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Race & Class Recommendations

Recommendations for selecting a race & class before starting

The big question, "I'm new. Which race and class should I play?"

Selecting a compatible race and class combination can make the difference between repeat & numerous deaths or level progression/accomplishments and a positive "newbie" experience.

This guide is to help you pick a compatible race and class combination with a summary as to why. Or for those seeking a challenge - a combination that may prove enjoyable in a different way.

NOTE: This guide is meant to provide someone who is new to Crossfire the best starting chance to the path of success.

The "safest" combination of race(s) & classes to start out with and learn how to play are:

  • Human paladin or warrior
  • Half-orc warrior
  • Northman warrior

Why?

  1. The stat bonuses.
    Half-orcs and Northman favor the fighter class, but provide an initial penalty to the spell casting classes (which includes prayers). The human has no stat modifiers, but does not have penalties either.
  2. No spell path restrictions.
    These races and classes do not have restrictions on spell access *until* your character selects a god/cult to follow or worship.
  3. Neither race or class has any restrictions on equipment or other gear.
    They can wield or use any weapon and armour. Once again, which cult/god your character chooses to worship will have an affect on this.
  4. Neither race or class makes you vulnerable to any particular attack type such as fire for a wraith or troll, etc. This can be a hard learning curve when first starting out.

Also, when starting out, it's easiest to learn how to play Crossfire as one of the warrior/fighter classes. The core skills (movement coordination, attack strategies, map & level progression) apply to all classes, but have a shorter learning curve with the "melee" classes. Learning and using spells (especially offensive spells) is a step up from these core skills. After all, once the spell caster runs out of grace or mana - they are going to have to fight their way out to safety.

As for the rest of the races...

Dragon/fire hatchling:
The planning for the elemental focus isn't all that intuitive. The armor restrictions (can't wear any) and weapon restrictions (can't wield any) can make some of the early levels tough - unless you have a stockpile or access to some magical stuff (other character, guild, friends, etc.) Dragon characters are also vulnerable to weapons that are slay_dragon.

Dwarf:
Dwarves would be a recommended starting race, except for one problem: they are vulnerable to the holy word of Gnarg (slay_dwarf) Otherwise they make excellent warriors.

Elf:
They have a penalty to their starting Str and Con stats, which are very important for the fighter classes. Plus they are vulnerable to Gnarg's holy word. They are also vulnerable to weapons that are slay_faerie.

Fireborn:
A fireborn has strict armour and other gear restrictions (no weapons). They are also vulnerable to cold and other attack types such as drain and ghost hit which makes up for their protection from fire and poison. The stat penalties for a fireborn also makes them weak fighters, but very strong spell casters.

Gnome:
They have a penalty to their starting Str, Dex and Con stats which are critical for the fighter classes.

Halfling:
They start out with a substantial penalty to their Str score, but do receive a bonus to their Dex and Con scores. They have no weapon restrictions; are not vulnerable to any particular spell or attack type. Halflings would probably fall under the category of "recommended" vs "highly recommended."

Quetzalcoatl:
At a quick glance, this pseudo-dragon race has the appearance of being the potent fighter race in the game. However, they can't wear or use any armour. They can wield weapons though. The stat penalties they take on the "spell casting" stats is very substantial though. Their vulnerabilities to paralyze and cold assures a near immediate death (several equipment options are available to reduce this chance) because of the frequency that these attack types show up in the game (probably second to fire.)

Serpentman:
This is another race that has great potential as a second character. Stat bonuses are decent for the melee skills; stat penalties for the spell casting skills are noticeable but nothing that substantial. However, a serpentman has restrictions on what armour they can use which can be compensated for with no restrictions on weapons. They are vulnerable to cold though, which is a very common spell effect or attack type within the game.

Trolls:
They have a high digestion rate - they eat alot of food. Unless you know of what maps to visit for a good supply of food and which ones to avoid due to their weakness to fire - expect many deaths as a result. Trolls are also vulnerable to Lythander's holy word. They are also vulnerable to weapons that are slay_troll.

Wraiths:
Wraiths are vulnerable to fire and all holy word based spells (plus the spell turn undead) which is very dangerous because of the area of effect of these spells. Also, a Wraith character casting holy word based prayers could accidentally kill themselves. They are also vulnerable to weapons that are slay_undead.

As for the classes...

Alchemist:
The alchemist class starts out with a minimum of combat and spell casting skills. However, their access to the alchemy skill can allow them to build up a considerable fortune, which then allows them to buy necessary items, skill scrolls, etc. to become a potent character later on.

Barbarian:
The barbarian class is a pure combat class in the early game. Their stat penalties can make diversifying your character extra challenging because learning new skills requires the literacy skill (which they do not start out with) and a high Intelligence (which they start out with a -6 modifier).

Devotee, Sorcerer, Summoner, Warlock, Wizard:
These are the "mage" type of classes, the arcane spell casters. These are especially challenging to start out the game with.

  • All the offensive spells that they have access to require spell points to cast. Nearly all armour in the game hinders spell point regeneration so wearing plate mail while adventuring in the dungeon not only slows down your movement (all these classes, but warlock, start with a penalty to the Strength score) and spell point regeneration. These leaves the "mages" very vulnerable on the defense, but powerful on the offense as well.
  • They also start out with a penalty to their Constitution score (except the Warlock,) so their total hit points (health) are not that high either. As they level, they do not gain as many hit points for each level either.
  • Learning the timing and coordination necessary for effective spell casting has a learning curve. Vanquishing as many monsters as you can with a single spell will help you level up faster, but understanding when to use a ball, cone, or bolt based spell takes some practice and learning. This of course assumes your character starts out with one of these spells. Spells can be found for "free" as random treasure, but often times you'll need to purchase new spells from shops or other players. Having a stockpile of money helps with this - which is easier to acquire with one of the melee classes.

Monk:
Monks are unable to wield any weapons or wear any armour (other then normal clothing). They are the only class that has access to the meditate skill (allows for fast healing and spell point regeneration) to make up for this. Monks also have a minimum of stat penalties when starting out which gives them the potential to be a decent mix of melee skills and spell casting. But, it's the early game where defense (in the form of armour) and hit points (to withstand damage that the armour can't prevent) are so critical - that leaves the monk "recommended" as a second character that you may want to create.

Ninja:
Ninjas start out with positive modifiers to the core melee stats (Str, Dex, and Con) but also have penalties to the spell casting stats (Wis, Pow.) They do not have any weapon or armour restrictions. Overall, this makes the ninja class rather favourable. Ninjas would probably fall under the category of "recommended" vs "highly recommended.

Priest:
The priest class is very similar to the "mage" classes (Devotee, Sorcerer, Summoner, Warlock and Wizard) with the key difference being the priest uses prayers and grace instead of arcane spells and spell points. The next major difference is that the priest's spell casting is not hindered by armour and that grace can be restored by using the praying skill. What makes a priest a challenge to play is their strengths are in their spells - both offensive & defensive and healing. A player has to purchase and successfully learn all these spells and use them effectively. This is expensive and an even bigger learning curve. The stat bonuses and penalties for the priest reflect this - they start out with penalties to the core melee stats (Str, Dex, and Con) and positive modifiers to their spell casting stats (Int, Wis, Pow.)

Swashbuckler:
Swashbucklers start out with positive modifiers to the core melee stats (Str, Dex, and Con) but also have penalties to the spell casting stats (Int, Wis, Pow.) They do not have any weapon or armour restrictions. They receive a bonus to their Charisma score which can be helpful in the buying and purchasing items from shops. Overall, this makes the swashbuckler class rather favourable. Swashbucklers would probably fall under the category of "recommended" vs "highly recommended."

Thief:
Thieves start off with a penalty to their Constitution score which is critical for hit points. They also receive a considerable bonus to their Dexterity scores too. This helps with their quickness and AC. However, the early game relies so much on hit points because AC will not protect you from many magical attacks, traps, etc. The penalty they receive on their Charisma score will make selling to shops a little less profitable, and buying from shops more expensive.