Outlands has refined the Ultima Online experience by introducing various progression systems, providing players with numerous options for character development. This allows for a vast range of builds and playstyles.
However, the amount of information can be overwhelming. The goal of this guide is to streamline the learning process so that new players can better understand their character's potential while minimizing confusion and frustration.
The Six Core Elements
A PvM character consists of six key progression elements that contribute to reaching end-game content.
These elements, along with their primary improvement methods, include:
- Raw Skill Points – Primarily gained through AFK macroing, with some gold grinding.
- Codices and Tomes – Requires experience grinding.
- Aspect – Progressed through experience and gold grinding.
- Strongbox – An unlockable feature that reduces the weight of gold.
- Mastery Chain – Improved through experience grinding and society tasks.
- Echoes and Character Customizations – Advanced via gold grinding.
Your final character build will be the result of synergies across these elements, optimizing damage output and gold farming efficiency.
To benefit from codex bonuses, you must first meet the necessary skill point requirements. The chosen aspect will further amplify skill and codex effects. Strongboxes, which can be unlocked twice, help extend dungeon time by reducing gold weight. Mastery chains enhance specific areas of your build, and character customizations allow for additional improvements in gold farming potential.
Additional Quality of Life Upgrades
Beyond the primary progression systems, several quality of life upgrades can improve gameplay:
- Runebooks (with a runebook bless deed)
- Inn rooms (providing benefits similar to house ownership)
- Storage shelves or lockers (for quick restocking)
We’ll delve deeper into leveling each progression system, but first, let’s examine how each element functions and contributes to your character’s overall development.
Raw Skill Points
Your skills form the foundation of your build. Every character begins with 700 skill points that can be allocated freely. By default, each skill can be raised to a maximum of 100 points. A skill reaches its peak effectiveness when maxed out at 100, though skill mastery scrolls can further increase it to a maximum of 120. The Outlands community has developed a variety of creative builds, meaning skill allocation is not always as simple as maximizing seven skills.
With the exception of gathering skills, most skills can be trained through AFK macroing. While macroing may involve some costs, reaching the initial 700 skill points typically takes only a few days, making it advisable to complete this process early on.
Your total skill cap can be increased from 700 to 720 using skill balls. Each skill ball increases the total cap by one point, requiring 20 skill balls to reach the maximum limit.
Individual skills, initially capped at 100, can be expanded up to 120 with skill scrolls. Each skill scroll increases the cap by one point, allowing further training up to the new limit.
Key Points
- Skill balls increase your overall skill cap by 1, up to a maximum of 720.
- Skill scrolls raise an individual skill cap by 1, up to a maximum of 120.
- PvP-related skills, such as magery and weapon skills, cannot exceed 100.
- Skill balls and skill scrolls are costly, so acquiring them early may not be feasible.
- Macroing guides for each skill are available on the each skill's individual page.
Proper skill management is essential for optimizing your character, so plan your progression carefully!
Codices and Tomes
Many major character builds and key skills have an associated codex, which can be leveled to unlock new abilities and enhancements. A codex begins granting upgrades once you own it and meet the required skill levels.
For example, the Bestiary provides tamers with bonuses specific to their pets. However, for experience to apply to the Bestiary, the character must have Animal Taming and Animal Lore at a high enough level to control pets that contribute to Bestiary leveling. Any character can carry a Bestiary, but without meeting these requirements, it will not gain experience or apply bonuses.
Some codex requirements are simpler. For example, using a Weapon Codex requires at least 80 Tactics and 80 skill points in the relevant weapon category (Macing, Fencing, Swordsmanship, or Archery).
All farming builds utilize at least one codex, but most characters will benefit from using two or more. For instance, a tamer using the Bestiary may also use a Grimoire to enhance Magery or a weapon codex to improve their melee or ranged combat. The combination of codices and skills opens up various synergy opportunities, and most codices offer multiple configuration options to customize builds or adjust to specific scenarios.
Here is an overview of the available options and their basic requirements:
List of Codices and Requirements
- Bard Codex – Requires 80 Musicianship + 80 Discordance, Peacemaking, or Provocation
- Thieves Codex – Requires 80 Stealing and 80 in either Snooping, Hiding, or Stealth
- Wizard’s Grimoire – Requires 80 Magery and 80 in Meditation or Evaluating Intelligence
- Summoner’s Tome – Requires 80 Magery and 80 Spirit Speaking
- Poison Kit – Requires 80 Poisoning
- Weapon and Parry Codices
- Taming Bestiary – Requires Taming skill high enough to control creatures with a 50 Taming requirement or higher
- Potion Codex – Requires 80 Alchemy
- Healer’s Codex – Requires 80 Healing + 80 Anatomy
- Trap Kit – Requires 80 Tinkering + 80 Detect Hidden
Key Points
- Codices provide bonuses and sometimes unlock new abilities.
- Once a codex is in your inventory, the only requirement for leveling it is experience gain (no additional resources needed).
- Most builds will require at least two codices for optimal performance.
- Codices only gain experience and apply bonuses if skill requirements are met.
- Codex configurations can be changed at any time without penalty, though some changes may have a cooldown or mana cost.
- Codices are blessed, meaning they cannot be permanently lost. If you lose a codex, your progress remains saved to your character, and placing a new codex in your inventory restores the benefits.
Understanding codices is crucial for maximizing your character’s efficiency and effectiveness. Be sure to check the wiki for detailed breakdowns of how each codex can enhance your build.
Aspects
Aspects provide another layer of customization, each offering a unique set of bonuses along with a special combat-triggered ability. Your chosen aspect significantly impacts both your character’s damage output and durability. If dungeon content initially feels overwhelming, rest assured that aspects will help turn you into a formidable force. Perhaps not a legendary hero in the traditional sense, but at least one who won't be instantly defeated by the first enemy on the second floor.
Aspect bonuses are divided into two components:
- Armor Bonuses – Passive benefits applied when wearing aspect armor.
- Weapon/Spellbook Bonuses – Passive benefits with an additional chance to trigger a special ability when dealing damage (known as a "proc"). Procs feature noticeable visual effects and grant brief windows of massive damage or additional bonuses.
How to Use Aspects
Unlocking and using an aspect may seem complex at first, but the process follows these steps:
- Open the aspect menu by typing [aspect in chat.
- Unlock an aspect by spending the required Aspect Distillations, Aspect Cores, and an Aspect Mastery Kit (details on these items below).
- Activate Arcane Essence by double-clicking it and targeting yourself.
- In the aspect menu, activate your chosen aspect on both your weapon/spellbook and armor (this requires a small amount of Arcane Essence).
- Go hunting! While dealing damage to creatures, you will automatically consume Arcane Essence to fuel passive and active bonuses and gain experience toward the next aspect tier.
- Once enough experience is gained, spend Aspect Distillations and Aspect Cores to upgrade to the next aspect tier, which enhances its power.
- If you run out of Arcane Essence, change gear, or die, you will need to reactivate your aspect in both slots to regain the bonuses.
Although the setup process may seem complicated, aspects become a simple routine during gameplay: Ensure your aspect is active, keep a supply of Arcane Essence, and attack enemies.
Aspect-Related Items and How to Obtain Them
- Aspect Mastery Kit – Required for the initial unlock of an aspect, crafted by players.
- Aspect Distillation – Needed for unlocking and upgrading aspects; crafted from Aspect Extract by an alchemist. Aspect Extract is obtained as a loot drop.
- Aspect Core – Required for unlocking and upgrading aspects; found as a loot drop.
- Arcane Essence – Fuels and activates aspects; primarily acquired by recycling magical weapons and armor.
- Recycling can be done using a crafting tool or a Magic Recycler, a secure container for houses or inn rooms.
Advanced Aspects: Aspect Triumph
One additional item to be aware of, though it will not be relevant until much later, is the Aspect Triumph. This is required to upgrade an aspect from Tier 14 to Tier 15 and is earned by obtaining silver in the faction system.
Since factions involve a separate, complex system, players interested in PvP can explore it sooner, while others may focus on aspects first and learn about factions when they reach higher tiers.