Decks in The Secret World are there to provide direction "more than anything else," says Funcom

When Funcom's The Secret World MMO releases this summer, players will be able to choose between over 500 abilities. To get folks started, Decks will allow the user to create their own personal character based on seven active and seven passive abilities.

However, since the game doesn't contain actual classes, players are free to be whatever tickles their fancy. But if they feel the need for direction or something a bit more predetermined - at least starting out -  Decks are the way to go and you'll have ten to choose from for each of the three organizations.

"We don’t have levels, period, and we don’t have classes, period," lead designer Ragnar Tørnquist told RPS. "But we do have the decks, for example, which is more direction than anything else. I think it’s fantastic that we have a game without classes, I think it’s the right choice and I’ve been behind that the whole time, but I also like to have direction.

"So I’m going to be using the decks when I play the game. I’m going to choose a character and know what kind of skills I want and the game will point me in that direction. But I can change at any point and that’s what fascinates me. I don’t mind having a class but I don’t like being locked into anything and this game opens that up."

The same goes for levels too, according to Tørnquist, but there will be ranks within each organization. This has more to do with the game's fiction than anything else, and players will be provided with a title and a place within their Secret Society so that they know they are progressing in the story.

"We start with the clean slate of saying we have no classes or levels, and then we introduced mechanics to make sure that people feel there’s direction, incentive and progression, and that’s really important too."

The Secret World is out on June 19.