Exarch at E3

During the time of the Galactic Empire, there were protectors - the Exarch (think Jedi) - who protected its members. Then came the Great Cataclysm and the end of the Empire, yet some Exarch remain. The Exarch can be of one of four races: Humans, Gnomes, Golems or Wraiths. They are enhanced beings, using technology to protect themselves along with magic - never creating but often enhancing the items in their use.

They find themselves trying to rebuild what is left of their Empire, land-by-land, planet-by-planet. But, not all of the Exarch feel the same way about rebuilding. They're not only rebuilding the planet b race, but the defining a new sociology - the old Kingdoms vs. the New. More technology vs. less. Add to this that there are factions as well and you've got conflict before you've even killed your first monster.

The Exarch I was shown was of the Wraith persuasion - large, pale and exceedingly strong. He carried both swords and a shotgun. Helpful when he fought the robotic skeletons. The UI is very Diablo-like, point and click to move or change an item. This made it very simple to learn. And advantage since the game is particularly action oriented and there is very little downtime.

PvP is part of the sociology of the game, but the idea is not to kill but to win. You want to "persuade" your opponent to join your religion, sociology of faction. Based upon your race, you'll start in a different city with different styles of building and landmass. The wraith I was shown was in a very verdant, jungle-like area with some rather impressive monsters. The dual-axe wielding monster would have made me think twice before attacking - well at least with the sword. The shotgun might have worked well.

Questing in Exarch is rather unique. You don't so much pick the quest as the quest picks you. You'll find an item from a monster that will start you off. However, don't make the mistake of thinking that because you've done this quest before that doing it again is a waste of time. The same quest will have 5-6 variables. You and a friend may be both completing the same quest but he may need to "save" the girl while you'll need to kill her.

Something I saw more and more of while at E3 was the "private realms" of questing. Exarch takes advantage of this technology. A group of 6-8 of you can enter of a quest and find yourself alone in the area. The same quest may be running for 10 other groups, but in your private real you'll not come upon any of them. There will be Epic quests that allow for (read: require) significantly more people to complete the quest.

Updates will happen regularly - much like DaoC - without a set timeframe. The storyline will also advance along with the game play. The storyline will determine the quests in Exarch. And while there is no crafting per se, you will have the ability to enhance an item. Though class based, your faction and quests will allow you to pick up various skills not available to others.

You can see more images in our Image Gallery.