Today, Niantic revealed a whole load of information about its upcoming game, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. The developer, which also created the mega-hit mobile game Pokemon GO, confirmed that it will be fully embracing RPG gameplay with its next title.
As part of this, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will feature several character classes for players to choose from. To fit in with the lore of J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World, these classes are known as "Professions." Since this game is about witches and wizards, the character classes don't follow the traditional archetype of rogue, warrior, and mage. However, there are still big differences between the three available Professions that could change how players approach challenges in the game.
Auror
In Harry Potter lore, an Auror is an officer in the Ministry of Magic who is skilled at taking down dark witches and wizards and investigating crimes related to the Dark Arts. Harry Potter became an auror after he left Hogwarts.
In Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, the Auror class mostly seems to follow that description. The skills that players can place points in here will help them combat the Dark Arts.
Magizoologist
This class is a bit of a mouthful to say, but in the Wizarding World, it's pretty useful. The Magizoologist is skilled at taking down magical beasts.
There are plenty of magical beasts in Harry Potter lore, including elves like Dobby, basilisks like the one Harry faces in the Chamber of Secrets, and the acromantula (giant, venomous spiders) like Aragog. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is expected to feature a lot of these magical beasts, with a teaser video for the game featuring a "discombobulated" niffler.
Professor
The Professor class has been described as a profession that has a strong knowledge of magic. While the Auror is more of an attack class and the Magizoologist is more of a support class, the Professor is more of an all-rounder.
It sounds like the Professor class is well-balanced and will be a good way to round out a team.
In Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, players will be able to level up and use the rewarded points to unlock skills within these classes. Although the points cannot be transferred once they've been spent, players can unlock skills in all of the Professions, or suddenly decide to spend more of their points in another Profession as they choose.
The ability to easily switch between character classes will be most important when it comes to Fortresses, which are the game's version of Pokemon GO Gyms. At Fortresses, players will face "dangerous foes," says Niantic, and players will need to work with other players to bring them down. A balanced team where one character class isn't over-represented will no doubt be an effective strategy, but the best strategies for victory may be revealed during the game's (potential) beta.
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will be released in summer 2019 on Android and iOS devices.