The time has come for Magic fans and MMO Action RPG fans alike to become Planeswalkers and save the multiverse from its greatest threat. Players will explore some of the franchise’s most iconic planes, collect mana-based spells and gather the power needed to overtake their enemies during combat.

An ancient force moves in darkness, posing an ever-growing threat to the entire multiverse. Players will experience the power of becoming a Planeswalker as they discover exciting mana-based spells and strategically build out the perfect hand of balanced attacks to control the chaos of the battlefield. While openly exploring the vast planes from Magic: The Gathering, players will fight alongside iconic characters and legendary creatures made popular by the original card game.

Among the longtime fans of Magic: The Gathering is the development team at Cryptic Studios, who have been working on the game behind-the-scenes since 2017. Development of this MMO action RPG is an extension of a licensing partnership between Wizards of the Coast and Cryptic Studios following the success of Neverwinter, the critically acclaimed MMO based on the tabletop adventure, Dungeons & Dragons. The team currently developing Magic: Legends is helmed by executive producer, Stephen Ricossa, former executive producer behind the popular MMORPG, Star Trek Online.

The developers of Magic: Legends revealed an early look at the Equipment system being introduced to the upcoming free-to-play action RPG that brings the classic Magic: The Gathering strategy game to life.

The Cryptic Studios dev team details how the Equipment system was added after early player feedback from Closed Alpha. Equipment brings another rewarding experience for player progression on top of the game’s deep deck-building mechanics.

Like in the tabletop version of Magic: The Gathering, Equipment in Magic: Legends will come in four rarities: Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Mythic Rare. Today’s blog also gives players a first look at the Tailor NPC located in the hub area of every region, which players can use to edit the appearance of their costume and character.

In our original iteration of Magic: Legends, we wanted to forego the usual loot system seen in most action RPGs with an innovative concept using spells and artifacts of different levels and rarities. Through our Closed Alpha tests over the past year, we’ve gathered a lot of player feedback about our take on player progression and decided to implement a more robust Equipment system. Delving deeper into itemization, we landed at a structure that feels rewarding for defeating enemies and completing missions, while avoiding the sometimes overbearing loot drops and inventory management that one might expect in an ARPG.

Magic: Legends Gear & Gear Slots

Equipment in Magic: Legends will come in four rarities: Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Mythic Rare - just like in the tabletop version of Magic: The Gathering. These items will fill a variety of slots to deck out your Planeswalker, and you’ll mix, match, and maximize gear for your Head, Body, Arms, and Feet - plus two Accessories.

Equipment will have stat bonuses that improve your Planeswalker’s overall combat ability and survivability. This is done through effects such as increased damage potency, mana color-specific damage reduction, soul-stealing to consume the life force of fallen enemies - just to name a few. 

All gear you collect also has a single Core Mod, as well as one or more Adaptive Mods. Core Mods are fixed and cannot be swapped out, while Adaptive Mods can be interchanged. Plus, collecting gear also opens up its cosmetic appearance in The Tailor. 

To help focus your Equipment collection, duplicate pieces of gear don't have to be sold to a vendor. Instead, they can be used to either unlock a new Adaptive Mod or allow you to earn an upgrade material for that specific piece of gear. Such materials can then be used to improve the stats of a Mod.

Appearances and The Tailor

Aside from getting the best stats, everyone knows that looking cool is the best way to increase your Planeswalker’s effectiveness. In Magic: Legends, Equipment not only gives you access to a wide variety of stats and abilities to enhance your playstyle, but it also unlocks new cosmetic options that you can continue to use throughout your play. 

The Tailor is an NPC you’ll find in the hub area of each region. There, you can view your unlocked appearances from the gear you’ve been collecting throughout your adventures. Mix and match your favorite pieces to create a Planeswalker that matches your style. The Tailor allows you to edit your costume’s Headwear, Bodywear, Undershirts, Armwear, Gloves, Pants, and Footwear. You can also use The Tailor to adjust your character’s body, face, skin color, hairstyle, and more. Then, save those appearances to swap your Loadouts as you want to mix it up. We can’t wait to see what you create!

The Magic: Legends will launch Open Beta on the Epic Games Store on March 23, 2021.

Key Features:

• Become a Planeswalker – Players can choose from five diverse classes and switch between different Planeswalkers at any time.
• Walk Your Own Path – Players will need to cross various planes to save the multiverse, but how they weave their path is up to them.
• Control the Chaos – Control the chaos in real-time combat. Choosing what spells go into each hand requires strategy, as they will be drawn at random during attacks.
• Collect and Upgrade – Players will discover a myriad of spells and collect spell fragments to make them more powerful.
• Fight Together –The planes in Magic: Legends can be traversed alone or with up to two other Planeswalkers.

Magic: Legends will make its worldwide debut on PC, Xbox One and PS4 in Spring 2021.