DevlogA fifteenth class, a fourteenth race and the road to sixty

A long day: a new class and a new race, spells and gear that climb to level sixty, and the second half of the list of everything the original let you do.

The Beastlord is the fifteenth class. It's the original's Luclin class, open to barbarians, iksar, ogres and trolls. Beastlords fight with their fists from the first level, a shade slower than a monk, and pick up kick, dodge, block, double attack and dual wield as they go. They also cast a shaman's spells, a little later than a shaman gets them. From level nine they call a warder: five Spirit spells, each a stronger wolf, or a bear for an ogre. The keepers of the faith train them.

The Vah Shir are the fourteenth race. The cat-folk of Luclin can be warriors, rogues, shamans, bards or beastlords. Whatever their calling, they can sneak and fall safely, and they speak a tongue of their own. For now they start in Fairhaven. Their own body is still to be made, so until it is they borrow the barbarian's.

Spells, gear and creatures now reach level sixty. Every class's top spells gain stronger ranks every six levels from 41, which adds 271 new ranks and gives casters 53 to 116 spells each. There are three new tiers of cloth, leather, chain and plate, with weapons and jewellery to match: 114 pieces in all, and 93 new recipes that make the armour and jewellery from eight new materials. Sixteen creatures from level 42 to 60 drop those materials, up to Vyrathax the Elder Wyrm, a raid at sixty. They aren't placed in the world yet, and the level cap is still 51, so the fifties wait for a server that raises it.

Spells can do far more. Poisons and diseases have counters that cures take off. There's Cancel Magic, real runes and Divine Aura, and Flash of Light now blinds. Other spells silence, shrink and reflect, or give you Feign Death, Call of the Hero, Succor, Shadow Step, and an Eye of Zomm you steer yourself. Casting follows the old rules too:

• fifteen lasting spells at a time;
• reagents, like a pearl for a resurrection;
• "You cannot see your target." when a wall is in the way;
• focus items;
• and five casting schools that you raise by casting, so a caster fizzles less.

Fighting has more to it. Parry, riposte, block, bash and kick are skills you practise, and a bash can stun. Warriors and monks of sixty strike three times. Weapons can now and then fire off a spell as they hit, some creatures feel only magic weapons, and armour can be dyed. Creatures can summon you, rampage and flurry, some shrug off stuns or charm, and most leave a player who cons green alone.

Races, death and pets. Trolls and iksar regenerate, and every race has its own resists and knacks. The original's twenty-five languages are here, plus a rogue's cant. Dying at level ten or below costs you nothing, and a body can be resurrected for three hours. Pets follow you through zone lines and camping, and will fight with a weapon you hand them.

The world around you. Night creatures come out at dusk and go home at dawn. Doors can be portals, or workbenches such as a forge, an oven or a loom. Raids use the original's commands and loot rules, and guild members can leave a public note and a private one.

Message boards and Explore. Four boards are shared by the whole world: General, Buying and Selling, Looking for a Group, and Guild Recruiting. Open them with /boards or the Board button. At the character select, Explore lets you wander your character's city as a pair of eyes without entering the world.

Every kind of server the original ran. Whoever runs a server picks its type in the Studio:

• normal, with or without a Priest of Discord for anyone who wants to fight other players;
• free-for-all;
• teams by race or by deity;
• the roleplaying server with alignments.

Each type brings its own rules for looting, experience and who can group with whom.

Room for a crowd. A zone now takes up to a hundred players. The world steps twenty times a second, and players far away cost much less to keep track of, so a busy square stays smooth.