A while back, we were able to sit down and discuss the current status of Spellborn with Marco van Haren, PR and Web Content Manager for The Chronicles of Spellborn, and here is what he said:

Stratics: Aside from character customization, how will the gameplay and missions be different from the other mainstream fantasy related MMO's in existence?

Marco: One major thing that sets The Chronicles of Spellborn apart from other MMOs is the unique setting. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic fantasy world that doesn't contain elves, trolls or other mainstream fantasy elements. The Chronicles of Spellborn offers a unique setting where the story takes center stage, offering the players actual reasons for the many tasks that lie ahead. Next to this strong focus on the story we also made sure to take a fresh approach on many of the gameplay elements found in mainstream MMOs. The game's skill based combat system with manual targeting and removal of armor stats are two bold examples of our approach.

Stratics: Since missions appear to be the only way to advance your character and gain new skills, how will you keep the missions interesting for those who are used to "grinding" for experience to gain levels?

Marco: Characters get additional skills every few levels and not as quest rewards. Also regular experience is not only gained by completing quests, but also by killing non-pvp enemies. So for people looking forward to their grind fix, there is no need to worry. Experience gained in combat will be split between two experience pools; a small part goes to the character's regular experience pool and the rest goes to the character's PeP (Personal experience Points) pool. Gaining higher PeP levels will give the character bonuses to their run speed, attack speed and damage output. When a character dies, the PeP level is reset to level zero.

Stratics: Can you elaborate on how the Player vs. Player system will function? Will it be a way to advance your characters skills?

Marco: Although the game has always been designed to offer different PvP challenges, you currently can't directly advance any of your character's skills. Players can however participate in guild vs. guild tournaments which will reward the winning guild with a trophy that can be placed in the guild hall. The guild can collect different trophies and each trophy offers the entire guild a unique bonus.

Also PvP ties in with the economy since certain areas like mines and caves where players can gather important resources are mostly PvP zones.

There are many plans to further build on the PvP gameplay that will be available at release. A cool example of this is Shard Conquest in which entire High Houses can fight over ownership of Shards and reap the economical benefits.

Stratics: How will the game handle a large number of players trying to go after the same NPC for quests?

Marco: We always try to give the player options when it comes to questing for levels. Most likely players will never be packed in one place at the same time because they will be questing on different shards. When it comes to key quests, we will make use of instancing to ensure that everyone will be able to do these quests whenever they want to.

Stratics: Will the NPC have to be "camped" for it to respawn, or will it be available in instanced zones so players will not have to wait?

Marco: A big part of the world will be persistent, so it might happen that you have to wait for an NPC to respawn. Respawn times will never be too long though, so the word "camping" is not something that applies here. As mentioned above in the case of a key event, we will make use of instances to make sure that every player can access this content when they want to.

Stratics: Will there be any “live events” around major holidays like Christmas or New Years? If so could players expect to see any game developers or team members participating?

Marco: The Chronicles of Spellborn developers have a strong and open 'relationship' with the game's community. We are currently finalizing all of our live event plans for the group of TCoS game masters. There are many cool ideas for live events and we will certainly give special attention to the major holidays. And I can guarantee you that a lot of the developers will be participating, not because they have to but because they want to.

Stratics: So far, has Spellborn met all of the team’s expectations? And what is the team the most proud of?

Marco: Although the game has been in the works for a long time, it is only recently that all of the elements are coming together in a way that to make a playable game. When we played the first build of the game ourselves we were blown away by how well everything fit together, enhancing each individual part into something even greater. I think the entire team is very proud of the quality of the project and the fact that most of the initial ideas dating from the start of the project are still part of the game and, more often then not, even expanded upon.

A big thank you to Marco and the rest of the folks at Spellborn! We look forward to watching this game grow and develop!