Vespera Class Tier List

Vespera has four classes. Each later unlocks three subclasses and a full talent tree. That is the entire character roster. This hub is a 1.0 snapshot of how those kits feel for a new Steam account, not a live PvP ladder. Rankings below assume auto-combat is configured, food exists, and you are not trying to skip getting started. If a class feels weak, check potions and gems before you reroll.

Current 1.0 snapshot

Rank	Class	Why it sits here
S	Nightblade	Poison stacks plus crit scale cleanly through campaign, dungeons, and single-target Tower bosses. Dodge is a second life bar if auto-conditions are set.
A	Barbarian	Bleed and execute shred packs. Battle shields forgive sloppy offline reclaim. Slightly slower on short burst bosses.
A	Arcanist	Burns, freezes, and barriers carry Nightmare if mana potions exist. Empty mana makes the class look broken overnight.
B	Warden	Traps and precision crits are excellent when you watch. Pure idle in tight rooms wastes setup. Farwatch Lens buffs help later.

S does not mean “only roll this.” It means “least likely to stall a new player who leaves the PC.” Warden is not a trap pick; it is a pick that wants more attention to auto-cast order and room size. Read the class pages before you trust a letter.

• Nightblade build
• Barbarian build
• Arcanist build
• Warden build

How to read the letters

This is not a pay-to-win gacha list. There are no hidden class banners. Power comes from subclass talents, Skill Engravings, element trees, Soulbound gear, mercenaries, and whether you actually press the Magic Academy Mastery button. A Barbarian with food and a decent mercenary will beat a Nightblade who vendors crystals. The letters describe default kits on auto-combat in campaign plus early Tower, after 1.0.

Subclass choice will shuffle the table. The studio has not published a public list of all twelve subclass names in the store copy we used, so this wiki will not invent them. When you unlock a subclass, pick the tree that doubles down on the class identity you already like: more bleed, more freeze, more traps, more poison. Then respec only if a dungeon or Tower hazard explicitly counters that identity.

Match the content, not the ego

• Campaign / first hunt: any class. Follow getting started.
• Pack-heavy dungeons: Barbarian bleed, Arcanist burns.
• Single-target bosses: Nightblade poison, Arcanist freeze, Barbarian execute.
• Trap-friendly rooms: Warden.
• Long offline reclaim: the class whose defensive button can be auto-cast on a health threshold — shields, barriers, dodge windows.
• World bosses: bring the mercenary that fills the hole; see factions.

What actually moves a class up a letter

1. Auto-cast order that spends the resource meter instead of clipping it. See combat and offline.
2. Food and mana potions from gathering.
3. One mercenary covering interrupt, extra damage, or sustain. See mercenaries.
4. Element crystals and a single Attunement gem, not eight copies of the same sapphire. See gear and gems.
5. Tower modules: Crown Assault, Bastion Lattice, Quickstep Circuit.

If you do those five and still hate the kit, reroll. Vespera is a long idle RPG. Playing a class you do not enjoy for 200 hours is a worse mistake than being one letter down.

Fairness notes

Steam reviews after Early Access are Mostly Positive overall, with mixed recent takes around systems falling off and communication pace. Class balance is not the main complaint; AI art and endgame loop weight are. This list will move when a patch clearly buffs a kit the way 0.15.2 buffed Warden’s Farwatch Lens (12s duration, 15s cooldown, +15% Dexterity). Until then, pick a fantasy, build it, and use the progression planner instead of rerolling portraits every night.

Official store identities remain the source. When in-game tooltips disagree with this page, trust the client and send us a mental note to update after the next patch.