Rather than be purely a place to place skills to utilize with hotkeys, setting up skillbars is an integral, necessary part of combat. Each character will have multiple bars, and as you use attacks the bar will rotate like a slot machine, moving to the next group of skills. The result is an intriguing and engaging change to combat, as you not only have to figure out which skills to equip, but which order and pairings to put them in. Some skills will lead well to one another; for example, one to sidestep and one to backstab. But, the problem comes with the first step. Sidestepping is largely situational, and may have a big cooldown timer. So what other skills can you place in its bar, so if it’s grayed out you can still be effective?

As you level up, the number of skillbars available increases, as does the options at your disposal. Later in the game it’s very difficult to maintain a successful rotation, but figuring out the right mixings and pairs not only results in a great sense of accomplishment, but also a lot of success in fighting.

The other unique aspect of the game is its large emphasis on story. Many MMORPGs (especially non-retail ones) use the story only to offer the next quest. “Spellborn,” however, puts an emphasis on the narrative in a way more similar to a console RPG than an MMORPG, and it’s a nice breath of fresh air to see an online game take that approach.

Unfortunately, even though armor and clothing is purely aesthetic, it’s rather dull, and changes to it don’t occur often enough. Without having to worry about stats and balance, I would have loved tons of crazy looking gear, but at the moment most of it is standard fantasy fare. To be fair, it is still in beta, and there’s plenty of time before the official launch. Hopefully by then we’ll see more options to further customize the appearance of characters, and keep their looks fresh more often.

The other downside to the game is that, even though it’s marketed as free-to-play, the free portion is really more of a trial. Once the open beta ends, players will no longer be able to progress past a certain point without a subscription. For now, the whole world is there for your taking. But once the game hits retail, expect something more along the lines of “Wizard101” than “Runes of Magic.” You can play without ever paying a cent – but not always.

Review Brendon Lindsey
August 5, 2009