Why Early Access?

“Because an MMO is the one genre you cannot finish alone. I can measure damage
against a practice dummy, simulate every class rotation and walk the whole
level curve with a bot — and I have done all three — but none of it tells me
what a hundred real people do to an economy, whether the arena brackets hold
up against players who think, or which parts of the world nobody bothers to
visit.

Those questions only have answers once the server is full. Early Access is how
I get them while the game is still shaped enough to act on what they say.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“I am not going to give you a date I cannot keep. A rough intention: a year or
so, depending on what the test turns up and how many people are playing.

What I will commit to instead is a pace you can check. The build updates
regularly, every change is written up in plain language, and if that stops you
will be able to see that it stopped rather than having to guess.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“I plan to add more world and more to do at the top of it: additional zones,
more endgame content, and depth on the systems already here rather than
replacements for them. A sixth class is something I plan to build.

Treat all of that as intention rather than guarantee. Early Access changes
plans — that is most of the point of running one — so buy this for the game
described on this page as it stands today, not for the paragraph above.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Playable and complete end to end. You can make a character, level it from 1 to
the cap at 30, and finish everything below.

- Five classes, each with two specialisations, and points to spend every level
- A continuous levelling world — every level from 1 to 30 has somewhere to earn it
- An eighteen-step story chain with cutscenes, running the length of the starter world
- Three keyed dungeons: solo, two-player and five-player
- World bosses, both scheduled and roaming
- Ranked 2v2 and 3v3 arena with a season ladder
- Full-loot open PvP in the Bloodgrounds
- Guilds, a guild vault, and outposts to hold
- A player market, direct trade, and a personal vault
- Gathering, crafting, and gear refinement to +12

Honest about the limits: balance is tuned against simulation and a closed
test rather than a live population, which is exactly what Early Access is for.

One thing to know before you invest in a character: there is a single wipe
planned, when the game leaves Early Access, with at least two weeks' notice
before it happens. One wipe, not a series — an economy that has absorbed a
year of balance changes should not be the one 1.0 launches on. That is the only
reset planned, and the commitment is written into the charter on the game's
website.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“The price may rise at full release. If it does, everyone who bought during
Early Access keeps the game at no extra cost — you will never be asked to pay
twice.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“Directly, and in public. There is a Discord where I read everything and where
bug reports get answered by the person who wrote the bug. The Steam forums
will be watched the same way.

Two things I will keep doing, because they are already how this gets built:
changes are written up in plain language rather than a version number and a
shrug, and when something is wrong I would rather say so on the store page
than have you find it yourself.”