The Secret World changes will help new players navigate the game's high difficulty

The Secret World developer Funcom will implement several changes with its fourth update to help new players navigate the game's high difficulty settings, director Joel Bylos said in a recent podcast with Oceanic Gamer.

Bylos stated that the team had "misjudged" difficulty and that the game does not communicate clearly on the best allocation for skill points early enough in the storyline. Funcom plans to introduce "starter decks" and easier story boss fights to rectify this with Issue #4, along with group investigative missions. Legacy development issues also lead to players completing certain missions out of skill level order in some areas, Hell Hotel in the Savage Coast being Bylos' example. In the future players will only have to complete around 70 percent of an area in order to move on, ensuring lower-level players don't get stuck.

As for the future of the game, Bylos said it's "absolutely vital" that Funcom better advertise the game and convey what it is to its potential audience.

The developer has also re-hired a few former employees from last month's round of layoffs.

"We have already brought back three people," said Bylos. "It gives us hope and it's great to see those faces back at the office."

Issue #3: "The Cat God," the third update for The Secret World, released last week, bringing with it the Halloween events as well as special seasonally-themed items.