Excited About Coming Skill Mastery System

[Niixed]

Lots of goodies coming down the pipe, some of the major beats include...

...Skill Mastery that will allow you to further expand and customize your characters.

When Justg posted that little gem in the last Producer's Letter, I think it got overlooked by most readers who focused on other news items such as arcane weapons, the client, and the expansion.

I think the skill mastery announcement is much, much bigger than it appears to be.

Why?

It may be a true game-changer. As we all know very well, the skill system in Arcane Legends is very outdated. The game has simply outgrown it. The level 56 cap would grant 10 additional skill points, putting the total at 55. The skill system can handle 75, but there are many upgrades that are either broken or useless. In short, we're running out of places to put skill points. At some point in the last year STS decided to shelve re-tooling the current skill system. It wouldn't be crazy to assume that the skill mastery system is direction they went instead.

Will the Skill Mastery System replace the current skill system? Maybe. It will either replace or complement it.

I took the liberty of doing a little research on what a skill mastery system is. In other MMOs it means different things. "Blacksmithing" is the most common example used in describing a skill mastery system, but it seems more likely that STS' version of Skill Mastery will be combat-oriented, just like the current system. For example, the Sorcerer skill 'Lightning Strike' may have 10 levels, each with it's own requirements.

A skill mastery system usually involves characters having to meet conditions in order to advance in a skill. For example, 'use the skill 1,000 times', 'kill a specific boss with a particular weapon' or 'successfully craft a skill-related item.' MMO developers often implement "skill trees" that have multiple branches of progress characters can pursue. Typically, each level of advancement is progressively more difficult and only the most dedicated and tenacious players reach the final power level.

If this is what STS has in store for us, I think it will make the game seriously more fun. It would mean we'd have a lot of new goals to achieve and new skill levels to play with and learn. It's possible the reason we haven't had a free respec weekend in forever is because the skill mastery system is in the latter stages of development.

What exactly did Justg mean when he wrote that we'd be able to "expand and customize?" I can't help but be eager find out.