by Drew Cordell
- Tech: 1 (10 active resource and 5 HP per point invested in Tech.)
- Artisan: 0 (Artisan points are accrued for every 10 levels earned in a primary crafting tree. Points cannot be invested in Artisan manually.)
Strexian magic was the most powerful thing I had going with my character build. Since all the spells that had been embedded in my Strexian implant chip when I’d acquired it were fueled by the Mind attribute, it made sense to maximize that stat. Though putting points in Tech would give me an equal amount of additional mana, while boosting the effectiveness of any cyber mods I had equipped and the damage I could deal with Tech-based weapons such as my light blaster pistol.
From what I’d learned from the reading Brandon and I had done on Eternity Online game mechanics, it was faster for players to learn and progress abilities, spells, and skills if they had a higher rank in primary attributes linked to them. Certain spells and abilities would also gain additional traits and perks if I met higher attribute point thresholds, even if they were hidden from descriptions until then.
All of my skills: piloting, armor, blasters, and my single blaster ability were tied to my Tech attribute, but I was leaning toward putting my new attribute point into Mind so I could further improve my spellcasting. My spells weren’t costing additional mana to cast yet, though I had a strong feeling that might change soon. I also had the feeling that my strongest contribution to our party right now would be in a support role, even though I didn’t have any healing capabilities for the time being.
I held off on plugging my attribute point into Mind, at least until we could talk it over with the group and I could figure out my ideal role to help our party excel. Brandon would most likely be tanking and soaking up damage on our front line. I had no idea what to expect from Fen with the ornate-looking blades she had concealed in her ceremonial robes, and Gwen seemed to excel as a pilot, but she also didn’t stray from danger in a firefight. She was leaning toward a heavy Tech attribute investment at T3B1 and already had at least one small deployable drone that could assist her in combat by extracting tactical information from the battlefield and feeding it to the rest of us.
I did a quick check on my progression on all my abilities, passive skills, and spells, seeing how close I was to leveling them up:
Kyle Gennan’s Abilities, Skills, and Spells:
Passive Skills:
- Blasters Level 3. 72% progression XP remaining until next level.
- Interceptor Piloting Level 2. 64% progression XP remaining until next level.
- Light Armor Level 1. 94% progression XP remaining until next level.
- Light Blaster Pistols Level 3. 72% progression XP remaining until next level.
- Piloting Level 2. 64% progression XP remaining until next level.
Active Skills:
- Overload Level 2. 95% progression XP remaining until next level.
Spells:
- Mana Ball + Unstable Power Level 2. 90% progression XP remaining until next level.
- Mana Shield Level 2. 78% progression XP remaining until next level.
I was pleased with my progression overall but knew I needed to keep working on grinding out levels whenever I had the chance. The piloting I had done on Exowurm wouldn’t be as relevant to the group now that we had Gwen as our pilot ace, and my blasters skill still needed some work for me to keep my damage output up, unless I decided to pursue spellcasting exclusively, which wasn’t really possible given the fact that I didn’t know a proper healing or offensive spell at the moment.
The hovercar came to a stop in front of us, pulling me out of my thoughts as the driver shifted gears to put the bulky vehicle into park. We climbed on, taking seats along the car’s length with a couple other Dark Eternity NPCs who were too occupied with their data tablets to pay attention to us. They did nod respectfully and exchange a few pleasantries with Cadan as they worked, though.
“Just tell the armory crew to give me a call when you’re done and we’ll get you stocked up on crafting supplies and outfit Ether Rogue with some new modules and modifications. Have fun, I think you’re really going to enjoy our selection!” Cadan called as the cart zipped away, taking us across a lit path that wove through the hangar.
29
We passed freighters, fighters, and larger ships, all of which were painted matte black and were transfixed with the mirrored sickle logo of Dark Eternity. The cart transporting us came to a stop at the edge of a hangar at a shop with doors leading into what looked like residence halls in the back. Unlike Mac’s cramped shop on Vrenn, Dark Eternity’s armory and splicer clinic had a lot of open space, and tons of equipment filling display cases and wall racks behind the numerous counters. There were dozens of people inside, some looking like they were selling equipment to the people running the armory rather than buying. Some other players stood in line for the splicer clinic, ready to get newly acquired implants and cyber mods installed.
We walked up to an available shopkeeper, another player by the AIVO prompts that flashed in my vision. I was prepared to show him our contract, but he seemed to already be expecting us. “Hi there, Mr. Graves transferred your contract to me, I’m ready to help you out with everything. I understand you need to keep this quick so I’m giving you each access to our complete item database, it’s a full catalog of everything we have on hand that’s for sale. You can search by name, type, attributes, and any other item property while assigning minimum or maximum values across your search perimeters. Add whatever you’d like to your cart and we’ll get you squared away. I think you’ll find it all very intuitive, but please let me know if I can help with anything.”
“Sure, thank you,” I said to the man as he slid four tablets across the counter of his display case to us. I was thankful for a quick way to tab through and filter through gear and skills so we wouldn’t have to walk through all the store space.
Gwen set to action immediately, trying to coordinate our group and optimize our purchases to give us the best chance of success. “Okay, let’s talk roles. Obviously, Brandon will be soaking up the damage as a Body main. I’ll be our main pilot and can play damage, or support through tech modules, but Kyle might be in the best position to play support with his shield spell. Fen will be playing damage, she's a B3M2 and can also off-tank if needed with her evasion skills. Yōkai gain less health from attribute points put into Body, but they also gain more evasion and agility.”
“If I can get a healing spell upload, I really don’t mind healing. I don’t have the Tech attribute threshold to perform well otherwise. Why don’t we all check our available class paths and compare? Then we can see what kind of gear and ability uploads fit in with those play styles,” I suggested. “I’ll go ahead and plug my attribute point into Mind. That will bring me to M4T1.”
“Maybe we don’t even need a traditional healer to do well. Your shields could be more than enough, especially as you are able to sustain them for longer periods of time,” Gwen said. “Let’s figure out classes and compare with gear available through the armory.”
We set to work, finally diving into the class panel in our character sheets that we hadn’t had the time to check yet. Before opening the selection, I put my fifth attribute point into Mind, bringing me to M4T1 with 35 HP and 55 mana. My mana was quickly outpacing my health, but I knew I might need to eventually throw a point or two into Body to boost my health faster or I would face the risk of becoming too fragile.
Eternity Online Class System
Congratulations on reaching character level 5! You are now ready to advance your progression and spend your first class point. Your initial class decision does not have to be final. When you earn an additional class point, you may change your current class, converting 50% of any experience earned in class-exclusive skills and abilities to your new class exclusives.
When you open the interface to spend your first class point, you will be given three choices based on your character’s skills, abilities, spells, and attribute point distribution. So
me classes come with an extra attribute point, class quests, alternative primary resources, and new ways to progress in Eternity Online.
Each class in Eternity Online will have at least one main attribute, one main crafting profession, and at least one notable passive skill, spell, or ability gained per level earned in the class.
It is recommended that you spend any unspent attribute points before accessing this panel as they will not be considered in your selections without it.
Proceed to the class interface?
I clicked ‘Y’, taking a deep breath and diving right into my choices.
Savant I
Main Attribute(s): Mind.
Primary Resource(s): Mana.
Associated Crafting Profession: Lore.
Race Restrictions: None.
Requirements: Character Level 5, Mind 3, Strexian.
Class perks (Savant I):
● Passive skill. Mind. Cosmic Scholar: 25% increased experience gain in skills, abilities, and spells with the Mind trait. This bonus does not apply to Cosmic Scholar. Cosmic Scholar gains experience when you gain experience with skills, abilities, and spells affected by it.
● Class Quest
* * *
Your thirst for knowledge leads your fervent ambition. Your knowledge is your power, and Strexian Savants pride themselves in their search for knowledge through the cosmos, uncovering secrets from the depths of the galaxy.
If the first selection was any indicator, then I was going to be well off. It was also extremely exciting to see a class locked to those with the Strexian trait. The idea of being able to progress my Mind-based skills, abilities, and spells with 25% bonus XP was enticing, though the class wouldn’t give me any new spells or active abilities from the start.
I tried to expand the class quest which was one of the Savant’s class perks, but it wouldn’t give me any more information and probably wouldn’t until I had locked in my selection. I continued to the next class, wanting to go through all my options before making a decision.
Mindseeker I
Main Attribute(s): Mind.
Primary Resource(s): Mana.
Associated Crafting Profession: Artificing.
Race Restrictions: None.
Requirements: Character Level 5, Mind 3, Strexian.
Class perks (Mindseeker I):
● Spell. Mind. Strexian. Curse. Mindthirst: afflict a powerful curse on an organic enemy, dealing heavy psychic damage and draining their active resource, converting it to mana and adding it to your mana pool. This spell has a chance to afflict the Psychosis debuff.
● 1 attribute point immediately invested in Mind.
● Advanced Artificing Schematic: Augment. Mind Implant. Prestige.
* * *
They called you a heretic for the dark magic you pursue, but you know the truth. You know the mind is a tool to be shaped to your bidding, and it is the key to fueling your power. Breaking minds along the way to improve your own is just the price of progress.
The Mindseeker class option looked like a powerful damage dealer, and it also had the chance to give me additional mana depending on how effective the leech effect of the Mindthirst curse was. I wasn't able to see the exact numbers of the spell, only the general summary.
I liked that I would instantly gain an additional attribute point in Mind, and an advanced Artificing schematic with the prestige trait if I chose this class. Much like Brandon’s shotgun with prestige, the Artificing construct would scale with my character level, likely removing the need to replace that piece of gear for a long time. I continued, checking my final class option.
Architect I
Main Attribute(s): Mind, Tech.
Primary Resource(s): Mana.
Associated Crafting Profession: Spellcrafting.
Race Restrictions: None.
Requirements: Character Level 5, Mind 2, Tech 1, Strexian.
Class perks (Architect I):
● Unique crafting profession. Spellcrafting: Craft, modify, and discover new Strexian spells. Spellcrafting is a unique profession
● Passive Skill. Artisan. Synchronicity: You may learn advanced and legendary schematics in Spellcrafting and Artificing. Warning: If you change classes, you lose access to the Spellcrafting profession unless otherwise noted.
* * *
Magic is everything, and you seek to forge the building blocks of your arsenal through the modification of spells. Strexian Architects understand and embrace the blurred line between magic and technology, bending it to their will.
Architect seemed like a fascinating class path to pursue, but it would come with limitations.
I loved the idea of being able to craft spells, but I was worried about pursuing what was obviously meant to be an artisan-based class. There would be a lot of money in the class if I was able to encode learnable spells later on, but the market could get saturated if Strexian implants became more readily available to players through the Artificing profession and adventuring. We had the financial opportunity of a lifetime, and I was hoping to find powerful gear or spell uploads at the Strexian temple. The Architect Class was off the table for now, and I considered my selection between Mindseeker and Savant.
I picked up the tablet interfacing with the Dark Eternity armory, typing in ‘spell’ and submitting the query, not surprised to see only one result given how rare magic was in Eternity Online for the time being. The price of the spell was insane, worth three months of earnings for me on Tiyvan IV after converting from standard credits to eCr. Since Unstable Power didn’t occupy a spell slot in my Strexian implant, I still had three slots to work with, but I had the feeling it would be hard to fill them for the foreseeable future.
Dark Eternity Armory Database Query
Name
Type
Description
Level Requirement
Spell Slot Requirement
Cost
Phase Dash
Spell
...
1
1
18,000 eCr
The spell didn’t seem to warrant the cost. It was a short five-meter dash to a new location with a low mana cost and short cooldown. It would be valuable to get out of danger in a pinch, but wasn’t a great option given the insane cost. I sighed. We would have to speed through this process without getting sloppy so we would be able to log out in neutral space. It was now an hour past when our alarm was supposed to go off on Tiyvan IV and we wouldn’t be able to keep playing forever.
I started browsing ability uploads, filtering with the search parameters of anything usable by character level seven and below, and Mind 6, or Tech 2 and below. As I was beginning to learn, most 'abilities’ were present either in the form of intrinsic properties of equipment or through players performing an action manually. Learning new passive skills and abilities in Eternity Online only seemed possible through practicing those things and doing them enough to warrant the benefit of gaining expertise.
Dark Eternity Armory Database Query
Name
Type
Description
Level Requirement
Attribute Requirement ^
Cost
Hack
Skill
...
1
T2
9,180 eCr
Conserve Ammo
Ability
...
1
T1
4,679 eCr
Improvise
Ability
...
1
B1/T1/M3
7,840 eCr
Overclock
Skill
...
1
T1
8,208 eCr
After reading through the descriptions, nothing seemed to be worth the cost, and the abilities and skills didn’t seem to fit into the play style I was going to be using.
My friends and I discussed classes, available equipment, and strategy for over an hour, finishing everything and spen
ding almost the entire 100,000 eCr on equipment to get the most out of our contract. Gwen had finished her purchases and class point allotment early so she could select the modules and modifications for Ether Rogue, hoping to get those installed quickly.
Gwen traded in her Dalthaxian combat armor for a better light-armor suit with the Dark Eternity color style and emblem. She kept her Treshian Breach Carbine, opting to mod a few more of the components in the weapon to better suit it to her playstyle. She used her remaining credits for two implants, one that would improve her reaction time, and another that would improve her ability to interface with electronics, including those on Ether Rogue and in her drone. She picked Specialist for her class specialization. As a Specialist, she got to choose two passive skills for a 15% increase in XP gain and increased the efficiency in which she could learn and encode and decode ability uploads that were dependent on the Tech attribute.
I chose Savant for my starting class, unable to pass up the massive experience gain boost from Cosmic Scholar. It would be incredible if I could scale my current spells as we attempted the Strexian temple. If it was anything like most content in Eternity Online, the difficulty would scale with our average level and the number of players in our group. This way, smaller groups and lower-level players could potentially tackle the same content as higher-level players, though the gear drops would be scaled down to compensate. Ideally, whatever real treasure was waiting for us would be untouched by these game systems.