Fans of role-playing games adore character progression, almost as much as customization.RPGstend 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.
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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 May 15, 2025, 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.
15Golden Sun
Golden Sun isa classic JRPGon 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.
14Baldur’s Gate
Baldur’s Gateisone 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 inBaldur’s Gate.
13Darkest Dungeon
Darkest Dungeonis 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.
12Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlinesis 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.
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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!
11South 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 aSouth Parkgame. This series is known for satirizing anything and everything popular, and the game takes it up a notch.
There are many unusual classes inThe Fractured but Wholethat 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.
10The Borderlands Series
Long-time fans of theBorderlandsseries 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 theBorderlandsseries 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 theiroverpowered abilitiesgranted to them at birth to decimate anything from a psycho to a vault beast.Borderlandsalso 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.
9Grim Dawn
Grim Dawnhas 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 thatGrim Dawnhas 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.
8Monster Hunter Rise
Monster Hunter Riseis 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.
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The Insect Glaiveis a truly baffling option inMonster 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.
7Age Of Conan
Age Of Conanhas 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 inAge 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 ofAge of Conan’slore is seen in every class option, allowing for a model RPG experience.
6Guild Wars 2
Guild Wars 2refers toclasses as professionsand 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.
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Mesmers are illusion magic scholars and use their deception mastery to keep all enemies confused and guessing on the battlefield.Guild Wars 2’selite 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.
