Numen - Interview @ GamingNexus

Gaming Nexus posts an interview with Aleš Ulm, the lead designer for a game that's rather dropped off the radar in the last year, Akella's  Numen: Contest of Heroes.  The interview is short but covers all the basics and has several screenshots as well.

Could you talk about how the combat in the game works?
The combat is not hack’n’slash like in Diablo or Titan Quest. It’s more like offline World of Warcraft. There are over 80 unique abilities in the game - many of them are very specific and have to be used in special ways to maximize their potential. The player has to inspect his opponents and pick his fights.

Can you talk about some of the RPG elements in the game? Are you using the traditional elements or are you changing things up a bit?
The character you play has a basic set of common stats such as intellect, strength or dexterity. As you level up you those are raised automatically but you also get several points to allocate as you see fit. By using weapons or spells you get more proficient at it – if, for example, you keep casting fire spells, your fire magic skill will go up and when it’s high enough it can trigger Fire magic mastery which gives you additional bonuses.