the now-familiar "you have logged on" guitar strum

　　After the opening cinematic, the now-familiar "you have logged on" guitar strum plays and Amareth, my high elf priest, appears at the airship dock next to BrotherMagneto's new aman berserker, AnungUnRama. After an obligatory "/wave" emote, I test the WASD controls and sample the priest's basic attack, Divine Radiance.

A blue burst of energy launches from the priest and travels 18 meters before dissipating. It's immediately apparent that aiming is going to be a key part of playing this class. I give the bottom of my mouse a quick dust-off for more accurate reticle movement, and march down the steps towards Axelle, the first quest-giving NPC.

Axelle doesn't waste any time and quickly explains that I'm needed at the outposts ahead, commenting on how the Federation needs more soldiers "like me," and offering a story quest. This initial quest subtly teaches character movement and quest signage. For instance, new quests are designated by an exclamation mark (red for a story quest, yellow for a normal, zone quest). Question marks and asterisks also come in both colors and designate different stages of completion. The quest rewards are somewhat meager—a pittance of gold and some experience—but I'm not exactly performing heroic deeds quite yet. The next NPC sends me along to the Northern Checkpoint to meet Kishale and put my skills to use for the Federation.