Gameplay Part Deux

The skill system

Asheron’s Call 2 uses a hybrid skill system, something between Dark Age of Camelot and the original AC. Like in Dark Age, certain skills appear at certain levels and need to be bought with skill credits. Taking a page from AC however, those skills are upgraded with the very experience points the player earns by killing monsters. After the pleasant change of pace in Earth and Beyond, we’re a little disappointed by the traditional “reach out and kill something” (two million times) method of leveling in AC2. That kind of gaming seems like part of a different era now.

I really want infravision

Hmm better

I'm burning!

Since the crafting skills are separate from monster killing, players could conceivably purchase all the resources they need and then sell the end product on the free market. It may take a great leap forward in the community mentality to actually achieve this, but at least it’s theoretically possible for someone to live off crafting alone. Not that this is a revolutionary concept by any means, since it dates back to at least Ultima Online.


Most combat skills are still limited by fatigue. It doesn’t matter if the player is casting magic, aiming his bow or bashing a drudge over the head with a club – if it’s a special attack, it drains his stamina. Basic skills that govern the player’s chance to hit and resist do not drain stamina naturally. In an interesting twist, they come in three steps, each available after a certain level. Choosing to be a grandmaster of a certain skill tree (melee, ranged or magic) prevents the player from attaining the same level of proficiency in the other trees.

The back button

Fortunately all skill choices are reversible. A player can choose to unlearn a skill at any time, gaining back all the experience and credits he invested in it. This does take some time, since to get that experience back he has to earn some by killing monsters, but this isn’t a punishing task. As with Dark Age of Camelot, players can’t get every skill and ability, so the chance to undo any character changes is actually a vital safeguard against developer incompetence. Every MMORPG has at least once screwed up balance in a massive fashion, rendering some characters useless until the next patch. Having a way out of this situation is a godsend for players.

Howl at the moon, Tumerok

At least you can still see the road

Doh so much for that