Before finalizing his class selection, Tristan could preview the relevant information.
There was still some time before the game officially launched, so he had enough time to compare the options.
The five hidden classes each had distinct abilities.
"Enhances frontal combat abilities, focusing on a reckless playstyle—The Berserk Thief."
"Skilled in potion-making, specializing in deadly surprise attacks—The Assassination Specialist."
"Specializes in evasion, capable of even taking on off-tank duties—The Phantom Walker."
"Uses blades to counter magic, with abilities to drain mana, known as the Mage Slayer—The Spellbreaker."
"Strengthens stealth abilities with various advanced techniques—The Shadow Assassin."
It had to be said, hidden classes truly lived up to their name. Just reading the descriptions made them seem incredibly powerful.
Any one of these classes would make other players envious, but for Tristan, it was simply a matter of picking one.
"To maximize the potential of Sniper God, the Berserk Thief and Spellbreaker are out of the question. These two classes specialize in close-range combat and lack remote abilities. Without skills, even with Sniper God, relying solely on bow attacks and basic damage would fall short."
"The Assassination Specialist can attack from a distance, but its main issue is its fragility. I remember this branch has limited defensive abilities."
"The Phantom Walker does have good survivability, but against remote attacks, especially area-of-effect magic, it's not as effective. The evasion abilities are more suited to close-range combat, and there's a lack of ranged attacks. It would be hard to synergize with Sniper God."
"That leaves the Shadow Assassin as the only viable option."
Tristan fell into deep thought as he looked at the Shadow Assassin class description.
"Forget about the bonus damage from Breaking Stealth Strike, just the permanent enhancement to Stealth alone is enough for me to pick the Shadow Assassin."
The reason Tristan chose Assassin over the more fitting Archer class was to maximize his survivability.
After all, when the gods descend, survival is the most important thing.
Having made up his mind, Tristan turned his attention back to the Shadow Assassin class and focused on its specific traits.
[Shadow Assassin (Hidden Assassin Class)]
Class Trait 1: Stealth duration extended to permanent.
Class Trait 2: Breaking Stealth Strike adds 50% extra damage.
Class Trait 3: Unique (Only one Shadow Assassin can exist at any given time).
Three class traits!
Among these, not only was there the bonus damage to Breaking Stealth Strike that Tristan valued most, but it also granted permanent Stealth!
In Tristan's mind, combining Sniper God with the Assassin's Breaking Stealth Strike would not only deal tremendous damage, but after the strike, he could vanish into Stealth, making counterattacks nearly impossible.
Now, everything he wanted was available, so there was no reason to hesitate.
As for Trait 3, Tristan was somewhat surprised.
As far as he knew, hidden classes in ExoGenesis could be duplicated.
For example, his previous Heavy Armor Warrior class, though rare, still had other skilled players using it.
The primary difference between classes was in the talent.
But the Shadow Assassin was different; it was inherently unique.
Clearly, among hidden classes, the Shadow Assassin was the highest tier.
There was no need to hesitate further—Shadow Assassin it was!
"I choose Shadow Assassin."
Tristan made his decision.
The game system promptly responded.
"You have selected your class. The selection cannot be changed. Please enter your character name."
"Blackshade."
"The character name is available and has been locked in."
"Opening countdown: 1 hour and 36 minutes."
While waiting, Tristan began thinking about what he needed to do once the game started.
The first task was to get a bow. That was a given.
After all, early-game damage for Tristan would rely entirely on Sniper God. A small dagger wouldn't cut it.
The newbie village had a blacksmith's shop, and selling off the starter gear would easily allow him to buy a basic bow, so there was no problem there.
"Given the starting stats of the character, the effective range should be around thirty meters."
Tristan quickly thought.
"At thirty meters, the damage bonus would be 300%, plus the additional damage from Breaking Stealth Strike."
"With an initial attack value of 10, the damage would reach 45—already quite impressive."
"Wait, I've overlooked something."
Tristan paused.
His calculations were correct, but he had neglected the fixed damage from Breaking Stealth Strike itself.
"I remember that at level one Stealth, the fixed damage from Breaking Stealth Strike is 20."
"That means the damage would be (10 + 20) * 300% * 150% = 135!"
"And that doesn't even factor in critical hits and weak point attacks!"
"If the talent levels up, the damage multiplier will likely increase, which means the damage will rise exponentially."
Tristan quickly estimated and became more and more convinced of Sniper God's potential.
Moreover, thanks to Breaking Stealth Strike, the damage he could deal might even exceed that of an Archer!
"This…"
Although everything was going as planned, Tristan couldn't help but marvel at how incredible ExoGenesis was.
A ranged Assassin dealing higher damage than an Archer? Who would believe that?
The key difference was that, compared to a typical Archer, Tristan not only had guaranteed hits but could also attack and retreat immediately.
It was almost too easy.
"Invincible. This class and talent combo is unbeatable."
Tristan became more and more excited about the game's launch and couldn't wait to start hunting down enemies.
But before that, there were still some preparations to make.
"Let me think, what opportunities are there in the newbie village?"
Tristan quickly recalled.
Setting aside everything else, ExoGenesis was a world full of opportunities, and the newbie village—the first stop for players—hid countless secrets.
In his previous life, Tristan had focused too much on farming currency and didn't take the time to explore the newbie village's secrets, learning many things only later.
Now that he was reborn, he would use all the information from his previous life.
"First, I need to go to Cole Hunter and activate the hidden quest. That item is unique, and I can't let someone else get to it first."
Tristan made his decision.
In his previous life, that item wasn't discovered until a month after the game's release by a player who had nothing better to do. But now that Tristan knew about it, he wouldn't let it slip away.
Who knows whether his rebirth might cause a butterfly effect? If someone else grabbed that item first, it would be too late to regret it.
"After getting the item, there are more quests to follow. But the player who found it in my previous life was too weak to finish, so I never learned what the rewards were."
"But getting the unique item as the first reward means the next rewards are bound to be stronger."
"With my hidden class and SSS-level Sniper God talent, even taking down BOSSes in solo combat is easy. It's just a matter of spending more time on grinding health, and I might even have a chance at the next part of the quest."
Tristan continued to recall details from his previous life as the time ticked by.
"Ding! ExoGenesis is about to begin. Countdown: 10, 9, 8..."
The countdown brought Tristan back to reality.
As the countdown finished, the system displayed a prompt.
"Would you like to log into the game?"
"Log in."
"Logging in. If you experience dizziness, nausea, shock, seizures, or other discomforts, these are normal reactions and should not cause alarm."
"Brave adventurer, may you create a future in ExoGenesis."