How did this game end up so different from Ultima Online

IMO This game is superior to UO in its current form. There’s a lot that still reminds me of UO however. Like endless Rows of Vendors Selling various wares. Intricately designed houses littering town some rather practical others awe inspiring.

Somethings, as best I can tell, seem like logical evolutions to UO such as the skill trees and the advancement of those individual skills. I think one of the biggest break away is the no limits approach to skills. In UO, you would want a friend to craft, or could be purely a crafter (I understand you can do that here) and that would be your character and their purpose due to limits on how many skills one could learn over all (Template). In this game you really can do it all. No need for a carpenter avatar, a smith avatar, a warrior avatar, a mage avatar….you can just be all…I think the combat decks may have been in part a way to minimize that or to create unique play styles which I think worked. But all in all, for some this may be a positive I’m not sure if I’m a fan. I really enjoyed the uniqueness of each avatar and each having a particular utility. Ultimately, I enjoy the game very much.

 

I'll give you the other side of the medal here. I am someone who tires himself out of the same character/build if I play it too long. In most games (nearly all of them, at least those I played), this means that if you want a change of scenery, you need to create a new character, go through all the beginner training process, in most games doing the whole quest line again and grinding until you reach that point where you were originally with your first character. In shroud, it either means I need to gain a bit more exp to spend in the new "class" I want to play, or I can use a re-spec scroll and immediately jump into my "new me". For me, this is a huge win because I can test thousands of possibilities before I get bored out! Not much of a crafter though, I use other players for that who don't mind going through that process, so I can't speak from a crafters POV.

 

I can definitely see the draw there. I suppose for me roleplaying is taken into account. For example Elrich Skychosen is a knight, Paladin type character but I also enjoy stealth. I can’t bring myself to re spec him into subterfuge because it would be “dishonorable” for that character. So, I created another Dreznus Dex, who is an “assassin” and role play wise should be well versed in alchemy for crafting poisons but there’s no need to spec into it because Elrich has already invested so much time into the skill. Not a show stopper but messes with me when I’m playing with that character.

But your point makes sense and works better with what I understand of the lore of the game. The avatar is supposed to be me in this world. Long story short It doesn’t kill the game for me.