.

What's the point of allowing someone to rob you if you're just going to end up with no gear? You might as well fight back and hope you survive to keep your gear.

Right now...there's no choice. If someone wants something you have, they kill you for it. And if someone tries to rob you, you shoot them instead of complying because that's the only option.

TL;DR Progressing skills would give value to our characters regardless of what gear we currently own. It would open up new gameplay and roleplay options for choosing when to fight and when to give in to demands in order to save our characters.

[duddbudda 33]

the "classes" of DayZ are what you make yourself out to be. Not what you choose to spawn as.

QFT

shame sop few have the imagination to recognise this

[Fiskbatch 6]

Pretty good, actually. As long as you can do everything with any class (repairing vehicles etc etc bla bla), why not?

[Dreganius (DayZ) 55]

I quite like the idea of a subtle buff in certain areas to indicate past experience in an aspect. However, I like even more the idea of learning to do things better as you go (Kind of like you skill up in the Elder Scrolls games, but a LOT more subtle.), so you have even more reason to try not to get yourself killed. As it is, people have no issue with suiciding when on low blood or whatnot, and don't have a bloodpack/what they need, as their friends/clanmates/alts can literally pick up all their gear and hold it until they return. I've done it in the past, until I realised how stupid it feels.

With a 'skill up as you go' system, but subtle enough that we don't turn DayZ into some crappy zombie RPG, we would have a LOT more reason not to just off ourselves and come back to pick up where we left off.

In short, I support specialisation by in-game experience.

EDIT: I'm also the kind of person who loves to make a character and stick to that character's 'profile', so I understand how we can already do this. I also feel that skill-over-time would help really hammer that 'profile' in.

[lodestar 3]

Classes are emerging naturally in DayZ. Having them hardcoded is a bad idea. A better idea is to have more specialized items such that people can play that 'class' as it pleases them.

[Dreganius (DayZ) 55]

lodestar, you also make a very good suggestion. I think the point we're all driving at is that we'd at least like a *little* bit more customisation in our playstyles.

[PintOfBass 0]

I like the lack of "MMO" feel for this, I don't want to need a cleric and mage to have a viable party.

[pvt_ammo@hotmail.com 164]

First off' date=' if you're a teal deer (tl;dr) or have ADHD, it's safest that you just go now. It has a preface. With sections. I tried structuring so it's easier to take in.

I know everyone's a fucking professional on these forums, I thought I'd just chuck this in 'cos it seems like a fun idea that would add a whole bunch to the DayZ experience without altering the existing elements we love ohsomuch. Devteam will probably never see it though haha. Ohwerllz

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| PREFACE |

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SNIP! [/quote']

There is no need for classes as they are already in the game, they are just not fixed. Here's a quote from the dev team of DayZ which is an excellent example of it.

Hall: I just think they’re really good. I just think it’s great. The amazing things that people start doing, you just have no idea what they’ll do. There’s a dude who’s being set up… He set himself up as like a surgeon, a doctor, and he’ll go on to servers to help people out.

No way.

Hall: Yeah! And he has a whole team of supporters, and he has a bunch of people who will spawn in as an escort.

And protect him? Wow.

Hall: And what he did was, he actually, in character… He went in and figured out all the scripts that I’ve written, what all the medical values are that you need to get sick and how transmission happens. And he wrote up a massive guide, in-game, in-world, explaining it. Not just listing the stats, but actually explaining, okay, if you get sick then people close to you have a high chance of getting sick as well. It was just amazing. He put a lot of effort into that.

Do you know if he’s US-based?

Hall: I don’t know. He hops around a lot of the servers. But it’s just awesome, just totally spontaneously getting into that.

Crowe: It’s nice that you didn’t have to make a medic class. It just emerged.

Resource: http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/06/22/day-z-arma-3-interview-on-left-4-dead-skyrim-player-emotion-and-in-game-disease/?ns_campaign=article-feed&ns_mchannel=ref&ns_source=steam&ns_linkname=0&ns_fee=0

This is a prime example why classes are not needed and I hope they never will be. I hate the idea of being forced into a class which limits and dictates the way I want to play.

[DannyRed 32]

bottlerocket and prometheus111 are in the right track if you ask me.

[lodestar 3]

Adding classes means adding stereotypes, and this will make the game experience poorer. I understand the appeal in having a background related to the class, for instance, someone who was a medic, but things aren't that black and white. I had a good friend who was a medic and a hobbyist mechanic. He used to work only a few days a week as an intern and would spend all his spare time refurbishing old cars in his garage. How that story fits into the class concept?

It makes sense for the equipment and tools be rare and demanding enough that someone has to put some time into achieving that. For instance, instead of finding a ready toolbox, different tools could be available and you needed a particular set before being able to repair something.

[Friend-or-Pho 0]

While I like the idea of choosing a class, in order to better develop who your character is as a person, I don't think it should change spawn rates. At the most choosing a class should effect how well you perform at certain tasks, but not change whether or not you find a gun/medical supplies.

This isn't something I have strong feelings about one way ot the other, but this is a very well thought out and communicated suggestion.

[Barshak 0]

I quite like the idea of a subtle buff in certain areas to indicate past experience in an aspect. However' date=' I like even more the idea of learning to do things better as you go (Kind of like you skill up in the Elder Scrolls games, but a LOT more subtle.), so you have even more reason to try not to get yourself killed. As it is, people have no issue with suiciding when on low blood or whatnot, and don't have a bloodpack/what they need, as their friends/clanmates/alts can literally pick up all their gear and hold it until they return. I've done it in the past, until I realised how stupid it feels.

With a 'skill up as you go' system, but subtle enough that we don't turn DayZ into some crappy zombie RPG, we would have a LOT more reason not to just off ourselves and come back to pick up where we left off.

In short, I support specialisation by in-game experience.

EDIT: I'm also the kind of person who loves to make a character and stick to that character's 'profile', so I understand how we can already do this. I also feel that skill-over-time would help really hammer that 'profile' in.

[/quote']

I agree with this layout for progression. I would also go further and allow characters to unlock Dayz features if they're skilled enough, like special weapons, tools, gadgets, skins, or other types of rare items. This would really make people less likely to disregard their character for suicides. Whoever unlocks top tier items would become like the Jedi in Star Wars Galaxy though, they would only log on for very special occasions and come with an entourage of guards to keep them alive, and would probably cause them to buy a second account to create a throw away character they can just let loose with.

Overall, I think a perk/class system would be very logical if Rocket's going for realism. A person can't be an expert in everything, but everyone can get better with time and practice.

[Cpt.Vilja 15]

Maybe classes would stop the massiv Deathmatch ?

Because the bandits want the doctor to heal him :D

[matt.gilmurray@gmail.com 46]

This is a very interesting idea I'm really on the fence with this one if it will work but I definitely think it should be tested to see if everything would be balanced. What I like the most about it is that it subliminally encourages teamwork which is something that is damn near necessary for a Zombie Survival so you get my vote. +1

[Greenhound 33]

Can I ask how one survives through so many updates without dying by some retarded bug or hacker in such an unstable game?

/unrelated

[drumsetjunky 0]

I really like this idea. Very neat...I'd love to play as a Doctor.

I think this could encourage more player interaction/grouping.

It would be fun even just to test this out. ^_^

---

Can I ask how one survives through so many updates without dying by some retarded bug or hacker in such an unstable game?

/unrelated

/ItsALPHA

/DealWithItTillAfterBeta

[Greenhound 33]

I'm not complaining you idiot.

I'm asking how he's survived since 1.6 without some BS happening, which sounds like a lie.

[Corvax (DayZ) 15]

There are lots of civilian models ingame but I see why rocket does not use them (backpacks dont show up on them).

and they dont work with camo/guillie suit just like the female skin currently

[Kolchak (DayZ) 5]

I'm not complaining you idiot.

I'm asking how he's survived since 1.6 without some BS happening' date=' which sounds like a lie.

[/quote']

Having a surviving character doesn't mean he played during the "no food" and "psychic zombies" updates. Since then surviving hasn't been that hard.

[alexander_q 6]

I agree with some of the posters here that classes should just naturally emerge as you get better through practice. This gives you the diversity you want, encourages more p2p interaction, and makes people more cautious with their lives.

[Hellrabbit 0]

The "Classes" mentioned, sound exactly like Perks to me. Like Fallout 3, New Vegas, and Skyrim. Actual classes would make this a different type of game, one step closer to Battlefield. :(

To be good or best at something in this mod, you actually have to learn to be good at it yourself. Meaning, for you to get better at say shooting; requires you in real life to sit in your computer chair and practice in Dayz or in armory or whatever.

I like that about this game.