MMOsite: Can you basically introduce the six classes in Runes of Magic to our readers? What sort of unique traits will each of them have? And what is their typical role in a team?

Daniel: Players will have the opportunity to choose one of the six classes warrior, knight, priest, scout, rogue and mage in Runes of Magic. With the first add-on we are probably going to introduce two more classes for the game. But we'll keep them as a surprise until further notice. Warrior and knight are the main damage and melee classes. Warriors are skilled in the use of the deadliest weapons and proficient in all close combat techniques. Knights can wield massive armor and use heavy weaponry. They master every fighting skill, though their real strength lies in their deep faith. It allows them to call out hidden powers of the light. Scouts are persevering wanderers, who are sensitive to dangers in their surroundings. This allows them to close in on their enemies from a favorable position. Just as in most MMORPGs, magicians most often cast their spells from a distance. The immense concentration needed to unleash a spell, forces magicians to do without the protection offered by strong armor. Thus, they are rather far range specialists. Priests are able to cure wounds, purge magic and call back souls into their bodies. And rogues are one of the fastest character classes. They are almost always able to sneak up on their unprepared victims twinkle-toed. Due to their marginal physical strength they can only inflict a couple of small damage to their victims. Therefore they combine their swift attacks with insidious poisons.
 

MMOsite: What kind of community support will be available in Runes of Magic? As we know, community support is vital to the success of MMOs. Can we say Runes of Magic is a community-driven game? If so, what have you done and what will you do to make it happen?

Daniel: We started the closed beta on August 28th with a very early version. Our main goal with that was to gather feedback about the game's concept and features as early as possible to align it to the wishes of the community. On the first few days of the beta we had a hard life to handle the rush on our forum and the download servers. Now that the first waves of players are in the game we are in a very lively dialogue with them via the beta forum. We take the wishes of the community very seriously and discuss all of them with the developers.
Of course we still welcome all new registrations on the official website www.runesofmagic.com. All registered players will be invited by us till Open Beta. But also non-participating players can already discuss the game in the forums. Our community managers always have an open ear for the community. And we are currently hiring more community managers, game masters and representatives to be ready for the open beta. Besides that, we have formed a team of voluntary assistants called "RoM Supporters" who are really committed to serve and moderate the community. New applications for the team are very welcome. Moreover, we have a very capable and experienced support team recruited from our own staff and the team members of one of our daughter companies which is specialized in hosting and customer support to help players with all their questions in the game. Concerning the game's content, developer Runewaker has built tools for our game masters to offer special in-game events. We are going to extensively use this possibility to offer regular highlights for the community.

MMOsite: We noticed that "dual class system" is an important feature in Runes of Magic. How does the system work? Please give us some more details.

Daniel: Basically, players can choose from one of six main classes when starting into a new online career. But when your character reaches level 10, you can select a secondary class from one of them. Hence the dual class system of Runes of Magic functions like two characters in one. This system offers a lot of interesting tactical choices. Using the dual class system of Runes of Magic wisely, players can build up their characters as multi-functional all-rounders. With a scout as secondary class, characters can use bows for example. With rogues as secondary they can use projectile weapons, warriors will give you axes. Combinations like melee fighters enhanced with several range combat skills as well as clerics that fight with axes are possible. And players can use the dual class system of Runes of Magic also to build up dangerous specialists The range of possibilities gives solo and group players many interesting tactical possibilities for PvE. RPG players will love the broad spectrum for character interpretation.. The skills of the six main classes make use of different energy types. Warriors use rage, scouts use focus, rogues need energy and mages, clerics and knights fight and cast with mana. Players are therefore able to apply those energy types independently from each other. For example, smart PC adventurers could create a mighty bombardier with the combination of scout and mage. If for example the character runs out of focus, he simply switches to mana and can immediately launch the skills of his secondary mage class. But of course, in this phase of the beta we are working still on the balancing including the dual-class system.