Details on version 1.3 “Sandstorm” of Global Agenda have been announced on the official Global Agenda forums. This latest update, which is scheduled to launch around the end of April, is touted as being the “most important milestone in Global Agenda history.” A pretty hefty claim, so what’s in it for Global Agenda fans in 1.3?

Come 1.3 players will be able to choose one of two specializations (corresponding to the already existing skill trees) for their characters. The choice of specialization will confer additional talent points for that particular skill tree, as well as access to specialization specific weapons and devices. The devices will range in level requirement from 30-50 and will be earned through Conquest Tokens. Conquest Tokens will be earned by playing/winning different parts of the game, up to a certain maximum each day. Subscribers will earn these faster due to the fact they can participate in more areas of the game.

Examples of some of these devices below:

The Laser Sniper Rifle, The Barrage Grenade Launcher, The Claw,The Perfect Rifle, The Beacon Tracker, The Impact Hammer, The Multi-Heal Gun, The Oathbreaker Boost.

1.3 will also see many of the stores in Dome City open, as well as the addition of two new jetpacks to the jetpack store. A new hightech UI will also be implemented, though it may not be fully available when 1.3 goes live.

Loot will be seeing some changes in 1.3 as well. The plan is to have full weapon and armor drops available as loot in PvE, the armor will be bind on pickup. Crafters will also be able to create upgrade kits for weapons and armor to augment their stats. Weapons and armor will also be available for purchase through the use of Conquest and Mercenary tokens.

What’s really stirred up discussion about 1.3 is the inclusion of new open world zones, which are being called Warzones. Warzones are being described as open world zones that players will join in order to undertake a variety of strictly PvE or hybrid PvPvE missions. Warzones will feature a variety of mission types and win conditions as well.

The aim is to allow for 30 players in a PvE zone and 50 in a PvP zone, though Hi-Rez is not sure on the final count since they are reworking the Unreal 3 server code to facilitate this.

View the original announcement here.