Cryptic says some zones are now 'Vaulted,' which seems to mean they are only for leveling. Cryptic says they have reworked some to improve the leveling experience. The leveling process will apparently involve familiar zones, though there are changes. Each leveling zone has an associated Adventure, and completing it levels you up. I rather like this concept, as I think it was a shame that even new players players often skipped core content/quests. You complete Vellosk, for example, and the final quest grants you the level. This can overall make leveling faster between 1-20. XP doesn't exist in the same way as it did before, and seems to be more about completing specific quests as you level up. If you are level 80, you will become 20, with no changes. If you are lower than level 80, you will become level 20! You will also get to pick some gear to help you transition. It also now will match the actual D&D tabletop game, which has a max of 20. This is mostly a math application, dividing things by 4 and having fewer individual levels in the game. With Mod 21, this will change, going back to a max of 20. The current Mod 20 allows you to level up to 80. One cool thing is you can play music when not in combat, which is pretty darn cool! Check out the link above, because it is hard to explain! If you enter it correctly, the song executes and ends. The songs you choose for your Perform have notes, which map to your 1-8 keys.

Your choice of path is healing or damage. Your TAB key is the perform mechanic, and this buffs, heals, or damages depending on the songs. The bard is a staple of D&D, and in the game will combine song (magic) and swordplay. As always, go here if you want to make a preview character. You now log in, then can choose preview if you want to get the preview shard. Cryptic does not hold back, that's for sure!

Become a bard mod