Drakensang Online's New Skill System Detailed

Following the news of Drakensang Online's largest expansion hitting servers next month, Bigpoint sent out a press release today detailing the new skill system. Each class still has the same three talent treesExperience, Wisdom, and Famebut they have each received a complete overhaul. Each class has also received a powerful new skill. The Dragon Knight gained Frenzy Battle Cry, the Spellweaver, Frozen Orb, the Steam Mechanicus, Tesla Turret, and the Ranger, Explosive Shot.

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The new system consists of three talent types: Skill, Knowledge, and Fame. Skill and Knowledge Talents can be redistributed freely whereas Fame Talents cannot. Originally, Skill Talents unlocked with the associated skill and players had to pick one of two talents for each skill. Now, as characters level up, they earn points that can be spent on any of three talents associated with each skill. Skill Talent points are not restricted and can be spent on as many or as few talents for each skill as the player would like.

Knowledge Talent points are still earned through Ancient Wisdom, which is earned through simply playing the game and doing dailies. Several of the more general Knowledge Talents have been removed and placed under an "abilities" banner, such as teleporting, skill slots, cloak use, and mount, being made available to all players in the process. There are now two sets of Knowledge Talents; those that are shared by each class and those that are unique to each class. In addition to this, a new type of Knowledge Talent has been added, Focus Talents, which let players improve their Agility, Attack, Mobility, and Vitality at what Bigpoint describe as "an extremely granular level."

Fame Talent points are earned in PvP. Like Knowledge Talents, some Fame Talents are shared by each class and some are not. Not much else is said about Fame Talents, as the press release then goes on to describe the new PvP Shop currency, Honor Badges, which are earned through participation and victories in PvP. These can be spent on "valuable items and gear" and the shop has been revamped to include lower prices and new items.