Picking a hero class

## Which class should you choose?

Keep in mind that Heroes of Ardania does not just limit you to one or two classes of hero. You can create multiple heroes in your account to try out multiple classes. In fact, you should try most of them to experience the game at its fullest.

This merely a set of summaries and observations about each character's strengths and weaknesses for a more detailed look:

## Melee Classes

Those who rely primarily on fighting with hand-to-hand weapons, with minor use of spells. Generally have strong defenses either through high levels of armor, agility or health.

* Adept: Fast-moving scouts and messengers who fight with quarterstaffs. Although they are a bit on the fragile side, they are extremely agile and skilled fighters.
* Barbarian: Angry, axe-wielding men of the wilds. They lack armor to cushion enemies' blows, but are still capable of dealing out and taking ridiculous amounts of pain in melee combat.
* Dwarf: Extremely well-armored engineers who fight with hammers. Not particularly skilled fighters, but well-armored, well-armed and extremely resistant to evil magicks.
* Gnome: Agile, little underdogs often despised for their odor, gnomes are, however, extremely lucky, strong-willed and often underestimated fighters. They are at first weak, being extremely fragile and physically pathetic, but once they reach a certain level, their incredible luck in combat makes them extremely agile, almost impossible to hit. They are also extremely fast learners.
* Warrior: Heavily armored champions of Ardania's kingdoms. They are fairly effective fighters, not as skilled as others, but they make up for it by wearing incredible amounts of body armor and being especially fast learners.
* Warrior of Discord: Big, hulking warriors with questionable sanity. They are easily capable of ripping apart mobs of enemies with their "stickblade" longaxes. They are generally powerful fighters, but can falter when taking on very powerful individual enemies.

## Magic/melee Classes

Those who rely both on hand-to-hand weapons and magical spells. A fairly versatile group with decent defenses.

* Cultist - The cultist is very witty and makes good use of spells allowing him/her to keep himself/herself alive for hundreds of rounds eventually wiping out most mid-level foes by dealing occasional damage without using followers. His true potential lies in the Change Shape spell and in charming monsters to followers. With three high-level monsters and nine other acquired followers the cultist easily becomes a formidable force but can falter while fighting particullarly strong enemies.
* Monk - Monks are martial artists who refuse to use weapons and armours but fights solely with a crushing willpower and excellent skills. They use defensive spells and blessing from the gods to take on the forces of the evil.
* Paladin - They are hydrid fighters known for their excellent defence and intelligence. They mostly use their swords in combat but does not hold back from using offensive spells when required. They makes them incredibly skilled warriors letting to rid Ardania of most threats but when face to face with extremely powerly foes, they fall easily.
* Solarus - These followers of Helia crush and burn most of their enemies using both their crushers and the Sun Scorch spell but easily fall victim to the agile fighters and monsters of Ardania.
* Healer - The healer is a noble hero who have sworn never to use their weapons against anybody but the evil of Ardania. They can have only six followers and deals considerably low melee damage but these weaknesses are easily made up by their Heal spell.

## Ranged Classes

Those who rely primarily on fighting with ranged weapons, with minor usage of spells. They are fairly fragile in general, but are capable of dealing great damage, as most enemies aren't so good at dodging arrows.

* Elf
* Ranger
* Rogue

## Magic Classes

Those who rely primarily on magical spells, with minor usage of hand-to-hand weapons. Fragile, but capable of dishing out massive damage in certain situations.

* Priestess
* Wizard

## Details on class strengths/weaknesses

A breakdown of the pros and cons of each class. Keep in mind that most of the advantages and disadvantages of each class are fully realized only once they hit level ten.

+ =Minor positive trait
++=Major positive trait
- =Minor negative trait
--=Major negative trait
0 =Neutral or equally positive and negative trait

Starter refers to how powerful the class is early game (until level fifteen)

* Beginner: You can get away with stumbling along blindly. Not challenging.

* Advanced: Some attention and skill needed. Fairly challenging.

* Expert: Lots of attention and skill needed. Quite challenging.

* Master: If you gain a level without dying, you're either a genius or a coward. Very challenging.

Late-game refers to how powerful the class becomes late-game (Desolate Wastelands, Battle of Plains, Thallis, etc), assuming you know what you are doing by this point.

* Excellent: You will wipe out Ardania's most feared enemies by the cartload. On a slow day.
* Good: You will defeat powerful enemies on a regular but not guaranteed basis.
* Decent: You will defeat powerful opponents with a little luck and a lot of preparation.
* Mediocre: You will have to be very cautious around powerful enemies.

### **Adept**

* ++High dodging/parrying
* + Good melee damage dealing
* + Escapes easily from combat
* + Good spell-casting abilities
* + High initiative in combat
* + Access to most temples
* 0 Mediocre HPs
* 0 Average XP to level; average level gaining
* 0 Decent armor
* --No initial magic resistance
* Starter: Beginner
* Late-game: Excellent

### **Barbarian**

* ++Excellent melee damage dealing
* ++Very high HPs
* + Good initial magic resistance
* + Decent dodging/parrying
* + Hardiness- chance to avoid death
* 0 Average XP to level; average level gaining
* - Access to only Temple of Krolm
* --Very weak spellcasting ability
* --Very weak armor
* Starter: Master
* Late-game: Good

### **Dwarf**

* ++Excellent armor
* ++Amazing magic resistance
* ++Immune to poison and petrification
* + High HPs
* + Access to all temples
* + Good melee damage dealing
* + Construction ability at start of game
* 0 Average spell casting ability
* - Lacks access to Gnome/Elven buildings
* - Weak dodging/parrying
* - Low initiative in combat
* - High XP to level; Slow level gaining
* Starter: Beginner
* Late-game: Decent

### **Gnome (Gnome champion)**

* ++High dodging/parrying, especially after level 8
* ++Very low XP to level; Rapid level gaining
* + Great gold-finding and gambling skills
* + Good magic resistance after level 8
* + Access to all temples
* 0 Average spell casting ability
* - Weak armor
* - Lacks access to most Dwarven/Elven buildings
* --Very low HPs
* --Very low melee damage dealing
* Starter: Master, until level 8, then Advanced
* Late-game: Good

### **Warrior**

* ++Awesome armor
* + Shielding to boost defenses
* + Decent dodging/parrying, especially with a strong shield
* + Low XP to level; Fast level gaining
* + Decent melee damage dealing
* + Extremely versatile in weaponry
* + Access to all temples
* - Weak spell casting ability
* - No initial magic resistance
* Starter: Beginner
* Late-game: Mediocre

### **Warrior of Discord**

* ++Awesome damage dealing abilities
* ++Very high HPs
* + Howl of Discord automatically deals minor damage
* + Immune to poison
* + Has access to most temples
* 0 Decent armor
* 0 Low initial magic resistance
* - Very weak spell-casting
* - Weak parrying/dodging
* - Cannot escape from combat
* --Very high XP to level; Very slow level gaining
* Starter: Beginner
* Late-game: Good

### **Cultist**

* ++Excellent spell-casting
* ++Several self-buff spells
* ++Shapeshifts to Hellbear making him/her self-sufficient in prolonged battles
* + Good health regeneration
* + Immune to poison
* + Access to most temples
* + Plants herbs- minor free XP
* + High luck and stealing ability- alternative money-earning
* + Can convert animals into cannon fodder
* + Camouflage- resists initial ranged attacks
* 0 Low initial magic resistance
* - Low melee damage accuracy-Misses many hits
* - Low HPs
* - Weak armor
* -- Very low dodging/parrying
* Starter: Beginner
* Late-game: Good

### **Monk**

* ++Hyper-strong melee damage-dealing after Level 15(similar to Barbarians and WoDs)
* ++The ultimate praying hero - Gets any blessing in just one or two turns later on.
* + High HPs
* + Good initial magic resistance
* + Good parrying/dodging
* + Access to most temples
* + Decent self-healing
* - Weak initial melee damage-dealing
* - High XP to level; slow level gaining
* - Weak armoring
* Starter: Advanced
* Late-game: Good

### **Paladin**

* ++ Excellent dodging/parrying
* + Good melee damage dealing
* + Good spell-casting ability
* + Good armor
* + Access to most temples
* + High HPs
* + Decent initial magic resistance
* --Very high XP to level: Slow level gaining
* Starter: Beginner
* Late-game: Excellent

### **Solarus**

* ++ Great melee damage dealing
* + Good spell-casting abilities
* + High HPs
* + Good armor
* + Good dodging/parrying
* + Access to most temples
* - High XP to level: Slow level gaining
* - No initial magic resistance
* Starter: Beginner
* Late-game: Decent

### **Elf**

* ++Excellent money earner
* + Good ranged damage dealing
* + Good initial magic resistance
* + Access to all temples
* + Good armor
* 0 Uses a ranged weapon
* 0 Average spell-casting ability
* - No access to dwarven/gnome buildings
* - Low HPs
* - High XP to level: Slow level gaining
* -- Very weak parrying, good dodging
* Starter: Expert
* Late-game: Decent

### **Ranger**

* + Hard to get lost
* + Good ranged damage dealing
* + Harvests herbs for healing/selling
* + Access to all temples
* 0 Average HPs
* 0 Average spell-casting abilities
* 0 Average XP to level; Average level gaining
* 0 Uses a ranged weapon
* - No initial magic resistance
* -- Very weak parrying, good dodging
* - Weak armor
* Starter: Master
* Late-game: Good

### **Rogue**

* + Harvests herbs for poison/selling
* + Stealing and looting- alternative money earning
* + Access to all temples
* 0 Average ranged damage dealing
* 0 Uses a ranged weapon
* 0 Average spell-casting abilities
* - Weak parrying and dodging
* - Weak armor
* - Low HPs
* - No initial magic resistance
* Starter: Expert
* Late-game: Excellent

### **Healer**

* ++Awesome self-healing
* ++Great spell-casting abilities
* ++Aura of Peace- allows temporary invulnerability
* + Plants herbs- free XPs
* + Awesome ally healing
* + Rebirth- limited ability to recover from death
* + Access to most temples
* 0 Average parrying/dodging
* - No initial magic resistance
* --Very weak melee damage dealing
* --Very low HPs
* --Very weak armor
* Starter: Advanced
* Late-game: Excellent

### **Priestess**

* ++Excellent self-healing
* ++ Can convert/create undead into cannon fodder
* + Good initial magic resistance
* + Good spell-casting abilities
* + Limited ally healing
* 0 Very weak melee damage, but little need for it
* -- Very weak parrying/dodging
* -- Very weak armor
* -- Very low HPs
* Starter: Advanced
* Late-game: Excellent

### **Wizard**

* ++Awesome spell-casting abilities
* ++Excellent initial magic resistance
* ++ Very powerful against mobs
* + Can very easily flee combat
* - Weak melee damage dealing
* - Weak armor
* --Very weak parrying/dodging
* --Very low HPs
* Starter: Advanced
* Late-game: Good