Game Mechanics

Several game mechanics have been announced for EverQuest Next! Some of these include:

• Multi-Classing
• Destructibility
• Consequences
• Emergent Gameplay

Multi-Classing

EQN will offer players the ability to explore and interact with the world according to their individual style of play. There are no levels in EQN, but there will be more than 40 distinct classes (or professions) at launch, with multi-tiered abilities and specialized weapon skills to collect and master. Players will even mix and match abilities from each class, creating truly custom characters that feel distinct and powerful.

How it works:

You will have 8 abilities total at any given time. This includes 4 weapon abilities and 4 character abilities.

• Weapon Abilities
  • These 4 abilities are based on what class you are and what weapon you are using
  • For example, a Warrior using a giant halberd may have large AoE sweeping type attacks and ground pound type attacks. While a Warrior using a longsword may have more 1v1 based attacks.
  • These 4 abilities will only change if you swap out weapons or change to a completely new class
  • These abilities are unique to your class and help define what you are

• Character Abilities
  • These 4 abilities are only based on what class you are
  • There are 4 possible ability types
    • Offensive, Defensive, Movement, Utility
  • The class you are will affect what ability types you have, (I.E. a Warrior may have 2 offensive and 2 defensive ability types VS a Wizard who may have 3 offensive and 1 movement type)
  • These Character Abilities can be changed with any other character ability in the game, as long as you have unlocked it first, (I.E. a player who has unlocked a Warrior class and a Wizard class can swap out 1 of the Warrior's character ability with 1 of the Wizards character ability, such as giving up a Shield Bash type ability for a Wizards teleport type ability)
  • Keep in mind the abilities you swap out wont be modified for your class. A wizards teleport ability will probably cost a tremendous amount of mana/power to a Warrior, so the Warrior will need to gear up with special gear to help specialize his class to this "Warrior/Wizard Hybrid" thus balancing the fact that a warrior can now teleport as he had to give up more Warrior specific gear in order to use this new ability.

Destructibility

No modern MMO has successfully implemented destructible environments that stretch across an entire seamless game world – this changes forever with EQN. Every piece of the world is fully destructible and players will have the ability to manipulate almost all of it. They will interact with and explore the world in amazing ways; venturing down into the deep bedrock beneath the surface and using powerful combat abilities to blow gaping holes into the ground. The EQN world will extend far into the heavens and deep into the procedurally-generated earth through 10,000 years of known lore and history.

Permanent Change

Players will also have the ability to cause the world to change around them, permanently, in dramatic ways. Through the concerted effort of the world’s inhabitants, including players, creatures, and non-player characters (NPCs), city walls will be built and destroyed, large-scale wars will be fought and won, and epic stories will unfold over months and years.

Emergent AI

In EQN, NPCs will have specific motivations and preferences that direct behavior in nuanced and unpredictable ways. Players will find themselves in a world where NPC decisions are based on core values, not dictated by static spawn points. For example, Orcs may attack opportunistically because they want an adventurer’s gold, not simply because a careless hero wanders into an attack radius.

A Life of Consequence

Each character in EQN will have a unique story; they will not follow a predetermined path. Instead, they will seek out adventure, fame and fortune in a constantly changing sandbox world. The game will remember every choice and action that players make and will organically deliver increasing opportunities to do more of the things players like to do … from crafting armor and exploring the wilderness to purging goblins from the forests.

Misc.

• Loot:  Item drops will make sense. You will not get a sword drop from a snake. "The snake will drop things like snake skin. You won't get snake skins coming from gnolls. That's not the way we're going to drop loot" says Terry Michaels
• PvP: Though PvP has been confirmed to be in the game in some form or fashion, as of SOE Live 2013, no solid details on its purpose in the game or level of involvement had been provided.
  • "We are not releasing a lot of information about how the PVP stuff will work and we would love there to be a very clear relationship between the abilities that you use in the overworld and the abilities that you use in PVP. And we think that potentially all of the destruction makes PVP a different landscape than any one of us has seen. We will have more information about that in the future."