Renaming Fighters

[Grey]

I think Fighters need a rebranding. New players to the game will go for the Fighter class first, expecting it to be a simple bump-to-attack class which can steamroll through enemies. It isn't. It's a tactical class that focuses on defence, using activated skills to cripple and take down enemies. I've seen discussion on other forums suggesting that people get a very bad impression of the game from the class, because they try to play it like a fighter does in other roguelikes, ultimately getting bored of the slow whittling down of enemies through bump attacks. By playing a fighter like this they're completely missing out on what the class and the game are about.

Now I don't think there's anything really wrong with the Fighter class, but I think a different name would suit it better (and possibly edge people a bit more towards Berserkers, which are actually a better class for new players I think). ...Except, I can't think of a better name :/ "Warrior" is just the same really. "Soldier" kinda describes the shield element well, but doesn't quite fit the setting properly. Same with "legionary", "hoplite", "knight" or "infantryman". "Mercenary" could maybe work, but implies a lot more about the morals of the class than just fighting skills.

I would guess that "Soldier", "Knight" or "Shield Fighter" might work best. The text description could be updated to the following:

Soldiers come from all walks of life, and oft seek their own fortune when their infantry training is over. They specialise in weapon and shield combat, rarely leaving the cover of their many protective techniques. A Soldier relies on the disciplined use of skills at the right time in battle rather than simply mindless attacking.

A veteran Soldier is able to withstand terrible attacks from all sides, protected by her shield, waiting for the opportune moment to lash out at her foes with incredible strength.

[greycat]

How about "Defender"? I can't really think of a better synonym either (even after looking at a few thesaurus entries).

[Avianpilot]

I know, let's ask Prince for ideas! Let's call them "The class formerly known as Fighter" or "Love Symbol #2".

I can't even come up with my own character names, relying heavily on the random name generator, so I don't have any serious suggestions for a new class name for them.

[Burb Lulls]

Shieldbearer? I quite like "stalwart" personally. Defender and mercenary are good too.

[Grey]

Defender doesn't make much sense, since who are they defending? Well, themselves obviously, but it sounds a bit wrong.

I spent a bit of time in a thesaurus time, and a lot of time in Wikipedia (the history of phalanxes is most interesting...) Unfortunately there's not any good terms for a defensive fighter.

Do others agree that a new name would be appropriate?

[Zonk]

New players to the game will go for the Fighter class first, expecting it to be a simple bump-to-attack class which can steamroll through enemies. It isn't

Their fault for having expecting the class to be boring then!

I really don't think a name change is needed - but if you REALLY want a suggestion, then you could change Fighter to Warrior. My justification? Well, if you think about it, everyone fights, but 'War' to me implies some discipline and formal training, without the baggage that comes from 'Soldier'.

[Final Master]

I wouldn't mind the following:

Templar, Soldier, Knight, Guardian, Defender, Mercenary, Procter, ...

You know, I think any name change would perhaps require some altering/inclusion/removal of some talents/trees, 'cause all these give me the impressions of certain things that a Fighter [as of right now] are not.

[Avianpilot]

I don't see a need to rename them, no, but I'm not against it if it would help new players. My experience is heavily influenced by Final Fantasy 1, so when I think of 'Fighter' I think of someone that can use all the best weapons and armors, and is a strong physical attacker. Being a fan of D&D 4th edition, I'm also accustomed to Fighters being able to do more than just swing a weapon. A Fighter to me is a heavily armored warrior that will be up close and personal to whatever threat just reared its head, but isn't limited to just swinging his sword until it's dead or he is.

But that's just me; I don't know how the majority of players view a standard Fighter class.

[marvalis]

Since I agree that fighters play very tactical, and since I would like to see this feature preserved and further enhanced, the logical choice would be

tactical fighter
tactician

Tactician is one word, so it could work. Arguably not the most sexy name out there, but most important is the game-play not the name ^^.

Gonna change berserker to fighter or make a new one?

[Grey]

I don't see a need to rename them, no, but I'm not against it if it would help new players. My experience is heavily influenced by Final Fantasy 1, so when I think of 'Fighter' I think of someone that can use all the best weapons and armors, and is a strong physical attacker. Being a fan of D&D 4th edition, I'm also accustomed to Fighters being able to do more than just swing a weapon. A Fighter to me is a heavily armored warrior that will be up close and personal to whatever threat just reared its head, but isn't limited to just swinging his sword until it's dead or he is.

But that's just me; I don't know how the majority of players view a standard Fighter class.

Well, using the FF1 comparison, the comic 8-Bit Theatre has popularised the idea of "Fighter" as being dumb but strong, and certainly not as being a defensive and tactical warrior. The traditional fighter image actually better fits the Berserker in the game.

Tactician I'm not big on, though it does work a bit. One tree that Fighters get which Berserkers don't is Battle Tactics. But the title "tactician" implies a reliance on cunning and over-arching strategy, rather than the more skills-based image of the ToME4 Fighter.

[edge2054]

I'm not convinced they need a name change but of the names suggested I like Guardian.

[eronarn]

Iron Heroes used the name Armiger for their heavily armored defensive fighter.

[Zonk]

Iron Heroes used the name Armiger for their heavily armored defensive fighter.

I've played Iron heroes and actually was thinking of bringing Armigers up - although Armigers were even more defensively focused than ToME fighters(way more from what I remember).

I still don't think a name change is necessary, and not a fan of Guardian - that usually implies they're guarding something specific.

I really think you're underestimating new players if you think the world 'Fighter' will give them a wrong impression of the class. But if you really want to avoid that, change the class description instead to make it more obvious that they have lots of tactical talents?
(And hope people read it).

[TheRani]

I like Knight. It implies the shining armor.

[Silvermoon]

Cavalier