We'd like to thank Max Schaefer for taking time out of his schedule to give us this interview on Mythos. The answers to some of the questions were more exciting and informative than any of us at Mythos Guru could have expected. Enjoy it! 

What plans do you have to implement aspects of the game that will place emphasis on group / party play?

Max Schaefer: The biggest immediate one is the implementation of the Overworld, which just went up on the new Mythos Test Center today. It takes all of the overland instances outside of towns and combines them in a contiguous, shared, and fixed terrain. It groups players together naturally, provides exploration and better quests. Further down the road, we'll continue to tweak the Epic maps (now Runestones) to keep group advantages. Also, guild features have just begun, we expect to do quite a bit with them.

As there are plans to support Asian players with localized servers, are there any plans to support the European players with a server based in Europe?

Max Schaefer: We will definitely support Asian players with localized servers. For Europe, we'll probably get there eventually as well. But our priorities are to finish the game here in the USA first, then assist our Asian partners with those terrirories.

Are there going to be any other differences between the races besides elemental resistances, such as race-based crafted equipment or racial achievements?

Max Schaefer: No, we generally want to keep the differences in the classes rather than races, but some minor tweaking may be done with the races. Nothing planned immediately, though.

Will there be a stronger emphasis on the uniqueness of items, whereby players will actually hunt for specific items to bolster a specific build?

Max Schaefer: Yes, we'll be revamping drop rates, and create super-rare items that require a lot of hunting. Also we intend do some variation on set items. We realize there isn't much of a "directed hunt" mechanic in the game right now, and we'd really like to work that in.

How many zones are you planning on having in Mythos before the game is released?

Max Schaefer: Our current plans are to start with the existing three zones. However, the new Overworld features allow us to extend the total content available in those zones quite a bit. So we'll have about 50 levels of content to go through at launch.

Are there any plans to add Set Items into the game?

Max Schaefer: See above!   

Hellgate recently introduced the concept of expertise rankings for high level players. Will a similar feature make its way into Mythos?

Max Schaefer: Yes. Player rankings of various sorts are important for longevity, long-term goals, and player community interest. We'll do a lot of them, and the tech developed for HG gives us a good head start.