Though By Gods and Kings does not possess any hard and robust classes, there are ways to craft your character to fit a certain mold. Below are several classes that have been created from various Shards, Weapons, and Armor that can help give you ideas on how to move forward throughout the game. These classes are all equipped with the top tier of equipment, which is available through either purchasing at the shops or from drops within the scenarios.
These Classes also do not possess any unique equipment that is available from defeating Mega-Bosses. All equipment that these templates use is available for purchase through the shops.
Basic Classes
Soldier
A damage dealer in every sense, the soldier relies on the use of two one-handed weapons to deal damage to his or her foes.
Shards: Shard of Focus, Shard of Anger, Shard of Iron Barbs
Equipment: Iron Spear x 2 (Dual Wield), Tanned Vestments, Tanned Hat
The Soldier is one of the more tried and true presences in all of Dun-I. He or She is remarkably versatile, though typically can be found using two one-handed weapons and trying to strike down their foes as quickly as possible. The Shard of Focus is a great shard for starting down this path, as it is the starter shard geared toward the life of a physical champion. The Shard of Anger will allow for dual wielding when the time comes, while also giving a few more perks. The Shard of Iron Barbs will offer a vast amount of physical bonus so that your strikes are much more potent and lethal.
Knight
A shielding party member, the knight is the most basic of tanks. The knight utilizes heavy armor that offers high hit points and defense, a thick, metal shield, and a sword.
Shards: Shard of Valor, Shard of the Defender, Shard of the Bulwark
Equipment: Iron Sword, Iron Shield, Iron Armor, Iron Helm
The Knight is meant to be the most basic of meat shields. He prioritizes Defense over any other stats, and by equipping the Shard of the Defender, he can become a lethal damage dealer. Every other ability that the Knight possesses is meant to draw the attention of the enemies. The Shard of the Bulwark’s equip bonus, Incite, will replace the need for any form of Taunt, as every attack will draw the attention of an enemy.
Arcanist
The Arcanist is the most basic of casters, utilizing the energy in the air and the atmosphere to deal damage to his or her foes. Arcanists wear basic armor, all light that offers little protection but allows for incredible projections of power. The Arcanist will typically use a two-handed staff to maximize magical output.
Shards: Shard of Energy, Shard of Intellect, Shard of the Cursed
Equipment: Oak Staff, Silk Robe, Silk Headdress
The Arcanist utilizes high magical ability over anything else and can be considered more of a “pew-pew” damage class versus having much utility. Arcanists only exist to deal damage and they do ti with an array of abilities. The Shard of Intellect offers what little utility the Arcanist has, in that Inventive Blast (Straight) and Brilliant Blast (3 of a Kind) offer the opportunity for allies to draw cards. The Shard of the Cursed is in this build as it adds a great deal of magical power at the expense of defense. They gain a slight amount of utility in Cripple (Discard) by being able to lower an enemies defense. In the event, however, that someone is using one of the four Elemental Shards, the Shard of the Cursed can be substituted for the Shard of the Maji. While you will lose utility with Cripple, you will gain an additional 5 damage to basic attacks as well as the ability Conduit (3-of-a-Kind) which will transfer an obscene amount of power to another player.
Sniper
An archer is proficient with bows and can deal either physical or magical damage. The Sniper specializes in dealing physical damage, destroying his or her foes at range without prejudice.
Shards: Shard of Sight, Shard of Perception, Shard of the Flagellant
Equipment: Sturdy Bow, Tanned Vestments, Tanned Hat
The Sniper is geared at dealing a tremendous amount of physical damage while using a bow. They are not very quick but deal vasts amount of damage. The Shard of Sight is a starter Shard that allows users who use bows to activate the abilities within the Shard. The Shard of Perception is a 3rd level Shard that also requires a bow. The Shard of Perception isn’t equipped for any of the distinct abilities with the exception of Aim and Enhanced Quiver. Both of those abilities make the Sniper incredibly lethal and versatile to the party. The Shard of the Flagellant offers a great deal more physical power, while also giving the Sniper the ability to harm magical enemies by discarding cards. The player may want to substitute the Shard of Vision in, in place of the Shard of the Flagellant. While this is not advised, it won’t hinder you. The Shard of the Flagellant offers a great deal of Physical bonus whereas The Shard of the Vision does not. Also, the abilities on the Shard of Vision are useful, they don’t offer the utility that the Shard of the Flagellant possesses.
Spellbinder
The Spellbinder is a magical archer, utilizing a bow to deal damage while also possessing a fair amount of magical prowess. The Spellbinder uses all light gear, with the intention of gaining a superior magical bonus.
Shards: Shard of Vision, Shard of Perception, Shard of the Devout
Equipment: Sturdy Bow, Silk Robe, Silk Headdress
The Spellbinder class is one of the more unique magical classes that can be created. Unlike traditional casters, the Spellbinder utilizes the Shard of Vision and the Shard of Perception for their magical abilities. The Shard of Perception’s 3-of-a-kind ability, Detonation, is regarded as one of the more lethal and destructive moves in the entire game. Shard of the Devout offers two things for the Spellbinder. The first is the sacrifice ability, Absorb, which gives the Spellbinder utility with the party. The Spellbinder will be able to create a shield around his or her allies that will protect them in the event that they are attacked. The second is the flush ability, Energy Blast. The Shard of Vision and the Shard of Perception both do not have flush abilities that utilize magical abilities (they both use physical as the modifier). The Shard of the Devout places in Energy Blast, which is the most basic of magical moves but it gives players an opportunity to deploy a more powerful flush ability. A third thing that the Shard of the Devout offers, which isn’t a big addition, the 3-of-a-kind ability, Transfer Life, can be used if the party is in desperate need of a heal.
Cleric
Every party needs a healer and the Cleric is just that. The Cleric is skilled solely at healing allies and only that. Though equipped with either a staff or club and their basic attacks will deal damage, all of the Cleric’s abilities center on healing and keeping allies alive.
Shards: Shard of Restoration, Shard of Resurrection, Shard of Mending
Equipment: Oak Club, Oak Shield, Silk Robe, Silk Headdress
There are several options for Shards that offer healing abilities. The Shard of Life can be put into place of the Shard of Restoration and not miss a beat. The Shard of the Cleric can be placed in the spot of one of the other two Shards. The main point for the Cleric though is to focus on keeping allies alive, so as long as the Shards are based on that, then it is mission accomplished.
Illusionist
Manipulators play a big role in By Gods and Kings. Their ability to alter the field can prove to be the element that flips the game in the players’ favor. Illusionists tend to favor speed over other stat, with the need to get ahead of the players to set them up for success.
Shards: Shard of Illusions, Shard of Enlightenment, Shard of the Trickster
Equipment: Iron Dagger, Iron Shield, Tanned Vestments, Tanned Hat
The Illusionist is one of the more deadly classes that can be played. The Shard of Illusions gives the player the ability to increase the next basic attack for another ally with Imbue (Sacrifice), but it also gives them the ability to control their own field and place cards into other player’s hands. Shard of the Trickster, with Distraction (Straight) (Flush) grants the Illusionist the ability to have allies play cards into the field for no effect. The Illusionist is about card control and keeping the cards moving. If other players are playing with Shards that allow for Discard mechanics, the Illusionist almost becomes too strong for the game. If this is the case, swap out Shard of the Trickster for Shard of Swiftness.
Thief
The Thief is a manipulator who specializes in controlling the enemy field. Built to be fast and hit hard, Thieves are decent damage dealers who deal a moderate amount of damage while inflicting strife on their opponents through lost cards and other effects.
Shards: Shard of Deception, Shard of Anger, Shard of Stone Hands
Equipment: Iron Dagger x 2 (Dual Wield), Tanned Vestments, Tanned Hat
In order for the Thief to be effective, he or she has to be fast. Because of this, you’ll need to use daggers to ensure that you’re moving fast. Shard of Deception’s Equip Bonus, Extra Play, gives the Thief the ability to place two cards into the field at a time. With this, he can sacrifice cards quickly to hit harder from the ability from the Shard of Stone Hands, Focus (Sacrifice). Shard of Anger allows the player to wield two daggers so that they can remain quick, though if it appears that they can slow down some, equipping a Sword in the off-hand can be done.
Reaper
The Reaper is a magical player that utilizes a Scythe and the Shard of the Harvest. They are highly magical and use light armor, but with the added effect of their Shard, they are quite formidable.
Shards: Shard of the Harvest, Shard of Reality, Shard of Intellect
Equipment: Iron Scythe, Silk Robe, Silk Headdress
The Shard of the Harvest allows the wielder, so long as he is using a scythe, to start a team maneuver with another player. The Reaper is a team player and has to be in communication with the others so that damage can be maximized. The problem with the Shard of the Harvest is that the abilities outside of the Equip are not that strong on their own. However, the Equip bonus is what makes the Shard what it is. The Shard of Reality can fix that. Cosmos (3-of-a-Kind) is a far superior magical ability than Magical Cleave (3-of-a-Kind). The Shard of Intellect offers Flush and Straight abilities that are superior to the ones on the Shard of the Harvest. With all that being said, Reaper is a super powerful magical user who requires assistance from other Shards to fully maximize his or her potential.
Advanced Classes
The Advanced Classes have all been created by our players, who have taken the time to come up with Shard combinations and Equipment that made them the most lethal. Some of these will seem a bit awkward, but through testings, we can verify that they are quite powerful and useful.
Arcane Trickster
The Arcane Trickster is a fusion of magic and manipulation.
Shards: Shard of Reality, Shard of Intellect, Shard of the Trickster
Equipment: Oak Staff, Silk Robe, Silk Headdress
Oh this is quite fun. The Shard of Reality possesses arguably one of the most destructive and powerful abilities in the game, Cosmos (3-of-a-Kind). With the Shard of Reality and its other abilities, the Arcane Trickster is meant to fire off Cosmos as much as possible. The Shard of the Trickster allows for Extra Play, which lets the player place 2 cards in the field at a time. By utilizing the Sacrifice abilities to control their field, whether from the Shard of the Trickster or from the Shard of Intellect, the Arcane Trickster should deal incredible damage quite frequently.
Paladin
The Paladin is a combination of shield and healer. While the primary focus of the Paladin is to draw the attention of the enemies, they also possess a few other abilities that offer the party more utility. Equipment wise, Paladins will use a hybrid of defensive gear and magical gear.
Shards: Shard of the Arcane Guardian, Shard of Vampirism, Shard of Life
Equipment: Gold Runeblade, Iron Shield, Iron Armor, Silk Headdress
Paladins are quite useful in that you can merge the job of both a healer and a tank. The problem with this is that they have to be fed by another player. The Shard of the Arcane Guardian offers plenty of damage for the Paladin while both the Shard of Vampirism and the Shard of Life offer healing abilities, and while Transfer Life (3-of-a-Kind) is on both Shards, Drain (Sacrifice) on the Shard of Vamprisim is quite useful and is fantastic for sustain. The Shard of Life’s Flush and Straight abilities are fantastic for keeping the rest of the party alive. Again, the Paladin has to have someone feed cards into his or her field, but can become the rock that can allow the rest of the party to focus on dealing as much damage as possible.
Battle Cleric
Lets put two diametrically opposite things together and see how well it works… and it surprisingly does very well.
Shards: Shard of Restoration, Shard of Rage, Shard of Stone Hands
Equipment: Iron Axe, Tanned Vestments, Tanned Hat
Developer Note: Not gonna lie, when this one was proposed, I was quite skeptical. Holy crap when I saw it in action.
The Battle Cleric relies on dealing damage through basic attacks. All of the abilities deployed will come from the Shard of Restoration, if any need to be deployed. The main focus of the Battle Cleric is to utilize Focus (Sacrifice) on the Shard of Stone Hands to increase physical damage on basic attacks. The Battle Cleric has the ability to keep the party alive and has flexibility to shift out of this hybrid amalgamation to either a fierce damage dealer or a dutiful cleric with minimal strife.
Elementalist
The Elementalist is a specific type of caster that relies on an ally. If a player wants to play as an Elementalist, another player will need to do so as well. It takes two players utilizing Elemental Shards in order to fully utilize their synchronized abilities.
Shards: Any Elemental Shard (Shard of Fire, Shard of Water, Shard of Earth, Shard of Air), Shard of Energy, Shard of Iron Knowledge
Equipment: Oak Staff, Silk Robe, Silk Headdress
The Elementalist is very powerful and rightfully so. Even with the drawback of having to have another player using an Elemental Shard, the damage is incredible and very few things within By Gods and Kings are comparable. Cosmos (3 of a Kind) from the Shard of Reality, is the only real ability that can compare with either Monsoon (Shard of Water and Shard of Air) or Volcanic Eruption (Shard of Fire and Shard of Earth).