User:Immortalbob/Guides/Returning Players Guide
Returning player's guide to new game mechanics
Some highlights:
New top-tier loot - MFK loot (Mana-Forge-Key) can be found in MFK chests with various ways to get keys. High-level hunting areas also drop a little MFK loot on mosters. - this loot has level wield reqs +150 or +180. They can spawn with Epics (+20 cantrips), and the +180 stuff has one of various Set attributes (armor only). Armor bits of the same set give additional bonuses, i.e Wise Set boosts mage stats.
Societies - 3 to choose from, quest for access to some new areas, and access to MFK-like specialized armor pulls (society armor).
Two Handed Combat - new melee skill, pretty awesome. - VERY good damage, but no shield and no aegis (magic absorbing) options. - 2H weapons cleave (hit two targets) unless you choose to attack with 2H spears.
Void Magic - new magic school, focuses on "type-less" nether damage that doesn't need vulns, and damage over time (DoT) - pretty darn cool while still making War an attractive choice.
Tailoring - a great system that is much more flexible then simply dying your armor. Tailoring lets you swap looks from any similar peice of armor (same body coverage). - Tailoring also has a high-cost kit for reducing the coverage slots on armor, allowing you to have a 9-slot suit if you are willing to pay the cost. It also allows for alot of flexibility with your suit's look while keeping it 9-slot. But there are some not-so-obvious restrictions.
Aetheria - these are pretty neat, and spice up combat. - you can quest to open up 3 new inventory slots (level-reqs of 75/150/225) - each slot can take magical symbols you find. blue=75, yellow=150, red=225. - each symbol has a sigil (full-time stackable bonus) and a surge (random proc that typically only lasts 10 seconds or so). - Aetheria needs to be leveled up (gains free xp as long as they are equiped), and good level 3's take a little effort to collect. Level 4s are pretty darn rare... and I *think* level 5's have been confirmed to exist.
New Races - you will notice this right away. GearKnights look pretty darn awesome, as do shadows. Undead are kinda annoying, but the devs plan to have more visual options, including turning off the flaming head of doom. - Empyreans have racial Spec Lore, which is more then a bit unballancing. Undead have racial alchemy, which is kinda neat because Alchemy lets you hurl scarab grenades that cast hard-to-resist vulns on monsters. - All races now have a sister race, which they can swap racial skills with. First swap is free, after that it costs 50 MMDs I think (and I think there's a timer).