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Hi, fellow gamer and MMO enthusiast!

In the last Feature Spotlight, we’ve revealed how character progression works in Fractured, outlining a set of game mechanics collectively known as the Knowledge System.

While we hope we’ve been thorough with our description, we’re aware several of you were left with the question “Alright – but what can you actually learn in the game?”. This new design journal is your answer!

Additionally – and for the first time – we’ve selected a few among the abilities we’ve been working on and decided to put them on display here. That’s right folks: Fractured game footage has arrived!

Before we begin, a little introduction is in order. For the Knowledge System to work as intended, the amount of abilities each character can learn has to be incredibly high – that’s why we’ve designed hundreds of them, as stated in our home page. At the same time, however, none is to be just an “improved version” of another – each should have at least one distinctive element to it, and thus be worth learning. Not a small challenge we have on our hands!

For Alpha 1, to be shipped in Q4 2018, we’re therefore focusing on the creation of the core abilities of each school, narrowing down the total to about half of what will be available on full release – a variety nonetheless sufficient to create hundreds of effective, unique character builds.

The Schools of Magic & Fighting

Abilities in Fractured are grouped into different categories known as schools of magic and schools of fighting. This classification is both logical and practical in the UI of the game – you can catch a glimpse of it in the last Feature Spotlight, but your hero is able to learn all the abilities in each school with no restrictions and in no forced order.

When reading the paragraphs below, you might end up associating schools to the classic concept of “classes”. While spells belonging to the same school indeed share a common “theme” and often synergize with each other, you’re hardly meant to build your character using only one school. On the contrary, the system is designed to incentivize you to mix different schools according to the role you have in mind – which could be a canonical RPG archetype, that MOBA champion you really like, or a hero designed to overcome a specific challenge.

The examples above are just the first ones we could think of – we can’t wait for you to be the creator of an unexpected awesome build that will blow our minds!

And now, to the magic!

Abjuration

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The school of Abjuration includes a vast array of powerful protection spells, coupled with several ways to negate or modify the effects of other magical or physical abilities.

Knowledge of Abjuration allows the caster to grant immunity to magical and physical attacks, absorb or reflect hostile magic, and generate auras that negate the adverse effects of the elements. A typical user of this school is also good at disrupting the magical defenses of the opponents, leaving enemy sorcerers helpless and turning them into easy targets. Some Abjuration spells even allow the caster to banish items and beings out of existence for a limited time and to trap foes into alternate dimensions.

The power of most abilities belonging to this school depends on the Intelligence of the caster.

Alteration

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Alteration spells focus on manipulating the basic components of inanimate objects and living creatures.

This school includes several polymorphing and transmutation abilities, providing the caster with multiple ways to physically or structurally enhance items and beings. Some Alteration spells can also defy the basic laws of physics – for instance by manipulating gravity and interfering with the space-time continuum. Moreover, practitioners of alchemy can apply the powers of Alteration to crafting whenever they attempt to generate rare materials and components from common resources.

The power of most abilities belonging to this school depends on the Intelligence of the caster.

Conjuration

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Conjuration spells allow the caster to summon items and creatures from faraway locations – or even parallel dimensions! – to be used to its own advantage.

All conjuration spells are based on the instantaneous (or very quick) transportation of matter from one place to another, without being able to change the shape or structure of what’s been summoned or relocated. A good example of this peculiarity is the ability to summon flames at a specific location, setting a large portion of environment ablaze, but without being able to further interact with the fire – such as forging it into a ball and hurling it towards an opponent.

The power of most abilities belonging to this school depends on the Intelligence and Charisma of the caster.

Divination

The school of Divination includes most of the utility spells available in Fractured, offering ways to identify items, detect and dispel illusions, locate hidden threats and treasures and spot invisible creatures.

In combat scenarios, Divination allows the caster to amplify its senses dramatically, increasing the perception of its surroundings to the point it becomes able to predict how most events will unfold in the near future. A few abilities of this school can even allow the caster to transcend the boundaries of the mortal domain for a short time to communicate with the gods themselves – assuming they are willing to listen, of course.

The power of most abilities belonging to this school depends on the Intelligence and Perception of the caster.

Enchanting

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The focus of spells belonging to the school of Enchanting is to infuse elemental powers into items and creatures to create temporary or permanent magical effects.

This school is extremely flexible thanks to the large variety of spells at its disposal, with an important limitation: Enchanting abilities can’t structurally change an item or the body of a creature. Its effects are instead limited to what elemental infusion can perform, such as making an item tougher, increasing the muscular power of a friend or the reflexes of the caster. Users of Enchanting can even apply its principles to crafting, creating powerful items able to improve the combat ability of the person holding them, which can be subsequently sold or traded.

The power of most abilities belonging to this school depends on the Intelligence of the caster.

Illusionism

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Spells belonging to the school of Illusionism use their power to mess with the minds of other creatures, sometimes to the point of causing physical damage to the victims.

Mind manipulation can take place in two ways – by hitting a single target, or by enchanting a whole area, affecting the minds of all the creatures that step into it (or sometimes just look at it). The most powerful and realistic illusions can hurt even the most intelligent creatures, or trap them into horrifying nightmares.

The power of most abilities belonging to this school depends on the Intelligence and Charisma of the caster.

Invocation

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The school of Invocation includes some of the most devastating spells available on Fractured. They are created harnessing elemental powers and mixing them with raw magic to shape them, guide them, and enhance their destructive nature.

To keep these forces under control, it is mandatory for the caster to maintain a finely balanced flow of mana, which is one thing this school has mastered to perfection. Indeed, some of its mana-controlling techniques allow the caster to store spells for later use, to combine different ones to generate new powerful effects, and to cast enchantments that take effect automatically when the right conditions are met.

The power of most abilities belonging to this school depends on the Intelligence of the caster.

Necromancy

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The school of Necromancy mastered several ways to steal, extinguish or manipulate the energy flowing within living creatures.

Necromancy spells deal with powers that bring death or decay, but they’re also able to corrupt Elysium’s primal energy and infuse it into the bodies of fallen creatures and mechanical constructs, animating them into new, twisted forms of life. Moreover, thanks to blood magic techniques, the caster can link its own energy to that of other creatures in order to create powerful connections to spread curses and ravage its victims from within.

The power of most abilities belonging to this school depends on the Intelligence and Charisma of the caster.

Restoration

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The school of Restoration grants its user several ways to fortify, restore and purify the energy flowing in all living creatures.

Restoration spells are used to heal wounds, remove negative effects, and in general to restore the energetic balance within the body of the target. Due to their nature, they tend to be harmful if used against undeads and other creatures animated through Necromancy. Some of the spells from this school have seemingly divine powers, such as the ability to completely heal a creature, bring it back to life, or even infuse it into constructs and other inanimate objects – without the corruption created by Necromantic spells.

The power of most abilities belonging to this school depends on the Intelligence of the caster.

Martial Arts

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The school of Martial Arts includes a set of fighting techniques typically adopted in unarmed combat.

Martial Arts abilities are close-combat, quick-blocking and counter-attack maneuvers that take advantage of the strength of the opponent to catch it off-guard and land critical hits. Most of the abilities in this group require a high degree of mobility from the fighter, which forces it to wear light to medium armor sets. To overcome this lack of protection, the users of Martial Arts have developed several techniques to strengthen their bodies, allowing them to compete with heavily armed (and armored) opponents.

The power of most abilities belonging to this school depends on the Dexterity and Strength of the fighter.

Warfare

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The school of Warfare encompasses several combat techniques typically employed by warriors in armed melee combat.

Most Warfare abilities are designed to be performed with medium and heavy melee weapons, including swords, great swords, blunt weapons and polearms. Most can be used holding a single weapon or dual-wielding, and some even swinging shields. This school also counts a few mobility skills that allow the warrior to charge into the fray and overwhelm the enemies with brute strength. Plus, it features multiple ways to intimidate opponents and raise the morale of allies in battle.

The power of most abilities belonging to this school depends on the Strength, Constitution and Charisma of the fighter.

Assassination

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The school of Assassination includes a set of deadly, silent combat techniques used by murderers to quickly kill or debilitate their targets.

Users of Assassination abilities usually fight with light weapons such as claws, daggers and short swords, and wear light equipment to approach their targets stealthily. Due to their vulnerability, they rely on dexterity to dodge incoming attacks and move around opponents, disorienting them and catching them off guard. Stepping unnoticed and killing the target without the latter perceiving the danger is crucial for a skilled assassin, who can also rely on poisons and traps to debilitate unaware victims before they can react.

The power of most abilities belonging to this school depends on the Dexterity and Perception of the assassin.

Marksmanship

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The school of Marksmanship is used by archers to enhance their attacks with bows and crossbows, allowing them to hit multiple targets at once and aim at vital spots, inflicting critical wounds and debilitating strikes.

Marksmanship is a crucial school for hunters who want to silently kill their targets from afar, as well as for city guards during sieges. Additionally, proficient Marksmanship users mastered ways to craft and shoot different types of arrows, made with special materials and soaked with poisons, in order to inflict the maximum amount of damage to their victims.

The power of most abilities belonging to this school depends on the Dexterity and Perception of the archer.

Musicianship

The school of Musicianship encompasses several abilities that can infuse a hint of magic into songs and plays to dramatically increase the impact music has on the souls of the listeners.

Bards and minstrels using Musicianship can manipulate the emotions of other people triggering their most basic, animal feelings. Their music can influence any living creature able to hear the performance, but the effect usually doesn’t last for long – when the music stops, any affected being soon snaps out of the enchantment. Some Musicianship techniques even allow for the compression of mana into sound waves able to damage the creatures they collide with – a far less pleasant kind of tune.

The power of most abilities belonging to this school depends on the Charisma of the bard.

The Next Episode

When we first planned this article, we intended it to be much wider – basically covering all that was missing from the Knowledge System. Once written, however, we realized it was so long that it would have crushed the will of even the most loyal Fractured follower! Therefore, we’ve brutally split in two parts, deciding to start from this one to allow you to watch some game footage as soon as possible.

In the next Feature Spotlight, we’ll cover all that was left out, namely:

• The resting phase: rebuild your hero anew and discover how Fractured mixes the progression of a real MMO with the replayability and immediacy of a MOBA.
• Character creation: choosing your race, attributes and background.
• The six attributes: Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Constitution, Perception, Charisma.

See you soon and, as always, don’t forget to let us hear your voice on our community boards and social media!

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