The reasons behind the changes
Combat in Pax Dei has, until now, lacked some depth, with limited tactical options and gear choices that didn’t matter enough. This update addresses those concerns head-on by:- Creating distinct [b]combat roles[/b] (Tank, DPS, Healer) without forcing rigid builds. [b]Hybrid builds[/b] remain viable, especially with mixed armor and gear synergies. Your identity on the battlefield is up to you.
- Making [b]gear matter[/b]: armor, weapons, and spells now contribute significantly to your strategy and effectiveness.
- Giving players [b]more control[/b] through a tactical combat system, improved UI, and a shared resource called [b]Spirit[/b].
- Aligning [b]progression[/b] with playstyle: the more you use a piece of gear, the more experienced your character becomes with it.
- Introducing [b]Item Power[/b] to make gear scaling visible, meaningful, and skill-dependent.
Updated combat system: deeper, smarter, and more purposeful
Item Power and Progression
Every weapon and armor piece now has an [b]Item Power[/b] score that scales with both gear quality and your combat skill level. In addition, [b]Armor Skills[/b] have been introduced. These determine your effectiveness with specific armor types. Higher-tier gear requires higher corresponding skill to use.
Combat XP is now gained from killing enemies, and it contributes directly to leveling up [b]specific weapon and armor skills[/b]. The harder the enemy, the more XP you gain. Party members in proximity share XP, especially when fighting [b]veteran enemies[/b] (marked with a skull).
Fewer equipment slots, more impact
We’ve consolidated some equipment slots (e.g. shoulder and top slots are now combined) to streamline gear without diluting build depth. Each remaining piece carries more weight in shaping your character’s abilities and stats.Gear: more than just stats
We’ve redesigned all armor classes to support specific combat roles:- [b]Heavy Armor[/b]: High physical resistance, increased threat generation, bonuses to blocking, crowd control effectiveness and resistance. Tanking, survivability and crowd control related spells
- [b]Medium Armor[/b]: Balanced survivability and damage, frontline dps and frontline utility spells.
- [b]Light Armor (Clothing)[/b]: Weakest defense, strongest damage and healing done, spells for healers and spellcasters.
Examples of spells on gear:
- [i]Heavy Armor[/i]: [list]
- [b]On Head: Taunt[/b] – Taunts an enemy, temporarily forcing them to attack you. Additionally, the target's damage is reduced by 25% for 4 seconds.
- [b]On Chest: Ironroot Grasp[/b] - While channeling, the caster becomes immobile, entering a trance-like state. Enemies within range are chained to the ground.
- [b]On Chest: Windlash[/b] – Pull an enemy towards you and chain them in place for 2 seconds.
- [b]On Chest: Ambush[/b] – Become invisible and gain empowered attacks while hidden.
- [b]On Head: Jester’s Flask[/b] - Throw a flask that splashes on impact, reducing the movement speed of affected enemies by 40% and reducing their physical damage dealt by 12%. Lasts for 10 seconds.
- [b]On Chest: Divine Shield[/b] – For the next 4 seconds, reflect all melee damage taken back to the attacker and heal for the same amount.
- [b]On Feet: Spirit Stride[/b] – Increase your movement speed by 20% and regenerate 5.9 spirit per second for 7 seconds.
Weapons: three specials per weapon
All weapons now grant [b]three unique special attacks[/b] and there are no more generic final-hit bonuses. Each weapon type has a distinct identity, helping define your combat rotation and strategy.
Examples of weapon abilities:
- [i]Mace[/i]: [list]
- [b]Earthquake[/b] – Smash down violently, fracturing the ground beneath you. The impact deals 403 damage and [b]weakens[/b] enemies, reducing their damage dealt by 12.5% for 8 seconds.
- [b]Tempest Command[/b] – Become the eye of a storm. Command violent winds to spiral around you, pulling nearby enemies into your reach. Enemies are [b]chained[/b] for 2 seconds upon landing.
- [b]Sunder[/b] – An overhead chop that reduces the target’s physical defense with stacking armor shred.
- [b]Vicious Sweep[/b] - Swing in a broad arc, dealing 354 damage. All enemies struck gain armor shred charges equal to the highest stack count among targets hit.
- [b]Interrupt[/b] – A kick that interrupts spellcasting and silences the caster if successful.
- [b]Guard Breaker[/b] – Perform a heavy rising slash that [b]breaks through blocks[/b], dealing 348 damage. Successfully breaking a block briefly stuns the enemy.
Healing Staves: better tools for healing
Three new Healing Staves, each with a full kit of healing spells, bring dedicated healing roles to dungeon groups.
Examples of healing abilities:
- [i]Cleric Staff[/i]: [list]
- [b]Divine Missive[/b] – Fires a projectile that splashes for 202 health to all allies within 4 meters.
- [b]Divine Intervention[/b] – Heal a target below 40% health for 380, otherwise heal for 175 health.
- [b]Regrowth[/b] – Give a stack of [b]Regrowth[/b] to an ally, providing 15 | 30 | 45 health per second for 8 seconds. After 3 stacks have been applied, the next stack will overflow giving 173 health and removing all stacks.
- [b]Overgrowth[/b] – Heal allies within 7 meters based on the number of [b]Regrowth[/b] stacks on them for 111 | 137 | 130 | 232, and refresh the duration of all [b]Regrowth[/b] effects.
New Resource
These abilities consume [b]Spirit[/b], a new resource shared across melee and magic users, adding an extra layer of timing and choice.Improved dungeon experience
- We have completely rebalanced the game, with a specific focus on difficulty. Progression should feel smoother and content we design to be harder (for example, dungeons) should be more challenging.
- We’ve improved AI behavior on navigating to and around players. This means that the previous temporary teleportation fix has been removed. Issues with pathing should be rarer, but if they happen, enemies will reset position instead of teleporting to your party.
- We have revisited aggro management and made it easier for tanks to hold aggro using their new spells and tank weapons (Maces and Greatmauls).
UI and input updates
We’ve made [b]input and interface improvements[/b] to combat, including:- A new default keyboard layout with access to all 7 abilities - no modifiers needed.
- HUD updates to display your [b]Spirit[/b] pool and new party targeting/self-cast options.
What’s next
These changes aren’t just about the now, they lay the groundwork for what’s coming:- More [b]crafting depth[/b] tied to gear identity.
- Richer[b] loot tables[/b] and smarter item distribution.
- More [b]build diversity[/b] and better dungeon composition.
