Skyforge

Overview

Skyforge is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game with fast-paced action combat in a fantasy and science-fiction setting. Developed by Allods Team and Obsidian Entertainment, Skyforge was officially announced on March 20th, 2014. There is no announced release date.

The free-to-play game puts players in the role of a newly born immortal as they set about the path to becoming a god tasked with maintaining order across the entire planet of Aelion, defending it from mythical creatures and invaders from space.

Gameplay

The combat in Skyforge is action-oriented with over-the-top visuals. Players use mouselook control and optional direct targeting to pull off combos, finishers, and powers.

The gameplay hopes to steer away from grinding, with players instead participating in lots of various events.

Classes

Skyforge features a "classless" system, wherein players are not locked in to any one particular class. There are three tiers of classes, each with multiple classes within them. Players can switch to any that they have to develop that class and unlock other more advanced classes, or to suit playstyle or group needs. This can happen at any time or place outside of combat.

The classes all have specific roles in combat, for instance a Cryomancer focuses on long range crowd-control while a Gunner excels at damaging enemies from long range. A Paladin is great for dealing damage to a single target, while a Berserker works well against groups with its area attacks.

Classes that a player changes to that they haven't used yet don't quite start from the very bottom though. Main attributes are tied to characters rather than classes, so whatever class a player changes to will still benefit from that character's stats. Skills will still need to be unlocked over time however, and acquiring the first few skills of a class can take a few minutes.

Players only create one character per account.

It's currently planned for there to be 10-15 classes at launch, with more added post-launch.

The Ascension Atlas

Progression in Skyforge is non-level-based and done with the Ascension Atlas; basically a giant skill tree.

The Ascension Atlas features two levels, a lower level that focuses on skills and talents specific for a class, and the higher level that focuses more on the global progression of a character. That includes unlocking perks usable by any class, and the classes themselves.

Stats however can be developed on both levels, and all gains made are accumulated and saved regardless of current class.

The Divine Observatory

The Divine Observatory is an overworld map that players can use to choose which sort of activities they want to embark on. Accessible from access points within the world, players can jump into PvE adventures or PvP fights.

Players are estimated to have participated in over 40 solo and group PvE adventures within their first 100 hours of gameplay. Additionally, there are 5 types of PvP competitions, and 10 open-world locations. A normal adventure will take 15-20 minutes to complete, while the open-world locations can take hours to explore.

The Divine Observatory updates available adventures and associated rewards every 40 minutes. More hotspots on the Divine Observatory become available to players as they develop their character.

Development

Skyforge is being jointly developed by Allods Team, makers of Allods Online, and well-known RPG developer Obsidian Entertainment. It is being published by my.com.

The server technology in Skyforge facilitates millions of players being on one server.