I find that disappointing... Everyone is pitching this as an alternativ to DF, but having classes is a pretty huge difference in features.

Also, is this an indie company too?

What did you read that gave you the impression Mortal Online had classes? At least in the traditional way that we all despise and disrespect.

For the majority of a gameplay and game players Mortal Online will have no classes. You probably won't get additional skills by being a class, and no matter what you do you WILL NOT be restricted it what skills and attributes your character has. In Mortal Online, "classes" are just additional benefits you can get if you intentionally build your character towards a specific guild.  Its more than likely you'll also be allowed to multi-class to some extent.

Originally posted by insanebird

What did you read that gave you the impression Mortal Online had classes?

It says it in the FAQ:
 

How does the skill system work?

A: Skills are very important in Mortal Online, as they define what you can and cannot do, sometimes even what you can and cannot see. The skills you can learn are restricted by your class, this means that a warrior cannot learn each and every magic school, for example.

From what I understand you don't have to pick a class and can mix and match. But after you choose a class, you are cut off from some skills, but can always unclass and then learn them.

MO is not class-based at all.

 Classes in Mortal Online will work rather different than in most other MMORPG's. You don't begin the game as a specific Class, although you may choose from different presets to get some help along the way to become one. Classes are managed by special Guilds in the game (meaning "traditional" labor- or profession-guilds like merchant-guilds, blacksmith-guilds, thief-guilds and so on) where you have to apply and get accepted to get the specific Class-title. (You may choose whether to show the title publically or not). Classes will have prerequisites in the form of skills, attributes or sometimes even things like reputation, social status or wealth. In essence, you will have to give up certain attributes and/or skills in favor for others, meaning your choice of skills will be restricted. In turn, you will benefit from certain Class-bonuses as long as you stay true to your Class by meeting the prerequisites. Whether it's worth to make that sacrifice or not is of course up to you. You will have many different classes to choose from ranging from the traditional warrior, thief and mage types to some special classes intimately connected to the game world. Also, some classes are reserved for veteran players.

Mortal Online will have class restrictions for several reasons, the main one being that we want to encourage interaction between players. For instance, forming an independent guild that can manage entirely on its own will require a broad spectrum of characters, not just a few with all the necessary skills. The same goes for the lone wolf warrior; to be really successful in the world you need to interact with other characters by studying for them or at least by purchasing crafted goods you cannot make on your own.

You are not limited to one character and one class though. Your Deva (account) can hold several characters that will benefit from each other in different ways.

mats persson, creative director:

I've never tried to avoid the fact that we have classes, rather I have tried to explain the concept of the MO "classes" not being your average "class-based system". In a class-based system you often start out as a class, it gives you certain skills, forbids you to train others, you can't change it during the game, and in general have a great implication on how you "should" play the game. In MO, you start with a skill-set, changeable at any time, you are never forbidden to train any skill as long as you meet the prerequisites, you choose whether or not to apply for a class title, which may or may not affect skills or abilities depending on the class, and that will disappear the moment you do not meet the prerequisites or decide to "exit" the class by training other skills or apply for another class.

So yes, we have classes. However, I hope you can see the difference between our classes (title/work/recognition) and, let's say traditional D&D-classes where the class is really all that you are when it comes to characteristics, abilities and skills.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEI1l5LM90c

It most certainlly is a class game and is pretty much EXACTLY like a class setup.I for one approve of this,it give the game definition and has a purpose for playing your particular player.I for one do not want to see 500 clones all exactly the same as each other.This is what happens a year down the road when everyone has EVERY skill,they are all the same..BORING 101.

Im not the expert on this game ,but i believe the classes specialty skills WILL be what defines your player,the other skills will probably be minimal factors in the game.After all they state you need to follow a certain path of skills to gain the BENEFITS of your class,so their will be a distinct benefit to your class,again i approve.

What scares me from just the few that responded,it sounds to me like many players would rather this game has ZERO meaning just another zerg/gank PVP fest.

I believe these guys are trying to make a game with a little more definition than a playground kiddies to PVP,they themsleves state you can choose between a PVE or PVP type of game,albeit all in the same world.People should quit trying to compare it to other games"We want a DF alternative" are you serious?

I think i could speak for the majority in saying NOBODY cares about a DF alternative.

I would also like to give the development team credit for trying to CREATE something by giving class definition.They could have esily follwed an effortless,free skills for all,with no purpose to the game or each individual at all.It is real easy to just slap a world down and say go nuts,the more effort these guys put into the game,the more credit they deserve,at least they would be trying to create something .

They have also stated in their post,that you get to choose your path PVP or PVE,this alone tells me ,they will be putting the effort into both areas,witch should keep all parties happy,again this is a good thing.

 everyone who says this game is class based has absolutely no idea what they're talking about. look at the link admiral posted above. THERE ARE NO CLASSES IN MORTAL ONLINE. henrik (star vault's CEO) said it himself. 

Originally posted by lachrymoseQQ

 everyone who says this game is class based has absolutely no idea what they're talking about. look at the link admiral posted above. THERE ARE NO CLASSES IN MORTAL ONLINE. henrik (star vault's CEO) said it himself. 

:|

I'd like to see the whole interview, do you have a link?

You can't really use a 3 second soundbyte as "proof" of anything. For all we know he said "We don't have any classes in our game .... in the traditional sense" etc. Especially since they're quoted as saying they DO have classes.

In UO, you didn't have to assign yourself a class. You just dropped your skill points in one area and raised them in another. Will it be as easy as that? It doesn't seem like it from what I've read - there seem to be a bit more restrictions.

 http://www.mmoszene.de/index.php?/MMO-News/Interview-mit-Henrik-Nystrom-von-Starvault-AB

it's the second video in the link.

i'd also like to point out this post by henrik: http://www.mortalonline.com/forums/40815-post332.html

where he says "This class question again.. I guess we have to call it something else than classes so people wont get confused about this anymore."

there are no classes. there are "class bonuses" you get from joining NPC guilds, which you aren't required to join and you can change at any time. if anything, they'd be something like prestige classes.. basically if you WANT to choose a class, you can get a bonus for that playstyle by training the skills associated with that playstyle. if you want to be completely hybrid, there's nothing stopping you, and you will be more well rounded than someone who's joined an NPC guild.

and yes, it is just like it is in UO. you raise some skills, and if you don't like them you can lower those and raise other ones. you can change them at any time. it's a little more complicated because there are both primary AND secondary skills. the secondary skills never go away, but you only have access to them if you have high enough skill in the associated primary skill. the primary skills are the ones that will act like the skills in UO. you can only train a certain number of them, and you can set them to go up, down, or lock them.

Classes are intended as guild membership with some special skill that you cam learn, like Oblivion Guilds with a little extras...

I like the idea of npc faction bonusses. A totally classless approach could end up in just a handfull of cookiecutter builds which will be followed by most of the players, I guess. I think they realize very well that diversity and 'uniqueness' is an important aspect to immersion in an rpg game. It seems they really aim for a maximum amount of freedom of choice, though, and that is a very good thing.