Rate that Class! Week 6

[Assailant]

Let's try to spice up the forums with a little rating game. It'll go by week. Week 5 will be...the Fighter!

White Mage: 8
Ranger: 7.8
Blackbelt: 6.81
Red Mage: 5.58
Thief: 3.72

Rate (out of 10) in:

Solo Ability
Partying
Fun Factor

Solo Ability: Healing will be a problem here. Sure, the fighter gets the highest HP gain in the game. This will make it not too hard to solo. However, fighters in Monastery and ToTE could suffer. 7/10

Partying: A good compliment to any party really. They can serve as a shield to mages. They get leadership to give a boost to everyone. It's always fun to watch a fighter rampage too. 7/10

Fun Factor: I always use this class when combined with a blue or white mage. I never have a ton of fun with it, but it's not bad. 7/10

Overall: 7

[Takahashi]

-= Fighter =-

Solo Ability: 6/10

Fighters can last for awhile due to all of the HP and defense they have, provided the monsters don't use a lot of magic. Early on this isn't a problem, but once you get to Hassen most monsters have some form of attack magic available (some of which use nothing BUT magic). On top of this, Fighters tend to be slow as molasses due to their agility growth and the weight of all of their armor. Eventually you'll reach a point where being able to avoid damage helps more than being able to absorb a lot of it (also roughly around the point you reach Hassen).

What you end up with is a class that can do quite well solo for the first half of the game. Afterwards flaws such as low evasion, no built-in defense against magic and no way to restore HP during a battle aside from Defend/Rest result in you hitting a wall; unless you are grossly overlevelled (sometimes not even then), you won't be able to survive.

Partying: 6/10

First off, Block is a double-edged sword. It prevents all physical damage from reaching whoever is being protected (nice for Black/Blue/White Mages), but it does nothing against incoming magic damage. Casting Shield and/or Barrier will further enhance Block's utility by making the Fighter harder to kill, but if/when the Fighter is paralyzed or put to sleep all 'protection' is lost. Block effectively doubles the amount of physical damage the Fighter takes, and on top of that it negates the Fighter's evasion score every time that it triggers. Overall Block is a good skill but it has definite weak points.

In terms of other skills, Fighters can do a solid bit of damage, albeit only to a single target at a time. In some parties this is OK, but in others the lack of multi-target damage can be a detriment. Being able to absorb a lot of damage due to the highest natural HP pool in the game (and only a Cougar/Grizzly Ranger consistently outpaces a Fighter) is nice, but spells like Shield and Barrier can give other classes similar lasting power (same applies to a Fighter having the second best natural defense in the game until the mid-70s).

Fun Factor: 8.5/10

I'm a bit biased due to liking classes where it's clearly visible how they can help others (White Mages would be the primary example), and Block is a Fighter's way of showing how they provide protection to others. Fighters aren't too complex when it comes to battle strategies, but there's juuust enough variation between a Fighter's two extremes to prevent tedium from setting in too quickly.

In short, much like a WM, the amount of fun you have with a Fighter will depend largely on your teammates. Anyone with low defense will like having you around, to be sure.

Overall: 6.83/10

[Assailant]

Because of lack of ratings, this rank will be extended for a week.

[Divusmors]

Solo ability. Fighters actually make fairly defense solo classes for melee. Not as good as rangers and dragoons, but not as bad as thieves and knights pre-instant death moves. They high hp does give them an edge, especially when fighting casters, however their 1 vit difference from knights puts them almost on the same terms when it comes to melee, because of the hp.
Unlike knights, they have two very reliable moves when it comes for killing, warcry and chop. Works against melee and casters, and grants just as much of a power boost as boost3, although doesn't boost hits like it. I'd give them a 6/10

Partying. They're great, really are. Only outclassed in parties, IMO, by knights when it comes to melee. Their block is a must especially combined with rampage and defend later on, the warcry/[ainful rage and chop combo will help let blue and black mages worry more about boosting other classes and/or blasting enemies, and weapon master is just a nice little addition.
One of the biggest downsides when it comes to parties is the inability of hitting multiple targets. This isn't needed so much for soloing, as there's only a few and scattered amount of chaotics, but when you get in larger parties, and ambushes, it is something near essential to have. 7/10

Fun factor. Unlike the mages, or knights, they don't really have a lot of options at their disposal, which is one thing I've always found fun. And unlike rangers, it's not just a hold enter and watch things die kind of fun, either. The biggest aspect of utility, outside of who to block and using leadership, fighters really only have a 'which do I club over the head first' sort of game play to them. They're not bad, but I personally like a class a bit more one way or the other. 5/10 to me.

6/10 overall