concept for more class distinction

[Torg]

this post is meant for discussion (some of this has been said before). please express your opinion.
i believe that we all want all 4 classes viable in combat, while going by different tactics. so lets look at all parameters.
here's my proposal:

	tank	pe	spy	monk
damage	strong	medium	medium	medium
resists	strong	medium	weak	weak
armour	strong	medium	weak	weak
range	weak/med	medium	strong	weak/med
stealth	none	weak	strong	none
ppu fx	weak	medium	weak	strong
driving	weak	medium	strong	weak/med
trade	weak	medium	strong	medium

explanation; tanks should be the strongest fighters, fastest runners, have most resists, best armour and guns but only short to medium fighting range (both melee and at a somewhat better range, cannons), so they can be attacked by pes, apus and spys from the distance. pes would be allrounders, spys would have excellent range and stealth but weak defenses and less maximum damage than tanks. monks would deal average damage (apu) on average distance, but support (ppu) on short distance only, while having weak physical defenses (both resists and armour). monks would profit most from ppu support (both apu and ppu), pes would go well with ppu psi, while tanks and spys would receive only weak boni from ppu modules (think of a class-based ppu psi resist). nanites would go accordingly to psi.

this would mean more distinctive classes and combat roles, more stone-paper-scissors than today. balancing would be needed as well. and yes, this is a long shot. not going to happen any time soon.

[William Antrim]

I like the overall concept but one giant glaring flaw in it is if you made one class benefit from ppu support more than any other then that class would be all you saw at op fights.

[Torg]

imagine something like this:

[this is an example. just numbers]

tank: 3 from resists, 3 from armour, 1 from psi/etc = 7 total defense points
pe: 2 from resists, 2 from armour, 2 from psi/etc = 6 total defense points
spy: 1 from resists, 2 from armour, 1 from psi/etc = 4 total defense points
monk: 1 from resists, 1 from armour, 4 from psi/etc = 6 total defense points

in that example, the main battle char would still be the tank, even as monks profit more from psi support than any other class. please also note that in this system balanced hybrid monks would be possible again. and, yes, the spy would be a support char.

[William Antrim]

I'd rather see them all be balanced and the only difference between them be speed of player and aiming speed be the difference in each class.

[Torg]

depends on whether you want NC to be a shooter with just a couple of different skins or an MMORPG with different classes and abilities. i'm into the latter. but, well, we had touched this subject before, its a matter of taste. still, theres the question where the current skill system is heading.

[William Antrim]

The core element is combat. Combat needs to be balanced. In order to balance them they need to be either similar or give a distinct advantage and disadvantage when greeted with others of their type.

Due to simplicity and ease of understanding I prefer the similar approach over any rock, paper and scissors affair.

I like your ideas about distinctions within boundaries. I hope that this kind of template is adopted when it comes to armour and implants balancing. However the core element, at least in my mind should remain similar.