Fallen Earth Preview

IGN has put forth a two-page, GDC-based preview of Icarus Studios' massively multiplayer take on the increasingly popular post-apocalyptic genre, Fallen Earth.
To balance out the RPG and FPS elements of this MMO, the developers have decided to let accuracy be a function of the player's reflexes and precision and to let damage be a function of the character's statistics and skills. Characters come with a set of raw stats like strength and perception, and a second set of derived skills that combine two of the stats. Your skill with a rifle, for instance, will be based on your perception and dexterity. You can use advancement points, doled out at 2 for every tenth of a level, to boost your skills. The game promises to give players enough points to max out more than a couple of skill lines, so you can customize your character by combining complimentary skills. This way you can create entirely new archetypes, like a healer who does long range damage, or a melee tank who can buff.

Some of your abilities will come from unique player mutations, the game's equivalent to magic. You start out with a basic alpha mutation that lets you heal or buff or run fast and can then gain more powerful versions of specific mutations based on your faction affiliation. You won't be able to dig into this system until you've hit level 15, but once you get there, you'll have plenty of options.