The fantasy/SF/god MMO Skyforge, designed as a free-to-play MMO, made its first full presentation to the Western audience at Gamescom in Cologne.
The main chatter was not taken over by one of the direct developers of Skyforge, but by one of their cooperation partners from Obsidian Entertainment. The Allods team, which primarily works on Skyforge, consists of Russian developers who, as noted in other interviews, struggle a bit with English. However, the guys from Obsidian (the minds behind Fallout: New Vegas) can at least say without self-praise into the Twitch cameras how fantastic the collaboration with the Allods team is and what talented employees have gathered there under the flag of mail.ru.
A first look at the world map of Skyforge may have surprised many. Although it is known that Skyforge is an eclectic mix (so quite a jumble) of various titles: the class system seems inspired by Final Fantasy XIV, the quest system took hints from Guild Wars 2, and the combat system resembles DC Universe Online. However, it was still surprising that there would be a world map like in X-Com. The developers explained that this “global geo view” encompasses all PvE content of the individual zones. Players could also see which events are happening where and beam themselves there via fast travel (as mentioned… Guild Wars 2).
Game looks good, skill system complex
Informed fans were already familiar with the next part of the demo, but it was different to see it in full action. Skyforge’s combat system is heavily inspired by console action MMOs (e.g., DCUO or Asian MMOs like Tera). It runs on a custom-engine developed for the game and looks excellent. The relatively complex “on-the-fly” class system allows players to switch to a different role almost as soon as they are out of combat.
Furthermore, the demo also presented the skill system of the game, a kind of star map where the individual nodes unlock specific abilities and ultimately new classes. It looks complex and far-reaching in the demo. It is certainly necessary to get familiar with the game firsthand before getting a feel for it.
The two new classes for Skyforge: Archer and Slayer
Skyforge is set to launch with over ten classes. Five have been known for some time. At Gamescom, two new classes were introduced, the Archer and the Slayer. The Archer (who would have guessed it) is a ranged DD class, along with the Gunner and the Cryomancer, the third in the game.
The Slayer will be a kind of light and nimble melee fighter with interesting combos, specialized in taking out vulnerable enemies. In the melee DD area, the “Berserker” was previously the only option.
The combat in Skyforge looks fluid and mainly consists of chaining combos, as is common in Asian MMOs. Battles in Skyforge seem to run quite like Asian arcade games: there are “ultimates”, energy systems that charge during combat, and healing crystals that players can collect in the world – for a little HP hunger in between.
Call the nice god from your friend list for help
The coolest feature from the demo appeared during a developer instance run. It will be possible for a low-level player to summon a real god for help if they have one on their friend list. In Skyforge, the highest-ranking players ascend to god status and can then assist their lower-level friends. This is not just a favor; they receive “faith” for it.
The moment when the developer team calls in a three-head taller steel god for help is undoubtedly the highlight of the demo. This god, and this is intentional, has overpowered abilities. According to the developers, he should also feel like an “absolute bad-ass” and “over-the-top.” So roughly like a mix of Wolverine, Gandalf, and Salvador from Borderlands.
