Guardians aren't given a class. All Guardians---theoretically----have the ability to all the things that other guardians can do. But (naturally) people are different...and have different strengths and weaknesses. Guardian classes are CHOSEN areas of specialization based on facilitating training and mentoring of new Guardians. Formalizing command structures of those who engage in combat. Plus fulfill needed roles. The first (official) class of Guardians were the Titans. They formed to fulfill the need of policing/defending The Last City...as well as protecting people who were trying to migrate across the devasted post-Collapse world to get to the Last City. They also figured most prominently in the defense of the city against the incursions by the Fallen...and the two major assualts in Six Fronts and Twilight Gap. In fact the symbol for Titan-----the Hexagon divided into four pieces----is a reference to the Four Titan Orders and their defence of the Six Fronts of the City People who tend to be Titans are Guardians with a strong sense of duty, and a strong need to protect. No matter what the cost. Zavala. Sloane. Shaxx. Saint-14. Warlocks are basically the Scientists. They main purpose is to STUDY AND LEARN about the Light....and eventually The Darkness. So one can argue that the roots of Warlocks go all the way back to the Golden Age and the first humans to study the Traveller and its Light. Warlocks didn't really get pulled into direct combat in large numbers until The Battle of Twilight Gap. This was basically a desperation move as the sheer scale of the assualt on the City by the combined Houses of The Fallen would have quickly overrun the City had the Titans tried to fight it alone. After the vital role that Warlocks played in the defense of the City they were remained as part of the military arm of the Vanguard afterwards. Warlocks....like Scientists....are driven by a desire to learn and tu understand. They want to learn about the Light, and their powers come from directly manipulating and weaponizing the energies of the Light. Moreso than any other class. But that curiosity can lead them into areas that other classes don't see as practical (Osiris)....or areas that are potentially dangerous (Tolland The Shattered, Asher Mir.) But since Warlocks seem to have the closest relationship TO the Light, they seem to be the hardest to corrupt FROM the Light. All of your worst rogue Guardians are either Titans or Hunters....and the staunchest defenders of the Light are The Praxic Order. Run by Warlocks. Hunters are basically scouts...and the "light infantry/special forces" of the Guardian world. Their role is to go out into the wilderness and gather information about threats before they reach the City Walls....or to strike against them before they reach the walls. Despite his unconventional ways of doing things, Cayde-6 was in many ways the ideal Hunter Vanguard.....and his gift for sensing threats and creative problem solving were an essential aspect of making Zavala as effective a leader as he was....and balanced Zavala's tendency towards plodding and predictability. To his credit, Zavala was aware of this himself. But that unconventional nature, and tendency towards being free-spriits, ,arguably leaves Hunters most susceptible to being corrupted. Their relationship to the Light is more pragmatic than devotional. The Light is a tool to Hunters. A means to get the job done...and when it isn't getting that job done......or you don't have access to it..... Eris Morn went down into The Temple of Crota a Hunter....and came back out of that pit (arguably) a Hive Wizard. She lost her Ghost. She is clearly drawing power from the Darkness (that "rock" she carries)....and the power she wields are clearly most line those of a Hive Wizard than anything else. In fact, she teleports our Guardian out of a trap we got caught in while going back to Crota's Thronworld trying to get resources we needed to defeat Oryx. She states that the power she had used had been taught to her by Toland. A Warlock. Who had studied the Darkness until it has (arguably) driven him insane.

Simple. Warlocks are nerds and/or crossdressers. Hunters are the edgelords that do the Naruto run in public and wear lots of black because they think it makes them look cool. Titans are the idiots that took one too many large rocks to the head playing backyard football as a kid. Much better reasoning than this guy. | | | VVV

Simple. They aren't given a class. Classes dont exist in the way you think they do. The Light isn't [i]nearly[/i] as limited and restricted as the gameplay would have you believe. Think of Classes (and subclasses for that matter) as less of a rigid system and simply a way of using the light.

I always wondered about about that. Reading the replies on this though, I think I agree that it depends on a Guardian's personality.

I always wondered about about that. Reading the replies on this, I think I agree that it depends on a Guardian's personality.

They give you a math test If you pass you're a warlock If you fail you're a hunter If you ignore the test and repeatedly headbutt the nearest wall you're a titan

I often wondered about this and I wrote down a few short fanfics describing why a Guardian ends up as a Warlock, Titan or Hunter. Essentially it comes down to how a Risen expresses their connection to the Light. Obviously, since this is a FPS, we only see this being done through combat but other ways would exist. Warlocks would feel and use the raw energy of the world around them. Titans have a focus on using the Light in a directly physical sense. Hunters rely on finesse, stealth, speed and other indirect methods. Obviously this is just a simplification. Somewhere in the past Risen could have noticed these patterns and created "classes" to organize and train what would later become Guardians. As a newly created Risen your character would follow one of these three patterns. From an RPG perspective we should of seen our characters accept training to better focus on which subclass they're learning. So, to summarize, our characters are not automatically a class: they would have chosen which one to "join". We just don't get to see this in the game.

Personality. If you're a Fighter, and your aim is to protect those around you by being a killing machine. You're a Titan. If you're an Explorer, and prefer to go out on your own and scout new areas. You're a Hunter. If you're into Research, and prefer to explore the mind, the Light and powers beyond. You're a Warlock

I think you kinda just wake up and be like hey ima use my space magic to throw purple and wear only dresses because yea

I feel like it’s just general personality and interests

The idea of Classes was created in the Last City to organize Guardians. Risen choose what faction to join based on their way of thinking, beliefs, interests, goals, and personality. Instantly being revived with a Class is a game mechanic, but its also reasonable because the way a Guardian uses their Light reflects their mindset, though the way they use their Light is also learned from other Guardians and shouldn’t be so heavily Class-based (game mechanics).