Yearly Archives: 2008

With Your Destiny: October Event Madness

Battle of the Noobs!
I know you guys are craving for an event that will boost the newbie’s so our team decided to conduct a special PK event just for our beloved mortal and for the reward it is something that you can’t even imagine.

Fill me in!
Got entertained by newbcaKes funny comics strip? WYDian’s its now your time to create your very own comics strip. So keep that creative juices flowing and win tons of exciting prizes!

Catch an Angel!
And oh we are not talking about Kafma IV most popularly known as Kephra’s BFF but this time but we are talking about another angel. A super easy hide and seek that involves active participation even if your outside the game or inside. Just make sure that those “Print Screen Button” is working!

Shout for Joy Reloaded!
Grab those yellow megaphones and shout as loud as you can!
Instead of 2 Laktoreriums you will win 3 Laktoreriums permanently! But the catch is you need to answer our question within 3 minutes or else. The questions will be changed.

Kill the GM
GM Helius is being possessed by the foul beast Kephra and is on the move to kill the WYDIANS who crosses his path! After you killed the Scourge and his minions inside the Kephra Dungeon, GM Helius will appear and you need to free him from his possession by means of his death! Kill him within 30 minutes and win some mouth watering prizes! We are talking about perfect option armors here WYD’ians! So wear your best armors and head to the Kephra Dungeon!

WYDIANS! Prepare yourself because it will be a bumpy ride this October!
Log on to the game now!
NOTE:
Information above may change anytime without prior notice!!

Myth War II Online: Growth Paradise Opened

Myth War II is very glad to announce that Growth Paradise is available to all players after10 days test since Oct 1st. This would be especially good news for rookies because incredibly good prizes are always available for gamers to claim whenever they level up.

New gamers only need to register and activate their accounts to be qualified for special rewards which include unconventional gift packs when their characters progress through the game.

How to Reclaim Gift Packs
Create a new character ? Claim Level 10 gift packs in Growth Paradise after your new character reaches Level 10?Go to Growth Paradise to claim Level 20 gift packs? and so forth.

Gift packs

Level 10 Gift Pack: Gold, Romantic Sparks, etc.
Level 20 Gift Pack: Three Mystical Fruits, Double-Experience Roll, etc.
Level 30 Gift Pack: Pet Egg , Shapeshifting Potion,etc.

Items found in every gift packs are diverse and an excellent value for the money.

Ragnarok Online Valkyrie Server review

by Rick Charbs, Onrpg writer

Ragnarok Online is now available for free! Released on the 25th of September, Ragnarok Online Valkyrie has undergone many patches and updates. This special Valkyrie server does have its weak points, but overall it is a great compensation, if you cannot afford the premium server. Ragnarok online is my absolute favourite MMORPG of all time, however I will not be going into details on the gameplay aspect as much as this server’s new details. You can locate full Ragnarok Online review here.

The Valkyrie server has several restrictions one player must abide with. Firstly, the server rates for experience and monster drops are the original 1x; however premium users now have 1.25x exp. Valkyrie players will only be able to sell items for 75% default price, and they will lose an additional 2% exp upon death (3% as opposed to the 1% premium users lose). The teleport skill will cost 100sp, 90sp over the original cost. Kafra warps are very limited in the server, only being available in a few key towns such as Juno and Prontera. Quest rewards only amount to 75% the original amount in exp, and the item mall offers special prices for Valkyrie users, being more expensive than a premium user’s cost. There are no safe upgrade limits on your items, usually being a minimum of +4 on the premium server, and most items in shops cost a great deal more in zeny. Three monster cards have been removed from the game due to their bonus effects that include adding the teleport and heal skill to your arsenal: the creamy card, the deviling card, and the vitata card.

Despite this large chunk of limitations, iRO Valkyrie is still a great gaming experience on its own. No other players will have an advantage over you, seeing as both premium users and free users are completely separated in different game worlds. There is already a large growing community in the server and everyone is kind and helpful- seriously. The repeatable EXP quests are an easy way to bring your character to the top, and the iRO team keep giving perks to free users such as added teleport NPCs and such. They will listen to your input if you give them a shout and let them know some feedback. Ragnarok Online features so many class choices that every experience in game is a new one. You will have an endless choice of skills and stats to pick from, completely customising your character to your likeness. The Valkyrie server adds a whole new outlook on the game for players unable to pay to play this wonderful MMO. No more need for the short term trial; you have a server loaded with new Ragnarok players sharing their experience together. If you really like the game afterwards, and have the means to pay for it, you will not be disappointed! I sincerely suggest you give this one a shot.

Age of Conan: On Culture Armor

Developer Dave Williams provides us with a couple of nice screenshots as well as background information about some of the new Culture Armors which will be introduced to Age of Conan very soon.

From A Treatise on Niello
Long before the rise of countries which today are scattered across the continent, there was commerce between the ancient nations of Stygia and Acheron. Trade brought discovery, as goods traveled the span of the known world – and elements native to the far-flung reaches of the civilized kingdoms were first mingled in forges and workshops to form hybrid metals that exhibited the best properties of each ingredient.

Many such alloys were forged by the master sages of that era, who deduced the specific proportions necessary, and likewise the methods of construction. Niello, that black metal described centuries later as the Scales of Set, was purportedly used in the secret rites and rituals of the Dark Lord’s many adherents in this age and the last. I cannot attest to the veracity of this notion, but I will remind the reader that in every legend lies some thread that can be traced back to its birth, and ultimately to some hidden truth.

The Acheronians realized they had an ally in the Stygians of that bygone Age, as both cultures bowed to the same master, the Snake-god Set. Although the rituals of Acheron differed to those of the Stygians, the two nations were unmistakable brothers in worship. Their practices began to blend, and over time the religious rituals of the two nations became indistinguishable. The Acheronians had long considered themselves superior practitioners of the darker arts and yet Stygia was filled with forgotten tombs from a former age, housing numerous relics of power that the Acheronians craved. Using the pretext of religious collaboration, the Acheronians gained access to the Stygian tombs and began their studies.

Great excavations began amongst the burning dunes, and slaves toiled endlessly in enormous quarries carved out from the landscape. Barbarian slaves from the north contributed the labor, captured by the soldiers of Acheron and transported south in the thousands. As each tomb was unearthed, the Acheronians appointed Keepers to guard them.

Most prized among the relics were the objects known as Deathcoils, used in the darkest rituals of human sacrifice famous to the previous age. But the Deathcoils were anchored heavily to their massive enclosures, and Stygia refused to allow any defacement of the tombs. Unable to transport the Deathcoils to their own Temples of Set, the Acherons turned their will towards replicating them. This was achieved through use of the substance Niello, which had recently been developed as a consequence of the free exchange of goods. Only Niello had similar alchemical properties to the metals used in those powerful relics.

Relations between the two countries grew strained, as Acheron no longer needed collaboration from their southern neighbor. Perhaps it would have come to blows, were it not for the barbarian hordes which exploded across the northern borders of Acheron like a flood. Acheron turned her attentions to the north, and Stygia was left alone among the dunes once more. Fed by knowledge from the remaining Keepers, the Stygian priests developed sorcerous rites which legend describes as causing the sky to darken, and the sun to be blotted out completely. At the zenith of the ceremony, power would lash down from the heavens and those who witnessed such raw displays of nature would be seared with the power of Set himself.

While Acheron waned in influence, Niello became a restricted metal in due to its increasing association with Set, and the rituals of the Dark Lord. The Stygian priesthood scrambled to hoard their power in the wake of a dimming epoch. The final remnants of the Keepers commissioned fully hardened suits of the alloy, determined not to be left to the memories of that passing age. Absent the Acheronian slave labor to maintain the excavations, Stygia watched as the mighty excavations once again filled with sand.

In Stygia, replica Deathcoils forged of Niello were placed in the innermost sanctum of the Setite temples; over time, the term Deathcoil came to refer to the central members of certain Stygia rites. Although the relics and rites themselves have been lost to the mists of time, ceremonial priests still decorate themselves in Niello, wrought with electrum and other ornamentation.
– Lascivicus, Corinthian Chronicler

Comments from the developer
With the introduction of the new crafting content, players will find that tradeskills as a whole has become more cognizant of Conan lore and the rest of the game in general. One important direction we wanted to take was creating synergy between the different crafts, so that for each pair of professions there is some extra benefit for picking those specific two. We have a great opportunity with crafting to not only enhance the game experience through character customization (both in terms of creating a unique character for players to identify with, and creating useful gear that characters wear), but to encourage players to tell their own stories within the framework of the game world as they explore the content we provide.

Stories in MMOs tend to be passive, created by virtue of playing the game. They are the accumulated experience of a character – the gear that character prefers, the tasks he’s performed, and the events he’s attended. In short, the choices the player makes at character creation and throughout the game. It is the synthesis of these player stories with the developer created setting (what we consider content), that encourage the vibrant communities which are the lifeblood of the genre.

To view all the screenshots of the new Culture Armors please visit the Screenshot section.

9Dragons Review

by Gabriele Giorgi, Onrpg writer

9Dragons is a Free to Play MMORPG set in ancient China where the players impersonate wannabe martial artists fighting to support (or to overthrow) the Emperor.

At first the characters are simple vagabonds, able to learn only the most basic forms of kung fu. As they progress, they will have the opportunity to join one of the clans, specialise in advanced techniques and choose a specific role.

Contrary to what people might think, White Clans are not “good”, much like Black Clans are not “evil”: the white ones support the Emperor, the black ones don’t. There are currently 6 clans you can join; the remaining 3 are advanced clans but, as of now, they have not been introduced yet. It is speculated that you might join them once you reach level 170.

Gameplay
As soon as you’ve chosen your starting point, you will be presented the opportunity to follow a quick tutorial. If you are a veteran MMORPG player, you can easily skip that part, since it covers just the basics. Whatever you need to know about 9Dragons will be explained as you progress, through specifically designed quests.

Leveling is a bit peculiar, in 9D. There are 20 major levels, each one divided in 12 sub-levels called Cheng, for a whopping total of 240 to be gained. As usual, they require more and more time to attain. Problem is, most of the XP you need must be earned through grinding. There aren’t enough quests to complete a level, so you will always end up killing mobs just for the sake of it. On the other hand, those errands are made to show you how the game works, to let you know the world around you and to advance the main story, so they are a welcome break from the grinding routine.

Minigames are another pause from normal gameplay: one in particular, Chi Breathing, will have to be performed at the change of every major level (every 12 Cheng) and, if you are particularly quick at it, you will be rewarded with additional skill points to distribute.

Controls are also worth mentioning: the game lacks WASD movement in favour of a point-and-click mode. For those who are used to the other way it might be a bit unsettling at first, but it works quite fine with a sort of fast-run ability that you will receive early in the game and use quite often to travel from place to place.

Combat and Roles
Unlike other MMORPGs, you do NOT choose your role at the beginning of the game. It’s only when you join one of the clans (level 25) that you are given the opportunity to select it: you can be a warrior, a healer, a nuker or a hybrid. Most of them are self-explanatory, at least to any seasoned MMORPG player. The hybrid, as the name implies, can use anyone else’s abilities, albeit less effectively. You can change that choice once (and only once) before you reach level 61. This feature is quite interesting, since you don’t have to choose from the beginning of the game and, selecting the hybrid, you can also experience how all the skills work before making a definitive choice.
Combat is a bit disappointing: all you have to do is click on a opponent and your character will do the rest, using the skill you selected beforehand. Actually, as soon as you have enough different skills, you can use some sort of combos, but they are not really worth it since you end up delivering more damage with one single skill anyway. What’s more, to maximise your combat effectiveness, you’d better focus on a specific weapon (usually your clan’s) and a limited amount of selected skills: the more you progress, the more time you will need to improve them. It’s not uncommon to meet a monk (healer) who will buff you while you are busy grinding mobs. Don’t be fooled: they are doing a favour to you as much as to themselves. It takes a lot to raise skills at higher levels, but the game also provides ways to improve the learning rate for a limited time, like drops called manuals or boosts acquired through acclaim coins (they can be bought with real money and can be spent for a variety of different in-game benefits).

Graphics and Sound
The graphics are no doubt one of the best aspects of this game: the lands and the sky are beautifully designed; the animations during combats are accurate and fun to watch, the icons of all the different items are well drawn and recognisable. The faces of the characters are a bit manga-like and pretty standardised but, on the other hand, the outfit makes them distinguishable (although usually you will just be wearing the garment that provides the highest bonus).

There is only one major drawback: the entire top bar of the screen is occupied by everchanging ads. This starts happening when you reach level 13: you are given a sample of how the game looks without for the first levels, then, if you want to keep it like that, you have to upgrade to a premium subscription. The ads can be quite annoying, but ultimately, since it’s a F2P MMORPG, it’s up to you to decide whether they really bother you or not.

Sound is quite valid: the musical score fits well with the setting (you may find yourself humming it after you’ve been playing) and sound effects are good too.

Community
There is a decent number of players in 9Dragons at any time, and it’s not going to be hard to find a party to kill mobs together. Players can also form guilds called Hero Bands (the founder must be at least level 49), and up to 5 bands can form a Hero League.
What most players do is try to buy and sell better equipment for their level, and this can be achieved both through the chat system (where usually you can find people advertising the latest drop they found and want to sell, since it’s not suited for their class) and personal shops, nowadays common in most MMOs, where you can offer your wares to passerbys at a fixed price when you are away from keyboard.

PvE/PvP
In PvE things are pretty easy at the beginning: you just choose a mob to fight and it’s a simple 1vs1: it’s only a matter of how many fights you can take before having to rest and recuperate. When you start to level, though, you will notice that you tend to attract more and more mobs, so you’d better be very careful and judge when it’s the best time to retreat… or else you can always gang up with other fellows and you’ve got the option to share the experience or still earn it individually.

PvP is available only in specific areas, like dueling or normal Player Killing. Of course you cannot kill members of your own clan, and you accumulate Good Karma (sort of reputation, that might provide also some bonuses) if you kill members of the opposite faction. As of now PvP is a bit unbalanced, with nukers being the most effective class while healers are quite useless.

9Dragons stands above the average F2P MMORPGs. If you can bear the ads and the grinding, it will be worth playing, especially since you will be able to experience deeper and better contents the further you progress.

Pros:
– interesting and unique setting
– nice graphics and animations
– good learning curve

Cons:
– extensive grind between levels
– intrusive ads at the top of the screen
– skill development forces to focus on just a few

Eudemons: Join Halloween Events, Ready? Go!

Halloween is a festival in which ghosts walk and mingle with the living. Ghosts and spirits emerge out from the lower world to visit Yartland. Halloween online events are the climax of a whole Month of celebrations. The gate to hell is opened at midnight, and ghosts swarm into the world of human beings in search of food and money. To celebrate this festival, we are providing our players with a special quest: you can collect special materials dropped by monsters and pumpkins to fulfill the quest and exchange them for rewards. Kill the monsters and enjoy the feast of all saints!
The Forum event Halloween Treasure Hunting is just a warm-up. Many players has showed their great interest and enthusiasm in treasure hunting, at last most of them win PPs. Just join the team of treasure hunting without hesitation. It’s still on! More events will be added in the near future. Just wait and see!
Halloween offline events are under preparation now. All players will be invited to design their own special scary Halloween pictures and take part in the Scary Halloween Show by the Photo Design Page. After your uploaded pictures have been approved by us, you will probably be the shining star of the whole party and receive special rewards. A lovely eudemon Mage Peppy will appear in the web game during Halloween. Ready? It’s time to show your wisdom and patience in that game!
For more details, please pay attention to our latest updates!

WAR: 750,000 PLAYERS JOIN THE WAAAGH!

The Armies of WAR Continue to Grow as New Recruits
Join the Battle in Support of Order or Destruction
FAIRFAX, Va. – October 10, 2008 – Mythic Entertainment, an Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) studio, today announced that 750,000 players have registered for the critically acclaimed fantasy MMORPG, Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning™ (WAR) in North America, Europe and the Oceanic territories. WAR topped the PC sales charts around the world at launch, and is on track to be one of the best-selling PC games of 2008.

“Thanks to our players, the war between the Realms continues to escalate at an incredible pace,” said Mark Jacobs, co-founder and general manager of Mythic Entertainment. “The battlefields are alive with three quarters of a million players fighting for the forces of Order and Destruction in truly epic and unparalleled Realm vs. Realm battles!”

Based on the popular tabletop war game from Games Workshop, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning features revolutionary Realm vs. Realm™ conflict that will provide an engaging battleground for years to come.

Source: link.

Angels Online: New Expansion and New Server Launched

The Angels Online team is very happy to announce that ‘The Lost Atlantis’, the new expansion for Angels Online was released after the server maintenance on October 9th. A new server called Atlantis is available as well to welcome new players.

After the new expansion is released, many old players may return to the game, to be joined by many new players. In order to offer players a smoother, friendlier, and easier gaming environment and to lessen the pressure on the servers, the AO team has decided to release a new server called Atlantis.

The AO team always makes every effort to offer players the best service in and out of game. In the new expansion, the Lost Atlantis, the highest character level will be 100. More than that, many new systems such as the Card Collection and the Gleaming Weapon system will be available for all players. The advanced pets and new underwater rides and robots will attract many players as well.
In addition, the AO team will be holding a series of events to celebrate the release of the new expansion.

Event 1: 2X Exp on the Weekend
Event 2: New Expansion Leveling Up Contest
Event 3: Forbes List