Fans of role-playing games adore character progression, almost as much as customization. RPGs tend to offer traditional class roles for players to choose from, such as the standard warrior, rogue, and mage options found in most titans of the genre. Though there are several games that decided to break the mold and offer players a few unique options for their character.
Some games have even presented entire lineups of unique class archetypes to fill the game's roster. While many RPGs have unique build options that rely mostly on player creativity, developers that chose to be creative from the jump deserve recognition.
Updated on January 19, 2023, by Ritwik Mitra: Role-playing games have become one of the most popular genres in the medium, with almost every modern game featuring some mechanics from the genre to help players feel a palpable sense of progression. Most RPGs that lean heavily into this genre feature several unique classes that are a joy to play around with, but these classes can feel very homogenous across multiple titles. So, the following games should be commended for adding their own unique spin on their version of classes.
15 Golden Sun
Golden Sun is a classic JRPG on the Game Boy Advance that many people still remember fondly to this day. The games featured a simple yet engaging story, with its classes being set by the various Djinn that players could find around the map.
Players initially started out with basic classes due to a dearth of Djinn, but this roster expanded over time as players found more and more Djinn across the map. This lets players mix and match Djinns to access a whole host of unique and powerful classes, although this also prevented them from using summons in battle unless they didn't mind nerfing a character's class.
14 Baldur's Gate
Baldur's Gate is one of the greatest and most beloved CRPGs of all time. Suffice it to say, the games themselves are full to the brim with unique design choices, including character classes that are definitely quite different from the norm.
Classes like the wild mage and the shaman are incredibly fun to use just because of how unique they are. These are just a few of the many unique classes that players can mess around with in Baldur's Gate.
13 Darkest Dungeon
Darkest Dungeon is easily one of the toughest RPGs on this list. The various heroes that players can control in this game are pretty fragile and can lose their lives at the drop of a hat if things get too hairy.
The game features several normal classes but has a few unique ones of its own, such as the Abomination and Flagellant. The former has two forms that function quite differently, with the latter being a glass cannon that is more useful at low health.
12 Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is one of the best RPGs ever made that is slowly getting the appreciation it deserves after being largely ignored upon release. The game's classes stemmed from a character's origins, with some classes being quite normal while others were anything but.
Two of the more notable mentions in this regard are the Nosferatu and Malkavian clans. The former simply cannot be seen by normal humans and need to use the sewers to travel, while members of the latter clan are insane and can't even speak normally!
11 South Park: The Fractured But Whole
A superhero RPG is bound to have unique classes of its own, but this reaches a whole new level in a South Park game. This series is known for satirizing anything and everything popular, and the game takes it up a notch.
There are many unusual classes in The Fractured but Whole that players can use to great effect, with the newer ones that were added being quite memorable in their own right. Notable mentions include Plantmancer, Netherborn, and Final Girl.
10 The Borderlands Series
Long-time fans of the Borderlands series love the game for its randomly generated loot drops and near-infinite supply of guns. Though the series has also received high praise thanks to its class progression system. Each title in the Borderlands series provides four classes, each with three skill trees for the player to experiment with.
The standout unique class from the series is easily the Siren. With one featured in each game, Sirens are powerful forces on the battlefield that use their overpowered abilities granted to them at birth to decimate anything from a psycho to a vault beast. Borderlands also allows some unique options for other classes as well, for instance, Axton the soldier can use a sentry turret that can be upgraded to detonate a massive nuclear explosion upon deployment.
9 Grim Dawn
Grim Dawn has one of the deepest rosters of classes available to RPG fans. The game provides 9 classes, with 3 being DLC. Though the real kicker is that Grim Dawn has a multi-class feature that allows any of the classes to be paired together.
This brings the total number of possible unique class combinations to a staggering 45 options. Players can pair the destructive Demolitionist class with the Inquisitor class to become a magical duel-wielding cowboy with enough firepower to level a city block.
8 Monster Hunter Rise
Monster Hunter Rise is the latest game in the series, and hunters from all over the globe have long praised the series for its weapon-based class system. Each weapon provides a different set of offensive, defensive, support, and mobility skills as well as affects what equipment the hunter can pick up before their pursuit begins.
The Insect Glaive is a truly baffling option in Monster Hunter Rise. This unspeakably fast weapon allows the hunter to vault into the air, cling to walls, and allows them to access the ever-useful and always adorable Kinsects.
7 Age Of Conan
Age Of Conan has 4 primary class archetypes, with each archetype containing 3 classes, bringing the total number of options to 12. The Priest archetype contains the powerful Tempest Of Set class, a powerful follower of Set the snake god that can deal out massive amounts of punishment or heal allies.
The Herald Of Xotli is another unique option in Age Of Conan. The mage/soldier hybrids worship a demon god of the Elder Night, which grants them abilities to pair powerful sorcery with devastating two-handed melee weapons. The influence of Age of Conan's lore is seen in every class option, allowing for a model RPG experience.
6 Guild Wars 2
Guild Wars 2 refers to classes as professions and each of the 9 professions available gain 3 options for elite specialization at level 80. Of the 9 professions, the Revenant and the Mesmer are intriguing picks, as Revenants have the ability to communicate with long-deceased legends of the past, as well as channel them during combat.
Mesmers are illusion magic scholars and use their deception mastery to keep all enemies confused and guessing on the battlefield. Guild Wars 2's elite specialization system really cranks up the heat in terms of class variety. This system gives the Mesmer class access to the Chronomancer, Mirage, and Virtuoso specializations.
5 Star Wars: The Old Republic
Fans of Star Wars that haven't played Star Wars The Old Republic yet need to give it a try, and a big reason for that is the game's class system. For starters, the 8 classes are separated into The Republic and The Sith Empire, with four classes for each respective side.
Each class in Star Wars: The Old Republic also has two class specializations available to the player from the start. Han Solo fans can go full-on role-play mode as a Smuggler class with the Scoundrel specialization. Descendants of the dark side have some neat options as well, with the Sith Warrior and Sith Inquisitor both being powerful options to serve the Empire.
4 Divinity: Original Sin 2
Divinity: Original Sin 2 needs no introduction for dedicated RPG enthusiasts. The game boasts rave reviews on nearly every platform, and the class system is a large reason for that adoration. Classes in Divinity: Original Sin 2 are broken down into four categories: Warrior, Mage, Survivor, and Hybrid.
The Hybrid classes are where players will find unique options, such as the Metamorph, a class that uses polymorph magic to take abilities from the three primary class types. Metamorphs can close distances with Knight abilities and utilize their proficiency with finesse weapons such as staffs and spears. They also have access to some of the best movement abilities in the game.
3 Genshin Impact
Genshin Impact has been one of the most successful RPGs of the last few years thanks to its free-to-play model and gorgeous anime design and open world. There are 54 playable characters in Genshin Impact, with one acting as the main traveler character and up to 3 other characters that can be added to the player's party.
Each character has a different weapon and attack type, as well as an elemental ability. This allows for near-endless party combinations and theory crafting. These characters also come packed with their own lore, personality traits, and ambitions.
2 The Mass Effect Trilogy
The Mass Effect trilogy gave fans games that some consider to be the greatest RPGs of the mid-2000s. The immersive third-person combat and diverse cast of characters come together in a narrative that spans all three games and is still widely discussed among modern-day gamers. There is a multitude of endings and possibilities in each game, and the series pulls no punches in its classes and progression either.
The games provide three core classes and then three hybrid classes, like the vanguard class for instance. This role uses the gunplay of the soldier class and the biotic powers of the adept. Vanguards are considered unwavering powerhouses on the battlefield in Mass Effect, swapping between run and gun tactics and flashy biotic powers at will.
1 Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy is easily the pound-for-pound champion of unique class types. Throughout Final Fantasy's decade-spanning history, fans have seen some oddball classes roll through different iterations of the series. Final Fantasy 3's Onion Knight class comes to mind, as this job is largely useless until level 90, where the Onion Knight really begins to skyrocket in terms of stats and gains access to the Onion armor set.
Other examples include the Arithmetician from Final Fantasy Tactics, a class that requires the player to have sharp number skills if they want their spells to land correctly and deal maximum damage. There's also Final Fantasy 11's Puppetmaster, a summoner class that pulls the strings of a marionette to both damage and terrify their foes.