Skill points
Players receive skill points at specific points as they level.[2] These can be used to level up skills (increase their rank) within their active, passive or combat/weapon skill trees.[3][4][5][6]
- Making active skills capable of receiving additional skill point allocations and unlocking additional features so that from a player agency standpoint it's going to be up to you whether or not you want to be more diverse but less depth- wider and not taller, in some of these skill choices. Or if you want to be very very tall, that's going to be something that is up to the player in that regard.[7] – Steven Sharif
- Skill points will accrue at specific XP milestones, such as 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 progress through the level, so as to avoid creating an imbalance with experience debt.[2]
- We do have this concept of experience debt that does accrue and we don't want to create an imbalance between skill points acquired versus experience, so we're going to predicate your skill points acquisition based on benchmarks you reach when leveling through a level. So these are going to be at specific points in the level, like one quarter progress, to half progress, to three quarters progress: you're going to get an influx of skill points and then you'll be able to allocate them into your skill tree.[2] – Steven Sharif
- Skill points can be used to unlock universal skills at the expense of unlocking class-specific skills.[8]
- Respeccing (resetting and reallocating) adventuring skills may require travelling to a specific location rather than being able to be done on-the-fly.[9][10]
- Augments do not cost skill points.[11] It was previously stated that certain augments will have more expense required on the skill point side.[12]
- It will not be possible to max all skills in a skill tree.[6]
- In terms of skill progression, players can choose to go "wide" and get a number of different abilities, or go "deep" into a few specific abilities.[13]
Primary skills
Primary skills (class abilities) are based on a player's archetype.[17][18]
- A player may choose a secondary archetype when they reach level 25.[19][20] The player can then augment their primary skills with effects from their secondary archetype.[17][19][20][18][21]
- Outside of class-specific skills there may be a subset of universal skills, such as active block and dodge.[22]
- Class skills are not affected by the type of weapon that is equipped.[23]
- Primary skills in Alpha-2 are expected to be very different to those in Alpha-1.[24]
Active skills
Players can build their characters with the active skills they want on their action bar (hotbar).[26][27][28]
- The maximum number of skills a player can have on their action bar will be around 15-20.[29][30]
- There will be an option to include multiple action bars (hotbars) on a player's UI.[32][26][28] For example: One Fighter will be different from another based on what active skills they have chosen.[30]
- Some people like to have a very minimalistic number of hot bars. They don't need necessarily to have three, four, five hot bars that are available; but some people do like that: They want to have all their items listed on their hotbar as well as their abilities, as well as as their mounts, as well as anything that they can essentially interact with as an icon.[32] – Steven Sharif
- Players are not given skills as they level up, they must choose what skills they take.[13]
- There is no spellbook requiring memorization.[33]
There will be multiple hot-bars that you obviously have available, because you're going to have consumables, you're going to have active skills and whatnot. But the number of active skills are not going to overwhelm necessarily the character and be irrelevant especially at certain stages.[26] – Steven Sharif
Respeccing skills
Respeccing (resetting and reallocating) adventuring skills may require travelling to a specific location rather than being able to be done on-the-fly.[9][10]
- I am still conflicted on whether or not I want to allow respecs on-the-fly. I believe that respecing should be done at a particular location that requires a bit of transit and some strategic thinking ahead of time about the encounters that you're expecting, but respecing your class should be relatively easier obviously with that constraint of being at a particular location.[9] – Steven Sharif
- Swapping between multiple saved specs may be able to be done after a suitable cooldown period.[34][35]
- Respeccing artisan skills is going to be more difficult than respeccing adventuring skills.[9]
Class progression
Class progression in Ashes of Creation proceeds as follows:[19]
- Players receive skill points as they level. These can be used to level up skills within their skill tree.[6]
- It will not be possible to max all skills in a skill tree.[6]
- A player may choose a secondary archetype when they reach level 25.[19][20] The combination of primary and secondary archetypes is referred to as a class.[20][36][37]
- The secondary archetype does not provide additional skills.[38]
- Secondary archetypes may be changed, but not "on-the-fly".[10][39]
- The player can then augment their primary skills with effects from their secondary archetype.[20][18]
- Class progression does not relate to a player's artisan progression.[40]
- World events do not directly impact class effectiveness but there may be ancillary effects in terms of availability of equipment, enchantments or tattoos.[41]
Universal skills
Universal skills, such as active blocking and dodge rolling, are able to be unlocked by all archetypes.[8][22]
- Outside of your class-specific skill tree, there's going to be a subsection of a few skills that are universal, like active block, like dodge; and I think what we're going to do- or at least what we're going to be discussing here- is those universal skills will have progressions that might align with your passive tree; and you can spec skill points into progressing additional features of those universal abilities that you will have access to. So I think that's probably going to be the direction that we're going to take.[22] – Steven Sharif
- Skill points can be used to unlock universal skills at the expense of unlocking class-specific skills.[8]
- Q: Will each archetype be equally efficient with universal skills, like dodging and active blocking, or will each of them have their own versions and flavors, or will some people be more powerful than others?
- A: We want to provide a progression path that's shared for those universal skills across all the archetypes. So when you spend skill points, you can choose to spend them within the universal skill set and unlock particular ability types for the universal skills as well, but you will be spending them from the skill points that you would normally spend within your class-specific skill tree; and this offers again a different wheel of customization that I think is interesting.[8] – Steven Sharif
- The developers will be testing the use of separate energy mechanics for universal skills in Alpha-2.[42]
- Universal skill progression may align with a player's passive skill tree.[22]
Weapon skills
Weapon skills grant passive skills and proc effects and other status conditions, rather than usable skills on a player's action bar.[45] The more skill points that are allocated to the weapon tree, the greater a player's weapon familiarity. This influences things like the number of attacks, attack speed, and increased chances of proc effects from carrying out basic attacks with that weapon. These procs may offer synergy with the player's active skills.[46][47][48][45][49][50][51][52][53][54][4][5][55][56][57] This synergy also applies to active skills from other characters.[47][3]
- Weapon skill trees are skill trees that you can unlock and invest points into as you continue to develop your experience with certain weapon types, certain weapon groups, like a dagger; and when you're doing your basic combo attack with those weapons, which is universal for all classes- anybody can use any type of weapon because stats can be changed on these weapon types through crafting and through drops- there will be certain proc effects that live on the weapon skill tree as you advance in them; and those proc effect effects will be able to interact with your archetype skills because they will have promotion type effects that occur when they synergize with one another.[46] – Steven Sharif
- The weapon combo system determines special effects that proc based on weapon progression.[55][57]
- These procs may reduce or reset cooldowns on other skills on the player's hotbar.[58]
- Certain rotations can ensure the best chance of triggering a weapon proc, but there is no reliable way to ensure that proc activates.[59]
- Weapon progression such as set bonuses may change at what level any proc effects occur.[53]
- Our approach is not going to be providing skills through weapons. It's going to be providing skills through classes.[49] – Steven Sharif
- Players can spec into weapon skills on their weapon skill tree (also referred to as Combat skills[4], and Combat tree[5]) based on their preferred weapon types and the grade of the weapon.[50][51][52][54][5][4][55]
- Dual wielded weapons count as a single weapon type on the weapon skill tree.[59][60]
- Let's say a dagger has some slashing effects that bleed the target or that cripple the target... Every time you attack you have a chance to proc that effect. That effect then can synergize with what your active skills tree has available to it. So let's say your backstab deals 30 additional damage to a bleeding target. If you attack with your main weapon first and the target gets the bleed proc off and you do your backstab skill then you're synergizing your effects.[5] – Steven Sharif
- Let's say backstab that you can apply to deals damage to the target and it'll have a conditional modifier on that damage if you're behind the target, and it'll have a conditional modifier deal additional 50 damage if the target is under a bleed effect. So you want to synergize essentially your weapon proc conditions with your active skills so that you're timing your certain active skills appropriately with the status conditions that the target has taken.[4] – Steven Sharif
- Certain higher-end weapons (and Armor) have active abilities, but the intention is that these abilities will not radically redefine the way an archetype is played.[61]
Weapon progression
Weapons have their own progression paths.[55][64]
- Each type of weapon has its own skill tree that grants passive skills and proc effects and other status conditions.[49][50][51][52][53][54][4][5][55][56][57]
- The weapon combo system determines special effects that proc based on weapon progression.[55][57]
- Ancillary effects proc based on enchantment types.[57]
- Gear enhancements (power stones) can be applied to add elemental or energy types of damage.[57]
- Dual wielded weapons will have its own progression based on weapon type.[65]
- Weapon proficiency (based on length of use of a weapon) is not a planned feature.[56]
- Ashes of Creation is all about providing many progression paths... The reason why we don't like the term endgame is because with the amount of progression that's available with the amount of diversity and player agency that impacts the world... We want the weapon system [to] add an element of that as well... You can determine special effects that proc from currently the combo system; you can determine ancillary effects that proc based on enchantment types; you can power stone weapons to add different either elemental types of damage and/or energy that play rock-paper-scissor with player defenses ... and then you can skill tree out how those effects that are granted ... you can make them better you can branch them off into a different direction.[57] – Steven Sharif
Passive skills
Passive skills are used to augment weapon usage, armor usage, health regeneration, and passive stats.[66]
- Passive skills can be levelled up by allocating skill points on the skills UI.[66]
- Passive skills enable players to work toward mastery of a weapon.[56]
- Passive skills are based on the player's choice of primary archetype.[67]
- Some passives may be introduced with the choice of secondary archetype, but this hasn't been finalized yet.[68]
- All these passive abilities: mana regen, attack damage, critical hit damage, health regeneration, defense mitigation, maximum health: A lot of different changes from the passive side of things and these are based on what archetype you've chosen.[67] – Steven Sharif
Skill | Icon | Origin | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Act of War | Fighter | Switching forms no longer triggers cooldowns or costs Combat Momentum.[69] | |
Blade Twist | Greatsword | Adds Wound to Greatsword Combo finishers and Extended Finishers.[70] | |
Brutality | Fighter | Weapon combo finishers and extended finishers apply 5 Wound stacks, plus an additional Wound for every 10 stacks already on the target. Each wound stack reduces target healing received by 0.5% and target damage mitigation by 0.15%, up to a maximum of 100 stacks.[71] | |
Burning Blade | Greatsword | Add Burning to Greatsword Combo finishers and Extended Finishers.[72] | |
Caravan Trail Speed Bonus | Caravan | Minor speed boost for travelling on a simple trail.[73] | |
Climactic Whirlwind | Fighter | Perform a final swing in an area in front of you after ending Whirlwind's channel, dealing heavy damage and generating 5-10 Combat Momentum based on number of targets hit.[74] | |
Consuming Lethal Blow | Fighter | Lethal Blow returns 50% of overkill damage dealt as health and mana.[75] | |
Extended Duration I | Greatsword | Extends the duration of the Second Strike and Perfect Timing proc effects by 2.5 seconds.[76] | |
Extended Duration II | Greatsword | Extends the duration of the Second Strike and Perfect Timing proc effects by 2.5 seconds.[77] | |
Extended Duration III | Greatsword | Extends the duration of the Second Strike and Perfect Timing proc effects by 2.5 seconds.[78] | |
Extra Stacks I | Greatsword | Second Strike and Perfect Timing now stack up to 2 times.[79] | |
Greater Brutality | Fighter | Overpower and Brutal Cleave apply 10 Wound stacks to enemies hit.[80] | |
Greatsword Hit 3+ | Greatsword | Weapon Combo Finisher. Greatsword Hit 3+ Unlocked. Has 25% chance to proc. Increased damage.[81] | |
Greatsword Hit 3+: Extra Damage I | Greatsword | Increases the damage of Greatsword Hit 3+ by 10%.[82] | |
Greatsword Hit 3+: Extra Damage II | Greatsword | Increases the damage of Greatsword Hit 3+ by 10%.[83] | |
Greatsword Hit 3+: Extra Damage III | Greatsword | Increases the damage of Greatsword Hit 3+ by 10%.[84] | |
Greatsword Hit 4 | Greatsword | Weapon Combo Extended Finisher. Greatsword Hit 4 Unlocked. Increased damage.[85] | |
Greatsword Hit 4+ | Greatsword | Weapon Combo Extended Finisher. Greatsword Hit 4+ Unlocked. 25% chance to proc. Increased damage.[86] | |
Greatsword Hit 4+: Extra Damage I | Greatsword | Increases the damage of Greatsword Hit 4 by 10%.[87] | |
Greatsword Hit 4+: Extra Damage II | Greatsword | Increases the damage of Greatsword Hit 4 by 10%.[88] | |
Greatsword Hit 4+: Extra Damage III | Greatsword | Increases the damage of Greatsword Hit 4 by 10%.[89] | |
Greatsword Hit 4: Extra Damage I | Greatsword | Increases the damage of Greatsword Hit 4 by 10%.[90] | |
Greatsword Hit 4: Extra Damage II | Greatsword | Increases the damage of Greatsword Hit 4 by 10%.[91] | |
Greatsword Hit 4: Extra Damage III | Greatsword | Increases the damage of Greatsword Hit 4 by 10%.[92] | |
Guard | Greatsword | Your abilities have a 30% chance to proc Guard. Guard: Your next weapon combo finisher grants 6 seconds of temporary health equal to 1-3% of your maximum health.[93] | |
Keen Edge | Greatsword | Your abilities have a 30% chance to proc Keen Edge. Keen Edge: Your next weapon combo finisher has +100% chance to critically hit.[94] | |
Meditative Form of the River | Fighter | Form of the River increases your mana regeneration by 0.01% of your maximum mana per point of Combat Momentum you have.[95] | |
Overdrive | Fighter | After completing the final spin, you may continue spinning at maximum speed while rapidly depleting your Momentum. Ends after Momentum is fully depleted or after stopping the channel.[96] | |
Perfect Timing | Greatsword | Adds the Perfect Timing proc to Greatsword Combo Finisher Procs & Extended Finisher Procs: Perfect Timing Reduces the Cooldown of the next ability you cast by 5 seconds.[97] | |
Potency I | Greatsword | Second Strike - Increases the damage of the Second Strike Proc by 25%. Perfect Timing - Increases the cooldown reset by 1 second.[98] | |
Potency III | Greatsword | Second Strike - Increases the damage of the Second Strike Proc by 25%. Perfect Timing - Increases the cooldown reset by 1 second.[99] | |
Raging Blitz | Fighter | Blitz generates 20 Combat Momentum.[100] | |
Recharging Lunging Assault | Fighter | Lunging Assault gains an additional charge and generates 5 additional Combat Momentum when dealing damage to one or more enemies.[101] | |
Refreshing Followthrough | Greatsword | Your abilities have a 30% chance to proc Refreshing Followthrough. Refreshing Followthrough: Your next weapon combo finisher restores 3-5% of your maximum mana.[102] | |
Reinvigorating Exert | Fighter | Exert additionally refreshes all ability cooldowns by 1% per point of Combat Momentum the caster has upon activation.[103] | |
Reinvigorating Lethal Blow | Fighter | Killing an enemy with Lethal Blow resets the cooldown of Blitz.[104] | |
Relentless Form of the Avalanche | Fighter | Form of the Avalanche causes your weapon combo attacks to apply 3 stacks of Staggered to enemies hit, plus 1 additional stack per 30 Combat Momentum you have. Staggered reduces physical accuracy by 0.1% per stack and physical disable reduction by 1% per stack.[105] | |
Second Strike | Greatsword | Adds Second Strike proc to Greatsword Combo Finisher Procs & Extended Finisher Procs: Second Strike When you strike a target for physical damage with an ability, it gets struck again.[106] | |
Slicing Maim | Fighter | Maim launches a piercing projectile that deals damage to enemies in its path.[107] | |
Swordmaster: Consistent I | Greatsword | Adds Swordmaster: Swiftness - Increases effect duration by 0.5s. Swordmaster: Endurance - Increases minimum possible health restored by 0.5% Max HP.[108] | |
Swordmaster: Consistent II | Greatsword | Adds Swordmaster: Swiftness - Increases effect duration by 0.5s. Swordmaster: Endurance - Increases minimum health restored by 0.5% Max HP.[109] | |
Swordmaster: Endurance | Greatsword | Adds Swordmaster: Endurance proc to Greatsword Combo Finisher Procs & Extended Finisher Procs: 25% chance to recover 2-4% of your maximum health.[110] | |
Swordmaster: Potential I | Greatsword | Adds Swordmaster: Swiftness - +5% Attack speed from effect. Swordmaster: Endurance - Increases maximum possible health restored by 1% Max HP.[111] | |
Swordmaster: Proc Rate I | Greatsword | Increases all Swordmaster effect proc rates by 25%.[112] | |
Swordmaster: Proc Rate II | Greatsword | Increases all Swordmaster effect proc rates by 25%.[113] | |
Swordmaster: Proc Rate III | Greatsword | Increases all Swordmaster effect proc rates by 25%.[114] | |
Swordmaster: Swiftness | Greatsword | Adds Swordmaster: Swiftness proc to Greatsword Combo Finisher Procs & Extended Finisher Procs: 25% chance to gain 25% attack speed for 1.5 seconds. Stack up to 2 times.[115] | |
Unstoppable Exert | Fighter | Exert additionally breaks all hard control effects on the caster, and may be used any time while under a hard controlling effect.[116] | |
Weapon Mastery: Bows | Bow | Lowers the Cooldown of Barrage and Scatter Shot by 3s upon: Completion of a bow weapon combo; Firing a fully charged Longbow.[117] | |
Weapon Proficiency IX | Greatsword | Increased Attack Speed by 1%.[118] | |
Weapon Training: Deflection | Greatsword | Increases your Evasion by 0.5%.[119] | |
Weapon Training: Followthrough | Greatsword | Increases your Mitigation Penetration by 0.5%.[120] | |
Weapon Training: Power | Greatsword | Increases your Critical Damage by 0.5%.[121] | |
Weapon Training: Precision | Greatsword | Increases your Accuracy by 0.5%.[122] |
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Video, 2023-12-19 (5:29).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Transmisja na żywo, 2023-07-28 (1:03:27).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Wywiad, 2020-07-29 (55:44).
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Wywiad, 2020-07-19 (53:59).
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Wywiad, 2020-07-18 (1:07:51).
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Transmisja na żywo, 2017-07-28 (19:05).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2020-08-28 (1:19:24).
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Transmisja na żywo, 2023-12-19 (1:49:56).
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Transmisja na żywo, 2023-12-19 (1:46:12).
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Wywiad, 2020-07-29 (54:44).
- ↑ Forums - Livestream Q&A 2022-08-26.
- ↑ Wywiad, 2020-07-18 (1:07:06).
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Transmisja na żywo, 2017-11-16 (30:02).
- ↑
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2017-10-16 (1:00:44).
- ↑ Wywiad, 2018-08-08 (22:27).
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Transmisja na żywo, 2023-12-19 (1:20:41).
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 Transmisja na żywo, 2023-07-28 (1:04:27).
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 Wywiad, 2020-07-18 (1:05:04).
- ↑
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 Transmisja na żywo, 2021-11-19 (50:38).
- ↑ Video, 2022-09-30 (17:00).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2021-09-24 (1:18:06).
- ↑ Video, 2024-03-29 (47:19).
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Transmisja na żywo, 2020-08-28 (1:24:29).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2017-05-03 (15:15).
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 Transmisja na żywo, 2020-03-28 (1:41:42).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2022-10-14 (57:45).
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 Transmisja na żywo, 2017-05-03 (17:59).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2022-10-14 (9:02).
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 Transmisja na żywo, 2023-02-24 (53:48).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2017-05-19 (43:09).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2022-09-30 (1:20:46).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2020-10-30 (1:06:53).
- ↑ 36.0 36.1 Ashes of Creation class list.
- ↑
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2017-05-03 (50:50).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2017-07-18 (37:43).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2020-07-31 (1:31:11).
- ↑ Podcast, 2021-04-11 (54:35).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2022-12-02 (1:05:08).
- ↑ Video, 2024-03-29 (47:43).
- ↑ Video, 2023-12-19 (7:26).
- ↑ 45.0 45.1 Transmisja na żywo, 2022-10-14 (18:34).
- ↑ 46.0 46.1 Transmisja na żywo, 2024-01-31 (5:00).
- ↑ 47.0 47.1 Wywiad, 2023-07-09 (1:14:09).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2022-12-02 (56:09).
- ↑ 49.0 49.1 49.2 Transmisja na żywo, 2022-06-30 (1:12:38).
- ↑ 50.0 50.1 50.2 Transmisja na żywo, 2022-09-30 (53:15).
- ↑ 51.0 51.1 51.2 Transmisja na żywo, 2022-09-30 (43:45).
- ↑ 52.0 52.1 52.2 Video, 2022-09-30 (24:49).
- ↑ 53.0 53.1 53.2 Podcast, 2021-09-29 (47:57).
- ↑ 54.0 54.1 54.2 Wywiad, 2021-02-07 (49:18).
- ↑ 55.0 55.1 55.2 55.3 55.4 55.5 Transmisja na żywo, 2020-01-30 (1:28:40).
- ↑ 56.0 56.1 56.2 56.3 February 8, 2019 - Questions and Answers.
- ↑ 57.0 57.1 57.2 57.3 57.4 57.5 57.6 Transmisja na żywo, 2018-06-04 (1:11:19).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2020-02-28 (1:10:21).
- ↑ 59.0 59.1 Transmisja na żywo, 2023-05-31 (1:12:58).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2022-09-30 (1:13:23).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2023-09-29 (1:15:47).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2021-04-30 (53:08).
- ↑ Wywiad, 2018-10-20 (2:53:52).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2018-05-04 (45:37).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2021-06-25 (1:29:39).
- ↑ 66.0 66.1 Transmisja na żywo, 2020-08-28 (1:12:50).
- ↑ 67.0 67.1 Transmisja na żywo, 2021-06-25 (23:08).
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2023-03-31 (1:30:07).
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