First Look

The Chronicles of Spellborn Walkthrough and Screening

More and more MMORPGs are coming on the market in the next year. Some will be a standard version of everything you have seen before. The Chronicles of Spellborn plans to break the mold of a typical MMORPG and take the genre into a new exciting direction. With stunning visuals the game presents a wonderful look to its respective players. With the world gone and only shards remaining after its destruction the travel aspect and looks of the realm are very unique. Spellborn also presents a change to game play by building the game on skills, not loot. With these two elements in mind the game also features plenty of options for both PvE and PvP oriented players. Spellborn also keeps a very close tab on their community and the growing appeal of MMORPGs to gamers. In a genre of grinding, looting, and endless hours of play, the Chronicles of Spellborn offers something different to the players. The game mantra, “What Lies Hidden Must be found,” gives players a chance to drive the storyline as well as their own character development.

Spellborn International was established in 2004 for creating the game Chronicles of Spellborn exclusively. This gives the dame designers and developers a chance to develop things without being under the influence of a major market label. With over 35 developers working consistently on the game from all over the world, Spellborn offers a multicultural approach to game play. Developers from many parts of Europe, the U.S. and Canada are coming together to launch the production side of The Chronicles of Spellborn. Not only is this design team presenting a new view of online gaming, but “Hitman” composer Jesper Kyd is currently working on the epic soundtrack. These elements blend together to give Spellborn a fresh new style.

The Ancestral quests, as they are called, will be instanced for players. One example that has been given is a dungeon called “The Prison.” Here you are sent back to break out of a prison during the reign of the 8 Demons. Using your skills and drive to overcome the obstacles your character will learn the mistakes made by the past races of Spellborn. One element which speaks volumes about the development team and its relationship with the community is the sound effects used in “The Prison.” Spellborn International ran a contest for members of the community to send in their best screams. As future players answered the call, quite loudly, Spellborn was able to use the sounds as screams in “The Prison.” This added effect to the game makes the community feel a part of the development process and strengthens the relationship between players and developers for the future.

Character development in Spellborn will be skill based. No more endless hours of waiting for loot to drop or grinding kills to reach the next level. The development team wants players to unlock skills through quests and active game play, not boring repetition. Players will have a choice between two races: the Humans and the Daevi. Human screenshots have been posted on the website, while the Daevi will be revealed soon for players to see. If you are wondering about looks, they are said to resemble a demonic-like race. These two races are intertwined to work together for a new future after the destruction of the old world. The customization of each race will be extremely involved. Players will have hundreds of options to specify their characters and make them stand out from the crowd. Also players will have the option to design their armor and weapons right from the beginning as loot and items will not be the driving force for character development. The key theme behind giving players this much power on their character design is so they can dress to impress, not to kill. Many other MMORPGs offer loot which can change the look of your character onscreen and sometimes it is not for the better. With Spellborn players can customize the look of their characters all the way through game play. During gameplay pieces of armor and clothes can be taken and worn as trophies.

The Humans and Davei will have three available archetypes to choose from for character development. These are the Warrior, Rogue, and Spell Caster, keeping these arch-types simple for players, until level six when players can then specialize into three classes for each arch-type. For example a Rogue will be able to branch out into the specialized classes: Face Dancer, Trickster, or Dead Hand. The trickster may use things like flashbombs or caltrops to fight opponents, while the Dead Hand would clearly resort to more devious methods. Each specialized class will offer players new abilities and skills to develop their fighting style for both PvP and PvE situations. One other class type that was revealed was the Rune Mage which would grow out of the Spell Caster arch-type. The Rune Mage uses magical tattoos across his body to cast various spells at opponents.