Overview
Blight: Survival does not use character classes. There are no warriors, rogues, or mages to choose from at character creation. Instead, the game uses a classless character system where players build their character through gear choices, weapon selection, and investment in attributes, talents, and traits. The developers have been explicit about this philosophy: "We don't want to dictate how you play, by locking you into, say offensive. You can make your own build."
Three core attributes
Character builds are shaped by three attributes:
Attribute | Effect |
|---|---|
Skill | Governs proficiency with weapons and combat techniques. Higher Skill improves attack effectiveness and unlocks access to more demanding weapon types and combat options. |
Endurance | Determines stamina pool and physical resilience. Endurance affects how long a character can fight, dodge, and block before becoming exhausted. It also influences carrying capacity and movement speed while encumbered. |
Vitality | Controls health and overall survivability. Higher Vitality provides a larger health pool and potentially affects healing effectiveness, making it the primary defensive attribute. |
Attribute allocation is not a one-time choice. Players develop their character's attributes over time through gameplay, creating builds that gradually specialize or remain balanced depending on how points are distributed. A character with high Skill and low Vitality plays very differently from one with balanced stats across all three.
Talents and traits
Beyond attributes, characters gain talents and traits that further define their capabilities. Talents are specific skills that unlock new actions or improve existing ones. Using a bow, wielding a crossbow, sneaking with a dagger: these are talents that players unlock and invest in based on their preferred playstyle.
Traits are passive characteristics that modify how a character interacts with the game's systems. The details of the trait system have not been fully revealed, but the framework is designed to provide another customization layer on top of attributes and talents.
Gear-driven identity
Since there are no classes, a character's identity comes primarily from their gear. A player wearing full plate armor, wielding a longsword, and investing in Endurance plays like a traditional knight. A player in leather armor, carrying a dagger, and investing in Skill plays like a rogue. A player mixing plate armor with a bow (which the developers have specifically mentioned as viable) creates a hybrid build that would be impossible in a class-based system.
This approach means that Weapons and Equipment are not just stat sticks. They define playstyle, dictate combat rhythm, and determine what a character is capable of in any given encounter. The Artisan at The Camp is central to this system, providing weapon and armor upgrades that shape how each character evolves.
Character creation
Character creation uses Unreal Engine 5's MetaHumans technology, providing detailed facial customization and realistic character models. Since there are no classes to select, creation focuses purely on appearance, with all gameplay differentiation emerging from subsequent attribute, talent, and gear decisions.
Design philosophy
The developers have described their approach as wanting to "incentivize, not force" players toward particular playstyles: "We're never going to force players to play in a specific way, but rather incentivize them to adapt." As they put it: "You can absolutely go in swords blazing throughout the whole game, if you so wish." The system rewards specialization through synergies between attributes, talents, and gear, but it does not punish experimentation.
This philosophy extends to co-op play. In a team of four, the classless system means that team composition is emergent rather than prescribed. Players naturally fill different roles based on their builds, but those roles are fluid and can shift between runs as players experiment with different equipment and talent combinations.