I'm looking forward to play this game, but I have no clue which class should I aim for. Haven't played in beta. Like the title suggests I like the hybrid type of classes. I like to keep my options open.

I like heals, crowd control, range damage the most, but more tactics / abilities are always welcome!

I was thinking maybe ranger, but do they have heals? are they viable?

I think if you want a hybrid class, you should go with chanter. I have heard that they are pretty good at pvp. don't know much about them though. www.aionarmory.com/search.aspx

Rangers don't heal.

I suggest you play a Chanter, although they are somewhat limited at dealing ranged damage (as they are mostly melee) and crowd control (the dps classes get the CC) they should be the closest class to a jack of all trades ;)

Chanters are a bit of a hybrid but they have crap for CC and no range.  They are really a support class and not a true-hybrid.  There is no true hybrid IMO.

Originally posted by gestalt11

Chanters are a bit of a hybrid but they have crap for CC and no range.  They are really a support class and not a true-hybrid.  There is no true hybrid IMO.

Yeah, I think this sums it up best.  If you're looking for something like the op wants you're probably going to be dissappointed although considering the focus on PvP in this game if a hybrid class did exist to the extent the op wanted it could end up being a fucking nightmare for everyone else hehe

yeah Chanter's about as close as your gonna come

Or a Ranger and just carry a load of heal pots around :)

Originally posted by thamighty213

Or a Ranger and just carry a load of heal pots around :)

Does the heal pots have a cooldown? Are they HoT or Instant? Are they really a viable method of healing in this game?

Thanks for the input folks. I will consider Chanter and Ranger!

There are: Tanks, dps, healers and a buffer/secondary healer. That's all there is.

The chanter can heal and buff with the best of them, but don't expect them to kill things quickly..

Actually, clerics, the primary healing class, deal more damage than chanters, so no there is no real "jack of all trades" as there might be in other games (the blood mage from Vanguard comes to mind, or the druid from WoW, or .. etc.).

Honestly, I'd go for a cleric if you want the most "well-rounded" pvp character.

-Amazing survivability

-Decent amount of CC

-Nice bit of surgical ranged burst damage

-self sufficiency (heals, buffs, dispels)

Really it has atleast a bit of everything you could want in a PvP character.  Whether you'd enjoy the main healer role in group pvp, I don't know.

They are the only class that has all the things you listed though.  If you don't mind less CC, less burst (more sustained), and mainly melee damage (but more buffs), you might like chanter too.

There are both instant potions and HoT potions, as well as several weak heals using items that anyone can use (but you won't wanna use them in combat, and they have cooldowns).

Clerics specialize more in direct heals while chanters deal more in HoTs.

 for solo pvp ranger is a hybrid, self heal with abilitys everyone has (pots/bandage/dust) a wicked snare shot, traps, decent ranged dps (sorc and spiritmaster do better at ranged tho imo).  anyway its hard to say what you will like untily ou play it.

Originally posted by mortharx

Originally posted by thamighty213

Or a Ranger and just carry a load of heal pots around :)

Does the heal pots have a cooldown? Are they HoT or Instant? Are they really a viable method of healing in this game?

Thanks for the input folks. I will consider Chanter and Ranger!

Instant and they do a job,  they wont turn you into a tank v 4 mob's but with snares can escape from trouble spam and get back in there or kite

The thing about Aion is that its very team based, you wont find a class that can do everything and tbh you shouldnt. This game like warhammer has some fairly specialised classes that do certain things, so if you didnt like warhammer in that perspective you proberly wont like aion either.

As for what class you should choose given you like CC and Ranged damage my suggestion would be a sorc or ranger, no they can t heal and they never will, if you want healing with sub par ranged dps then the cleric is your choice, if you want healing with decent melee dps and buffs, then Chanter is your class.

But if you are looking for a game where you can do everything with one class, I'm sorry mate Aion is not your game.

Originally posted by mortharx

I'm looking forward to play this game, but I have no clue which class should I aim for. Haven't played in beta. Like the title suggests I like the hybrid type of classes. I like to keep my options open.

I like heals, crowd control, range damage the most, but more tactics / abilities are always welcome!

I was thinking maybe ranger, but do they have heals? are they viable?

Cleric.

Has Heals? Check!

Has Crowd Control? Check!

Ranged Damage? Check!

Always needed in a group? Check!

If you were to go cleric, you would not find yourself being any kind of hybrid. You'd be healing. Unless you intend to solo mostly, and thats not something I'd recommend. Chanter makes a lot more sense as far as being "hybrid", but its not ranged.