By Kei Beneza (dividelife), Onrpg Journalist
Article originally featured in Thirteen1 Gaming Magazine: October Issue.
Why do we play MMOs to begin with? Massively Multiplayer Online games or MMOs are famous due to their Massive (hence the first M) player base. Sometimes it gets boring whenever you play a game in single player, and he same goes in real life. Life itself can be an MMO. It has a large playerbase, you can gain experience, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. Although life is the same as any MMO, it’s quite hard to level up in real life, so here’s a bunch of pointers to help you fix your stats.
1) Never skip conversations
Life tends to have a lot of these, and in order to understand your quest further, you have to read the fine print. When dealing with the enemy, your best bet is to listen to those who came before you. Highbies would know the world a lot better than you so always make sure you get a few pointers before you go forth on your journey.
2) Party up
Sometimes, you might find yourself carrying out a task that you can’t finish on your current level. Grouping up with a bunch of other players can make your job a hell of a lot easier as you can now finish harder tasks on your current level. Yeah, the experience points will be divided as you kill monsters, but do know that it is you who will get the quest exp in the end. If ever you find yourself in a nasty position, always know that the party button is just a click away.
3) Choose your party members
Just cause people accept your party invitation doesn’t mean they’ll help you out. Some people will just leech experience points with minimal effort. Do know that you’ll always have the handy kick option at your disposal. If ever you’re not the party leader, send a whisper message to avoid any sudden mishaps. There are a lot of players in this game, so don’t around recruiting random people as though you’re going to run out of people to recruit.
4) Don’t be afraid to start over
Sometimes, we tend to think that we’re no longer capable of progressing. When you dead end your character, always know that it’s never too late to start over. Of course you’ll have to go through the newbie stage all over again, but if it’s necessary to further compliment your play style (or Lifestyle), then don’t think twice about starting over. Dead ending your character is always a drag. Unless you’re contented with being stuck on level 30, go on and start over. Who knows? You may even be more powerful than ever before.
5) Try out all the classes
You can’t always say that your first class will be your last. There are tons of classes to choose from (both in game and in real life) so make sure that you try them out to avoid going on a linear path. You may even be better as a Warlock than you were as a Warrior. Just because you didn’t do well as a warrior doesn’t mean all your efforts were in vain. Know that you now have an idea on how a warrior class is played and can now counter accordingly when facing one.
6) Always make sure to examine the item shop
Ever had a mob of mosquitoes attack you in your room? You wouldn’t be dealing with this problem if you purchased the bug zapper from the items dealer. Since you can only get a fixed amount of gold, it’d be wise to only purchase necessary items before you embark on your journey. Thanks to the bug zapper, the mosquitoes now refuse to respawn in my room LOL.
7) Always save up for the future and spend wisely
Some items may be more expensive than the rest. You must never be contented with using small potions only, because there will come a time when the amount of health it replenishes will no longer suffice. Always save up and expect yourself to attain more needs as time progresses. Remember, a poorly maintained character is the same as a dead-ended one.
8) GRIND like never before
Some people grind in school, and some grind at work. Know that each task you finish or each monster you kill gives you a decent amount of experience points. If you’re willing to progress faster, then grind like never before. Oh by the way, always make sure to rest accordingly after each grinding session. This game runs on a hardcore difficulty so you won’t be able to respawn if you lose too much HP.
9) Keep track of your achievements
Yes, your achievements serve as your credentials in real life. If ever you were to apply for a guild (or work) your achievements will be their basis on whenever you’re in or out. Always make sure to gather achievements and list them down for everyone to see. Remember, just because you started late doesn’t mean you can’t be as good as those who came before you. It’s a long process but you’ll get there.
10) Enjoy
Your ending will take you back to how you’ve started your journey. It’s the story of your life. You should be happy that you’re playing this free to play MMO (with a very hefty item mall I might add), so always enjoy and do everything you can to make this experience last. You make your own ending, whether as a highbie or lowbie. Know that it’s not about how well you did when finishing it, it’s how much you enjoyed that matters.
The Verdict
And there you go! Geeky, if I may say so myself. You’re basically taken into this Free to play MMORPG where you matter as an individual. This world is a lot more harsh than any MMO out there, with tons of PKers and KSers that’d probably piss you off a lot more than than Gnome who keeps ganking you in game. The in game world is quite diverse so there are many places to discover. The graphics are realistic (duh) so you shouldn’t have any problems with that. This game is probably the best game out there. And by the way, the best part… is that it’s free to play.
The good
-Intense graphics
-Massive Player base
-TONS of classes
-Diverse areas
-Intense storyline
-Tons of armors to choose from
The bad
-Killstealers galore
-PKfest
-Difficulty setting
-Gets dull on certain occasions
-Scammers
Thirteen1 is an independent, online based, professionally made free-to-read games magazine created in East Yorkshire, UK. Each new issue is released on the 13th of every month at 13.00 GMT. Thirteen1 have published 15 issues to date, as well as 2 supplements, covering a wide variety of titles from multiple-platforms.
