Good day Ellarians!
We’re back with a new entry of our blog series about Legends of Ellaria, its full-release features and its development process. Last week we discussed heroes and quests, and how exploration will feel in the final version of the game. We also invited you to send us your questions about the game so we could do a Q&A this week. We have received so many questions through Steam, Discord, social media, etc. that we couldn’t fit them all in just one post, so we have decided to break it into two weeks; here you have the first selection of questions; the rest will be answered next week. Thanks to everyone who dropped by to say hello and ask about the game!
QUESTION: Will we only be able to control the "king"? Will we be able to take over anyone in the army?
Your character is the ruler of their own faction, so yeah, you can definitely control the king! As for other characters, you will be able to “possess” your heroes to control them directly in first-person view, just as you do with the main character. Controlling simple NPCs (foot soldiers, etc.) won’t be possible.
QUESTION: How deep is the dialogue system with NPCs?
Heroes and other important NPCs will have their backstories, related quests and opinion on events happening in the world that you can explore through dialog. Smaller NPCs won’t have real dialogs as such.
QUESTION: What feature are you guys most excited to complete?
Probably this answer would be different in different stages of the development -- but right now, we’d say that the quests, as well as the dialogue and storyline choices related to them. After working hard in creating Ellaria and its multiple locations, we’re incredibly happy to be able now to fill it with stories and people so it feels like a living place. The same applies to events that affect directly your playthrough, altering your kingdom production, hiring soldiers, and changing your alliances with other factions.
QUESTION: Is the leveling going to be like The Elder Scrolls, where one character can do anything, they just have to level the right skill up -- or are you going to have specializations where each class can do certain things?
The leveling is more similar to The Elder Scrolls: you can choose to focus on one class or on multiple ones; there are no limitations on the skills, proficiencies and attributes that you can choose, but there will be a limited amount of points to spend for each level. We think this system is the right one for players to mold their characters as much as possible to their playstyle.
QUESTION: How long do you intend the story to be?
The main story will span through multiple quests, NPC stories, and maps. You won't have to go through it in one go, mind you -- there are several side quests that will help you advance. All in all, there are four chapters, with each chapter spanning through an entire map, making the main story quite long.
QUESTION: Will diplomacy be available with all the factions?
There is a diplomacy system indeed (you can read more about it here [link]), but not all the factions are “approachable” through diplomacy. Some factions will just not talk to you, while some will have limited dialog options. Others will allow trade and alliances – but only if you are on their good side.
QUESTION: What type of itemization can we expect (armor sets, epics, uniques etc.)?
There will be armor sets and unique items, as well as special items that are so powerful that will cost a fortune. But that’s only characters’ items – along with these items, we're working on unique items that will boost the strength of your army as a whole, or produce resources for the entire kingdom.
QUESTION: Will they support the game with expansions or new worlds?
We're planning to add modding support and expansions after full release. We're also planning new locations and races.
QUESTION: Is there an intrigue or relationship system similar to the Mount & Blade saga?
Not at the moment. There are some quests that will affect your relations with factions or heroes depending on the choices you make, though.
QUESTION: Will there be a cooperative multiplayer?
We’re not working on it right now, but it’s not out of the question either. It will have to wait at least after full release, mind you.
Thanks for reading this far, and see you next week with more questions, Ellarians!