Game Design: Class Progression

I've written broadly about classes and attributes, so this post will go into more detail on how it'll be interpreted in the game.

Class Progression

Long ago, I played "Seiken Densetsu 3" on a Super Nintendo emulator. It was an ambitious game ahead of its time. It had 3-player cooperative real-time combat, and a branching story mode, dependent on which characters were selected. What I remember distinctly is the class progression system. 

Each character in the party could advance their class twice, either Light or Dark. The Light advancements would have defensive or supportive abilities, while the Dark would be more offensive or disabling. From this first advancement, they could further branch out again as Light or Dark. 

What was interesting was that the Light-Dark combination was distinct from the Dark-Light combination. Rather than converging into the same class, the 2nd advancement builds upon the differences from the 1st advancement. I like this scheme since it makes player choice very impactful. I'll attempt apply this scheme with the game design choices behind the attributes. 

Application (Primary & Secondary)

The player selects the "primary" attribute for each unit. Each primary attribute will have unique abilities and passives that define their roles. Upon reaching a certain level, the players will be able to choose the "secondary" attribute. The secondary attribute will modify the existing primary abilities to further specialize or hybridize their roles. 

The secondary specialization builds upon the primary abilities, but does not replace them entirely. The idea is to balance them between the three roles (tank, damage, support), and allow the roles to be shared among the party in different ways. 

• Tank: Takes, absorbs, or prevents damage for the team 
• Damage: Deals damage, weaken enemies  
• Support: Heals and buffs allies, various utility 

The "default" team composition would be 1 tank, 2 damage, and 1 support; assuming each unit is 100% dedicated to their role. With the different specializations, the responsibility of each role can be divided among the units. Each attribute will have different distributions associated: 

The secondary attribute adds to the primary, which determines their role specialties. For example, a Warrior (primary attribute Strength) starts as 75% tank, 25% damage. They can advance into Strength again to become a Juggernaut  to become 150% tank, 50% damage (Strength-Strength). Alternatively, they could advance into Agility and become a Berserker to become 100% tank, 100% damage (Strength-Agility). 

I'll detail the abilities and design goals each individual attribute in separate posts. But in summary, the following principles will be applied

Primary Attribute Principles

1. Warrior (Strength): Melee unit that dives into battle and attracts focus from enemies
2. Rogue (Agility): Mobile unit that roams freely to target key enemies 
3. Hunter (Dexterity): Ranged unit that positions to precisely deal significant damage 
4. Mage (Intelligence): Versatile unit that provides utility and destructive area damage
5. Priest (Spirit): Supportive unit that heal allies and weaken enemies

Secondary Attribute Principles

1. Strength: Enhances unit's offense and defense in melee range
2. Agility: Increases unit's mobility and attack speed
3. Dexterity: Extends range of unit's abilities and critical chance
4. Intelligence: Improves elemental effects to abilities 
5. Spirit: Expands utility of abilities to benefit allies and disable enemies