To say that ArcheAge got off to a bad start would be a massive, massive understatement. From the very moment it launched there was a horde of bots placing claims on every available stretch of land, the lag was almost unbearable, and to top it all off there were also hour-long queues just to get a mere chance to play! Given how much ArcheAge advertised itself as a game with complete player freedom, the first few months ended up being a grand disappointment for the vast majority of the playerbase, which soon enough started to leave for greener pastures.

If you're one of these players you might want to take another look at ArcheAge as the upcoming Revelation expansion seems to be quite promising. It will bring with it Fresh Start Servers where you can once again experience the early days of ArcheAge with everyone on equal footing, but also two brand-new playable races (Dwarves and Warborn), a bunch of new regions to explore, a new Abyssal Skill system, as well as a variety of other additions.

Since trying to explain all of this in brief is a pretty damn impossible task, may I suggest you have a look at the recently posted preview video:

ArcheAge 3.0: Revelation will be arriving on December 10, and if you are interested in learning more the official website would be the very best place to do so. On the other hand, if you're just looking for the short version here's the official list of features and a couple of screenshots:

• Two New Playable Races - Designed from the ground up, the Dwarves of the Nuian faction and Warborn from the Haranya faction not only bring forth new stories and quests, but also introduce new combat mechanics when they transform into an empowered form with special abilities. Both classes are designed with new character models and animations to add more diverse visuals to the inhabitants of Erenor.

• Five New Environments - Airain Rock (the Dwarven capital including the legendary city of Andelph), Aubre Cradle, Sunbite Wilds, Rokhala Mountains and Ahnimar (heritage homeland of the Daru race) offer players five new zones to explore and homestead.

• Fresh Start Servers - The “Reckoning” Server will be added to the North America region and the “Prophecy” server will be added to the European region. On fresh start servers, everyone starts anew, the competition is fierce, and it all happens on top of Revelation content.

• Alternate Experience System - Once one of a character’s ten skill trees hits max level (55), new Abyssal Skills – the most powerful abilities in the game – can be unlocked through a series of quests. 

• Community Enhancements - A dramatically improved family system adds more structure to small group play by allowing groups of trusted friends to create ‘mini-guilds’ with their own benefits and activities. Residents of southern continent zones can work with their neighbours to enhance structures within the zone they live in and gain rewards for contributing to their zone’s progress.

• New Housing Areas - Brand new locales for open-world player housing, complete with regional trade goods, have been added; players may now stake claim and build dream properties in any of the visually distinctive new zones.

• And More - New items, new gear, new styles of mounts, new crafting recipes, combat pets and much more have also been added with the Revelation expansion.