Jonric: When you set out to design the EverQuest II's combat system, what high-level goals did you lay out, and how challenging have they been to implement? And how significant is it within the game as a whole?

Tom Wells: Our high-level combat goals are to create a fun, interesting system that is easy to learn but challenging to master. We are building a game that anyone can pick up and play, but if that same person wants to master all its facets, they will need to invest both thought and practice.

The greatest challenge lies in keeping combat straightforward and intuitive, yet multi-layered and compelling. Our approach is to start by introducing the combat basics of auto-attack and damage exchange. Then, after players become familiar with the core principles of combat, we introduce more advanced concepts like group cooperation, NPC strengths and weaknesses, and reactive combat elements. Reactive elements allow players to take advantage of different combat states, sometimes using their abilities in conjunction with one another for greater effect.

Combat plays a hugely important role in EverQuest II. It is a core aspect of adventuring, after all. :) Players can expect to engage in battle quite often during their character's lives.