When Legends of Aria emerged from Shards Online, it changed more than just the name. In the first Aria-era dev diary, the team explains that the combat system for the upcoming MMO has evolved since its previous version.
“Our conclusion at the end of our Shards Online Alpha was that we had taken combat many interesting places and stretched the possibilities within our engine,” the devs wrote. “Our systems had become overly complex as a result of years of ongoing live development. To realise the combat dynamics and the relationships between skill choices that we desired, we needed to engage in substantial change.”
The result is a faster combat system that is more familiar to modern MMO players and offers an “intuitive environment” for encounters. Pretty much everything, from health bars to spellcasting, has been overhauled from Shards Online, and a use-based skill system is now in place to level up individual abilities. Out of 600 possible skill points assigned to a character, 400 of those can be used for combat alone. Alternatively, players can give up 200 points to enter into the prestige system for specialized and powerful abilities.
Legends of Aria will be going into its Alpha Test 2 on April 28th.
