Character creation in ArcheAge Chronicles begins with choosing one of six playable races divided across two continental alliances. This choice determines the player's starting location, racial mount, racial abilities, and factional alignment. Beyond race selection, the class system and extensive visual customization allow deep personalization.
Race selection
Nuian Alliance (Western):
Item | Description |
|---|---|
Human race with spiritual devotion to Goddess Nui. Start at Solzreed Peninsula. | |
Forest-dwelling isolationists with otherworldly beauty. Start near Gweonid Forest. | |
Stout engineers and craftsmen from Airain Rock. Start at the mountain fortress. |
Haranyan Alliance (Eastern):
Firran: Feline nomads with deep connections to nature. Start at Falcorth Plains.
Harani: Practical, cunning humans descended from refugees. Start at Arcum Iris.
Warborn: Demonic former Nuon warriors seeking redemption. Start at Sunbite Wilds.
Faction implications
Race determines factional allegiance: Western (Nuian Alliance) or Eastern (Haranyan Alliance). This affects starting zones, available quest lines, and political alignments in the Age of Pioneers. The two factions have a centuries-long rivalry originating from the Eclipse War, though the pioneer era has brought tentative cooperation around Auroria's redevelopment.
Class and combat customization
The class system offers deep customization beyond race selection. Players can mix abilities, weapons, and skills to create unique builds specializing in Offense, Defense, Healing, or Support roles. The original ArcheAge had 12 skillsets allowing 220 unique class combinations; Chronicles is expected to offer similar depth. Combat uses an action-based system closer to a slasher game, with jumping, rolling, dashing, blocking, and parrying replacing the original's tab-targeting approach.
Visual customization
Each race offers its own customization options. The Warborn have unique options including horn styles, iris customization, and special effects. Firran can customize fur patterns, ear shapes, and tail styles. Human races (Nuians and Harani) share a base human model with culture-specific aesthetic options.