target="_blank"> alt="RoMCh3" src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/80942">

It seems Frogster is not one to keep a secret, at least not
for very long. After dropping only a few hints and cryptically posting
a new piece of concept art on the official site, Frogster officially
announced that it is indeed from the newest chapter in the href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rom" target="_blank">Runes
of Magic
saga which will allow players to explore
the land of Dalanis. From the information that's been made public thus
far, href="http://us.runesofmagic.com/us/news,id816,chapter_iii_elder_kingdoms.html"
target="_blank">Chapter III: The Elder Kingdoms
has the look and feel of a full blown expansion. Let's take a closer
look at the details and see what we have to look forward to.


Raised Level Cap and Hundreds of New Quests

As is typical of many expansions, Runes will be seeing an
increase to the level cap from 55 to 60. This will not only give new
players something to strive for but also give the old vets something to
do for a bit before hitting end game content hard again.

I would normally think this would go without saying, but
perhaps Frogster actually means not only have they added new quests to
help those players get from 55-60 but they have also added new quest
lines for those not quite there yet.

Expanded Skill System

This will give you new ways to customize your class and expand
your tactical options to master even the toughest fights. I see this
having two varied possibilities. The first would be a system where you
can change your tactics for each major fight based on skill selection
ala target="_blank">Guild Wars. Or
maybe this is simply another attempt at allowing players to customize
their characters when all most players really end up doing is mimicking
the person on your realm who has the highest numbers you are trying to
achieve yourself.

In other words, while this type of thing is perfect for
retaining the interest of the min-maxers out there, once the general
player population collectively decides that Option A is superior to
Option B, you can expect to see a good number of people playing “follow
the leader” with the expanded system. Mind you this is pure speculation
until more details on the system are known, but it will be interesting
to see if Runes of Magic goes in a completely
different direction than the industry standard of creating new
iterations on target="_blank">EverQuest's
tried and true AA point system.

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80944" target="_blank"> style="width: 225px; height: 175px; float: right;" alt="RoM"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/80944">

PvP Love

On the PvP front Runes is going to get a new battlefield
called Tyrefen Mountain Range, a PvP ranking system, and a battlefield
ranking system.  All this seems great but with PvP currently
so sparse within the land of Taborea Frogster is going to have to do
more than just add some new stuff to fix it.  There is
evidence on the official site's forums that they are at least aware of
the lackluster PvP in the current game, so perhaps the inclusion of
ranking systems will encourage more players to participate in the
battlefields moving forward.

Guilds

Guilds in Runes of Magic are getting lots
and lots of love with the new expansion. With new guild quests, new
guild drill grounds, and upgrades for the guild castles in this
expansion there is reason to be farming up those guild runes again. I
am excited about the guild quests. Not sure why but I am.

Marriage system

I am really hoping that’s not what it appears to be, but if it
is then Runes is taking this game to a whole new level.  The
next expansion might just as well be called Chapter III: Runes of
Sims.  Okay so that doesn't really work out too well but you
get the point.

New Runes

We are getting new runes. This can mean one of two things. The
obvious one is that since the game is getting 5 more levels then the
runes are getting stat increases as well. The not so obvious
possibility is that this could also mean they are diversifying some of
the target="_blank">other types of runes in the game
such as the guild runes or maybe even adding professions. Then again, I
do doubt the inclusion of new professions due to the fact that is a big
enough deal I think they would mention it separately which the Frogster
team did not.

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80943" target="_blank"> style="width: 125px; height: 100px; float: right;" alt="RoM"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/80943">

Card Stats System

Is Frogster finally doing something with their monster cards?
Its either that or they are implementing another trinket style card
with some kind of stats or stat enhancer on it.

New Cities

Who doesn't love a new city? I guess it stands to reason that
if you are going to a new land then you are going to have new places to
relax and spend your money right?  Plus this will also mean
new and exciting factions and titles.

Mini Games

That is right, we'll be getting even more ways to pass the
time in game. I do have to say at least these mini games have a point.
I have always referred to them as side quests but, mini games works too.

Two Player Mounts

This will be a good thing as long as they don't do anything
weird like put a level restriction on them to be used. Now you can
escort your friend that you just talked into playing the game all
around the land of Taborea. Or maybe this is just an offshoot of the
Marriage System, in which case the concept of two player mounts might
earn the game a shiny new M rating.

New Dungeons and Dungeon difficulties

The new dungeons are a given if you ask me.  When you
expand content by increasing the level cap,you always add at the very
least new end game dungeon content. The cool thing here to me is the
dungeon difficulty addition. This is going to hopefully open up more
content to those players who cannot either spend tons of time grinding
out gear or purchase the diamonds to do so.

Music Festival

This has the sound of a new holiday in Runes of Magic.
I'm always excited when there is a new in-game holiday event to check
out. While I've not necessarily been a fan of in-game holidays in a
more general sense, they usually come with a fair amount of not so
serious gaming, gold and titles so I am all for it.

target="_blank"> alt="RoMCh3" src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/80942">

I am very excited about some of the changes and where they are
taking the game. Runes of Magic is very successful
in creating a game that feels and plays nothing like a free-to-play
game yet you really do not have to play to play. I say that if Runes of
Magic can keep up with this pace and continue to put out solid content
while making sure they don't neglect bugs they have a long and very
prosperous future ahead of them.


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Runes of Magic Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

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