Originally Posted by
StrawberryZebra
Despite it's multitude of other faults and failings, Rift did it's classes extremely well on the whole.
It has the basic Warrior/Cleric/Mage/Thief framework, but then allows the player to customise their build to turn their Mage into a Summoner, Pyromancer, Battlemage or whatever else they choose. It gives you a simple starting point for your character, but doesn't limit your freedom to create whatever build you wish. You don't need to design more narrow class concepts like a Crusader or an Assassin when your class mechanics allow the players to build those classes for themselves.
Admittedly Rifts class design led to a situation where certain builds performed much better than others but the overall idea was a good one even if the execution was poor.