Studies

RPG Vault Article
Your gameplay time is precious and an important part of your life you want to ensure gets good attention as any other. Can you afford to play two or more MMOs at a time? Perhaps, but most of us probably cannot. Just one of the features we've built to give you flexibility in playing Alganon when your time permits, is the Studies system.


 * Allows players who cannot play every day to still advance their characters
 * Allow characters to grow over time at the same rate as all other players
 * Provides an underlying system allowing casual gamers to compete with hardcore gamers

Associated with the library, studies comprise a key feature, one that allows you to advance your character offline, giving you that break from the game while still continuing its progress in the world. This element provides rewards to your characters based on their ages. The longer one has been around, the more it will have, which means more support modifiers to enhance it. The result is that a power gamer who plays 20 hours a day for three months cannot achieve the passive study-based support as a casual player who has put two years into his or her character. It allows growth even when you're not actively playing Alganon.

The speed at which a player studies is the same for everyone, but different choices take various amounts of time to finish. There is some strategy in this advancement, so choose your study paths wisely.

A starting character begins with some basic studies that are immediately available for learning. Increasing this number requires obtaining access to more from trainers located in nearby towns. They can also be acquired through books that can be purchased or found, or may be provided as quest rewards.

A major effect of studies is that they can directly alter your character's stats, skills or other systems. For example, studying Anatomy I may give it an additional 10 critical rating for each level obtained. This gives a better chance of landing high-damage hits.

Alganon: Ardonya, Asheran Forest - Greenvale

As mentioned above, you will not need to be logged in to have a study progress; however, once a single level of one is complete, you must define which direction to go next. This requires you at least to log in and check your character's progress periodically. More powerful players may study things that take weeks (in real time) to learn.

You can acquire new studies even as they progress. These are given in the form of books that activate them, allowing you to start in that area immediately. Once you have finished the last level, a particular one is considered complete. The speed at which a player studies is the same for everyone, but different choices take various amounts of time to finish. There is some strategy in this advancement, so choose your study paths wisely.

The Library and Studies: RPG Vault Peek #9