Getting Ready II: Careers, Traits, Talents.
In yesterday's post I laid the groundwork for how a party is created and provided an overview of the playable races. Today, we'll delve a bit deeper into the character system.
The most determining choice when making a character is selecting a career. There are currently 15 "basic" careers in the game (more to come) that can be chosen at level 1.
Click on the thumbnails to expand
Let's go over some of the stats listed in the careers, below the box with the picture and description.
Career skills: these are the skills you can improve by spending Skill Points.
Magic disciplines: spellcasting careers will list here the disciplines they have access to, and can improve with Discipline Points. You can think of them as "spell lists" or "schools". Some disciplines are exclusive of one career, others can be found in multiple careers.
On All Levels: automatic benefits gained by a character on each level-up. This includes an increase on combat proficiencies (from +1% to +5% in weapon ones, and 0% to 2% in Critical and Dodge). Also how many skill points can be distributed, and how many Health Points (HP) are gained.
On Specific Levels: a different talent will be gained at specific levels, and in some cases an open talent may be chosen (more on talents below). Also some stats like Discipline Points and Armor Training have different gains at different levels.
Switching Careers: On level up, characters can switch to a different basic career assuming they meet the requirements, and have already completed three levels of the previous one. Any benefits you gained in the old career will remain: disciplines and spells, skills, talents, etc. But it is important to take into account that once you abandon a career, you can never gain new levels in it. If you move from Pikeman to Initiate, for instance, Athletics will no longer be one of your career skills.
Advanced careers will be added to the game in future updates, and will need to become unlocked with in-game actions, or will have very high requirements.
The seven traits represent the fundamental innate capabilities of a character, with a value of 4 being the human average. Traits will seldom see permanent increases throughout the game.
Click on the thumbnails to expand
I'll not list all the traits and their corresponding bonuses here to keep this article concise. You'll find this information within the game, and a comprehensive manual/wiki will soon be available. As you distribute trait points, you can monitor the top-right corner of the screen to see the impact on your character's stats. And you can hover your mouse over any such stats for more detailed explanations.
Generally, following your intuition when assigning traits should steer you in the right direction. Aspiring to create a towering Varannari Barbarian who masters the two-handed axe? Prioritize Strength and Endurance. Or perhaps a nimble burglar proficient with a bow? Dexterity and Awareness are your go-to traits. There aren't many pitfalls in trait assignment, it's prudent to invest in the traits that your character will rely on the most.
Talents are special abilities that characters gain on level-up. Characters always gain a talent when they gain a new level; if for some reason they had already gained that talent before, the character will be able to select an Open Talent instead.
Click on the thumbnails to expand
When browsing careers, it is a good idea to hover your mouse over talents and have a look at their descriptions. Some offer straightforward, passive bonuses. Others will grant special combat actions. But of course you don't need to "study" all the talents available, since most careers don't get to choose an Open Talent until level 3. By then you'll be far more familiar with game mechanics, and ready to make a meaningful choice.
When a talent is listed as "Expert Talent" instead of "Open", it means that the only way to gain that talent is by reaching that career level. Some expert talents are present in more than one career, while others are exclusive.
Skills are a simple aspect of the game and I decided not to make the post even longer by explaining them. And if your character is a spellcaster, you'll also need to choose one discipline (typically among three), and two spells (among four or five).
Well, I think that's enough to give you an idea about the character system. I am not sure I'll have the time to make another such complex post in the 27 hours left until the Early Access release, and certainly I won't have the time in the days after release, so for now you'll have to find the rest of the information in the game itself and the forums. Maybe tomorrow I'll make a brief heads up post before release, just to thank everyone for riding along.
See you tomorrow!
David
Careers
The most determining choice when making a character is selecting a career. There are currently 15 "basic" careers in the game (more to come) that can be chosen at level 1.
Click on the thumbnails to expandLet's go over some of the stats listed in the careers, below the box with the picture and description.
Career skills: these are the skills you can improve by spending Skill Points.
Magic disciplines: spellcasting careers will list here the disciplines they have access to, and can improve with Discipline Points. You can think of them as "spell lists" or "schools". Some disciplines are exclusive of one career, others can be found in multiple careers.
On All Levels: automatic benefits gained by a character on each level-up. This includes an increase on combat proficiencies (from +1% to +5% in weapon ones, and 0% to 2% in Critical and Dodge). Also how many skill points can be distributed, and how many Health Points (HP) are gained.
On Specific Levels: a different talent will be gained at specific levels, and in some cases an open talent may be chosen (more on talents below). Also some stats like Discipline Points and Armor Training have different gains at different levels.
Switching Careers: On level up, characters can switch to a different basic career assuming they meet the requirements, and have already completed three levels of the previous one. Any benefits you gained in the old career will remain: disciplines and spells, skills, talents, etc. But it is important to take into account that once you abandon a career, you can never gain new levels in it. If you move from Pikeman to Initiate, for instance, Athletics will no longer be one of your career skills.
Advanced careers will be added to the game in future updates, and will need to become unlocked with in-game actions, or will have very high requirements.
Traits
The seven traits represent the fundamental innate capabilities of a character, with a value of 4 being the human average. Traits will seldom see permanent increases throughout the game.
Click on the thumbnails to expand
I'll not list all the traits and their corresponding bonuses here to keep this article concise. You'll find this information within the game, and a comprehensive manual/wiki will soon be available. As you distribute trait points, you can monitor the top-right corner of the screen to see the impact on your character's stats. And you can hover your mouse over any such stats for more detailed explanations.
Generally, following your intuition when assigning traits should steer you in the right direction. Aspiring to create a towering Varannari Barbarian who masters the two-handed axe? Prioritize Strength and Endurance. Or perhaps a nimble burglar proficient with a bow? Dexterity and Awareness are your go-to traits. There aren't many pitfalls in trait assignment, it's prudent to invest in the traits that your character will rely on the most.
Talents
Talents are special abilities that characters gain on level-up. Characters always gain a talent when they gain a new level; if for some reason they had already gained that talent before, the character will be able to select an Open Talent instead.
Click on the thumbnails to expand
When browsing careers, it is a good idea to hover your mouse over talents and have a look at their descriptions. Some offer straightforward, passive bonuses. Others will grant special combat actions. But of course you don't need to "study" all the talents available, since most careers don't get to choose an Open Talent until level 3. By then you'll be far more familiar with game mechanics, and ready to make a meaningful choice.
When a talent is listed as "Expert Talent" instead of "Open", it means that the only way to gain that talent is by reaching that career level. Some expert talents are present in more than one career, while others are exclusive.
What else?
Skills are a simple aspect of the game and I decided not to make the post even longer by explaining them. And if your character is a spellcaster, you'll also need to choose one discipline (typically among three), and two spells (among four or five).
Well, I think that's enough to give you an idea about the character system. I am not sure I'll have the time to make another such complex post in the 27 hours left until the Early Access release, and certainly I won't have the time in the days after release, so for now you'll have to find the rest of the information in the game itself and the forums. Maybe tomorrow I'll make a brief heads up post before release, just to thank everyone for riding along.
See you tomorrow!
David