The Paladin - Comm 344

The next series of classes are Hybrid Classes, or classes that are combinations of any previous two.  These combinations take strengths and weaknesses from each class, so none of them are typically overpowered.  They also take social elements from each of the borrowed classes, which create even more distinct characters with different driving goals.
                The first Hybrid class is the combination of the Fighter and the Cleric: The Paladin.  The Paladin, or Tower Knight, is a holy warrior that uses the powers of light and the heavens to smite their enemies.  They draw tough armor and heavy weaponry from the fighting class, but obtain the religious knowledge of restoration and prayer from the cleric class.  This is a very stalwart and defensive class used primarily to outlast an opponent’s harsh advances.
                Utilizing heavy equipment used by their fighter counterparts is part of what makes these holy knights such good defenders.  By donning mighty armor sets that cause little recoil from hits, the Paladin can fight in the front lines with his fellow heavy-hitters.  Although somewhat uncommon of knights to wear In general, Paladins often wear capes with depictions of the God or Goddess they worship adorned on them.  This can be seen as a nod to the cleric class, which features robes and flowing garments.  Colors like white and gold become common, as they represent divinity and power through holy strength.  Weapons tend to have the same focus.  Large, heavy weapons like greatswords and steel maces are wielded in a fearsome manner.  By enchanting their weapons with holy power, the Paladin is able to use physical attacks with holy properties – something that nearly no other class can do. 
                Adorning their weapons with holy magic is by far the simplest spell they can cast.  They can provide restorative magic in a similar manner to the Cleric, but as front line fighters Paladins would much rather heal through attacking.  In Dungeons & Dragons the Paladin has attacks such as Righteous Brand that allow him or her to deal damage with their weapon and convert a portion of the damage dealt into health.  This converted health can be used to heal the ally of choice, making this an effective strategy for a front line attacker.  This makes it very difficult to defeat a Paladin as they can be constantly attacking and healing simultaneously.  Because of their holy lineage they can also provide blessings that do more towards strengthening the party.  They can place a mark on an enemy that heals any ally who is to attack the enemy that is marked.  This is another example of how a Paladin can heal allies in nontraditional ways that are still quite effective. 
                The Paladin is a soldier of God (whatever God that might be) and therefore must also behave in a manner as such.  The role of being a Paladin is a job, and one that is to be taken very seriously and respectfully.  Paladins must only use their powers for good, and are required to aid any traveler they meet as a sign of good virtue to others.  This is a class that must remain just as vigilant in battle as they must out of battle.  The paladin’s moral alignment literally forces them to be good, or else their title of Paladin is revoked.  Obviously this excludes aiding foes, but excessive behaviors such as looting or desecrating dead bodies is strictly forbidden.  The Paladin embodies the nature of a priest very well in this respect.  You would find it difficult to conceive a Paladin that was considered “evil”, unless he is worshipping a deity with evil intentions, the Paladin is simply following the orders of a higher power.
                This unique class offers a more active holy fighter.  Where the cleric must remain passive due to their low attack power, the Paladin fearlessly fights onward and illuminates a path to victory. 

The Mage - Comm 344

Vivi, from Final Fantasy 9 is a stylized version of the classic black mage comprised of dark energy with glowing eyes.

                The mage is the last member of the original set of four archetypes.  Filling the role of a second magic caster, the mage deals damage primarily (and almost exclusively) with offensive, powerful, elemental-based spells.  Utilizing fireballs, icicle daggers, and lightning storms are all just the tip of the iceberg for these spellcasters.  This type of magic is known as black magic (contrary to the white magic that is used for healing) so this mage is also known as a black mage is certain connotations.
                As far as equipment goes, we see the black mage using the same type of weapons and robes that the white mages use.  The weapons can get a little more creative, though.  We see the typical staff and rod type weapons used for spellcasting, a common staff user being Vivi from Final Fantasy 9, and Mia & Nash from Lunar Legend (you get two black mages in that game, both focusing on different elements).  This is by far the most common weapon used by this class, but interesting alternatives have included animated dolls (Lulu, from Final Fantasy X), and books (Leon, from Star Ocean 2).  Lulu sends her doll out to do her bidding, resulting in a weak poke attack that is more comedic than useful, while Leon opens his book to various pages that have different effects (such as a large demon emerging that exclusively hits flying enemies).  The idea that the black mage is placing a spell upon his/her own weapon in order for it to be semi useful speaks for the fighting style of this archetype.  Overall, the black mage follows the same path as the cleric in that they really should rely on their magic to be effective in combat – which is generally never a problem because these two classes have by far the most magic points of any other class in any game. 

Lulu is a beautiful yet harsh woman
who is as serious as she is
deadly.  She animates her dolls
to attack for her.

                The clothing worn by these mages also resemble that of the cleric.  The biggest difference is that the black mage may have more “witch” or wizard-like clothing like wide brimmed hats and colors ranging from dark blues to purples and blacks.  The most generic of all black mages is stylized to be a literal black mass of energy with two yellow eyes, most recently portrayed by Vivi in Final Fantasy 9.  It was also explained in this game that these creatures were “created” rather than born, and therefore not human at all.  This adds to the mysteriousness and ambiguity that is associated with this archetype.  As for the humans portraying this class they tend to be sinister, soft-spoken, and quite intelligent (traits that match a scholar).
                The black mages can be some of the most powerful allies consistently throughout the game.  Because they focus on the elements, they have the easiest time exploiting an enemy’s weakness.  For example, if an enemy is weak to fire, a mage could simply cast a fire-based spell whereas a fighter would have to find a weapon imbued with fire or enchant their weapon.  Some black mages even have the ability to create an elemental weakness for an enemy that has none, or has a weakness to a type of element that the spellcaster does not know.  This constant heavy damage dealing is separated by spells that often inflict negative status effects on their enemies, such as poison clouds, petrification, confusion, and sleep.  This is a great parallel to the white mage who has spells that lift all of these negative effects.  The black mages tend to revolve around the elements of fire (ranging from simple fireballs to volcanic eruptions), ice (ranging from a cold gust of wind to a howling blizzard), lightning (ranging from a single lightning bolt to a vicious storm), and earth (ranging from a smashing boulder to a lethal earthquake).  At first glance, it seems that black mages should be considered demigods by the way that they can control their environment, and you wouldn’t be too far off.
            Aside from elements, non-elemental spells can also be used to deal damage to any enemy without worrying about their resistance to a certain element.  Spells like meteor that (surprise) summon a giant meteor from space to annihilate foes. There's also flare, an intense explosion of light, both serve as safe, powerful spells that can do an equally large amount of damage to any enemy that is weak to magic in general, not a specific type.  The black mage can also be associated with doom, and the Death spell can cause instant death to an enemy.  Although some enemies (and certainly all bosses) are immune to instant-death, to those that do not there is literally no way they can prevent an attack like this, making your job a whole lot easier.
                 The black mage is definitely one of the heaviest hitters damage-wise when in comes to archetypes.  Unlike most other classes, however, this comes with the price of steep magic point costs to some of the higher level spells.  Realistically speaking though, how much magic would it take to pull a meteor down from space?!  I think that it scales nicely as the black mage might not be the most powerful without magic, but can consistently deal high amounts of damage with a steady flow of magic points coming their way.  If you like to deal a lot of damage, exploit enemy’s weaknesses, and fight from a distance then the mage is a perfect choice for your playstyle.

The Thief - Comm 344

Zidane with his signature twin daggers

Rikku is definitely showing a lot of skin in her costume.
Let's... just say that it helps with her agility.

               The thief is a sneaky and tricky character that uses their sticky fingers to pilfer items, money, and loot from opponents.  The core ability of the thief class is the “steal” ability, which proves useful early in a game as a means of obtaining treasure for free.  Having a way to cheaply have access to basic healing items like potions is how the thief can make their niche in the party a useful one from the start.  This character is usually introduces relatively early for this reason, and on few occasions has even been featured as the main character.  The thief is usually a perky, fast-talking, street-wise, young individual which can make for an all-around fun character in combat as well as travelling around the world.  So just how does this delinquent utilize their five-fingered discount to the fullest?
                The thief is almost always seen using lightweight, agile and dexterous weapons such as daggers, claws, and throwing knives.  Long ranged weapons like bows are sometimes an option as well in games like Skyrim where the thief is by themselves in their quest, which sounds ideal.  But the thief can really shine within a group of fighters as the player to not necessarily deal a ton of damage, but to annoy the hell out of their enemies for sure.  Twin daggers are definitely the most popular weapon set, but in games like Final Fantasy 9 (where the main character is a thief named Zidane) we see the use of “thief-swords” which is two blades connected by the hilts.  Think a bladed version of Darth Vader’s lightsaber.  Apparently this is a lightweight weapon that allows for a decent attack power while leaving a hand free for doing what the thief does best. 
                Thieves, due to their agile playstyle, are usually seen donning lightweight armor, and often will find accessories that enhance their stealing abilities.  “Thief’s Gloves” are a common accessory in RPG’s as an equipable item that increases the odds of successfully stealing loot from enemies.  Other accessories like boots that muffle footsteps or scarves that supply invisibility seem to be present in games where thieves are staple characters.  All of these clothing items resemble the attire of a real life thief from medieval times.  They definitely set themselves apart from Ninjas, which are an entirely different class that I will touch on at a later date. 
                In battle, the thief has had many different roles.  As far as stealing goes, games like Final Fantasy X-2 have given thieves somewhat magical or supernatural qualities to their pilfering abilities.  Rikku (the young, bubbly thief from both Final Fantasy X and X-2) can steal items, money, and even time from her enemies.  That’s right.  By stealing “time” from the enemy she puts them in a sort of stasis that freezes the enemy in place.  She also has abilities for stealing specifically rare items from enemies should they have any.  She can steal the enemy’s “spirit” which puts them in a berserk like state of fury.  So we can see that developers have gotten very creative with simple stealing.  She can even simply steal health or magic points from the enemy.  I mean, stealing is stealing, right?  Her signature quote “There ain’t nothin’ I can’t steal!” couldn’t be truer.  In Final Fantasy X Rikku can use the items she’s stolen and combine them together to make a more powerful, usually devastating attack that, depending on the items used, can deal various types of damage or support the party.  So this iteration of a thief is also an alchemist of sorts.  Zidane’s attacks moreso go along the lines of gambling, with an ability called “Lucky 7’s” that does damage based on how many “7’s” are in his current hit points.  He also has an ability called “Thievery” that does more damage depending on how many times he has successfully stolen.  In instances like this the thief is rewarded in a more damaging attack for doing well at what they are designed to do, a great balance In the thief’s playstyle which allows for the thief to have another motive for liberating their enemy’s wallets.  Following closer to the ninja route, thieves can usually inflict negative status effects on enemies with poison daggers and various traps. 

                Thieves haven’t really seen a dominance of one particular sex, though a young, lithe, street-wise individual with a lot of personality usually fills the shoes.  Both sexes tend to wear tight fitting clothing and have snappy comebacks for any occasion, suitable for someone who makes a living by taking what they want from society (and not in a “Robin Hood” way, mind you).  These individuals do their best to convenience their team, and mostly themselves, in any situation.

Memory IS RAM! - Comm 352

                 It is astonishing to think how far we’ve come in the field of technology.  In just a short number of years our technology has expanded at a rapidly increasing rate, which generates much curiosity towards the future of electronics and even society as a whole.  Since the growth of technology has been exponentially increasing, the rate of “cool shit” we are going to see in our lifetime is going to be colossal.
                One aspect of this rapid increase in new technology is the amount of memory that even the simplest of devices can now hold.  When I was young I remember using nothing but AOL, having a cell phone that barely worked in eighth grade, and playing Playstation 2 or Gamecube.  Nowadays instead of using AOL there are tons of different browsers to choose from depending on your style of internet usage, and the customization options tailor to individual needs.  My cell phone is now essentially a mini laptop, and aside from websites with scroll bars there is little along the ways of internet usage that I cannot do on my phone.  It is my portable internet, mp3 player, planner, clock and lastly a device that I use to communicate with.  All of this is possible because modern phones have more memory capabilities than some computers did in the past. 
                The surprising factor with our increase in memory space is that we are able to store so much on such small devices.  For my birthday I received a Kindle fire (which was honestly the last thing I needed) because I already have a phone and a laptop.  Now I just have something in between those two devices that is in a convenient size.  I even have the ability to store vast amounts of information on my Kindle despite its size, so why bother having anything larger?  We have so much “invisible” space to store data in that we are literally running out of things to store.  I can honestly say that I will never come close to ever filling up my laptop’s memory, and I could probably say the same thing about my Kindle. 
                Even game systems like the Playstation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 are essentially part computer.  Once I found out that you could upload music to an Xbox to play music while gaming an entire world of technology opened up to me.  In fact, anyone my age can remember the transition from using memory cards to internal storage space and how revolutionary of a change it has been.  Our gaming systems have evolved from simply a device that plays games to devices that play games, store memory,  and allow complete internet capabilities that includes gaming with others from around the world and downloading content from servers. 
                With the rate of technology expanding so quickly it is truly a great time to be alive.  Although I really hope this does not lead to EVERYTHING being stored online, it is a nice and organized system we have created for keeping everything in a concrete place (assuming the internet isn’t going anywhere…).

The Cleric - Comm 344

          The Cleric (also called a Healer or a White Mage) is my personal favorite class as it is the class that I can most identify with.  Making sure the rest of the party is well healed, protected, and ready to dish out the damage while staying a safe distance away from the enemy makes up this role.  A cleric is often introduced early in most fighting games, as the role is somewhat essential in combat for their defensive uses.  The cleric has also been the role of most female love interests of the main character, which also explains why it is common to see this class introduced early.  Fortunately we have seen a break in this stereotype more often as of late.
           The Cleric's focus is almost never to actually deal damage, so we often see these magicians with some sort of staff, rod, or other divine casting implement.  This could be an orb or a book in some cases.  Variations on this include Jessica, a white mage from the game Lunar Legend, who uses hammers and claws to attack enemies for considerable damage.  In fact, she is the third strongest character in the game and by far the heaviest hitter out of the other mages.  Even other healers that use maces as weapons don't generally deal a tremendous amount of damage because their role does not call for damage dealing.  Other weapons range anywhere from flutes (used by a little girl named Eiko in Final Fantasy 9) and Rackets (Princess Garnet and Eiko from Final Fantasy 9).  The flutes resemble a generic "blessed" weapon that is magic based and not used for attacking, while the rackets (resembling a concave tennis racket) attacks using gusts of energy from long range.  Long range weapons are ideal for a cleric since it allows them to stay safe and leave the close range battling to those with better armor ratings.

Jessica, the cleric from Lunar Legend, sporting a white
robe common amongst healers.  She gives off a
very "holy appearance with the hood as well

          In battle a healer really shines as one of the most invaluable members.  In addition to basic healing, what really creates diversity amongst various healers is their buffing abilities.  In standard RPG's, we see this personified as casting barrier spells that either halve magic or physical damage to a single target (or multiple targets at higher levels).  Other buffs include spells that gradually restore a little health each turn, or removing harmful status effects from an ally.  Clerics can even remove positive status effects from enemies by dispelling them, a strategy that becomes more useful as the game progresses.  Unique abilities seen from healers have a very broad range of effects.  In Dungeons & Dragons the cleric can create a zone of consecrated land that restores health to allies in the zone, while damaging enemies occupying the same zone.  These tricky spells are how a cleric can deal consistent damage and still do their part as a healer.  In Final Fantasy 9 there is an ability called - you guessed it - "healer" which causes all physical attacks made by the user to heal instead of deal damage.  Use this in conjunction with one of those magic Rackets and you have a long range healer that can restore health without even using magic points.  Simply have the user attack his or her allies from afar and keep them healthy with no cost.  Obviously because the attack stat of the white mage is usually pretty low the amount of healing done will not be as significant, but it is still free.
          Although most of the time this role is taken over by gentle females, seeing some variations on this role is not impossible.  Besides the fiery Jessica, in Lunar 2: Eternal Blue the cleric is a man named Ronfar and he also breaks out of the passive healer role.  He is an ex-priest that was excommunicated from the church for defending a loved one.  Ever since his excommunication he has since been seen drinking at local pubs, gambling with dice, and being a self-titled womanizer.  In battle, he uses a mace as well as dice to support the party.  Some of his abilities even utilize the dice in a "coin flip" style manner (even rolls give you one result while odd rolls give a different one).  He, like most clerics, wears robes and other cloth-like armors that provide little defense but usually boost magic power.
          So there you have it, a class that was at one point in time dominated by the same exact type of character for so many years is finally seeing some color.