Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Community Q&A

In what is apparently the first of many, Ian Frazier, lead designer on Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, took the time to reply to some questions asked on their forums for a “Wednesday Community Q&A”, and some of the subjects addressed are how non-linear the game is, how pure builds will be rewarded by the game system, whether the game will feature in-game books and more. Here’s a sampling:

Q: How will PURE builds be rewarded? We have seen mainly mixes of rogue mage and warrior with a bit of mage, but what lies in store for us if we decide to go Purely MAGE, WARRIOR, ROGUE etc? – By MemoryKill

A: Pure builds are rewarded in two different ways: First, they have access to the top tier abilities much sooner than other builds, and those abilities can be pretty awesome. Gambit, for instance, is a top-tier Finesse ability that lets you leap into the air ninja-style and scatter a mine field of explosive traps all over the battlefield, right in the middle of a fight pure Rogues are going to get it a lot sooner than hybrids, whereas a Jack of All Trades won’t have access to that ability at all.

The other advantage of a pure build is that you’ll unlock a unique Destiny if you get a pure build up to the level cap. A pure build Might player, for instance, will unlock the Warlord Destiny, which grants you the (Last Stand) ability. Last Stand will let you get back up from the brink of death, but it requires you to defeat the enemy who killed you within a short span of time after you get up or you’ll bleed out. It results in a feeling like the end of a superhero movie, where the hero’s had the crap kicked out of him and he gets back up to destroy the villain once and for all. – By Tiberius

Q: Again to reference Elder Scrolls, will there be readable books in-game? Whether that is lore, fiction, comedy, a journal, whatever. Books are one thing I really love about Elder Scrolls. It gives a whole separate layer of believability to the world. – By Outlander

A: Yup, there are hundreds of readable books/scrolls in the game. Some are serious, some are funny, some are specifically for quests and some are just meant to give flavor and depth to the world. They range from a cheerful book of gnomish nursery rhymes to a blood-stained suicide note. We’ve also got something called Lorestones that.well, we’ll talk about them more later. – By Tiberius