Welcome back to the second half of our preview series covering Forsaken World – the latest title from Perfect World Entertainment. In part 1, I promised to talk about some additional features of the game that might catch your interest. Once again, please keep in mind that a good portion of this information has not been officially confirmed by PWE, yet.
Zodiac System
Upon creating your character, the game will ask you to pick a Zodiac sign. Your choice may affect some of the rewards that you get in-game, your character’s luck and other aspects of gameplay. Rumours say that participating in the Zodiac system will also play a role in the progression of your server. How exactly this will be carried out is still unknown.
PvP with a twist
Forsaken World gives players access to PvP from level 30. Adding an interesting twist to this common feature is the Soul System. Any player, while fighting, can activate the Awaken Wrath skill that will greatly increase their fighting power, but will also leave them more vulnerable to opponents. While in this mode, there is a chance that characters will drop Soul Orbs when hit with a direct attack. Whoever picks up enough of these orbs will experience a big rise in power and will have an easier time kicking ass.
Hopefully, this mode will increase the importance of tactical maneuvers and control over the battlefield in the standard PvP fare.
Monsters have bigger brains
Another notable feature in Forsaken World is the increased attention of devs to the AI of various monsters inhabiting the world. Perfect World Entertainment has even invited two professors from Princeton University to help design this system. The aim was to make fights more challenging for players by allowing mobs to react to different situations, actively use skills and debuffs, as well as heal each other. Whether the developers have succeeded in their attempt has yet to be seen.
More than 10 secondary occupations
In addition to choosing a class, players will have the option of choosing an occupation. You can think of them as subclasses that add some variety to gameplay. This can involve becoming a blacksmith, an astrologist, a beast tamer, an adventurer or any other profession. Another neat feature is that players have the ability to learn all of them. You can even train several occupations at the same time, provided that you have enough time, patience or resources.
Reduced levels of grind, hopefully
According to PWE, the quest system in Forsaken World was designed, from the start, with Western gamers in mind. This potentially brings us a more story driven progression system and a variety of activities to do, instead of the usual ‘kill 10 rats’ tasks being the only option. The various themes revolving around these quests will make use of both Western and Eastern influences, which should ease new players into the game world.
This wraps up the second part of our preview. Fear not, those of you who are interested in learning more about the game. If these articles have sparked your curiosity, you will be glad to find out that iTZKooPA and pixiestixy will be bringing you more coverage, fresh from the world of Eryda.
This time, take a look back at Lore Hound’s coverage at E3 2010, where iTZKooPA got the chance to speak with a Forsaken World product manager. You’ll be reminded of why we were impressed with this game from the get-go.