New Player Improvements in 1.7, have fun :)

Alyvian

With the 1/20/12 build to PTS, we will be introducing a number of improvements for new players including an extremely exciting Preset Soul system!



Preset souls represent a quick way for new players to rapidly find the right combination of play style, Calling, and Souls to give them a great experience right out of the box. Presets can also be used by existing players as a quick way to try something new without having to pore over websites for hours on end comparing specs. In fact, many of our initial presets draw from popular builds within the community which we’ve tweaked to be a little more friendly towards leveling players. We’ve even retained some of the more popular build names created by you for many of these presets! In addition, we’re in the process of updating our early content to be more new-player friendly, with tweaks to encounters, help tips, and quest flow. 



REALLY IMPORTANT NOTE: The changes are in addition to the existing Soul and Role system and do not replace the current way Soul specs work - they are intended to make it easier for old and new players alike to become familiar with different potential specs and gameplay they may not have tried before. Think of them like guidelines; those of you more familiar with the Souls and abilities you want to use can continue to customize and swap things in and out at will.

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  Newly acquired Abilities will now be displayed in a special pop-up UI window at the time they are learned, making it easy to drag new abilities directly to your hotbar – or cancel them from the list if you don’t want to place them at that time.

NEW CHARACTER CREATION UPDATES

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  The Calling selection screen now calls out which roles a Calling is able to potentially fill - Tank, Damage, Healing, Support.
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  After selecting a Calling, characters will be required to choose a “Purpose” (Preset Soul Combination) during character creation.
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  Each Purpose will start out with a preset combination of souls, abilities and equipment. Players will have the opportunity to preview these before the character is created.
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  New players can also preview what their character would look like in a variety of armor ranging from starting gear to epic endgame appearances!

USING A PRESET BUILD

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  Players always have the choice to make a custom build, or to play as one of the supplied preset builds.
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  Preset builds will have a fixed progression path which can be previewed when you open the Soul Tree window.
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  Characters with unspent Soul Points who are using preset souls will be guided to purchase specific abilities in the Soul Tree that are appropriate for their level.
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  Players can view additional helpful tips and guides about their Purpose (and other available Purposes) by clicking on the Purpose button in the soul tree.
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  At any time, a new character can spend their Soul Points in a non-highlighted ability or swap out a Soul with 0 points spent to further customize their spec. Doing so will set your Purpose to 'custom' and remove the highlighted progression path.
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  You now have access to all Souls from your Calling at level one, which means experienced players can immediately customize their starting Soul spec if they choose to not use the presets.

SOUL TREE CHANGES - NEW AND EXISTING CHARACTERS

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  When you open the Soul Tree you should see a window that looks pretty familiar!
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  At the top of the Soul Tree UI is a new button showing which Purpose is currently selected - this displays 'Custom' for existing characters with their own specs set up.
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  When viewing a Role that has 0 points spent in Souls, the Purpose button at the top of the UI can be used to view a list of preset Purposes that you can choose from to help set up your character's spec.
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  Purposes are a combination of 3 Souls that have a highlighted ability progression path to suggest where to next spend Soul Points.
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  When checking out Purposes, you'll see a description of what the spec is, some tips, and some important abilities for that particular combination.
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  Selecting a Purpose will slot 3 souls into the Soul Tree UI and start showing the next suggested ability to spend points in. The Preview button at the top of the Soul Tree will place outlines around the abilities the Purpose will ultimately recommend through level 50.
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  AT ANY TIME: A Soul with 0 points spent can be exchanged with any other Soul, just like it works currently.
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  AT ANY TIME: You aren't forced to spent points only where the Purpose is suggesting - you can spend points in a non-highlighted ability and it will set your Purpose to Custom and stop highlighting abilities in the Soul Tree.
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  Existing characters will receive any Souls they may be missing with this update.

ADDITIONAL NEW PLAYER IMPROVEMENTS

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  The number of aggressive monsters in Terminus and Mathosia have been reduced
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  *Monsters in Terminus, Mathosia, Silverwood, and Freemach have had their agro radius and run speeds adjusted. This will allow players to avoid supprise “Aggro” and flee combat easier when they get in over their heads
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  A number of help tips have been updated to be easier to understand.

Alyvian

sorry for the blue stuff it idndt let me remove it

 

on an additional note:

http://forums.riftgame.com/public-test-shard/293451-pts-progress-set-2-1-20-12-a.html#post3540590 < second set of patchnotes for 1.7 link to the first is in that post aswell