Extensive Champions: Return to Arms Preview

The Official Playstation Magazine released a large preview of Champions: Return to Arms in one of their recent issues, which is now available online. In addition to the preview, there’s also an interview with Snowblind president Ryan Geithman and a set of skill trees for the sequel. An excerpt:

So what can you expect if you play as one of these new classes? While the Iksar shaman has some of the same skills (such as Bind Wound, Root, and Endurance) as fellow spellcasters the erudite wizard and the high elf cleric, he also gets his own unique skills. One new spell is called Summon Badger, which temporarily summons a spirit pet, hearkening back to the Iksar’s origins in EverQuest, in which they could call familiars. And how can you not like a spell called Pus Storm, which causes large globs of pus to fall out of the sky and harm your enemies? Our favorite new spell, however, is Giant Growth, which temporarily grows your shaman to twice his size and allows him to do more damage.

If you choose the Vah Shir berserker, you’ll be playing as a character whose skills are concentrated primarily in physical strength. Like the barbarian warrior, he’ll be able to develop Cyclone, Dual Wield, and Critical Hit. One major difference between the two classes, however, is that the Vah Shir will have a third basic battle skill in addition to Blunt Weapons and Slashing Weapons: Throwing Weapons (see “Arm Yourself” on page 81). He’ll also be able to summon axes, an active skill that instantly supplies a pile of axes for throwing at enemies. Another unique Vah Shir ability is Berserker Rage, a passive skill that provides a temporary buffer against your enemies once your health falls below 25 percent.