The Secret World's approach to ability choice and character creation can be a daunting task for some when trying to build an effective class. With five hundred plus abilities that can be taken in any combination to create a customized character all your own, starting with a good "base" can be a great first step for beginners. 

With that in mind, Funcom has posted a dev diary at MMORPG.com and put together a few decks for players in the hope that they use them for inspiration to create their own custom classes. The Witch Hunter focuses on big damage hits for the Templars, the Warlord embraces the art of sword fighting for the Dragon faction, and the Thaumaturgist is a gunmage that bends science to invoke demons and turrets for the Illuminati.

In the end, however, the way the player adapts, changes, and customizes their class is a major selling point of the game, but thanks to Funcom's pre-built starter decks, at least you won't be starting from scratch.

Say whatever you want about The Secret World (mostly good things), but Funcom sure puts together cool trailers. Today's video offering comes a Blue Mountain location reveal, courtesy of Gamespot. It's creepy, it's got plenty of atmosphere, and boy does it make me want to play the game. Is it just me, or does everyone see that Asian girl in the short shorts everywhere? Regardless, check out the chilling trailer below!

Last week was Illuminati Week, and that means the gang over at The Secret World got to end the week by hosting a big Illuminati-themed Q&A session on Facebook. Most of the questions and answers are fairly tame, but for those of you excited about joining the Illuminati, consider popping by to take a look.

At least you get to read Joel Bylos, Lead Content Designer for The Secret World noting that we need to "keep in mind that the world has recently gone batshit."

Illuminati Week is coming to a close, and that means... an Illuminati teaser trailer! For all you Illuminati fans, check out this new trailer that highlights all the things that make the Illuminati so darn cool. I have a sneaky suspicion that the Illuminati will be the most popular faction to join come launch, but let's see if the Dragons or Templars will have something to say about that.

Check out the trailer below!

Check out ZAM's other Top Five Most Important MMOs of 2012:

• Guild Wars 2
• TERA
• Firefall
• PlanetSide 2

If 2011 was the year of blockbuster RPGs and FPSs, then 2012 will certainly be the year of MMORPGs and online games. With almost a dozen highly anticipated titles confirmed to launch in 2012, there can be no doubt that this year will be a revolutionary one for MMO gaming. That being said, not all of you will have the time to check out all of these big releases, so ZAM has compiled a list of what we consider to be the Top Five Important MMOs of 2012. In this top five series, we'll be looking at some of the most innovative titles of 2012 and why you should keep a close eye on them. Today ZAM Editor-in-Chief Chris "Pwyff" Tom will talk about.... The Secret World!

I've always been fascinated with the interpretation of genres and how artists continue to invent meaning within their respective mediums. With video games, for example, the modern FPS genre might have begun with Wolfenstein 3D or Doom, but it has now progressed along multiple paths of interpretation, with games like Portal 2, Fallout 3, and Battlefield 3 all acting as iconic examples of the FPS genre reinvented. Not all developers, however, can afford to experiment in innovative ways, and the higher the development cost of the game, the greater the risk a company takes in pursuing something new. Thus, MMORPGs - with their multi-million dollar development cost and large ongoing maintenance fees - are probably the genre of the industry most resistant to change.

This is why Funcom's The Secret World is so important.

Illuminati week has begun in The Secret World, and that means we're getting some great Illuminati-themed artwork for the TSW media page! The Illuminati are definitely ranking as my choice of faction on launch, but given the huge popularity for these power-hungry jetsetters, I may just go with my secondary choice in The Dragons.

Regardless, this is the week to check out all things Illuminati on The Secret World website, and be sure to swing by The Secret World's Facebook page to start submitting questions for their developer Q&A on January 15th! More updates to come this week!

Information overload! Disregard all of your other responsibilities and get to reading! The crew over at The Secret World has dropped some brand new expanded monster descriptions for the Jack O'lantern, the Mud Golem, the Wraith, and the Bogeyman. When it comes to The Secret World, it definitely helps to be as prepared as possible, so get reading. I'm certainly not going to help you if you run into a Bogeyman and don't know what to do.

If you want more information on The Secret World, remember to check out ZAM's world first hands-on preview with the game over here!

Yesterday, I finally got the chance to talk about my exclusive hands-on time with Funcom's The Secret World. Of course, trying to fit every morsel of information into a single article can be a daunting task, so I skipped over some of the more obtuse concepts, choosing instead to focus on the overall game and how I found it. This didn't stop me, however, from swinging by The Secret World's official forums to host an impromptu Q&A session, so if you're craving even more hands-on information from me, the first four pages of that topic are filled with me writing essays in response to one-sentence questions.

Anyway, during the event we also got the chance to sit down with either Senior Producer / Creative Director Ragnar Tørnquist, or Lead Content Designer Joel Bylos and Lead Designer Martin Bruusgaard. According to the luck of the draw, my interview was to be with Joel and Martin (two for one!). Joel said that they give more information than Ragnar anyway, so I decided to jump on my chance. The following interview is a bit long, but if you're even remotely looking forward to The Secret World, you'll definitely want to read through all of this. So read on as as I get to talking with Joel and Martin about The Secret World's endgame content, how the team wants players to be progressing through the game, and much, much more!

About a month back, I had the distinct pleasure of heading to Montreal for a world first public hands-on experience with Funcom's The Secret World. It was also the first time in a while that I found myself struck with pre-event giddiness. While most of this excitement stemmed from my eagerness to finally try one of my most anticipated MMOs of all time - I'd even highlighted TSW's character progression and story in my "Making an MMORPG" series - I'll also admit that there was a little bit of fear somewhere in the mix. While I had yet to hear or see anything negative come from the team, I couldn't help but dwell on Age of Conan's poor post-launch reception (although AoC has since done great things with its subsequent expansions and recent shift to free-to-play) in addition to my propensity to be crushed when games don't meet my sky-high expectations.

Regardless, I soldiered up and bravely marched into the Funcom Studios, determined to delve into as much of The Secret World as I possibly could; to really assess if this was a game worth all the internal hype I piled on top of it. And now, with the NDA being dropped today, I'm very happy to say that my expectations have been met. And exceeded.

Templar Week is coming to an end soon, but Funcom is making sure that fans of The Secret World have something nice for the weekend: a new Templar Trailer! In this new video from the vaults of Funcom, Templar member Rose talks us through what really makes this Secret Society so special. Even if tradition isn't your thing, Templars stand together, and the trailer promises a close-knit group for anyone who wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves.

Remember to come back on Monday next week for ZAM's exclusive hands-on preview of The Secret World! Check out the trailer below!