We would like to announce that a major part of the SkillAPI revamp we've been whispering about for months is finally ready for launch. Rather than have you all wait untold ages for us to complete the entire thing, we've decided that we're going to release the changes in two parts so you can all play with it sooner.
The redesigned skill system separates combat abilities your vocational identity, meaning that you will be selecting both a combat class, as well as a profession. The first part of this feature release will enable the new combat classes for everyone, while removing combat abilities from the existing classes while we finish getting the real ones ready.
The new classes, which will be available to everyone, are:
The Champion - Focused around physical attacks with blade or bow, the Champion offers a mix of ranged and close-quarters attacks with a highly aggressive style.
The Exemplar - Focused on ally support and close-range AoE, the Exemplar is a welcome member of any group that offers crowd control and high durability.
The Tactician - Focused on ranged damage with spellcasting and archery, the Tactician is adept at battlefield control with strong AoE and debuffs.
To commemorate this launch, we're planning to host a bit of a tournament pitting STs against each other to showcase these new classes, as well as having staff on-hand to lend a hand with the new system. Players will have a chance to test-drive the new skills themselves afterwards.
Our current target is to run this at 20:00 GMT tomorrow, Saturday May 4th, but schedules are still being investigated. Even if the tournament plan doesn't pan out, we'll likely release the new features at about that time anyway.
Further details about the changes will be posted once the documentation is ready.