Sword of the New World Peek #1

We learn about the stances available to the Scout Musketeer and Wizard classes in imcGames’ and K2’s online world

By RPG Vault

Sword of the New World is a massively multiplayer offering that takes place in a romanticized version of the period when explorers, adventurers and colonists crossed the Atlantic in small, fragile sailing ships to reach the Americas. Some sought to return with riches, others to build new lives free from oppression. No matter their motivations, the land was full of dangers. So, despite the cinematic and literary archetype, these pioneers, while courageous and hardy, didn't always stand alone against overwhelming odds. Instead, it was often advisable if not crucial to band together with friends, neighbors, relatives and even strangers.

In developer imcGames' endeavor, adventuring alone will seldom if ever be necessary since the most distinctive feature is the ability for each player to control up to three characters simultaneously. Known as Granado Espada in the team's home market, Korea, it's currently being adapted for western hemisphere audiences by publisher K2 Network. Among the various changes announced to date, the most significant may be a highly expanded avatar customization element with many more costume options. Another of note is a new story reportedly incorporating hundreds of additional quests, and there will also be an improved control scheme and in-game tutorial.

Stance and Deliver!
Sword of the New World’s combat stances bring revolutionary action

The three hottest topics that will dominate initial conversations about Sword of the New World will be these:
• the unprecedented Multi-Character Control (MCC), which lets players command up to three characters simultaneously;
• the diverse combat stances, which give tremendous variety and depth to the gameplay; and
• the gorgeous, refreshingly original graphics, which make the game as exciting to look at as it is to play.

Escrima. This lethal, single-dagger attack stance also grants the Scout excellent evasion abilities. Sometimes called the Assassin's Tactic, it gives skills that are fast, uninterrupted, and optimal for one on one combat.

In this Peek, we are going to focus in detail on just one of these game design features, combat stances. Each class in Sword of the New World - Scout, Wizard, Fighter, Musketeer and Elementalist - gets many combat stances, each of which offers unique skills. Many MMOG veterans are familiar with stances for warrior-type classes. These typically switch between offense and defense options; i.e. increase defense at the cost of offensive power, or opt for less defense and deal more damage.

Sword of the New World takes stances way beyond that... and for every class. This time, we're giving you the scoop on a few of the stances for three of the five classes, Scout, Musketeer and Wizard, and we hope to bring you some of the stances and skills of the Fighter and Elementalist later on. By seeing just some of the stances and skills for these three classes, we think you'll start to appreciate just how revolutionary Sword of the New World is.

The Scout

The Scout character class is the best place to start because in many ways, it epitomizes how stances contribute to making the game so unparalleled. This is a character class that heals, but it is far from being the limited sort of healing class common to other MMORPG's. Think assassin, bard and healer all rolled into one. The Scout gets a tremendous variety of gameplay options, with five stances and 21 skills. The following three stances and their skills involve healing, buffing and dealing damage.

First-aid. The Scout can use a simple healing spell from any stance (and will auto-heal from First-aid and Fortitudo), but only while in the First-aid posture does it have access to these powerful healing skills:
• Recovery. Heals various mental and physical injuries or weakened conditions.
• Resuscitation. Revives incapacitated characters.
• Cure-all. Heals one character for a huge amount of HP.
• Mass Cure. Heals all team members.

Healing

Fortitudo. A potent stance that supports the team with great buffs.
• Intensify. Increases the power of all combat skills for the entire team.
• Fortify. Increases the maximum HP of all team members.
• Acceleration. Increases attack speed and moving speed of the entire team.
• Meditation. Increases the rate of recovery of HP and SP for all team members.

Escrima. This lethal, single-dagger attack stance also grants the Scout excellent evasion abilities. Sometimes called the Assassin's Tactic, it gives skills that are fast, uninterrupted, and optimal for one on one combat.
• Rajar en Recta. Stabs an opponent deeply and then cuts upward. Ignores the enemy's defensive power.
• Baile Soleares. Repeatedly stabs an opponent with an enormous increase in attacking power.
• Ligera Ventaja. A slashing area of effect (AOE) skill that attacks up to five opponents and has a chance to stun.
• Ilimitada Sierra. Diminishes an opponent's defense by hitting soft spots. Also greatly increases attack power.

The Musketeer

The Musketeer is one of the most imposing character classes in Sword of the New World. This class is a top-tier damage dealer, primarily relying on pistols and rifles. However, it can also use bare fists, smash enemies with rifle stocks, fire poisonous bullets, slash and stab with a bayonet, and even fire a blinding AOE debuff. With seven stances and 24 skills, the Musketeer is as deadly as it is diverse. The following are just three of those stances, and even with this selection, you can see how impressive the Musketeer is.

The Wizard can levitate, employ telekinetic powers and shield team members from many types of attacks, and possesses a lethal and devastating array of curses.

Double Gun Shot. A duel-pistol stance with the fastest shooting speed and the lowest accuracy.
• Westraid. Greatly increases shooting speed for both guns, but decreases accuracy.
• Blood Over-Drive. Reckless AOE attack blasts up to eight random enemies.
• Quattro Firing. Quickly shoots one opponent four times.
• R.I.P. Overwhelming attack fires dozens of shots at one enemy.

Standing Shot. Excellent rifle stance. It grants superior accuracy and quickness.
• Birdfall. Fires at enemies in the air. Cannot be used to attack enemies on the ground.
• Blind Flash. Tremendous AOE debuff. Blinds up to 15 opponents by firing ammunition that explodes with a bright flash of light.
• Headshot. Shoots an opponent in the head. Highly accurate. Devastating damage.
• Undercovering. AOE skill fires many shots at up to six enemies. Chance to inflict Fear.
• Precision Shot. Fires a high-damage shot that never misses.

Blind Flash

Encounter Shot. A close-up shooting stance utilizing the bayonet.
• Bayonet Assault. Stabs an opponent and then smashes him/her with a rifle butt.
• Glint. Hits the enemy in the head with the gunstock, and finishes with several rifle shots.
• Incision. Cuts an enemy twice with the bayonet, and then fires multiple times.
• Shooting Star. Converges on the enemy while firing a shot, kicks the enemy down, and then stabs with the bayonet. Wicked and brutal, and so fun.

The Wizard

The Wizard is an invigorating magic-using class that specializes in AOE attacks, spells, curses and buffs. The Wizard can levitate, employ telekinetic powers and shield team members from many types of attacks, and possesses a lethal and devastating array of curses. A great deal of variety and power is spread across the Wizard’s six stances and 23 skills. Here are just three of them.

Psychokinesis. A magic stance affecting others physically.
• Throw Back. Strong telekinetic attack that knocks an opponent backward.
• Web. AOE attack slams flying enemies to the ground and pins them, and also holds all ground enemies still. Affects up to six opponents.
• Earthquake. Violent AOE shakes the ground and knocks down as many as eight enemies.
• Apocalypse. AOE attack that creates an enveloping darkness that severely damages up to 10 enemies.

Web

ESP. A magic stance granting mental powers, mainly of a defensive nature involving buffs.
• Spiritual Shield. Provides all team members with a strong mental shield against offensive magic.
• Anti-magic Shell. Invigorates all team members, and lends an impenetrable shield against magic for a short time.
• Protection Field. Shields one team member with a powerful protective field against physical attacks.
• Dispel Magic. Removes harmful magic from team members and negates buffs from opponents.

Levitation. Impressive Wizard stance grants levitation at the cost of SP, and has several telekinetic skills.
• Reverse. AOE skill cancels attacks of enemies and suspends up to six opponents in the air.
• Photon Splash. AOE attack fires damaging telekinetic energy at up to 10 enemies.
• Black Hole. Creates a powerful gravitational field pulling as many as 12 opponents to the ground.

Reverse

The sheer number and tremendous variety of stances and skills for the character classes in Sword of the New World is amazing. We only covered three of the stances for three classes, and even this demonstrates that the game is something new, something exciting, and that it contains more gameplay for each player than other MMORPG.

K2 Network is set to launch Sword of the New World sometime this summer. It will be free to download and Free2Play. Go to www.swordofthenewworld.com and get the latest on the upcoming beta.