Auto Assault: Update #1 Features

The following information submitted to media outlets by NetDevil and NCsoft to help to illustrate some of the changes from Update #1. Each new feature is accompanied by a screenshot for clarification. Simply click on the thumbnail to see the whole image.

IMAGE 1: Action 1.jpg

Skill progression is invariability linked to player progress in Auto Assault; as the player gains in levels, more skills become available for purchase and current skills can be boosted in capability with Skill Points (SPs). As the player becomes experienced with the skill system and learns what skills are more powerful, the better paths to follow through the skill system and the most efficient methods by which one can become most effective will be much more obvious. Or, perhaps, the player simply wishes to change their set of skills. Unfortunately the only way to start all over, however, was to make a new character, and for those that have spent time and effort building their high level characters, that is simply not an option.

Introducing the "character respec" capability! Character respec is available through a vendor at the major cities in the Central Wastelands. For a price, a player can clean out all of his skill trees and attributes, then reallocate the accumulated Skill Points and Attribute Points (APs) into their respective systems without penalty. For instance, a player that had accumulated the use of 100 SPs and 100 APs through the life of the character will have exactly that much to spend again on skills and attributes after purchasing the respec. This is a fantastic benefit to those who wish they’d made different choices earlier on, but would rather not start from scratch with a new character.

IMAGE 2: Combat.jpg

Let’s look at a particular example. Here we have a Human Level 80 Commando with the current maximum amount of SPs and APs allocated. This Commando has spent his SPs into a variety of skills intended to maximize the use of rapid-firing, high damage-per-second (DPS) weapons – skills found in the low- to mid-level but maxed out in rank.

IMAGE 3: Build 1 – Battle Training.jpg

Battle Training, a Level 1 skill, is at maximum rank, increasing accuracy by 19% and adding 0-8 points of energy damage.

IMAGE 4: Optical Boost.jpg

Another Level 1 skill, Optics Boost, also increases accuracy for energy weapons, and 2 maxed out Level 10 skills, Power Ammo and Quantum Methods, add even more energy damage. The result is a huge boost for the use of energy weapons.

IMAGE 5: Electrical Storm.jpg

Our Commando now wants to change his skill set into a major damage dealer, able to dole out massive heaps of damage to one or a group of opponents in successive fashion. Now, after the “respec”, the Level 80 Commando possesses the Level 60 skill Electrical Storm, which doles out massive energy and fire damage over a 40-meter radius.

IMAGE 6: Build 2 – Magnetic Lockdown.jpg

The Commando can couple this with another Level 60 skill, Magnetic Lockdown, for even more energy splash damage – including a stun effect – and back it up with direct damage skills, like Particle Ray (capable of doing 390-450 points of damage) and High Voltage Bolt (240-356 points of damage), a Level 70 skill. Obviously, the concentration on high level, big damage skills can create havoc over a variety of opponents in rapid succession, and creates a tactical way of playing very different from the rapid-fire damage setup the Commando had before.