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 Kit.
- 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 Kit – Required for the initial unlock of an aspect, crafted by players.
- Aspect Distillations – Needed for unlocking and upgrading aspects; crafted from Aspect Extract by an alchemist. Aspect Extract is obtained as a loot drop.
- Aspect Cores – 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 Item Recycler, a secure container for houses or inn rooms.
Acquiring Aspect Items
In practice, most of your Aspect Cores and Aspect Distillations will be obtained through purchases or trades with other players. While you will occasionally find these items while hunting, redeeming event reward tokens, completing treasure maps, and defeating bosses, your aspect progression will outpace the random loot drops of the specific cores and extracts you need. As a result, ranking up an aspect will require a significant amount of gold.
Fortunately, as your aspect level increases, so does your ability to generate gold. Each new tier enhances your farming power, allowing you to defeat higher-value monsters more efficiently. Just try to resist the temptation to spend all your earnings on cosmetic gear!
The Aspect Menu allows you to manage and upgrade your aspects efficiently. Here’s what you can do within the menu:
- Browse through all available aspects to review their potential bonuses.
- Spend an Aspect Kit, one Aspect Distillation, and two Aspect Cores to unlock an aspect.
- If an aspect is unlocked, activate it on your weapon/spellbook and/or your armor (note: these are separate activations; enabling one does not automatically activate the other).
- If you have met the experience requirement, spend additional Aspect Distillations and Aspect Cores to upgrade to the next aspect tier.
Once an aspect is activated, its passive bonuses and proc effects will function automatically. The only ongoing requirements are:
- Turn on your aspect via the Aspect Menu.
- Ensure you have Arcane Essence, the fuel required to maintain active aspects.
Unlike codices, aspects do not have minimum skill requirements for activation. Technically, any character can unlock and use any aspect at any time. However, certain aspects are more effective for specific builds. Players can have up to two aspects active simultaneously.
Key Points
- Unlocking an aspect requires a Mastery Kit, Cores, and Distillations.
- Once unlocked, an aspect remains available permanently and can be applied to both weapons/spellbooks and armor.
- Arcane Essence is required to fuel aspects and is primarily obtained by recycling magical items.
- When an aspect tier is maxed out, you must spend Cores and Distillations to upgrade it and continue gaining experience.
- If you die, change gear, or run out of Arcane Essence, you must reactivate your aspect to regain its benefits.
- Choose an aspect that complements your base skills to maximize its effectiveness.
Understanding aspects and their upgrade process is crucial for optimizing your character’s combat potential and farming efficiency. Be strategic in your choices to get the most out of this powerful system!
Strongbox Customization Unlock Deeds
Two Strongbox Unlock Deeds can be used, with each use reducing the weight of gold by 25%. This allows you to extend your time spent hunting and reduces the need for frequent trips in and out of dungeons to deposit gold. Originally considered a late-game customization, strongbox upgrades have proven to be highly beneficial for new players as well.
Start saving for at least one Strongbox Deed as soon as possible—it will drastically improve your hunting efficiency and overall progression.
Mastery Chain
A Mastery Chain allows you to enhance specific aspects of your build by installing chain links. As you gain experience, you unlock additional slots to equip more links, each of which provides a unique bonus.
The mastery chain is arguably the most powerful upgrade tool available to Outlands players, but it is also one of the most time-consuming systems to level. Below, we break down the key aspects of this progression system.
Key Features of Mastery Chains
- Like a codex, mastery chains begin accumulating experience from the start of your playtime, even if you do not own one.
- They are player-crafted by a tinker.
- Chain links are individual items installed into the chain, each providing a specific bonus.
- New link slots are unlocked through experience gain, with each unlock requiring more experience than the previous one.
- Mastery chains are blessed and bound to the player. Only your character benefits from your mastery chain.
- Important Handling Warning: Never remove your mastery chain from your inventory except to equip it. Never place it inside another container within your inventory, and never trade it to another player.
How Links Work
Each link installed into your chain provides a persistent, passive buff. No fuel, points, or ongoing management is required—simply install the link, equip the chain, and benefit from its effects.
There are dozens of link options, allowing different builds to customize their bonuses. Examples include:
- Follower Damage Links – Boost pet damage (ideal for tamers).
- Attack Speed Links – Increase attack speed (useful for melee characters).
- Aspect Special Chance Links – Increase the frequency of aspect procs (popular across many builds).
Link Quality Tiers
Links come in four quality levels:
- Bronze – Basic strength.
- Silver – Improved bonuses.
- Gold – The strongest permanent bonuses.
- Corrupted – Provides greater bonuses than gold links but degrades over time.
While gold links offer the best permanent effects, they are also the hardest to acquire. Many players opt for bronze or silver links early in their character progression.
How to Obtain Links
Links are considered an end-game upgrade and are not easy to acquire. Solo players can obtain links from:
- Society Points – Earned by completing weekly jobs or challenges, then redeemed for links.
- Achievement Points – Earned by completing milestones, then redeemed for links.
- Faction Silver – Earned through faction participation, then redeemed for links.
- Arena Points – Earned in PvP arena events, then redeemed for links.
- Player Trades – Links are frequently bought and sold by players.
Additional Group-Based Methods for Obtaining Links
Since mastery chains are a long-term progression system, don’t feel overwhelmed. If you're new, start with societies—you can earn society points even before you own a mastery chain. Visit the Society Hall in north Prevalia and begin with Monster Hunter Societies, which are typically the easiest for beginners.
Selecting and Reforging Links
Due to the cost of links, research your build before making a significant investment. Server balance and build viability evolve over time, so specific link recommendations may change.
For example:
- Spell Damage Links may seem like the best choice for casters, but Spell Aspect Special Chance Links generally provide a greater overall damage increase by proccing aspects more frequently.
If unsure, ask experienced players in Discord for recommendations based on the latest meta.
Reforging Links
If you acquire a link that doesn't fit your build, you are not stuck with it:
- Use a Link Reforge Tool to convert the link into another type.
- Alternatively, sell or trade the unwanted link.
Key Takeaways
- A Mastery Chain allows you to install links, providing permanent passive buffs while worn.
- Links come in different types and quality tiers, which can be mixed and matched to optimize your build.
- Unwanted links can be reforged into a different type.
- New link slots are unlocked through experience gain.
- While Mastery Chains are player-crafted, links must be obtained separately, with societies being a key acquisition method.
- A Mastery Chain is blessed, character-bound, and extremely valuable. Never remove it from your pack, place it in another container, or trade it.
- Mastery chain experience is shared across all five characters on the same account but does not transfer between different accounts.
By strategically selecting and upgrading links, your mastery chain becomes one of the most powerful tools in your character’s progression.
Echoes and Character Customizations
The final layer of character development comes in the form of Character Customizations. These primarily consist of quality-of-life enhancements and cosmetic upgrades, rather than direct gameplay changes. However, the Echo System and Strongboxes (which technically fall under customization) can significantly impact your Outlands experience.
Echoes: A Flexible Character System
An Echo is essentially a duplicate of your character, allowing you to switch between two versions of the same character. Unlike creating a separate alt character, an echo preserves shared experience, meaning you can develop a second version of your main character without restarting progression from scratch.
Example: How Echoes Work
You likely won’t need an echo early on, but here’s a practical example to help you understand their value:
Example: A player has a Mage Tamer with the following progression:
- 720 skill cap (increased with skill balls)
- 120 Taming and Animal Lore (raised with skill scrolls)
- Max-leveled Bestiary and Grimoire
- Several leveled aspects
- A Mastery Chain with multiple unlocked links
This character excels at hunting monsters, but treasure mapping requires a different skill set.
By creating an Echo, the player copies their main character and replaces some dungeon-crawling skills with treasure map-related skills. Because aspects and mastery chain links remain useful for both activities, the player effectively gains two well-developed characters without needing to start a new character from scratch.
Acquiring and Upgrading an Echo
Echoes are not free, and their costs increase with each additional echo. You can unlock your first echo using one of the following:
- 1 million gold
- 100 Skill Scrolls
- 25,000 Arcane Essence
Once unlocked, switching between echoes is free, but there is a 12-hour cooldown before you can switch again. With proper planning, this delay is manageable. Additionally, you can invest in Character Customizations to reduce this cooldown, allowing for more frequent switching—though these upgrades are costly.
Why Knowing About Echoes Early is Useful
Understanding the echo system early in your progression helps for several reasons:
- You are less restricted by your main build than it may initially seem.
- Echoes provide access to entirely different types of game content without requiring the grind of creating a new character.
- With proper planning, echoes allow you to save time and resources while expanding your gameplay options.
While echoes are not an immediate priority for new players, keeping them in mind as a long-term goal can help you prepare for future character flexibility and efficient skill development.