Yearly Archives: 2012

OnRPG Shotgun News 10/3: City of Heroes, Planetside 2, World of Tanks, and Global Agenda 2!

OnRPG Shotgun News 10/3: City of Heroes, Planetside 2, World of Tanks, and Global Agenda 2!

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

World of Tanks Sets Records

 

World of Tanks is celebrating having broken a record and managed an incredible achievement. On the Russian server over 500,000 people were logged in at the same time which is a record. The game also recently celebrated having 40 million registered users world wide. Which is double the amount they had last year.

 

 

Global Agenda 2 In The Works

A member of the HiRez studio team announced that the studio is currently working on Global Agenda 2. It will be PvP focused and use many of the Global Agenda assets already available but on the newest platform they have. Beta testing is expected to begin sometime in the middle of 2013.

 

 

NCSoft Addresses City of Heroes Fans

 

After more than a month of campaigning the Save City of Heroes group has finally been addressed by NCSoft. In it they that they have heard the voices of the fans but ultimately they have exhausted all options which includes selling the studio and City of Heroes intellectual property. To say the fans are crushed is somewhat of an understatement. Many have stated that they’ve entered a second phase of mourning for the community. Others have said they would never buy another NCSoft game and yet others still hold out hope that something good will come out of this.

 

 

Planetside 2 Revises Membership Plan

After getting some not too positive feedback about the membership plans for Planetside 2 it has been given a look at and remade listening to fans suggestions. This includes increased XP gain, increased resource gain, priority login queues, early access to cosmetic items in the store and 500 StationCash each month.

MetaÂ’s Verse: City of Heroes’ Lost Updates

Meta’s Verse: City of Heroes’s Lost Updates

By Meticulous Meta, OnRPG Paragon Reporter

 

 

 

Because City of Heroes’ end was announced so abruptly there was a lot left in production limbo. Some of it, like Issue 24 was in beta, nearly ready to go live. Some of it includes plans from way off into the future. Paragon Studio had plans reaching all the way to Issue 28, and perhaps even beyond. I’m going to take a look at everything we officially know, things that were found out in less than appropriate ways and even a bit of wishful thinking.

 

 

Issue 24

At the time of the announcement Issue 24 had been in beta for some time, we had seen weeks, maybe even months worth of reveals for it. Power pools were getting revised, new powers were being added, others being tweaked slightly. Power pools, epic powers and patron powers were all getting color customization at last! And this next one, people joke is the reason City of Heroes is getting closed; No nuke crash for Blasters. What few people realized when they joked that though is that the real reason for City of Heroes is…well, I’ll tell you later on in the article. These are just some of the things we knew were coming with I24. Issue 24 is still accessible on beta if you have VIP status. I highly recommend it to everyone who has access.

 

 

The Coming Storm: Battalion

Ok, so that was a bit of a spoiler for anyone who hasn’t been paying close attention. Prometheus, that tall blue guy in Ouroboros, reveals that The Coming Storm is The Battalion. They play a part in Rikti lore as a force that the Rikti had come up against before. In the Lore Ask Me Anything it was stated that the Rikti would come to the aid of the Earth in the fight against The Battalion which lead to speculation that perhaps Rikti epic archetypes would be in the works as well. It was also stated that the next four Issues would revolve around the Battalion who in the end may or may not have burned all the Kheldians for fuel.

 

 

Powersets:

So, here is where things start getting lengthy and complicated. Issue 24 had two powersets that were going to be released with it, Martial Combat and Martial Assault. We actually got to see these in action during live streams with Zwillinger. We also knew about Bio armor, another we saw during a coffee talk stream and Radiation armor which was designed at the last player summit. But there were a few that we weren’t supposed to know about as well. Information that was obtained through pigg diving, which is a very big no no.

 

 

Psionic Melee which included psi blades, and a PBAoE tier 9 ability called Mass Levitate. Most of the attacks were categorized as Psi/Lethal or Psi/Smash and did –Rech. There was also to be something called Insight which improved most of the Psionic Melee powers while it was active. Insight could be gained from most of the attacks in the set.

 

Savage Melee used animalistic attacks to cause lethal damage and damage over time. Attacking created Blood Frenzy which stacked to create a damage buff and cut endurance costs. Blood Frenzy could also be consumed to give powers additional benefits. But doing so would leave you exhausted and unable to build more Blood Frenzy for a short time.

 

And finally, my favorite, Wind Control. This powerset was to be available for controllers and dominators. It involved building pressure to be consumed by other powers. And the tier 9 was a Vortex pet. If you took both Vacuum and Vortex you would receive an additional power called clear skies.

 

 

Power Pools

So earlier I mentioned that in I24 we would have been able to color customize our power pools. Well there were also plans in the works to introduce new power pools. The earliest one we heard about was Sorcery which was accidently put on beta during a testing phase. It didn’t take long before the mistake was noticed and removed. But by the time they did everyone knew about it and was excited at the opportunities it represented. So I’ll go power by power through everything we know about the pools that we could have had.

 

 

Sorcery

 

Spirit Ward – +Absorb over time. You encompass an ally in a mystical spirit ward which causes them to gain a small amount of damage absorption every few seconds for a short time.

 

Arcane Bolt – Ranged, Moderate DMG(Energy), Foe Knockdown. You channel arcane energies into a concentrated blast and release them upon your target dealing moderate energy damage and possibly knocking them down.

 

Mystic Flight – Self Fly, Special. Using powerful magic you are able to lift yourself from the ground and fly. While this powers’ speed isn’t as fast as some other forms of flight, you do gain access to the Translocation power. While Mystic Flight is active you can use Translocation to teleport to a distant location.

 

Enflame – Ranged Friend/Foe, Special. This ritual allows you to imbue an ally or curse a foe with a fiery spell. If Enflame is cast on an ally or a foe they will leave a fiery trail behind them that will damage foes.

 

Rune of Protection – Self, +Res(All dmg, Hold, Sleep, Immob, Knockdown, Disorient). You cast a rune of protection upon yourself granting you protection from Hold, Sleep, Immob, Knockdown. Rune of Protection will drain a portion of your endurance and prevent you from recovering endurance for a short time.

 

 

Experimentation

 

Sadly information on Experimentation isn’t as complete as the other power pools. We do know the names of the powers and can get a basic idea of what they were going to do based on their icons.

 

Experimental Injection – A heal.

 

Toxic Dart – Firing toxic darts at enemies

 

Speed of Sound – Some sort of fast travel similar to super speed.

 

 

Corrosive Vial – Another attack which likely involved you throwing a vial of corrosive liquid or gas in a targeted area.

 

Adrenal Booster – Self, +To Hit, +Recharge, +Damage. You inject yourself with a concentrated serum that boosts your damage, recharge, and chance to hit by a large amount for a short time.

 

 

And you know what, that is all we have time for today. But we’ve barely started to scratch the surface. We still have more power pools to talk about, zones, those things I wish we were going to have and so much more. So come back again next week when I finish off the reveal of things that will never come to City of Heroes. And don’t forget that this weekend is the start of the sunset events with a Summer Blockbuster weekend. For the last time players will have access to the summer movie event which was so popular earlier in the year.

Uncharted Waters Online Celebrates Second Anniversary

Uncharted Waters Online Celebrates Second Anniversary

 

Uncharted Waters Online

 

A new tide is rolling in today as Uncharted Waters Online, the historical massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) for the PC, celebrates its second anniversary. To commemorate the milestone, publisher CJ Games Global is kicking off a month of in-game and out-of-game activities for new and current players alike. Everyone is invited to don a captain’s hat and join in the celebration by registering to play for free on the official Uncharted Waters Online site.

 

 

Anniversary festivities begin today and continue throughout October, and include:

 

Premium Ticket Blast: All players who are logged into the game on Saturday, Oct. 6 at 4 p.m. PDT / 7 p.m. EDT will receive a Premium Ticket simply for being in the game at this special time. The Premium Ticket rewards the player with one of 15 possible covetous items, such as premium ships, weapons, armor and more. For the full list of possible rewards, please visit: http://uwo.netmarble.com/item/itemDetail.asp?idx=69

 

Pumpkin Carving Contest: No celebration in October would be complete without a community pumpkin carving contest. Players are invited to submit a photo of their best seafaring-themed pumpkin on the Uncharted Waters Online website until Sunday, Oct. 14. Everyone is a winner: all participants will receive 5,000 NC (premium currency) and the most popular entries, as voted on by the community, will receive UWO sweatshirts and Special Packages.

 

Battle Campaign Madness Event: Players who live for massive naval battles can now seize their moment of glory. Starting on Monday, Oct. 15 and continuing through Saturday, Oct. 27, Uncharted Waters Online will feature massive multiplayer player-versus-player naval battles of more than 200 ships, with special rewards for the victors.

 

Weekly Boosts: Until Tuesday, Oct. 23, players will receive double the regular EXP, Skill and Quest Rewards.

 

Massive New Expansion, El Oriente: One of the biggest expansions to Uncharted Waters Online is scheduled to launch on Oct. 16, and will open up several East Asian countries to explore for the first time, including China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea.

 

Uncharted Waters Online

 

“Over the past two years, Uncharted Waters Online has grown into the leading historical MMORPG, and it’s now our pleasure to give back to the community with a series of anniversary celebrations all month long,” said Jina Song, COO, CJ Games Global. “From its roots as a console game in the early 1990’s, Uncharted Waters has a history of satisfying players who crave adventure, riches and conflict on the high seas, and we’re proud to continue that tradition.”

 

 

“It’s an exciting time right now for all players of Uncharted Waters Online given the anniversary celebrations kicking off today,” said Takeda Tomokazu, Director of Production, TECMO KOEI GAMES. “I would like to express my deepest appreciation to all of the players who have helped make Uncharted Waters Online such a success over the past two years, and with the El Oriente expansion on the horizon, there are even greater things ahead.”

Citadel of Sorcery

Citadel of Sorcery is the work of the indie development team at MMOMagic, a group of industry professionals that have become jaded with the limitations of what investment money is pushing in MMORPGs and wants to take gaming back to its routes, dynamic worlds with innovative storytelling and decisions that not only impact yourself, but those around you. So begins the tale of Citadel of Sorcery, made by gamers for gamers.

 

 

Features:

Rich Lore, Diverse Original Races: Story telling is at the heart of Citadel of Sorcery and it all begins with their varied racial options. Choose between the sneaky beast-like Tyven, the awkward trickster Jenemos, the naturally attuned Verduren, the fearless demon hunting Gargoyles, the amphibious Waerian, and the hardy superstitious humans.

 

Player Driven Story, Game Driven World: Players will embark on epic quest lines featuring dozens of hours of gameplay, with impacts that can be felt by other players as proof that their adventure took place. In addition the world evolves dynamically, meaning things can change drastically whether you are online of off.


Unique Combat: Designed from a perspective that too many titles push tab targeted ‘whack-a-mole’ that benefits macro users and button spammers, Citadel of Sorcery instead opts for a system of parrying, blocking, and timing to reward the thinking player that can react to ever changing conditions.

 

Classless System: You are not bound down any set route. Instead you must set out to seek tomes to learn the various abilities in the game. As you level you gain study points that can be spent to unlock the knowledge of these tomes and increase your overall power.

 

Realistic AI: From mounts refusing to cross dangerous terrain to enemy AI that learn from and react to your tactics, expect a whole new level of MMORPG NPCs.

OnRPG Shotgun News 10/2: GW2, Marvel Heroes, DCUO, and Much More!

OnRPG Shotgun News 10/2: GW2, Marvel Heroes, DCUO, and Much More!

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

Guild Wars 2 Joins in the Pink Day Festivities

On October 20th across a few servers of Guild Wars 2 players will be putting on pink armor and having fun in Lion’s Arch, just as it was done over 200 years ago, or last year if you’re living in the real world. The event is held to raise breast cancer awareness and donations for the Canadian Cancer Society. It will also be taking place in Guild Wars at the same time.

 

 

Marvel Heroes Starts Closed Beta Registration

Closed Beta registration is now taking place for Marvel Heroes. Currently you can only sign up via the official website but other options will be made available in the future.

 

 

Guild Wars 2 Announces Part 1 of Halloween Festivities

 

For Halloween this year Guild Wars 2 has something special in mind. And while they haven’t shared all the details yet an art project has been announced. Players are being invited to take part in a diorama competition. Prizes include GW2 branded items, an NVIDIA graphics card and more. The only requirements (so far) are that it brings GW2 and Halloween together. Details on how to enter and other specifics like that are coming at a later date.

 

 

OGame Celebrates 10 Years

The scifi free to play strategy game OGame is celebrating 10 years of being active. To celebrate the occasion 10 weeks of events are going to be held in game. The details of each event will be held back right up until the last minute to keep the suspense. Happy Birthday OGame!

 

 

Tis The Witching Hour in DCUO

 

A new Halloween event called The Witching Hour will be introduced as part of Update 19 which is expected to go live sometime in early October. In the event Klarion the Witch Boy is stealing powers from Heroes and Villains and using them to cause all sorts of mischief. In addition he’s forcing citizens to take part in a masquerade. But it wouldn’t be Halloween without the treats as well. There are new trinkets, a new pet and new Halloween themed styles to enjoy.

 

Knight Age Hosts Halloween Fan Art Contest

To kick start the Halloween festivities in Knight Age they’re holding a Halloween themed fan art contest! Entries are being accepted up until October 25th when ten will be chosen for the players to vote on. The top three winners will receive in game prizes which include cash items. The top winner may even be chosen to be used as the official Knight Age Facebook cover photo.

 

 

Lagoonia Launches Revamp

Lagoonia may look and feel a little different these days having undergone a big story revamp with an enhanced storyline as well as some tweaks to gameplay and performance. For existing players to take part in the new storyline a reset button has been implemented.

 

 

The Repopulation Tackles Housing, Grouping and More

In the end of September update the makers of Repopulation have laid out an impressively huge list of accomplishments. This includes player housing, setting up auto grouping, escort missions and improved pet pathing. The complete list can be found on the official website.

Invasion of Ghost Khan Ends In Khan Wars 5.0

Invasion of Ghost Khan Ends In Khan Wars 5.0

 

Khan Wars

 

The Invasion of the Ghost Khan has come to an end in Khan Wars. With the lands freed from his tyranny the players can now focus on their enemies and the fight over territory and castles. The battle has never been so intense and the stakes have never been so high – rewriting medieval history!

 

 

Players can now construct Castles in their cities. Castles can be built in each city and upgraded until they reach level 10. These massive buildings grant bonuses to several very important aspects of the gameplay:

 

Resources – the more the Castle structure is upgraded, the more resources will mines, lumber mills and farms provide. The extra resources always come in handy when building, training, upgrading or helping your clan mates.

Training speed – training units faster is crucial to your war efforts. Being able to assemble a big army before your opponents do so gives you the upper hand and brings up a number strategic opportunities in front of you.

Prestige – Knights appointed to govern your city will receive a prestige bonus for every mission and every battle they take part of.

Clan points – With the Ghost Khan gone the Castle building will award clan points as a symbol of control over the land. Winning the round with your clan was never as challenging as it will be now! It will require defeating countless players and leaving their nations lie in ruin.

 

 

In the absence of the Ghost Khan people once again turn towards colonizing the land – players can create new cities by ordering the Noblemen to start settle marches to custom coordinates.

Lineage 2 Review: Truly, Truly Free to Play?

Lineage 2 Review: Truly, Truly Free to Play?

By Matt Stoolman (Esrin), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

Allow me to set the scene…

 

 

The game I am about to review hails from a forgotten time when men were men, subscriptions were not an option, MMOs were an arduous lifestyle decision, and “the grind” was not something to be ashamed of but instead used as a kind of devilish and twisted marketing scheme by a few eager developers of a relatively youthful and misunderstood genre in an attempt to separate ever growing numbers of gamers/addicts from their hard earned cash.

 

 

Okay, so things haven’t changed that much, but it cannot be denied that NCSoft’s Lineage 2 is a creature from a bygone era. While the game is not yet old enough to be considered one of the grandparents of the MMO industry (unlike its predecessor) it has at least reached the stage where it can now be considered something of an eerily androgynous uncle. Released way back in 2003 in South Korea and subsequently to the rest of the world in 2004, Lineage 2 has lived a long and fruitful life. Having seen the addition of no less than 10 major content expansions, it has weathered the storm of time remarkably well, maintaining strong player numbers and a fiercely loyal fanbase (largely in the Asian market) as well as surviving the release of its younger and sexier cousin Aion. Only in November of last year did the game finally abandon its old monthly subscription fees, joining many younger games in the ever more popular free to play market with its most recent and largest expansion to date, Goddess of Destruction.

 

 

First though, let me get one thing out of the way before going any further.

 

I really did not enjoy playing Lineage 2. There, I said it.

 

 

It’s a conclusion I have come to after spending the last month or so pouring over all that the game in its latest form has to offer, and it’s an odd realisation when put alongside the fond memories I have of the game in its hay day all those moons ago.

 

 

This isn’t to say that I think the game is bad. I actually think the game remains very strong in many aspects, though it is certainly not without its flaws, some of which I shall elaborate on later.

 

 

Simply put, Lineage 2 fills a niche role, one that I no longer enjoy but one that is no less valid (or in fact popular) than it was back in 2003.

 

 

Now before I get caught up in all that, let me for the moment go over one thing that Lineage 2 has done very, very right with its latest and greatest content release.

 

 

 

With Goddess of Destruction came NCSoft’s “Truly Free to Play” slogan for the game’s F2P business model, and while that may at first sound like marketing hyperbole, many of you may be pleasantly surprised to discover that it does actually seem to live up to its name. In going F2P, NCSoft have opened up every single aspect of the game to non-paying accounts. Every dungeon, every character class and race, every level of progression. When you consider that this is a 9 year old game we’re talking about, with 9 years worth of frequent expansion and a level cap of 99, you can probably start to appreciate just how much content that represents. It seems as if Lineage 2’s shift to F2P has shone out as a beacon of hope to fans of the MMO genre. A beacon that tells us developers can on rare occasions avoid the lure of unnecessary and often self-defeating greed in favour of a well-reasoned (and in many cases very successful) method of F2P gaming that is not a shameless attempt at squeezing the last drops of blood from a dwindling playerbase before allowing it to die.

 

 

Alongside this mass of content was made free to all players, NCSoft created many quality-of-life and aesthetics based items available for purchase via a microtransaction marketplace. These include several items and bundles that can speed up character progression and power, though thankfully do not seem to unbalance PvP in the later levels. The end result is something akin to what players have come to expect from games like League of Legends, providing an entirely optional monetary sink to quicken up progression or decorate your character as you wish. It’s my resounding hope that this decision proves to be a success for NCSoft and Lineage 2 and that it may therefore encourage other developers to head in a similar direction.

 

 

In addition to all the existing content becoming freely available, Goddess of Destruction brings with it many new enhancements and additions to the game. To name but a few, the new “Awakening” system brings in 8 new character classes and more varied skill customization choices into high level gameplay as well as raising the old 85 level cap up by 14. The game’s combat system has also had a bit of a revamp in an effort to bring it more in line with its younger competitors, adding a more dynamic, faster paced feel to its gameplay. For the most part these combat changes seem largely cosmetic though entirely welcome. Several new zones and raids have also been added in the patch, and as you might expect for a game getting on in years, most of this content focuses on the end game from level 85 upward.

 

 

Now that the facts and figures are out of the way, as well as a little bit of well-deserved praise for NCSoft’s F2P model, let me try and expand on my own reactions and experience with the game since picking it back up for the re-review.

 

 

I’m going to break this down the only way I know how; Clint Eastwood style.

 

 

So with no further ado…

 

The Good

 

 

Despite being nearly a decade old, Lineage 2 remains a remarkably pretty game. While this is partly due to the tried and tested Unreal technology powering the base engine (Lineage 2 sports the now outdated Unreal 2 or 2.5 engine), it is also largely due to the very clearly defined and spectacularly executed art direction that the game has maintained throughout its many iterations. In fact it is fair to say that Lineage 2 and its predecessor’s aesthetics – from the heavily asian-influenced (and often scarily androgynous) character and clothing designs, to the high fantasy glitz of its spell effects and epic (uh… frequently floating) landscapes, dungeons and cities – have played a very strong role in designing the look of its genre for many generations to come. The fact is that while the technology beneath it all has clearly aged, Lineage 2 can still stand next to many far younger games today and proudly declare itself to be beautiful. That is a very rare and impressive thing and perhaps the strongest testament to the talent of its artists and designers that I can think of.

 

 

We all know however that looks alone do not make a great game and Lineage 2, despite not pushing my own personal buttons, is certainly a game that keeps people coming back for more even as newer competitors spring up left, right, and centre.

 

 

Part of this may well be due to the fact that as the years have passed, the game’s developers have not sat idly by. At launch, Lineage 2 lacked many of the standard features we would now associate with our daily MMO bread and butter. Many of these have since been added as the game has progressed, keeping it in line with expectations. Some of these most simple of necessities include quest map markers and waypoints pointing the way to the nearest objectives and some much needed tutorials and new, better designed starter areas to ease players into the often very complex game.

 

 

Individually all of the little improvements that NCSoft brought to the game over time may seem trivial, but in the grand scheme of things they have made the game vastly more playable for new players and veterans alike. Gone are the baffling launch-day predicaments of where to go, who to speak to for your quest reward or how to train up your newest skills and abilities. Overall the game has vastly improved in terms of GUI responsiveness and ease of use.

 

 

Which is fortunate, as this leads me on to…

 

 

The Bad

 

 

Despite all of the little improvements to keep the game in line with present day expectations, the game has aged. Lineage 2 plays like an old game, and this does not help its chances when trying to maintain a following in the western market, as many of its core gameplay mechanics have always been those more traditionally associated with Asian MMOs. Quests in the game are simple and lifeless affairs that are solely aimed at progressing the grind for XP through hours of somewhat dated and lifeless number bashing combat. Despite Goddess of Destruction’s revamps to many of the core systems, most encounters – like many games of its type – still come down to nothing more than a mathematical equation. Learn the most optimal combination of skills, deliver them as quickly as possible, as frequently as possible, win, rinse and repeat.

 

This isn’t a problem unique to Lineage 2 and it is by no means an issue solved in many newer games, but it is a personal gripe. Most excitement to be found in the game comes at the highest level ranges, meaning that until reaching such a point the game plays more like a job than a form of entertainment as you desperately strive to reach that goal.

 

 

As a final note, which may not be all that bad depending on your point of view, playing Goddess of Destruction as a fresh and uninitiated player brings to light a probably wise choice of development direction that NCSoft have clearly chosen for the most recent updates to Lineage 2 in consideration of its age and playerbase. It is obvious that Lineage 2 is now geared (sensibly) towards maintaining its current veteran players as well as attempting to entice back some of those who may have fallen by the wayside during its time as a subscription paying game. Character progression, especially in the early levels, has been increased to such a high rate that the first 10 levels may pass you by before you’ve even finished typing “Ding!” in the chat box, leading to a confusing rush of new skills and abilities at a rate that makes it difficult for new players to keep track. In addition, the game does not hold your hand with regards to the lore of the setting or where you fall within it. Generally speaking, it seems safe to say that you either know the world of Lineage 2 by now, or you probably never will.

 

 

Lastly…

 

 

The Ugly

Okay, I’m really nit-picking now, and I know I stated this one as part of “The Good” just moments ago, but no one ever said that the good couldn’t also be ugly. The aforementioned quest tracking,  way points and on-screen helpers that have been added since launch (making the task of questing considerably easier) have led to a situation where I actually had to disable part of an otherwise very useful GUI function purely due to sheer horror at just how intrusively ugly it was.

 

 

I bring you, the arrow.

 

 

There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. My somewhat erratic take on Lineage 2 in all its glory boiled down into a thematically inappropriate play on a spaghetti western film title.

 

 

Conclusion

Lineage 2 is a quintessential Asian MMO and fails to really break out of that mould in any way. If that’s your style then you’re in luck, as you can now enjoy a trip down nostalgia lane, though in my opinion unless you are a die-hard fan you will probably soon find yourself returning to the more modern Aion.

 

 

As well as being a little dated, the game is slightly less suited to the tastes of the western market and the numbers speak for themselves in that regard.

 

 

However, Lineage 2 is a game packed full of such a wealth of content (now completely free to play to your hearts delight!) that in my opinion you would be doing yourself an injustice if you didn’t at least dabble in what it has to offer.

 

While its charms elude me on a personal level, it cannot be denied that Lineage 2 remains one of the most persistently popular MMOs in recent years. I can therefore only assume that so many people cannot be entirely wrong. At least not all at the same time.

 

 

Pros:

–        Beautiful visuals

–        Gargantuan amounts of free content

–        Increased progression rate perfect for returning veterans or for rolling up alts

–        Dedicated and active playerbase

 

Cons:

–        Very little guidance for new players

–        Early level content now passes by too quickly to take in

–        Complex skill system learning curve

–        Many core gameplay mechanics now feel dated and cumbersome

Fly For Fun Gold Review: What Has Changed?

Fly For Fun Gold Review: What has changed?

By Mohammad Abubakr, OnRPG Journalist

 

 

 

Fly For Fun or FlyFF‘s latest Gold update has brought a lot of changes to the game. This update does not include major changes to how the game is played but introduces new tweaks and content. Read on as we delve deeper into the changes brought by this summer’s FlyFF Gold update.

 

 

The most obvious change that any former FlyFF player will notice upon playing FlyFF Gold would be the new user interface. Instead of the old and familiar pink interface, players are presented with a completely new and revamped golden user interface. Almost all of the features in the new interface are identical to the previous interface which leaves this new interface featuring information moved around and re-themed.

 

 

As with all user interfaces, whether or not the changes are appreciated is up to each individual player. Some may love the changes while others may despise them. I personally favour the classic pink interface due to its simplicity and familiarity. Normally I love seeing change in games as it brings something new to players but I would much rather use the old interface over the new golden interface.

 

How do you like the new user interface?

 

The update has also brought many balance changes to existing weapons. Balance changes are always welcome to all games. Moderators over at the official FlyFF forums have compiled a nice image showing all the new stats on weapons as seen here: https://b86fecb1-a-62cb3a1a-s-sites.googlegroups.com/site/tanzastic/home/flyff-v19/Weapon_Changes_v19_All_v2.png

 

 

To further add onto the weapon system in FlyFF Gold, an equipment fusion system has been introduced. There are two methods available to players looking to combine their weapons.

 

 

Firstly, there is the two handed weapon fusion system. For Two 2H-Weapons, the weapon base and weapon slave may be fused to create a fused weapon. There is an approximately 25% chance of success where the fused weapon will be a stronger version of the weapon base with appended awakenings and piercings from the weapon slave. If the fusion is not successful, only the weapon slave will be lost. To use this fusion system, simply visit the Two-Handed Weapon Master NPC in Eastern Flaris.

 

 

Secondly, there is the transmutation system which allows players to change the appearance of an item. No stat changes will be made but the primary item can be made to appear like the sacrificial item. Just like the 2H-Weapon fusion system, the fusions can be reverted.

 

 

The transmutation system is a great addition to the game as I love seeing new systems being added to games that are not present in many other games. Innovation is always welcome and required in order for the MMO market to continue evolving.

 

 

If you care about your character’s appearance then the Exotic Equipment introduced in FlyFF Gold will be of interest to you. Bosses will be dropping these items that are solely to be used for cosmetic purposes as they are equipped into regular equipment slots and not over your equipment into the fashion slot. Additionally, these exotic items only offer 1 DEF.

 

Exotic Items


For the higher level players in FlyFF, an additional premium EXP area has been added into the game which can be accessed the same way as one would access Azria. For players unfamiliar with FlyFF’s cash shop, players must purchase a ticket directly from the cash shop or off another player to be able to access this new area which goes by the name Dark Traseia.

 

 

This new island is the home of enemies ranging from level 129 to 149 with an additional boss being level 150. As with all premium EXP areas, the exp is quite nice from these monsters. While the monsters may not be very strong they do possess the maximum block rating.

 

 

Being a free to play MMORPG, incentive to use the cash shop is needed in order for this game to continue living on. In FlyFF Gold the Eldin’s Jar has been added to the cash shop to help players manage their consumables.

 

 

This jar, with the use of Eldin’s Magical Scissors, allows players to store up to one million points of HP in consumables inside one Eldin’s Jar. Upon use, the jar will fully restore the player’s HP while only using the required amount of stored HP. Be sure to make full use of your purchase as the jar will expire after seven days.

 

 

The feature I was most looking forward to due to past experiences in FlyFF was the new Consignment Shop. This is just like any auction house in other MMOs allowing players to buy and sell their items in a simple and organized fashion.

 

Market littered with player shops


The Consignment Shop features a decent and passable user interface with all the basic features required to have a pleasant shopping experience. From my use it has been buggy and irresponsive at times but I am willing to overlook these issues as they will most likely be fixed in the future and it does work after multiple attempts.

 

 

The main problem with the new Consignment Shop is the lack of items on the market. For whatever reason, GPotato has decided to release the Consignment Shop which aims to balance the economy and provide an easy shopping experience but still allows players to set up player shops.

 

 

I have always hated these player shops as it is very annoying and tedious to run around the market searching each individual shop for any items of interest when a simple search on the consignment shop can do the same job. Thankfully these player shops are now restricted to only a designated area in the Madrigal Marketplace which helps to somewhat organize the clutter.

 

 

Players feel no need to use the Consignment Shop due to its measly limit of three simultaneous auctions per player unless a cash shop permit is bought. Why would you want to spend money to sell items when you can setup a player shop allowing for a maximum of twenty item sales at a time for free?

 

No one uses the consignment shop…


The state of the economy has always been my biggest complaint when it comes to FlyFF. Over the years there has been massive inflation and nothing seems to be done to fix this. Money is only put into the economy but there needs to be a system such as taxing to take some out of the economy. Premium players can easily make billions of Penya in game by taking out their wallet and not spending a lot of cash.

 

 

While the game play has not changed too much with the FlyFF Gold patch, a lot of welcome additions have been added. My only complaint to GPotato would be the decision to still allow player shops to be setup even when the consignment shop has been added into the game. It is really sad seeing only around 400 items being listed in the consignment shop.