Talent system and build customization

The showcase introduces a class talent system intended to make character progression both customizable and highly modular. Players gain talent points through leveling and spend them in branching class-specific trees, with the stated goal of enabling many different builds rather than a single fixed path.

Talent tree structure

Each class begins from six archetype-defining starting nodes. From there, players progress through branching paths containing minor, major, and legendary nodes. These nodes can grant active abilities, passive bonuses, stat changes, spell alterations, and other effects.

The system is designed so that players cannot unlock the entire tree. The team states that a completed character is expected to access only a fraction of the total available nodes, making trade-offs a core part of build creation.

At the time of the showcase, the game has three classes implemented and roughly 90 nodes per class in the current version, with a longer-term target of around 240 nodes per class.

Cross-archetype builds

The talent system is intended to let players combine elements from multiple archetypes within the same class, provided they connect the relevant branches. A mage is used as the example, with talents drawn from battle mage, wizard, and rune weaver paths.

The design goal is not only to increase damage or reduce cooldowns, but to change how abilities behave. The team describes talents that can alter projectile count, cast time, cooldown, and other spell properties, and says nodes can even replace abilities or grant entirely new ones.

Ultimate abilities shown

Several ultimate-style abilities are shown as examples of what the system can unlock:

• The knight's Avatar of Sanctification transforms the character into a heavily empowered form that is immune to crowd control on cast and gains major offensive bonuses, including critical chance.
• The mage's Black Hole creates a singularity that pulls enemies inward and damages them.
• The ranger's Sentinel Volley summons mystical archers that fire into a wide cone and apply knockback.

Respec options

The system includes respecialization. Players can manually refund talents node by node or use an NPC-based respec option. Respecs are said to cost in-game currency.

The team also says it is exploring additional quality-of-life features such as inspecting other players' talent trees, build sharing, and dual specialization.

Design philosophy

The stated aim is to make talents feel like a puzzle rather than a solved checklist. The team explicitly rejects a design where one simple meta build dominates all play. Instead, talents are meant to support self-expression and experimentation, especially when combined with gear and other progression systems.

The talent tree is described as only one part of a broader build framework. Equipment is said to modify abilities in substantial ways, and another unrevealed system is mentioned as an additional source of class customization.

Balance approach

The studio expects balance problems to appear as players discover combinations that internal testing misses. It states that buffs and nerfs will be part of ongoing iteration, but says the preferred approach is not to flatten everything into small percentage increases.

The team also argues that buffing underused options can be healthier than repeatedly destroying popular builds. Balance is therefore presented as a continuous process tied to the system's high level of build freedom.

Holy Trinity with broader role expression

Class identity is said to retain the familiar MMO "holy trinity" of tank, healer, and damage roles, but not in a rigid form. Tanks are not intended to feel toothless, and healers are not intended to function only as stationary "heal bots."

Instead, classes are meant to keep pace with general progression while still expressing their core role. The talent system is presented as the main tool for allowing more aggressive, mobile, or hybridized interpretations of those roles.

Source

• Recording: Scars Of Honor Showcase June 2025 | Scars of Honor
• YouTube: Watch on YouTube
• Published: Friday, June 20, 2025 at 5:20 PM UTC