Lineage II/Classes

Lineage II has a very strict Player Character (PC) class system. Humans, Elves, Darkelves and Orcs can choose between Fighter and Mystic in the beginning, while dwarves can only start as Fighter. When the character levels up, they can specialize further at level 20 and level 40. These so-called Profession Changes at level 20 and level 40 include a Class Change Quest, which in fact is three different (and very long and time consuming) quests at level 40.

Each of the nine starting classes has their own stats, and no race has a class which is exactly like a class of another race, even if some are very much like each other, at least between humans, elves and darkelves.

For leveling up, one needs xp (experience points). For gaining new abilities and improving existing abilities, one needs sp (skill points). Both kind of points are gained through killing mobs (which is the gamer term for monsters in the game). If a player kills mobs which are below his own level, he gains below average sp (relative to xp), but if he kills mobs which is above, he gains above average sp (again relative to the xp gained from killing that mob).

Each class are defined through a set of skills which have to be bought with skill points. If someone has not enough skillpoints, he will not be able to "outskill" his character, that is, he will lack skills. After some levels, each class can raise their skills even further. A character can not raise skills which are not of his class or which he is of too low level to raise them yet.

Lineage II has been created by a Korean company, and the gameplay reflects the Asian way of thinking. Not only are the characters looking very anime, but the game is strongly intended for group play (that is, the individual matters little, the group is important). That is why all classes are highly specialized and many are very weak on their own, and everybody is much better if in a well composed group.

Changes with C3
With C3, subclassing has been introduced. Characters which have hit the C3 maxlevel 75 can start a second profession, in which they start with level 40.


 * 1) The subclass cannot be Warsmith or Overlord.
 * 2) Elves and darkelves cannot choose professions of the other race as subclass.
 * 3) Any class cannot choose a profession which is their equivalent in another race as subclass. Equivalent classes in this respect are:
 * 4) *Tanks: Paladin, Dark Avenger, Temple Knight and Shillien Knight
 * 5) *Dagger users: Treasure Hunter, Plainswalker and Abyss Walker
 * 6) *Archers: Hawkeye, Silver Ranger and Phantom Ranger
 * 7) *Nukers: Sorcerer, Spellsinger and Spellhowler
 * 8) *Summoners: Warlock, Elemental Summoner and Phantom Summoner

Changes with C4
With C4, the maxlevel was raised to 78. At level 76, they can start a third class change quest which gives them a new job name and access to new skills.

Too, a character that has reached level 75 in his subclass can start a third class, which again starts at level 40.

Deciding what Class to Play
In Lineage II, the player has knowledge of the various possible classes that his or her characters can become at the end of the character's career. All the various 2nd Professions are known to gamers, and in the main the advantages and disadvantages of each is known.

It is very important for a starting player to determine what 2nd Profession s/ he wants his or her character to be, because once s/ he embark on a specific path, it has very little leeway for change, and in some cases the character are completely locked into a 2nd Profession. There is no in-game way to change the profession, so once a player is embarked on one class, there is very little room for turning back.

Thus, the first thing a player should do is to read through the 2nd Professions first, and then decide which starting class to play. As the starting classes tends to have a variety of skills to choose from, it is important for players not to waste valuable Skill Points (SP) on skills s/ he will not be further developing after the 1st or 2nd Profession Change. (It should be noted, however, that one can always acquire more Skill Points by killing monsters. Thus, wasting said points is not fatal.)

Decision Criteria
There are separate fields in which a character might be active, and in which different classes are better or not so good.


 * Solo: How well does the class on its own ? Especially archers and wizards have the least problems alone, as they are ranged or, in the case of the summoner, have their own party "in the pocket". On the other hand, these classes tend to be problematic inside a conventional party (but combining these classes with each other and with elders works very well). Some classes (healers, support warriors, and Tyrants) can have quite some trouble on their own.
 * Group: How easily does the class find people willing to party, and how good does the class work inside a party ? Clerics, especially buffers, win of course the contest about being welcome in a party. Well formed parties need all elements - tanks who attract the attacks, damage dealers who deal most of the damage, buffers who maximize the effectiveness of the rest, and healers that keep the party alive.
 * Resources: A lot of classes offer special features to get faster or more or harder to get resources. Bounty Hunters can spoil extra drops. Primarily Warlords, but also Destroyers, Dwarves and a little bit also Gladiators get skills for polearm usage to battle larger groups of lesser opponents at a time. The dagger users get sneak skills (and various other things) to get to farming points which are otherwise only reachable through brute force.
 * Money: This is of course very much the same as resource hunting, but the Warsmiths get special features in this respect to make even more money than before.
 * Clans: While clans need a healthy mix of all classes, Warsmiths and Overlords play special, central roles in clans and sieges.
 * PvP: During Sieges, but also on other occasions players fight each other. See Classes in respect to PvP for a discussion about this aspect of the game. Having a weak class in PvP can be very frustrating if you get PKed without a chance to fight back.

Starting Stats
In fact, the starting stats have less to say than many might suspect from other rule systems, because the abilities of the classes between the races differ so much. The only way to change these values is with Dyes (can be used from level 40 on; these lowlevel dyes for level 20-40 are used by nobody as they will get lost in the end anyway) and through Items (various items in the game shift the stats around, especially b-grade and a-grade armor; on c-grade there is the Demon Set and the Plated Leather Armor Set which actually give a real statboost). Still knowing and understanding the values will help you understand your characters strengths and weaknesses better.

This is maybe a good place to note that Dyes can NOT change Men for Fighter classes and can NOT change Int for Cleric (Buffer / Healer) classes. Only Wizards (Nukers and Summoners) can freely change their mental stats.

Red means best body stat for fighters or best mental stat for mystics, yellow means worst.


 * Str = Strength: P.atk (+3% P.Atk, Str 40+: +4% P.Atk)


 * Dex = Dexterity: Atk Speed, Accurancy, Evasion, Critical, Shield Defense, Speed, Physical/Dagger Skill Speed (For 4 Dex: +15 Atk Speed, +2 Accurancy, +2 Evasion, +9 Critical, +3 Speed)


 * Con = Constitution: HP max/regeneration, Load limit, Breath gauge, Shock/bleeding resistance (about 100 hp for Con [depends upon class, values of 40+ give more hp])


 * Int = Intelligence: M.atk, Dark Magic Success Rate (+4% M.atk)


 * Wit = Wits: Magical speed/critical, Resistance to Hold/Dark Magic (+5% Magic Speed)


 * Men = Mentality: M.def, MP max/regeneration, Resistance to Poison/Dark Magic/Magic Interruption (For 4 Men: +3% MP regeneration)

Values in parentheses are from the free L2J server and might not be correct on the official servers.

As you can see, elven and darkelven fighters clearly have a disadvantage compared to humans and orcs if you check the sums of the body stats. As compensation, they receive better mind stats. For example, darkelven fighters have debuffs (curses) and get the highest Int (which helps with curses). Too, both races have high Dex, and Dex is linked to a lot of things (Accurancy, Atk.Speed, Critical).

Orc mystics are so completely different from the other races that their penalty isn't noticeable at all, and they get better body stats as compensation anyway.

A note about Dwarves, they do NOT get better stats than Humans and Orcs, as some people seem to think - they get just a total of 113, exactly the same as them. Plus if you want to have battle power, choosing a dwarf is obviously a bad idea.

These are the level 1 values of the given variables, some of these become better with higher levels.


 * Atk.speed = Attack Speed, how fast the attacks are, depends upon Dex.


 * Critical = Chance for a critical attack, depends upon Dex.


 * Evasion = Chance to avoid an attack, depends upon Dex.


 * Speed = How fast the player can run, depends upon Dex.


 * Load = How much the player can carry max (you need to be below 50% to avoid penalties), depends upon Con.


 * Cast Speed = How fast the player can spellcast, depends upon Wit.


 * P.Atk = Physical Attack, the damage dealt with every successful melee attack, depends upon Str.


 * M.Atk = Magical Attack, the damage dealt with every successful magical attack, depends upon Int.

Ideas for the absolutely clueless
A number of ideas for beginners who have no clue at all about which class to choose first:


 * Prophets (Human Cleric) might be a good start because they are the easiest class to get a party. They are the specialized buffers of the game. Also, because of their strong buffs they are the kind of clerics who are the easiest to solo, except Shamans who have much better body stats than other mystics. If you decide later which class you really want to play and can play on two accounts, you will also always have the best buffing possible, which is a HUGE advantage. The disadvantage is however that clerics in general tend to be passive and everybody expects them to help, but many don't help in return.


 * Destroyers (Orc Fighter) are a good start because they are the toughest warriors and quite easy to play. They are also the most general warriors of the game. They move slowly, but have are a strong mix of defensive and offensive battle power, maybe the only class which can be qualified as being both tank and damage dealer, and they also have the bests fully skilled weapon selection of all warrior classes (Twohander for offense, Sword or Blunt with Shield for defense, and Polearm for battling multiple opponents at the same time). They also have the best buffs in the game for emergency situations (Guts and Frenzy, with C4 activateable at 30% max hp, needs 1.5 s to get cast, gives a 200% bonus on patk and pdef, lasts 90 secs - with C3 it was 20% max hp and only 30 secs) which makes them very hard to kill in emergency situations.


 * Treasure Hunters (Human Fighter) are a good start because they are rumored to be easy to play, and are excellent for finding specific resources. In any case they are surprisingly tough warriors with an ambundance of passive and active skills to their increase damage output (Critical Chance, Critical Power, Boost Attack Speed, Dash, Deadly Blow, Backstab, Vicious Stance) and a rich palette of skills to avoid getting targeted (Switch), avoid combat altogether (Silent Move, Veil), stop combat (Trick), or moving a single opponent away from his allies (Lure). Also, they have two emergency abilities (Fake Death, Ultimate Evasion). As the list shows, they are experts in getting into any place and fighting only specific monsters - only why they are easy to play is hard to understand. They are great solo and great in any party - the later because they are the second highest melee damage dealers after Tyrants. Treasure Hunters and Hawkeyes are the only classes except dwarves who get the skill Vital Force for fast healing when sitting down. Like all Human and Orc Fighters, they also get Relax. Having the combined effect from both skills and decent human Constitution to start with, this means they heal faster than anyone else when sitting down.


 * Warsmiths (Dwarf Fighter) are not really ideal for beginners, as you will have to jump into the cold water with the crafting system. But dwarves get good weapon skills (blunt for everyday use, polearm for making money by slaughtering lesser mobs en masse), get a larger inventory and warehouse than other races, can carry crazy amounts of stuff, heal fast when sitting down, and get not many but only overhit-available skills. Warsmiths in special also get some summons, including two for sieges. Overall you can save and gain a lot of money on them through crafting and crystalizing.

General Playing Rules
While different in detail, many classes have strong similarities that should not be repeated in every single class description again, so here they are:

Classes

 * Mystics have their skill updates at level 7/14/20/25/30/35/40/44/48/52/56 and every 2nd levelup afterwards.
 * Fighters have their skill updates at level 5/10/15/20/24/28/32/36/40/43/46/49/52/55/58 and every 2nd levelup afterwards.
 * C4: After the 3rd classchange on level 76, every class can get special skills on every levelup up to 78.
 * From Level 40 on, spellbooks have to be found - and can no longer just be bought in the shop. The Enchanted Valley as well as the Ivory Tower are central places where a lot of the lesser spellbooks drop. You can also check www.l2wh.com to find mobs which drop your spellbook.
 * Just because a class has a skill for a certain kind of armor, it does not mean it gets the same boni from that kind of armor as another class who has also a skill for it. For example, a Warrior or Dwarf gets both p.def and evasion from his light armor skill, while a Daggeruser, Archer or Tyrant gets only p.def, and a cleric or summoner (not Necromancer) gets p.def, castspeed, atk.speed and mp regen. from it.

Playstyle

 * The golden rule of L2: Always get a party. Every class is more effective, levels faster, can fight stronger monsters and will get better drops if one is in a decent party, especially with support classes.
 * For the class change quests, it is a good idea to first level to 20 (or 40) and wearing equipment from the next grade before starting them. This way the quests will be a lot easier.
 * For the second class change, there are three quests - one at level 35, 37 and lastly 39. It is a good idea to do them in parallel, and save a lot of time and money.

Resources (Mats / Shots / Crystals etc)

 * You should never sell mats in the shop. While being irrelevant on low grades, mats are essential when you become highlevel (i.e. after second class change, or at least after level 52), as armor and weapons can no longer be bought (even top d-grade items can't be bought anymore). Mats can be identified by clicking on their description. You will need tons of them to craft stuff on higher levels, so either sell your mats to other players or keep them for future use.
 * You should only sell key mats if you are sure they are worthless (all no-grade key mats are, while everything from b-grade upward never is). Again sell them to other players instead of selling in the shop if they are of value.
 * You should never sell weapons and armor above no-grade. They can be crystalized.
 * Summoners (Necromancer, Warlock, Elemental Summoner, Phantom Summoner, but also Dark Avengers with their panther, Temple Knights / Shillien Knights with their cubics, and Warsmiths) need crystals (Warsmiths sometimes also gems) for their summons, for which you need a friendly Warsmith who sells you them. You can also make one yourself; a level 20 Artisan is already able to produce the necessary d-crystals. With C4, many summons need c-crystals, therefore a lvl 40 Warsmith will be needed.

Items (Weapons / Armor / Accessories)

 * Keep your second best weapon and armor in your warehouse instead of selling it. You might be thankful to have anything in case you drop your current weapon / armor in death.
 * You should not wear a grade which is too high for your current level. Level 1+: no-grade, Level 20+: d-grade, Level 40+: c-grade, Level 52+: b-grade, Level 61+: a-grade, Level 76+: s-grade.
 * You first get a weapon, and THEN the armor. While the armor is cheaper, it is less important. Note that there are exceptions. Defensive warriors (tanks) should not follow this rule, especially if they are mainly intended for party play. Lowlevel mystics might also prefer to first get their devotion set as it helps so much with spellcasting.
 * Clerical party character can operate quite well even in rags, as M.Atk doesn't help with healing or buffing (only with Root, Sleep, the various clerical curses, and the Undead attack spells). Therefore mainly want spellcasting speed (Weapon with Acumen, many Robe sets), MP (all Robes, some light armor sets) and MP Regen (Blue Wolf Light, Majestic Robe etc). Even buffers often prefer robes for the additional mp - buffing a whole party can require a lot of mp - even if they usually prefer warrior weapons for dealing more damage. Outside a party, clerical characters will prefer a light or even a heavy armor (if they have that skill), and warrior weapons, unless they fight undead with their spells, for which wizard equipment would be best.
 * Clerical classes get only general weapon skills and are completely free in choosing what to use. Many clerics prefer dual swords, but bows or wizard weapons are popular too.
 * Party healers don't care about M.atk, as it hardly improves healing spells. To heal more, one simply needs more casting speed (and more mana on the long run, of course), so wizard weapons with Acumen, Mana Up or UpDown/Conversion are preferred.
 * Your M.Def might save your life. You can avoid having good jewelry up to level 50 or so by avoiding all mobs that use magic, but this means you have to avoid a lot of specific drops and otherwise good mobs, too, therefore consider getting good jewelry from level 20 on. This rule is especially important for mystics, because clerics don't have much choice in what mobs they face alone (undeads in EG, DV, DC and elsewhere), and wizards usually face red mobs while having only little HP themselves.
 * Most fighters will have a polearm weapon in reserve to battle against groups of monsters at a time. This is the main strategy of fighters to make a lot of money in a short time. Many types of wizards can do the same with their mass spells.

Classes by Race
It should be noted here, that although the different classes have their advantages and disadvantages, there is generally a balance between them. That means no class is better than another, instead they specialise in different things. So in choosing your preferred class/race, you should find what suits your style of play, and what would be best for you, meaning specifically: what you enjoy to play for a long time.

The names in parentheses are the new C4 3rd class change names which can be achieved after reaching level 76 in a class.

Human
Humans have well balanced stats as well as the most specialized classes of all races, and also the largest number of classes to choose from.

Human Classes

 * Human Fighter
 * Human Knight
 * Paladin (Phoenix Knight) —- tank with healing specialized against undead.
 * Dark Avenger (Hell Knight) —- tank with absorb health and summon.
 * Warrior
 * Gladiator (Duelist)—general warrior.
 * Warlord (Dreadnought) —- specialized polearm user.
 * Rogue
 * Treasure Hunter (Adventurer) —- damage dealer with dagger and light armor.
 * Hawkeye (Sagittarius) —- archer.
 * Human Mystic
 * Human Wizard
 * Sorcerer (Archmage) —- nuker with balanced spell selection.
 * Necromancer (Soultaker) —- dark magic specialist, nuker with summons, rich palette of debuffs, hardly any mass magic.
 * Warlock (Arcana Lord) —- summoner.
 * Cleric
 * Prophet (Hierophant) —- buffer.
 * Bishop (Cardinal) —- healer.

Elf
Elves are limited to "light" magic and tend a little towards defensive class concepts. Their fighters have highest Dexterity (Atkspeed, Criticals, Accuracy, Evasion, Running Speed), and their mystics have highest Wits (Castspeed, Mag Critical, Hold and Curse Resistance). Light Elven warriors, especially the Swordsingers, have a rather large amount of self-buffs, making them a very naturally choice for soloing early on.

Elven Classes

 * Elven Fighter
 * Elven Knight
 * Temple Knight (Eva’s Templar) —- tank with healing.
 * Swordsinger (Sword Muse) —- shield + sword/blunt specialist with defensive party buffs.
 * Scout
 * Plainswalker (Wind Rider) —- damage dealer with dagger and light armor.
 * Silver Ranger (Moonlight Sentinel) —- archer.
 * Elven Mystic
 * Elven Wizard
 * Spellsinger (Mystic Muse)—nuker.
 * Elemental Summoner (Elemental Master) —- summoner.


 * (Elven) Oracle
 * (Elven) Elder (Eva’s Saint) —- healer/buffer combo.

Dark Elf
Darkelves have a lot of interesting "dark magic" in their skills, such as Drain Health. Their fighters have the highest strength (P.Atk) and their mystics the highest intelligence (M.Atk).

Darkelven Classes

 * Dark Fighter
 * Palus Knight
 * Shillien Knight (Shillien Templar) —- tank with debuffs.
 * Bladedancer (Spectral Dancer) —- dual sword specialist with offensive party buffs.
 * Assassin
 * Abyss Walker (Ghost Hunter) —- damage dealer with dagger and light armor.
 * Phantom Ranger (Ghost Sentinel) —- archer.
 * Dark Mystic
 * Dark Wizard
 * Spellhowler (Storm Screamer) —- nuker with some dark magic.
 * Phantom Summoner (Spectral Master) —- summoner.
 * Shillien Oracle


 * Shillien Elder (Shillien Saint) —- healer/buffer combo

Orcs
Orcs have only four classes, but good stats for their fighters and an unusual, hard to compare concept for their clerics (i.e. shamans). Their fighters have the highest constitution (HP, HP Regen, Load, Shock and Bleed Resistance) and their mystics have the highest mentality (MP, MP Regen, M.Def).

Orcish Classes

 * Orc Fighter
 * Monk
 * Tyrant (Grand Khavatari) —- damage dealer with fists and light armor.
 * Raider
 * Destroyer (Titan) —- warrior in heavy armor with flexible weapon selection.
 * Orc Mystic
 * Shaman
 * Overlord (Dominator) —- clan/alliance buffer with sleep and some offensive spells.
 * Warcryer (Doomcryer) —- party buffer with root and some offensive spells.

Dwarf
Dwarves have only two fighter classes, one for crafting and one for getting materials. While their battle skills are not overly exciting, they are very practical - they can use blunts and polearms well, stun with the former and do extra damage with the later. Additionally, dwarves can carry crazy amounts of stuff and have larger inventories and warehouses, they heal very fast when sitting down, and they are the base of the economy and usually richer than others.

Dwarvish Classes

 * Dwarven Fighter
 * Artisan
 * Warsmith (Maestro) —- crafter.
 * Scavenger
 * Bounty Hunter (Fortune Seeker) —- resource spoiler.

Defensive Warriors
Also called tanks, defensive warriors specialize into heavy armor and the shield, and into focussing attacks on them.
 * Paladin (Phoenix Knight) - Human
 * Dark Avenger (Hell Knight) - Human
 * Temple Knight (Eva’s Templar) - Elf
 * Shillien Knight (Shillien Templar) - Darkelf

General Warriors
These are the other warriors that do not fit into the categories defensive, offensive or support. Gladiators and Destroyers are very good in both offense and defense. Warlords are totally specialzied into the polearm useage. And dwarves simply aren't the greatest warriors, its their other class features which make them great.
 * Gladiator (Duelist) - Human
 * Destroyer (Titan) - Orc
 * Warlord (Dreadnought) - Human
 * Warsmith (Maestro) - Dwarf
 * Bounty Hunter (Fortune Seeker) - Dwarf

Support Warriors
Offering group buffs, but also being full featured warriors by themselves, the support warriors are the battle oriented Lineage II variant of what is known from other games as the Bard.
 * Swordsinger (Sword Muse) - Elf
 * Bladedancer (Spectral Dancer) - Darkelf

Offensive Warriors
With only light armor, but being able to dish out massive damage, the dagger users and the special case Tyrant qualify as offensive warriors.
 * Treasure Hunter (Adventurer) - Human
 * Plainswalker (Wind Rider) - Elf
 * Abyss Walker (Ghost Hunter) - Darkelf
 * Tyrant (Grand Khavatari) - Orc

Archers
Ranged attacks where uber strong in the first versions of the game, which is why they require now enormous masses of resources (both ss and bsps).
 * Hawkeye (Sagittarius) - Human
 * Silver Ranger (Moonlight Sentinel) - Elf
 * Phantom Ranger (Ghost Sentinel) - Darkelf

Nukers
These offensive wizards can deal extreme damage through their spells. They also have mass spells and various group effects. A special case is the necromancer, who totally specializes into debuffs, but also has some of the strongest nuker spells - as well as summons (but no support spells for them).
 * Sorcerer (Archmage) - Human
 * Necromancer (Soultaker) - Human
 * Spellsinger (Mystic Muse) - Elf
 * Spellhowler (Storm Screamer) - Darkelf

Summoners
Summoners let their summon do the work and support it with their servitor buffs and healing spells.
 * Warlock (Arcana Lord) - Human
 * Elemental Summoner (Elemental Master) - Elf
 * Phantom Summoner (Spectral Master) - Darkelf

Buffers
Buffers max out other players, which is why everyone loves to party with them. They also get some more offensive spells than the healer classes, and thanks to their own buffs they can solo quite well. While the Prophet at least gets Battle Heal (enough to heal a bit in emergency), the Shamans really only get regeneration skills.
 * Prophet (Hierophant) - Human
 * Overlord (Dominator) - Orc
 * Warcryer (Doomcryer) - Orc

Healers
Compared to buffers, healers can offer a lot more and a lot longer healing. These classes also have some nice buffs, except the Bishop who is totally specialized into healing and has the best and strongest healing and raise dead spells.
 * Bishop (Cardinal) - Human
 * (Elven) Elder (Eva’s Saint) - Elf
 * Shillien Elder (Shillien Saint) - Darkelf

Other lists
In this section, the classes are compared with each other.


 * Fighter Comparison
 * Mystic Comparison
 * Classes in respect to PvP (Player versus Player)
 * Lineage II Classic classes selection