Today’s roadmap update covers the systems and features that we have been talking about recently as well as some hints of what’s to come afterwards. But before we get to that, there are a few final areas of the upcoming changes that we want to cover.
Itemization Updates
As our gameplay has evolved over the course of Early Access, we have heard concerns from many of our players about the game’s itemization. Chief among those concerns is the fact that many items don’t create a feeling of accomplishment when they drop. The stats they carry don’t match the stats that players are looking for, or the items don’t feel appropriately rewarding for the difficulty required to obtain them. In some cases, better or comparable items might be available from easier or lower-level opponents. Players also often express confusion over the class restrictions on the items, with many asking why some classes can use items and why others can’t.
There are several reasons for the current state of affairs – the different time periods when content was developed, the changes we have made to our classes throughout the course of Early Access, and of course, the difference between how players approach some of our content and what we, as designers, expected when we were originally developing those areas. As we head into the Combat and Progression Update, we are taking the opportunity to revisit our itemization throughout the entire game and bring it up to the same standard for all our existing content, at all levels. This includes crafted items as well as looted items. The stats and power of each item will be determined based on the level and rarity of that item, along with unique flavor, based on where and how the item can be obtained. We are also planning to introduce new items (both crafted and looted) along with some new consumable items.
Rarity in Item Tooltips
All our equipment items have a rarity value associated with them (uncommon, epic, legendary, etc.), but that information is currently not exposed to players in the item tooltip. This leads to confusion when players compare items from different areas and bosses against each other. In the update this spring, we are going to be adding rarity information to item tooltips so players will be able to know whether the drop they received was just an uncommon drop, or a rare, or even an epic drop.
Additional Item Stats
We are expanding item utility and effects in the upcoming update. For example, weapons and equipment for spellcasters will be able to boost the damage of certain elements or schools of magic. We are also adding a few new stats to correspond with some of the combat changes we are making, such as critical mitigation. Finally, our uncommon-quality items will often feature multiple variations with different stats, which will give players more options for gearing up before they head into the game’s most challenging content.
Redesigned Item Tooltips
With all this additional information, we’re taking the opportunity to redesign the way that everything is displayed in our item tooltips as well. The new tooltips will show more information than the old ones, with a less verbose layout to help make your item stats visible at a glance.
Economic Systems
Along with our itemization updates, we will be introducing some long-awaited systems to help support the game economy alongside a few other changes. Let’s talk about the new systems first.
Mail System
We are adding a mail system to the game. Players will be able to use this to send short text messages between characters, with the option to attach items or in-game currency to the message. This mail system will support the Player Market system (more information below) but can also be used on its own. Here are some of the details:
- You will be able to send mail to other characters on your own account, and to anyone on your friends list or in your guild. You will not be able to send mail to anyone else.
- You will be able to send currency and items via mail. However, there will be a time delay for the recipient to receive those items or currency, and there will be an additional cost for sending any mail with items attached..
- You will only be able to access your mail in towns and cities, through interacting with specific NPCs or mailbox kiosks.
- In the future, we plan to add some additional features to the mail system that make it more useful for helping organize group activities (for example, a guild leader sending a notification to their guild about an upcoming event). However, this first iteration will focus on basic functionality first.
Player Market
In the spring update, we will also be introducing the player market system. This system is similar to what you might be used to from many other MMORPGs. Here is the planned feature list for the Market system:
- Players will be able to list items for sale for a set time period and specify the price. If the item is sold, the money is mailed to the character with notification of the successful sale. If the listing expires, the item is returned to the player via the mail system.
- Players will also be able to create an auction using the Market. When they create an auction, they will specify a time length, a minimum price, and, optionally, a buyout price. Other players will then be able to bid on these auctions. When the auction ends, the winning bid will be transferred to the player who owned the auction (just like a sale), and other bids will be returned to the players who submitted them.
- Players will be able to post purchase requests on the market. In a purchase request, the player will specify the item they want to purchase, the quantity, and what they are offering to pay for it. Their money will be placed in escrow, and then other players can choose to sell them the item for the listed price. As an example, we envision players using this option to purchase commodities such as crafting materials.
- Players will of course be able to browse items available for sale or auction, as well as purchase requests. Whenever an item is purchased or money changes hands, the mail system will be used to deliver everything.
There will be limitations on the number of items you can list per character, and characters on the same account will not be able to purchase from or sell to each other. There will also be percentage-based fees for selling items on the player market. The system is intended to make it easier for players to buy and sell items without needing to be online, but if you want to avoid the fees, especially for high-value items, meeting with another player in-game is always the best option.
You will be able to access the player market only in major cities and large towns. Markets will be regional, meaning that you will only be able to buy/sell within the region of the market you are interacting with. During Early Access, the market regions will be continent-wide, so a player in Thronefast would be able to browse items posted for sale by players in Wild’s End. We plan to monitor market activity on each continent during the remainder of Early Access to determine the final regional strategy for the game’s launch.
Economic Controls for Items
If you have been following this series of developer diaries, then you know that as part of our changes, we are planning to make many named NPCs more accessible than they are now, and to increase their spawn rate. With the addition of the Market system, which will make it easier for players to sell and trade items, we need to take steps to ensure that newly looted or crafted items still have value even after the game has been in operation for months or years.
In the Combat and Progression Update, we will begin leveraging item binding for many of our items. This means that once you equip an item to your character, the item will no longer be able to be traded or sold to other players. Quest rewards and some very powerful items such as raid loot may become bound to you when you obtain them. You will still be able to salvage these items or sell them to a vendor as you see fit.
This change is being made to help maintain the value of new drops and new crafted items for players. We recognize that this is a big change from the game’s current state, however we believe it will help us to maintain a much healthier player economy on our servers for many years after launch and help to mitigate some of the problems with item proliferation that have plagued the economies of many other MMORPGs over the years.
Roadmap Update
With all of that out of the way, we are pleased to share our roadmap for the first half of 2026 with you.
Later in 2026, we will journey across the western seas to the lands of Reignfall, beginning with Broken Maw. We’ll discuss those plans further in our next roadmap update. Please keep in mind that the updates and additions listed are not complete notes.
Over the last two weeks we have covered many of the changes that we have planned for the Combat and Progression Update in the spring. Hopefully you are just as excited as we are about the upcoming changes! We are very much looking forward to opening our Public Test Realm in the coming months so that we can get feedback from all of you as we finalize these systems.
After we return from the holiday break, we will post regular progress updates including detailed breakdowns for each adventuring class as we work towards that milestone. Expect our next roadmap update once these features are implemented and live. We wish everyone a very happy holiday season and we’re looking forward to seeing you all in Terminus over the holidays and next year!
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More from the Combat & Progression Update Details Series
Part One: Overview
Part Two: Unified NPC Templates
Part Three: Combat Formula Adjustments
Part Four: Kill Credit & NPC Spawning
Part Five: Leveling & Experience Progression Adjustments
Part Six: Skills & the Evolution of Techniques
Part Seven: Adventuring Mastery
Part Eight: Crafting & Gathering