Seiken Densetsu 3 was one of the most expansive and best action RPGs of its era, and now twenty five years later it’s been remade into Trials of Mana. Never before seen in a non-Japanese release, Trials of Mana is a huge game with a staggering amount of replayability, mainly due to how its class and character system works.
The biggest choices you’ll make in Trials of Mana is which characters you choose to take on your adventure and the classes you want them to unlock. So let’s take a look at how it all works in our Trials of Mana character and class guide
Trials of Mana Character Narratives
The first decision you make is which character you’ll be playing. You’ll take direct control of them throughout the game and the story will be told with them as the focus. You will also choose two other characters to be in your adventuring party, and the choices you make here affect the story and narrative you experience throughout the game.
The way it works in Trials of Mana is that some characters are paired, narratively. This means that if you take one of the pairs of characters listed below, their narrative will complement each other. The pairs are:
- Riesz and Hawkeye
- Angela and Duran
- Kevin and Charlotte
Trials of Mana Characters
There are six characters in Trials of Mana and whilst you can, of course, choose whoever you want in your party (and we do recommend experimenting and choosing you you like the most), each character has a role to fill. Here’s what they’re good at and their starting class:
Duran – Warrior
Duran is a warrior, meaning he’ll be taking the front line and battling foes with weapons. He can also apply elemental buffs to attacks, so other melee attackers can get bonuses from him.
Angela – Magician
Angela blasts enemies with elemental spells but outside of that her attack can be a little low and she does need protection while she builds power.
Charlotte – Cleric
Charlotte is your healer, she brings attack buffs and heals to make her an all-rounder in support.
Kevin – Grappler
Kevin is a werewolf, so if that tickles your fancy, he’s the one for you. He has the highest melee attack power in the game but that is offset by a poor defence.
Hawkeye – Thief
Hawkeye is a typical thief/rogue style character with quick attacks and debuffs that can control the battlefield and deal decent damage.
Riesz – Amazon
Riesz’s weapons are all focused around polearms and spears, making her a great melee attacker who also learns how to deliver enemy debuffs and party buffs.
Trials of Mana Classes
The way classes work in Trials of Mana is that at level 18 you choose between Light and Dark to gain a new class, and then again at level 38 you do the same, if you have a special class item. To get these special items you need to find ??? Seeds throughout the game and then plant them in flower pots.
This class system means you can have a total of six classes to choose from for each character. Here’s what they are:
Duran
Level 18 Classes:
- Knight – Light – Gains healing magic and specialises in shields.
- Gladiator – Dark – No more shields, higher attack power and gains elemental spells.
Level 38 Classes:
- Paladin – Light/Light – Defensive class that gains elemental buffs.
- Liege – Light/Dark – Balances between attack and defence, gains a heal.
- Edelfrei – Dark/Light – Attack-focused that buffs party attacks.
- Duelist – Dark/Dark – Dark elemental buff gives Duran huge damage buffs.
Angela
Level 18 Classes:
- Sorceress – Light – General upgrade with elemental spells.
- Mysticist – Dark – Gains access to dark elemental spells.
Level 38 Classes:
- Grand Diviner – Light/Light – Gains the Doppelganger spell and upgrades elemental spells.
- Archmage – Light/Dark – Upgrades elemental spells and gains Glitter Dust as a spell.
- Rune Seer – Dark/Light – Learns status effect spells and an instant death spell.
- Magus – Dark/Dark – Learns all elemental spells as well as an upgraded dark spell.
Charlotte
Level 18 Classes:
- Priestess – Light – Gives more magic attack and buff options whilst powering up her heals.
- Enchantress – Dark – Gives more damage options than the Priestess class.
Level 38 Classes:
- High Cleric – Light/Light – Lots of healing, lots of magic protection.
- Sage – Light/Dark – Upgrades all Priestess skills to affect the whole party.
- Necromancer – Dark/Light – Balances attacks and healing with more summons.
- Warlock – Dark/Dark – Balances attacks and healing with summons and a breath attack.
Kevin
Level 18 Classes:
- Monk – Light – Kevin explores a bit of healing.
- Brawler – Dark – Upgrades attack power considerably.
Level 38 Classes:
- Divine Fist – Light/Light – Specialises in using Class Strikes to deal damage.
- Warrior Monk – Light/.Dark – Absorbs MP from enemies and heals the party.
- Enlightened – Dark/Light – Steals HP with attacks and buffs attacks.
- Fatal Fist – Dark/Dark – Highest attack power for Kevin and increases critical hits.
Hawkeye
Level 18 Classes:
- Ranger – Light – Puts enemies to sleep and transforms them, also adds ranged attacks.
- Ninja – Dark – Gives more debuffs and boosts magic.
Level 38 Classes:
- Nomad – Light/Light – Learns lots of status affecting spells that can buff the party and debuff foes.
- Rogue – Light/Dark – Gains traps and ranged attacks.
- Ninja Master – Dark/Light – Upgrades the Ninja class across the board.
- Nightblade – Dark/Dark – Specialises in dealing single target attacks that also debuff enemies.
Riesz
Level 18 Classes:
- Valkyrie – Light – Buffs the party and becomes more defensive.
- Rune Maiden – Dark – Debuffs single foes and increases attack.
Level 38 Classes:
- Vanadis – Light/Light – Learns powerful Light-powered summons.
- Starlancer – Light/Dark – Learns powerful summons and party buffs.
- Dragon Master – Dark/Light – Learns powerful Dark-powered summons.
- Fenrir Knight – Dark/Dark – Can debuff multiple enemies.
So now you should have an idea of what shape you want your party and your characters to take when you play Trials of Mana. Who’s your favourite Trials of Mana character or your favourite class? Head on over to our forum to join in the conversation.
