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Builds and Progression
September 9, 2026 at 01:30 AM
Initial version (2026-09-08)
Character building in TARAE: The Unbound combines four things: class skills, traits, support skills and gear. The published description is consistent on the order in which they are meant to be used. Traits set the core of a build, and support skills and unique gear then open branches off that core. The stated goal is that two players on the same one of the six Seekers can end up with entirely different builds.
Layer | Role in a build |
|---|---|
Class skills | The base kit of the chosen Seeker, including a signature skill that expresses class identity |
Traits | The core of a build, chosen first and setting its direction |
Support skills | Branch options that augment or modify what the core already does |
Gear | Unique equipment that opens further branches rather than only adding numbers |
Masteries | Customisation applied to a class signature skill to change how it is used |
The terminology varies slightly between storefront listings. One rendering calls the second skill layer support skills, another calls the same layer utility skills, and one lists the class kit as unique skills. They describe the same structure, and no first-party source has settled on a single English vocabulary yet.
What separates the progression system from a generic skill tree is that the frameworks it runs on are the same ones the setting is built from. Three have been named. The Five Elements appear as a balance and conflict between them, described elsewhere as generating and overcoming cycles, and one of the six classes is built specifically around channelling that energy. Yin and Yang appear as a harmony to be maintained, and combinations built on that system were named as one of the pieces a player assembles alongside traits and a customised signature skill. Karma and the cycle of reincarnation form the third, tying progression back to the story of the broken cycle described in Story and Setting.
Framework | Where it applies |
|---|---|
Five Elements | Balance and conflict between the elements, feeding leveling, equipment and combat style |
Yin and Yang | Harmony between the two, combined with traits and a customised signature skill |
Karma and reincarnation | Shapes progression and equipment, and connects build choices to the narrative |
The published material states these three shape leveling, equipment and combat style together, rather than sitting in a separate menu. It does not say how any of them is expressed numerically, and no figures have been shown.
During the campaign, item drops match the class being played, so progression is focused on the Seeker chosen at the start rather than spread across the roster. The campaign itself is described as narrative-led, and the studio has said it deliberately kept the story from being crowded out by growth and farming, which suggests progression during the campaign is paced rather than open-ended. Combat mechanics that builds are constructed around are covered in Combat.
The endgame is where the studio expects build optimisation to become the main activity. It described deep build optimisation, farming and player trading as things that should mostly occur there, and said endgame play will feel quite different from the campaign as a result. Two structural decisions were described. Players raising an additional character are meant to reach endgame content without replaying the full campaign, starting from a character already grown to a degree. And item drops in the endgame are intended to be selectable, so a player can choose whether drops target their own class or another class, which supports building more than one Seeker over time.
Full endgame content has not been detailed. There is no published information on difficulty tiers, season structure, activity types or reward tracks, and the studio said those details would be revealed later. What is on the record is the intent that the endgame is where the optimisation lives, and that the campaign is not. See Gameplay for how the two halves relate.
One commitment about progression has been stated directly rather than implied. The studio said it will not include monetisation models that boost stats or that provide step-by-step stat increases. The wider business model was described as currently set to buy-to-play with further details still to be discussed with the publisher, so the commitment on stat sales is the more specific of the two statements. Timing and platform details are in Release Date and Platforms.
Any named trait, support skill, mastery or item.
How many traits, support skills or gear slots a build has.
The level cap, experience curve or respec rules.
How the Five Elements and Yin and Yang systems work numerically.
Item rarity tiers, crafting, enchanting or any item modification system.
How player trading is implemented, and what can be traded.
