Sword2 News & Events & Guides

The class system goes far deeper than it might seem at first because of the ridiculous number of stances for each class. For example, my fighter, Kate, has-- if you can imagine-- seventeen (!) ranging from hardcore defense to even harder core offense depending on what weapons she has equipped (which in turn depends largely on what level she is and whether she has read the proper training literature, which can sometimes be found, but also bought.) Fredrick (Wizard) and Alexander (Sword of the New World) have six and five stances, respectively, so that rounds out to a total of twenty-eight different sets of moves to unlock and master (accomplished not only by knowing what they do and when to use them, but also by using up skill points when you level.) All this complexity translates to a system that is not terribly accessible for unaccustomed players, especially once you factor in all the hotkeys, with a row for each member of the family. 

On the upside, the UI does a pretty great job of handling the barrage of information. Menus for each individual character pop up in their column above the health bar, experience information, stance selection, and move buttons with a simple click off another little button. It's all very compact and things go pretty smoothly in that respect.

So we're off the boat. The Fitzwiffletoffs are in the thick now-- this first "thick" being outside the gates of noob central Reboldoeux. Here cavorts a veritable plague of six-monsters salad. In fact, that's the case pretty much everywhere you're sent to fight. It's a sea, a horde. It is rare to be fighting less than three at a time. Fortunately, with three family members wailing on them, everything tends to fall in about a second or two, leaving drops such as various metals and jewels to be used for crafting Sword of the New World Vis or the exceedingly handy mango, which replenishes 200 HP for your whole lot.

The sorts of missions you can expect are varied, but more than half of them are "Kill 150 X". Quests of this type are most commonly given by "Pioneering Monuments" spread throughout the new world as guideposts to explorers. The idea is to find the statue, get your orders, and wade into the wriggling mass of baddies to have at it. And...have at it. And have at it. (Grind much?) Having at it! In fact, I'm having at it as I write this thanks (well, we'll see) to a system of commands that leaves players at times feeling less than involved in what is going on.