~Experienced players help!~ Quick summary of each character

Hoping that some of the experienced players out there can help me here.

Just looking for a quick 'cliff notes' on each of the chars. One or two sentence describing basically what the characters do (e.g. 'Witch = magic caster' is enough!), and how they perform in PvE and PvP.

Thanks in advance!

Anyone = Anything

The characters are starting points on the web, which allows anyone to do just about anything with the right gear/passive choices. At the most some builds are easier on certain chars, when compared to others.

Honestly the best def for the characters are:

Mara - Str
Ranger - Dex
Witch - Int
Shadow - Dex/Int
Templar - Str/Int
Duelist - Dex/Str

That basically describe the majority of stat nodes and associated themes in each area. Again though it is easy to move out of your original starting area and into another characters.

Edit: Really need to move away from this classically and narrowly defined def of character roles when it comes to PoE.

^^ Thanks.

That actually makes a lot of sense, and has changed my perception of the game quite a bit :)

Can't wait to get a bit more into and explore the world.

Basically get some idea of how you want to build your character. Ias. life gegen. crits etc whatever whatever

Then figure out which class gives you the easiest access to the most passive nodes of your choice to achieve your goal and start from there.

As has been said above, the classes are basically just starting points in the web and, with enough time and effort, you can create some wild builds from any starting point. However as a new player, it would be handy to know what to expect from each character so (very) basically:

Strength= tank/melee fighter. Expect to hit hard, stay in the fight, and start with a club based skill. You start nearest to physical damage and health skills.

Intelligence= caster/ critical hits. It is good to invest in weapons and the skills that capitalize on mana and/or crits that you start near. Try to stay away from enemies and energy shield items are a good investment.

Dexterity= Evasion/ attack speed. You'll start near skills that boost attack speed and evasion so you'll definitely want to pick skills and weapons that boost this. Good for hit and run.

Now for the mixed classes just mix these archetypes! For example, the stereotypical shadow class hits quickly and critically with daggers, darting in and out of combat before he can be hit with a strong energy shield to keep him alive just in case. However, the great thing about this game is that you don't have to be stereotypical. You could create a shadow tank or a templar archer and they would work just fine. I've just given you basic archetypes that will be efficient and easy to adhere to as you learn the game and its possibilities. Have fun :)