Ultima Online: New Legacy Announced

Ultima Online: New Legacy is a new way to play the venerable MMORPG that combines some ideas of a Classic server with the concept of seasonal progression that resets every year. It’s not clear when this new shard will be going live, but when it does, it promises to take the game back to its RPG roots and offer plenty of special events, a new Legacy system, and more.

Here’s the official announcement trailer:

And an excerpt from the lengthy FAQ:

Q: What is Ultima Online: New Legacy?

Ultima Online reigns as one of the longest-running MMORPGs of all time! For 23 years countless players have forged a legacy in the living, breathing world that is Britannia. Now, for the first time in 15 years, we are welcoming new players and old to forge their Britannian Legacy in a brand new shard focused on returning Ultima Online to its fundamental roots as an RPG.

Q: What is an Ultima Online: New Legacy shard?

Ultima Online: New Legacy is a new server that launches with the original map of Britannia using a customized ruleset focused on a core RPG experience.

We have completely rethought, reworked, and redesigned several core gameplay experiences with the goal of rekindling the classic feel of Ultima Online – focused on keeping true to the roots of Ultima as an RPG!

At the core of this experience is your new Britannian Legacy. Throughout gameplay you will be living your avatar’s quests throughout Britannia with each adventure . Where will you go? What battles will you fight? Will you rejoice in victory or taste bitter defeat? What friends will you make? What enemies will you best? The choice will be yours as you forge your new Britannian Legacy – a legacy that will be told for generations to come!

Q: Is Ultima Online: New Legacy an Ultima Online Classic Shard?

There is no magic dial to turn back Ultima Online to a specific era. Times have changed and expectations have moved past what the landscape of MMORPGs was like in 1997 and beyond. So in short, no, this is not a 1:1 recreation of a classic UO server in any given era. What we have done, however, is to rekindle the magic and nostalgia that drives the core desire to experience a classic server. As we have stated, we have completely rethought, reworked, and redesigned several core gameplay experiences with the goal of rekindling the classic experience of Ultima Online – focused on keeping true to the roots of Ultima as an RPG!

Q: What are the core gameplay experiences you have rethought, redesigned, and reworked to rekindle the roots of Ultima Online as an RPG?

With a franchise that dates back to the 1970s, a game world that has been live since 1997, and over 85 years of combined game development experience on the team, we have seen and learned a thing or two! Our primary focus with Ultima Online: New Legacy has been to take that experience and apply lessons learned to create a new world where players can experience the classic nostalgia that has made Ultima Online a game like no other for over 20 years! We have expanded upon what works, redesigned what does not, and improved the game world as our technical limitations have expanded all while not being hindered by the limitations of an elder game world.

From the game world, to skill & gear progression, to resource gathering & crafting, to socializing & PvP we have strived to make gameplay as immersive and intuitive as possible.

At the heart of all these experiences is the goal of every character on Ultima Online: New Legacy – a chance to live your Britannian Legacy and forge your place in history for generations to come via the all-new Legacy System!

In the coming months we will be highlighting these features in our monthly newsletters, so signup if you have not already!

Q: What is the Legacy System?

The Legacy System is the engine by which you write your avatar’s story as they live their life in Britannia. Imagine writing a memoir, but instead of using words on a page after the experience has concluded you instead live those experiences in real time within the world to be seen by generations to come. Earn special commendations and medals for acts of Virtue, become the subject of epic tales found in libraries throughout the realm, be memorialized as a true Britannian hero with statues, paintings and busts and build a family name to be preserved for future generations of your avatar – all this and more will be possible with the Legacy System!

Q: What is different about Ultima Online: New Legacy versus live Ultima Online?

Ultima Online: New Legacy is a completely custom ruleset server. While the fundamentals of gameplay remain the same between a live server and Ultima Online: New Legacy the implementation of those fundamentals has been redesigned to focus on the roots of Ultima as an RPG.

At the conclusion of each season of Ultima Online: New Legacy the world will end in a cataclysmic event and will be reborn with fresh adventures to be had and a new legacy to be forged!