I wrote my column and then realized it started reading like a review. I want to sort of apologize for that ahead of time and let you know this is simply my opinion, right now, before the game is even in early access, on why you should put it on your radar and is not a glowing review - when it launches it's free and I always suggest everyone try a free major MMO, bandwidth willing, just to learn about it and find out if it's your jam or not. 

Skyforge is a bit different of a game than most MMOs. It's a blend of the original Guild Wars with a lot of modern MMO thoughts and a crazy class changing scheme that Guild Wars has always needed (especially for PvP). The game itself is complex, lots of different mechanics in play that are very different than other games on the market and it takes itself to a new level in regards to focusing purely on gameplay before anything else. 

There isn't, as far as I know, in-depth crafting and housing, but there is a lot of emphasis on gameplay and they nailed that core mechanic throughout the betas I've played. It's fun, engaging, and actually cool to fight battles and farm enemies in the game. Additionally, the class switching is really hype because it's something a lot of MMOs need but don't have. 

FFXIV has class switching and it works well, but it's clunky and requires a lot of effort to level subclasses. Granted, this generates a lot of content in the game, because you have to play through that. This is fine - but the way Skyforge does it works very well for Skyforge and is an example of how class changing should be done. I realize we probably don't want every MMO out there to give you the freedom to instantly switch classes with ease, but I think it's a good way to make PvP balanced and make class balance a lot less painful when there is an error. 

Think about it, how many times has a class been nuked and everything goes to hell. People get angry, everyone throws a fit, people quit the game, and so much more because a patch wasn't properly tested and it let one class be better than another. If you don't have this insane time investment in that class, when it's nerfed, assuming it's fixed rather quickly, it's not that big of an issue to deal with. 

Now, I haven't gotten far enough into Skyforge to discover how painful maxxing class lines out is, but from what I've seen it shouldn't be nearly as painful as leveling a character from 1 to max level in most MMOs especially with the two tier tree that has global progression (applies to all classes) and class progression, so you're buffed when you switch a class. 

Anyway, keep it on your radar. We'll be talking a lot about it here at Ten Ton Hammer and in the meantime, if you're not a founder, I'll be providing opinions on it as we move through the game along with the rest of Team Hammer. Again! Not a review, but, some points on why you should have it on your radar.