Do you know your role?

[Lynx]

Dragonknight (offensive combat) and Templar (defensive combat)
Sorcerer (off. magic) and Warden (def. magic)
These four classes have been confirmed. Presumably one or two stealth classes will soon be confirmed. Nightblade/spellblade and ranger/skirmisher are popular targets for speculation.

Could you provide a source to Sorcerer and Warden?

[Skrofler]

Lots of second hand sources available such as http://trollscroll.com/2012/11/11/freedom-of-class http://elderscrollsotr.mymiddleearth.co ... evelopment . I haven't seen the primary source myself, possibly only those invited to previews at Zenimax Online Studios have, but with so many reliable second hands all saying the same thing I'll call it a certain.

[Frogmander]

Nightblade-ish type character, focusing heavily on conjuration and illusion type skills. Summoning up an army from the shadows, turning enemies against eachother in the midst of it all...Let's just hope they have multiple creature summoning, I'm so tired of the beastmaster type summoner who only has one pet.

As for weapons, probably an axe of some sort as usual. Armor, if they have it medium. If not, I'll settle for light armor..unless robes have much better magic based stats, in which case robes. Maybe robes/light armor?

As for faction, Ebonheart Pact all the way. Not sure of race...Probably Argonian.

[Durnehviir]

I will crush the scrawny humans as Ancotar Direnni the Battlemage.
Medium if they have it heavy if they don't a axe in one hand a bolt of lightning or maybe paralyze in one. So I guess that would be like a dps or tank.

[Sav]

I'll probably focus on a melee/dps type of character. It's what I have done in the past.

But I might change things up a bit depending on how each class feels.

[azuarc]

Are classes in this game actual classes, or is it like traditional Elder Scrolls where the class simply highlights certain gameplay aspects?

[Skrofler]

They are actual classes but with a lot of freedom of choice.
You will have at least a few core abilities (spells and combat techniques) that are unique to your class but after that I'm not sure what's class dependant. I know armour and weapon choice is wide open for any class, as is basic stealth and your basic attributes (health/magicka/stamina).
Then there are perks but we know very little about them. According to a recent interview the ability to become vampire or werewolf is in the perk system.

[Shadowscale]

Mele dps rogue most likly. Khajiit or Argonin.

[MARS]

Either a high damage rogue or a dps mage. Or maybe a supporter/healer.

[Yaije]

I was under the impression that roles would be heavily downplayed in this game compared to other popular MMOs. I want to be a dual wielding Dragon Knight initially, though, so I'm guessing that's DPS.

I'm sooooo hoping that it's on a level comparable to some people's idea about DnD party composition. Like you CAN make an awesome damage soaking tank or a super cool master healy dude, but you're not SoL without them.

I'm probably going to aim for support caster/damage dealer with a goal at being the "God Mage"

Spoiler:

a build for Dnd 3.5 that revolves around hindering you enemies and boosting your allies. Nothing says game over like making your front liners each take 3 additional swings at something in range or turning a foe into something where it's armor doesn't function. The build when used properly and intelligently could overpower just about every situation outside of anti-magic field. Strike first and obliterate the defenses in a single stroke.[/quote]

though really I may just wind up a generic nightblade or something in the long run. Stealth heavy with a primary source of damage as melee with limited magic to enhance my performance.

[Beytran70]

I'll probably be a support caster of some sort or maybe a 2h melee warrior so I can kill my enemies with loud yelling and grunts! HYEAGH!

[Spelling Police]

I was under the impression that roles would be heavily downplayed in this game compared to other popular MMOs. I want to be a dual wielding Dragon Knight initially, though, so I'm guessing that's DPS.

I'm sooooo hoping that it's on a level comparable to some people's idea about DnD party composition. Like you CAN make an awesome damage soaking tank or a super cool master healy dude, but you're not SoL without them.

Might be a tad optimistic. I haven't played DnD, but MMOs these days are almost always balanced with competition in mind - I don't mean necessarily PvP, I mean how people complain if their class is significantly inferior to others. Even within that restriction, balancing a MMO is a brutally difficult thing to do, with hordes of people working on finding the most effective strategies, so you probably shouldn't get your hopes up for such an egalitarian, open-ended setup. Don't get me wrong, it would be really cool if you turned out to be right.

There's also the fact that this is going to be an Elder Scrolls game. Oblivion and Skyrim are fantastic games, but the balance is a joke in both (think of how many ways there are to break Skyrim). I guess we'll have to wait to see if Bethesda is capable of doing better with a multiplayer game. I think they have a decent chance of pulling it together, but that's just me. </rant>

[Skrofler]

I found a primary source for sorcerer and warden by the way.
http://tamrielfoundry.com/2012/10/eso-media-event/

You may also want to check out the development FAQ over at Tamriel Foundry. It's fully sourced. Some of the sources are old though so keep an eye open for dates. Articles older than October 2012 are less reliable as many design elements were changed or rephrased between June and October.
http://tamrielfoundry.com/development-faq/

[Yaije]

Might be a tad optimistic. I haven't played DnD, but MMOs these days are almost always balanced with competition in mind - I don't mean necessarily PvP, I mean how people complain if their class is significantly inferior to others. Even within that restriction, balancing a MMO is a brutally difficult thing to do, with hordes of people working on finding the most effective strategies, so you probably shouldn't get your hopes up for such an egalitarian, open-ended setup. Don't get me wrong, it would be really cool if you turned out to be right.

There's also the fact that this is going to be an Elder Scrolls game. Oblivion and Skyrim are fantastic games, but the balance is a joke in both (think of how many ways there are to break Skyrim). I guess we'll have to wait to see if Bethesda is capable of doing better with a multiplayer game. I think they have a decent chance of pulling it together, but that's just me. </rant>

It's all about scaling after release. The highest performance of competition isn't based on a few people turning themselves into glass cannons with a master life sustaining specialist and near immortal living wall. That's just the trinity that has taken shape at the devs whim in some games. The player's "maximum effectiveness" is the result of our response to the mechanics of combat, which we have yet to really see anyways; to say nothing of how this game will approach balance.

As to DnD, there were a number of techniques available to everyone regardless of character options they chose as well as stuff they could purchase that was able to emulate character abilities to an extent. Also healing wasn't regularly done in combat except to prevent an imminent death. Everyone in the fight was fighting and slinging around various effects.

Spoiler:

blinding, deafening, silencing, grappling, tripping and a few other books worth of stuff

The combat of DnD wasn't designed around needing a main tank or main healer to the point you would die on the first encounter/pull. I'm hoping that ESO does something in a similar manner, as balancing a game does NOT mean (Tank, DDxN, Healer) for all fights beyond 1v3.

[Spelling Police]

Might be a tad optimistic. I haven't played DnD, but MMOs these days are almost always balanced with competition in mind - I don't mean necessarily PvP, I mean how people complain if their class is significantly inferior to others. Even within that restriction, balancing a MMO is a brutally difficult thing to do, with hordes of people working on finding the most effective strategies, so you probably shouldn't get your hopes up for such an egalitarian, open-ended setup. Don't get me wrong, it would be really cool if you turned out to be right.

There's also the fact that this is going to be an Elder Scrolls game. Oblivion and Skyrim are fantastic games, but the balance is a joke in both (think of how many ways there are to break Skyrim). I guess we'll have to wait to see if Bethesda is capable of doing better with a multiplayer game. I think they have a decent chance of pulling it together, but that's just me. </rant>

It's all about scaling after release. The highest performance of competition isn't based on a few people turning themselves into glass cannons with a master life sustaining specialist and near immortal living wall. That's just the trinity that has taken shape at the devs whim in some games. The player's "maximum effectiveness" is the result of our response to the mechanics of combat, which we have yet to really see anyways; to say nothing of how this game will approach balance.

As to DnD, there were a number of techniques available to everyone regardless of character options they chose as well as stuff they could purchase that was able to emulate character abilities to an extent. Also healing wasn't regularly done in combat except to prevent an imminent death. Everyone in the fight was fighting and slinging around various effects.

Spoiler:

blinding, deafening, silencing, grappling, tripping and a few other books worth of stuff

The combat of DnD wasn't designed around needing a main tank or main healer to the point you would die on the first encounter/pull. I'm hoping that ESO does something in a similar manner, as balancing a game does NOT mean (Tank, DDxN, Healer) for all fights beyond 1v3.

In retrospect, I misinterpreted your first post a bit there - if there's some amount of homogenization (stuff available to everyone, like you said) then that would indeed help balancing. Still, I'm not saying that the "holy trinity" is the only way to reliably balance a game, but it's what most major MMOs have done in recent years. That's the model that's most well-known and understood in modern online games, and I'd be surprised (pleasantly) if ESO was the one to take a chance and break the mold.

edit: Upon further research, it looks like they're trying to get away from the traditional tank system. Maybe it's okay to be hopeful after all...

[Dark Spark]

Do you know what a telekinetic can do. In a "combat medic" sort of capacity? Blood pressure is one key.

[Frogmander]

Are classes in this game actual classes, or is it like traditional Elder Scrolls where the class simply highlights certain gameplay aspects?

That isn't even traditional Elder Scrolls. Every TES game has classes except Skyrim.

TESO will have classes, but they are soppoused to have a lot of customization.

[Yaije]

To be honest, all my possible choices hinge on how equipment and skills play out.

[Skrofler]

The single best source I've found on what defines the classes, how they develop and how much they can be customized, is this two-hour long chat between a few players who were at the pre-alpha playtest event in October.
Bear in mind this is pre-alpha but it's worth a listen. There are about 10 minutes of silliness before they start, then about one hour of very informative chat followed by one hour of silliness again.
If you click below the player where it says "Episode 43: Hands-On with ESO" you can download the mp3.

[Mr.Argonian]

I was under the impression that roles would be heavily downplayed in this game compared to other popular MMOs. I want to be a dual wielding Dragon Knight initially, though, so I'm guessing that's DPS.

I'm sooooo hoping that it's on a level comparable to some people's idea about DnD party composition. Like you CAN make an awesome damage soaking tank or a super cool master healy dude, but you're not SoL without them.

Might be a tad optimistic. I haven't played DnD, but MMOs these days are almost always balanced with competition in mind - I don't mean necessarily PvP, I mean how people complain if their class is significantly inferior to others. Even within that restriction, balancing a MMO is a brutally difficult thing to do, with hordes of people working on finding the most effective strategies, so you probably shouldn't get your hopes up for such an egalitarian, open-ended setup. Don't get me wrong, it would be really cool if you turned out to be right.

There's also the fact that this is going to be an Elder Scrolls game. Oblivion and Skyrim are fantastic games, but the balance is a joke in both (think of how many ways there are to break Skyrim). I guess we'll have to wait to see if Bethesda is capable of doing better with a multiplayer game. I think they have a decent chance of pulling it together, but that's just me. </rant>

Well seeing as Zenimax Online are developing TES:O, we will not be seeing if Bethesda can do better with a multilplayer game.

[Spelling Police]

Yeah, that was me being dumb and misinformed and I forgot to edit it.

[AeraDunmerMoon]

I'm going to have a class for everything -multichara-
Starting with Rogue, tho.

[Elder Scroll]

Altmer wizard lord...and Emperor

[NyarlathotepJr]

Any news on classes?

I have (ahem) never played an MMO before. I've been saving myself for the right one.

As for play style, my "group" seems to want me as a support player, someone who spends a lot of time at the shop in town, making cool stuff for them. I'm not the most skilled player, so Lifts-Her-Leg will doubtless specialize in ranged attacks and stealth - and team kills ...

[Yaije]

Are classes in this game actual classes, or is it like traditional Elder Scrolls where the class simply highlights certain gameplay aspects?

That isn't even traditional Elder Scrolls. Every TES game has classes except Skyrim.

TESO will have classes, but they are soppoused to have a lot of customization.

IN the past ten years of TES classes have just been head starts on certain skills with different favored skills. The differences are only really noticeable in the really short or really long run of game play. There's been no super specialization that locks you out of anything or is only available for certain builds in the way as presented by other standard class systems (except for skyrim's perk system).

Because TES's classes in the past have just been defined as +10 to select attributes and +20 to select skills (+10~15 for minor in morrowind) I'd say it's a fair question to ask what does "class" mean in ESO.