Respecification
Encyclopedia
Respecification in many MMORPG
titles such as Star Wars Galaxies
, City of Heroes
, and City of Villains
allows a player to change the attributes of his/her character.
A player's character gains differing abilities, characteristics, buffs, armor, powers, weapons and combat actions as the player/character advances through the levels of the game. Sometimes a player may realize that a certain power is no longer useful to their character, may want to get a power that is more fun to use/play, or even find that a certain choice earlier in the game has now restricted the player from powers or choices that they would like to explore. By respecing, players can save valuable game time by revamping their character to gain certain powers that may be otherwise unobtainable, or to revive a character that may have been considered unplayable.
Note: While the phrase respec is used in the World of Warcraft
MMO to mean the same thing, the game's creator, Blizzard Entertainment
, actually uses the word "specialization," so that to respec is to respecialize.
Note: In Champions Online
respecing is called retconning because of the comic nature of the game.
MMORPG
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
titles such as Star Wars Galaxies
Star Wars Galaxies
Star Wars Galaxies is a Star Wars themed MMORPG for Microsoft Windows developed by Sony Online Entertainment and published by LucasArts.-History:...
, City of Heroes
City of Heroes
City of Heroes is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on the superhero comic book genre, developed by Cryptic Studios and published by NCsoft. The game was launched in North America on April 27, 2004 and in Europe on February 4, 2005 with English, German and French language...
, and City of Villains
City of Villains
City of Villains is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on the superhero comic book genre, developed by Cryptic Studios and published by NCSoft. Released on October 31, 2005 , the game is integrated with their previous release, City of Heroes...
allows a player to change the attributes of his/her character.
A player's character gains differing abilities, characteristics, buffs, armor, powers, weapons and combat actions as the player/character advances through the levels of the game. Sometimes a player may realize that a certain power is no longer useful to their character, may want to get a power that is more fun to use/play, or even find that a certain choice earlier in the game has now restricted the player from powers or choices that they would like to explore. By respecing, players can save valuable game time by revamping their character to gain certain powers that may be otherwise unobtainable, or to revive a character that may have been considered unplayable.
Note: While the phrase respec is used in the World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
MMO to mean the same thing, the game's creator, Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher founded on February 8, 1991 under the name Silicon & Synapse by three graduates of UCLA, Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham and Frank Pearce and currently owned by French company Activision Blizzard...
, actually uses the word "specialization," so that to respec is to respecialize.
Note: In Champions Online
Champions Online
Champions Online is a free-to-play superhero-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game by former City of Heroes/Villains developer Cryptic Studios based on the Champions license. The game's rules and setting are loosely based on the HERO System ruleset...
respecing is called retconning because of the comic nature of the game.