Hello and welcome!
One of the biggest changes coming in the V0.19 is how professions work. We wanted to dig into the changes we’re making in this area of the game and what better place to do that than a dev blog!
Starting Out
The first big decision you will have to make in V0.19 is what you will look like. This is purely cosmetic, choices here don’t have an impact when it comes to skills and professions. However, you can select the title you start with (see the “available titles” panel). More on titles and what they are later…
You arrive at what is rumoured to be the epicentre of the pandemic. A perfect opportunity to ply your trade as a plague doctor.
Once you spawn you have multiple options, if you are a new player you can follow the quest line through Freeman’s port, this allows you to see what skills are available when playing the doctor profession and what you are capable of. This is also a great way for new players to familiarize themselves with the games core mechanic and earn a bit of gold.
However, if you are a more experienced player you are free to wander out into the world and begin progressing as the profession of your choice. For example; if crafting weapons and armour is more to your taste you can venture out into the world and begin your journey to becoming a smith.
An interesting by-product of this change to the profession system is that you can now play as a hybrid profession if that’s what you fancy. Part hunter part monk? You can do that!
This change gives you a visibility of all the possibilities and allows you to select what to work towards! Choose what skills best suit your play style and utilize them to survive the horrors of the plague.
The New Skill Tree
The skill trees for each profession have been split into tabs and expanded. There are 8 available professions; Artisan, Smith, Militia, Bandit, Doctor, Peasant, Hunter and Cook. With a total of 117 unlock able skills.
Choose a tab and begin unlocking skills. Mix and match between multiple professions to create a character that suits you or focus on a single profession and becomes a master of that area.
Can I Play Professions Other Than A Plague Doctor?
Yes.
The purpose of the plague doctor profession being the focus at the beginning of the game is similar to that of the beggar prior to V0.19. We wanted a way to guide new players into the world of the black death and walk them through the core mechanics and themes.
We felt the plague doctor did this the most successfully and allowed us to show off some very gruesome new features early on.
Titles And Your Profession
The UI in this section is still a work in progress, hence the mix of new and old elements.
As you advance through each profession you will unlock various titles allowing you to display your proficiency to other players. Useful when you want to let everyone know what skills you have available or that you’re a battle-hardened warrior! An example of this would be the “master peasant” title unlocked once you have unlocked all peasant skills, a perfect person to go to if you need help starting your farm.
A Word On Early Access
These are big changes to the core of the game so I feel warrant a mention of the fact we are still in Early Access.
As the game continues to develop things will change and nothing is set in stone. Things that don’t make sense might not make sense because something that explains them is missing. Bugs will sneak in and will get fixed, some faster than others. Mechanics and systems will get balanced and unbalanced and balanced again. These things are all part of the process. So please, before you post an angry thread on the forums, take this into consideration.
We’ll have another dev blog coming before the update goes live on the 19th so keep your eyes peeled for that!
//The SIG team.