We've seen a lot of talk online about whether there are classes in Crimson Desert. While it's a fair question for an RPG, Crimson Desert isn't like Skyrim or Dragon's Dogma. This is a single-player RPG focused on a single protagonist, rather than a sandbox like Skyrim or Dragon's Dogma.
The game will see us play as Kliff Macduff, though we will briefly control two other characters during the story. While Kliff is the main character in the game and you can alter how you play him, the game doesn't offer up a traditional class-based system.
The two alternative characters are different, with the game's Director of marketing Will Power saying that "Damiane has a pistol and a musket, she has a rapier that she uses in melee. Then we have Oongka (The Brute), who is an Orc that fights with two-handed weapons." Crucially, though, the game is about Kliff Macduff and his adventure through the world.
Crimson Desert is now just around the corner, check out the release date, story, setting and more in our 'What We Know So Far' guide.
Crimson Desert Playable Characters
Kliff Macduff
Kliff Macduff is the main protagonist and the character you control for most of the game. In fact, you can stick with Kliff throughout and never switch to the other companions.
For his kit, Kliff is very much the "play how you like" character. His basic kit is a sword and shield, plus a bow, and throwing in some grabs and throws for good measure. We have also seen Kliff use other weapons in trailers, including polearms and two-handed weapons.
Kliff's journey is to work with his band of mercenaries to fill the power void left behind by the King of Demeniss, also known as the Unifier of Lands, who has fallen into a coma. With rival factions trying to seize control, Kliff and his mercenaries aim to restore stability to the realm.
When it comes to magical attacks, it looks like Kliff will also utilise them as part of his kit. However, neither he nor the other playable characters are traditional mages.
Damiane
Damiane looks to fill the role of the "glass cannon", doing high damage with her rapier and pistol, and using her agility to avoid enemies. It's likely that Damiane will be ideal once you get the hang of the game and start to learn the systems.
With her high damage output, but low defence, she'll be ideal for those who want Crimson Desert to be a little harder. If you had to consider her a class, then she is very much the 'Rogue' of the group, even maybe a swashbuckler if we had to put a label on it.
Oongka (The Brute)
Oongka (The Brute) is an Orc character that will focus on high damage and sustain, but at the loss of some agility. Oongka is going to focus a lot of AOE damage, and take out large groups of enemies with his devastating two-handed axe. Described in some previews as the "simple" character due to this kit, Oongka is going to be ideal for those who want to take out a lot of enemies quickly and effectively. As for a class, Oongka is your classic Warrior or Barbarian. No real thought for his own life, just get in, deal damage and see what's left after.
Skills and Talents
Character progression is tied to Abyss Fragments. These are used to increase your health and stamina, unlocking new skills, etc. However, it's not just as simple as level up, spend points. Crimson Desert will also reward you for doing other activities. Exploring the world, finding hidden areas, and defeating bosses will also grant rewards. All of these side activities will reward you with new stats, progress, items, and other ways to push your character forward. Enemies won't give you XP, and you won't level up in the same way you might in Skyrim.
One unique feature of Crimson Desert is that a number of skills are learnt by observing them in the world. These will come in a few forms. You might observe them at specific places in the world by entering the "Observe" mode (shown above). You can also do this in combat, too. For example, if an enemy character jumps on top of you and does a "Belly slam", you can observe this ability and learn for yourself.
Combat Style
Overall, combat in Crimson Desert is heavily focused on combos and chaining attacks. By 'Observing' abilities that you want to use, you can build Kliff into the type of fighter you want him to be. So if you want Kliff to have lots of wrestling moves, such as jumping onto enemies, throwing them around, etc, you can. But if you want to do shield slams and spearing attacks, that's also an option.
It looks like the system will let you have a mix of all of these; however, the limitation is really how many active skills you can have at any time. However, moving skills around from the active pool is fairly simple and should give high levels of freedom.
Ultimately, freedom is the name of the game with Crimson Desert. Within reason, it really seems like you'll be able to play how you like; whether it works or not is another question, but you can at least try it!
