Tabula Rasa lead designer explains the PAU System

What do the higher levels hold for Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa players? Lead designer Paul Sage helped shed some light on this by further explaining one of the rewards: Personal Armor Units (PAUs). If this is the first time you’ve heard of this, think of it as a mount with lots of huge guns. For more on these vehicles, be sure to check out the full article.

Like most MMORPGs in the market, Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa rewards players for reaching certain levels. At level 40, the option to be certified as a Personal Armor Unit (PAU) pilot becomes available to players.

According to Paul Sage, Tabula Rasa‘s lead designer from NCsoft, the different units will be unique to a players’ military career (class) and provide bonuses such as movement, more firepower, and different abilities to the character.

A fine example of this unit is the Grendel which will be available to those who followed the Grenadier’s path of advancement. Here’s what Sage had to say about the PAU:

The surprisingly nimble Grendel, has two machine gun turrets on each arm, providing a cone of doom a short distance in front of the Grendel.

More impressive is the HornetÂ’s Nest capability of the Grendel, which when unleashed uses the remaining power of the user to determine the number of rockets unleashed on the opposing forces but does massive damage to surrounding units.

Those new to the game might want to do a little research about PAUs before choosing their character class. After all, there’s nothing more frustrating than grinding to the higher levels and finding that the rewards aren’t worth it.

Via Stratics