Live Classes Full Overview (2026)
Survey of Live classes by role: cheap starters (Warg, Samurai, Eviscerator, Othell lines), meta spend tiers (Shine Maker, Death Knight, Samurai endgame), reworked tanks, mages/summoners/archers, and modern Iss/healer supports that now farm solo.
At a glance
8 beats
- 1Warg: cheapest PvE auto-attack starter — toggles for pull and Pantheon mobility
- 2Samurai: skill-limit burst — best raw PvE scaling but fragile
- 3Eviscerator and Othell rogues: strong solo target, flexible enchant paths
- 4Shine Maker and Death Knight: meta mobile classes needing real budget
- 5Tanks reworked into DPS — Hell Knight most universal
- 6Venomancer (Dark Summoner) tops PvE mage with macro mouse
- 7Supports farm alone; Apostle + Spectral Dancer + Cardinal for premades
- 8Class-change events allow testing before trillion-scale spending
How to read this overview
⚔Live class balance splits budget starters (low skill count, auto-attack friendly), mid-spend meta (Samurai, DK, Shine Maker), and support/hybrid lines reworked to solo farm. Virtual Equipment System and session zones define early progression — pick class for farm style and war role, not nostalgia alone.
Budget starters
⚔Four cheap starters
| Class | Style | Boost focus |
|---|---|---|
| Warg (Garou) | Auto-attack toggles | Normal atk crit, power, P. Atk |
| Samurai | Limit + auto speed | Normal atk power, P. Atk |
| Eviscerator (Tyr) | Auto + limits | Normal atk stats |
| Othell rogues | Skills or autos flexible | Phys skills OR normal atk |
Othell: Treasure Hunter for PvE spoil passive; Ghost Hunter PvP; Wind Rider hybrid; Adventurer weakest. All share low skill count for returning players.
Meta DPS (needs budget)
Shine Maker: dual weapon mage, PvP tools, expensive CDR — high skill floor. Death Knight: bruiser with ranged and melee, strong limits, good all-round. Samurai at high spend: still #1 farm throughput if you survive.
Meta DPS snapshot
| Class | PvE | PvP | Budget need |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samurai | S+ | S | High — still best farm |
| Death Knight | A–S | S | High |
| Shine Maker | A | S+ | Very high CDR |
| Warg | A | S+ | Medium — transform book |
| Tyrr Titan | A at 5T+ | S | Very high |
Tank overview
Before
After
Tanks are no longer pure support — they parse. Hell Knight double jump makes open-field and sessions smoother than pre-rework expectations.
Mages, summoners, archers
⚔Venomancer (Dark Summoner) best PvE mage if using macro mouse for pet commands. Storm Screamer / Archmage / Soul Hound tier down. Tyrr Titans/Master viable at 5T+ spend but lose to DK/Shine Maker/Samurai farm. Archers weak after regional fixes — Trickster best of line for lovers.
Mage line quick rank
| Class | PvE | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Venomancer | S with macro | Pet micro required |
| Storm Screamer | B+ | Traditional AoE mage |
| Archmage | B | Hybrid |
| Soul Hound | C | Avoid starter |
Support windows
All supports now DPS-capable solo. Cardinal top heal; Eva's Saint budget heal. Iss: Apostle for PvE party, Spectral Dancer songs, Sword Muse PvP, Dominator for mass PvP Silence, Warcryer small PvP. Pair Apostle + Spectral Dancer + optional Cardinal for mains — not mandatory for solo.
- Apostle
- PvE party buffer + some solo farm
- Spectral Dancer
- Songs + solo farm viable
- Cardinal
- Percent heal + DPS stance
- Sword Muse
- War aura — clan staple
Pick path by goal
Goal → class
| Goal | Start | Endgame reroll |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest 105 push | Warg | Stay or Samurai |
| Max farm throughput | Samurai | Stay Samurai |
| War reliability | Warg | Stay Warg |
| Tank + DPS | Hell Knight | Stay or Phoenix |
| Mage fantasy | Storm Screamer | Venomancer if macro OK |
| Spoil/craft | Treasure Hunter | Economic alt |
Spend tier expectations
◆Budget starter: quest gear + Virtual Equipment System to 105. Mid: +8 PvE set path (~145B reference). High: Samurai/DK/Shine Maker endgame weapons and jewels. Class power scales with spend more on Live than Aden — pick starter that matches your Adena plan.
Othell rogue lines
⚔Four Othell paths
| Class | PvE | PvP | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Treasure Hunter | Best spoil | Low | Economic alt option |
| Ghost Hunter | Strong ST | High | PvP pick |
| Wind Rider | Hybrid | Medium | Flexible enchants |
| Adventurer | Weakest | Medium | Avoid unless flavor |
Othell lines share low skill count — good returning-player starters. Enchant path splits: normal attack vs physical skill builds on same base class.
War and session roles
Live war meta favors Warg fear, Samurai burst, DK AoE after gear check. Supports: Cardinal + Sword Muse auras. Tanks frontline but parse. Pick starter for where you want to be at 110+, not only 1–105 speed.
Before
After
Shine Maker deep dive
⚔Shine Maker is dual-weapon mage with PvP tools and expensive cooldown reduction dependency — high skill floor, very high budget need. PvE sits A-tier; PvP S+ at funded spend. Not a returning-player starter unless committed to CDR jewelry and weapon grind.
Before
After
Archer line on Live
Archers weakened after regional balance fixes — Trickster best of the line for players committed to bow fantasy. Auto-attack friendly starters (Warg, Samurai) outperform archers on Pantheon spread packs until heavy gear investment.
- Trickster
- Best archer line for lovers — control tools
- Classic bow
- Underperforms Warg/Samurai farm at equal spend
- Session fit
- Range helps ToI but gear check dominates
- Reroll path
- Class-change events — test Warg before trillion-scale bow spend
Session zone class fit
107–110 session picks
| Class | Jamoa | Pantheon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warg | Strong spread packs | Auto-attack toggles | Best budget session alt |
| Samurai | S+ when funded | Burst on spread | Highest throughput at top spend |
| Death Knight | A–S sustain | AoE bruiser | Limits + ranged tools |
| Venomancer | S with macro | Pet command micro | Not AFK friendly |
| Storm Screamer | B+ spheres | Mana strain | Transitional mage |
Linked names open L2Playbook pages when that skill, item, class, NPC, or zone exists in the database. Values can change with patches — always double-check in-game.