title: "Esoteric Ebb made a Cleric its lead because the class is just that strong," says dev excerpt: "Esoteric Ebb puts a Cleric at the centre of its story for both 游戏性 and" narrative reasons, and its developer says the class is simply overloaded. category: esports date: '2026-04-21T02:02:03+08:00' author: Aimirul tags:
- Esoteric Ebb
- RPG
- D&D
- PC Gaming
- CRPG featured: false coverImage: /images/esports/esoteric-ebb-made-a-cleric-its-lead-because-the-class-is-just-that-strong-says-dev.jpg
If you usually avoid playing Cleric in Dungeons & Dragons because it feels too support-coded, Esoteric Ebb might make you look at the class differently.
In comments shared with PC Gamer, developer Christoffer Bodegård explained why the upcoming RPG puts a Cleric front and centre instead of going for the usual rogue, fighter, or edgy spellcaster route. His answer was very simple: Clerics are ridiculously versatile.
According to Bodegård, the class was picked early because it can cover almost everything a protagonist-heavy RPG needs. In his view, Clerics can cast spells, heal, fight in melee, and handle different armour setups, which makes them ideal for a game that wants to give players a broad toolkit from the start.
That idea was apparently there from the beginning. Bodegård said even an early version of Esoteric Ebb, built before Disco Elysium pushed the project in a different direction, already featured a Cleric and a goblin. So this was not some late rewrite, bro. The class choice has been part of the game's DNA for a long time.
What makes it more interesting is that the decision was not only about combat flexibility. Bodegård also said the Cleric works especially well as a lead because the class comes with an in-built relationship to a god, and that gives the story a lot more to play with. He pointed to themes like masculinity, religion, and God as part of what he wanted to explore in the game.
That lines up with how Esoteric Ebb handles its world. The protagonist's connection to the god Urth is described as complicated and mature, with the deity also being a controversial historical figure from the recent past. That setup gives the game more than just the usual fantasy power trip. It sounds like Bodegård wants the class fantasy to do story work too, not just stat-sheet work.
He also compared Clerics to Warlocks in an interesting way. Warlocks may be cool, but he sees them as more narrowly defined. Clerics, on the other hand, give him more room to push in different directions, both mechanically and thematically.
There was also one spicy take that D&D fans will definitely argue about. Bodegård apparently called the Paladin basically an "off-brand Cleric" if you ignore the Oath angle. That is the kind of opinion that will start a whole Discord fight on its own.
Even though Esoteric Ebb locks you in as The Cleric, it still lets you push back against that identity and lean into another class fantasy instead. PC Gamer also noted one small but very on-brand detail: if you steal enough, you can apparently earn the explicit "Dick-Ass Rogue" label on your character sheet.
For Malaysian and SEA RPG fans, this is the kind of design choice worth watching. A lot of players here grow up on party-based RPGs, MMOs, and D&D-inspired builds where support classes usually get treated like second picks unless you're playing with a full squad. Esoteric Ebb seems to be flipping that mindset and saying, actually, the so-called holy support class can be the most complete and narratively interesting lead in the room.
If the game sticks the landing, it could hit especially hard with CRPG players in the region who love build freedom, heavy story choices, and weird character roleplay. And honestly, a mace-and-magic main character instead of another generic sword bro? That's already a win.
Source: PC Gamer
