Champions of Norrath Preview

GameSpot brings us another updated preview of Sony and Snowblind's Champions of Norrath, based upon the latest press build of the game. A snippet to follow:
However, while it may sound as though you'll be a pretty awesome warrior, thanks to the aforementioned ability to level up, the forces of evil are powerful and are not easily defeated. Fortunately, Champions of Norrath offers a vast and also versatile selection of items, including armor, weapons, potions, and accessories. The game uses a prefix and suffix system for weapons, armor, and accessories, so a basic broadsword can be changed into a rusty broadsword of fire, which will give it bonus attack damage for fire. The same sort of effect also works for armor, but instead of boosting offensive strength, it increases your resistance to certain types of attacks--a fire shield will increase your character's resistance to a fire attack, for example. There are also weapon auras, which automatically confer trait bonuses upon characters who are in the immediate area, which is a slick way to keep players close to each other during a game. When weapons won't cut it, you can always turn to the game's wide variety of spells.