In an interview with Game Informer, Shadowrun Returns creative director Jordan Weisman explained how their Kickstarter resurrection of Shadowrun will have archetypes instead of conventional RPG classes.

“Shadowrun is a classless system, meaning that players are not restricted to a single character development path,” Weisman told Game Informer. “Rather, players start with a representative Shadowrun character archetype and are then free to grow their character as they wish, spending Karma points to choose any skill or ability available in the game.”

There archetypes are:

• Mage
• Street Samurai
• Decker
• Shaman
• Rigger
• Physical Adept

In the interview, Weisman describes the classes in more detail. For example, the Street Samurai:

These powerful warriors are the martial masters of the Shadowrun universe, wielding smart weapons that are directly connected to their bodies’ reflexes. For players who want to slash and gun their way to victory, the street samurai is an ideal starting place.

Weisman Says: “In Shadowrun Returns, Street Samurai can gain the ability to carry up to three weapons into combat and special ranged skills such as snapshot, armor piercing, and head-shots. In close combat, Samurai can gain actions like slash, stab, and cleave with bladed weapons, and the ability to disarm an opponent.”

Read the full interview over at Game Informer for Weisman’s descriptions of the other archetypes.

Source: Game Informer