This game has many great features, including some that you may not be used to seeing in an online game, and others that you NEVER see in an online game that make it stand out in my mind..
MWORobot – This feature is totally unprecedented in any MMO. What it is is a built-in and fully-legal botting system which levels the playing field between the hardcore online gamers and those who play the games in their free time. It allows those casual gamers, if they so choose, to leave the bot running overnight or while away so that they can continue to make money for and gather levels even when the user is away. Many games have problems with people using illegal bots, but this game actually allows them, and beyond that, makes it so that anyone who tries to make one to cheat would be wasting their time. I’m not going to go into detail here about how to setup this system, but I will say that, used properly, it can be a very powerful weapon.
Questing – The game has many quests that you can embark on, including storylines and instances that you can explore. Not every quest in the game is kill this or kill that, there are some that require you to gather certain items or deliver items or messages from one place to another, and even some that must be turned in at a certain time..
The variety really takes the monotony out of questing. I won’t even mention the rewards for the quests..
Leveling – This one I have mixed feelings on. The ease of leveling really depends on what class you decide on when you first create your character. From what I’ve been told by other players, archers have trouble leveling during the level 20 range, and from personal experience, summoners have trouble leveling on their own at around level 38-40 and beyond for a while. But all this being said, it is again important to point out the MWO Robot system and its ability to do all the work for you if you so desire.. So all in all, there’s not a lot to complain about here.
Drop Rates – The drop rates in lower areas of the game are very common and often times drop rates on potions far exceed the number of health potions and mana potions you require to continue fighting, saving you tons of money and getting you some great gear at the same time. As your levels progress though you will move into higher and higher level areas, and in some of them the drop rates are so low that you’ll be making very little to no money, and sometimes even lose some money buying potions to continue to fight. For the most part though, and because the NPCs in the game buy higher level items for more gold than lower ones, it all works out in the end. (If you play this game, stay out of the Royal Prison. There are virtually no drops in there.)
Living Skills – These skills add a whole new perspective to the game. While you may have the MWO Robot to help you in battle, you must work on these skills in person. You must gather the supplies using a gathering tool corresponding to the material you are collecting, and you must repair the gathering tool from time to time as it does wear out from use while gathering. To actually create items, you must go to the production principal in a specific place (Sun City or Sky City) which is something of a neusance since you cannot see the materials needed for a specific item without being there, but over time you learn what materials are needed and it becomes less of a problem.
Mob Types – There are three categories for mobs within MWO; Normal mobs, the most common of all mobs can be found in almost all areas of the game. Elite Mobs, these mobs are a lot tougher than their normal mob counterparts, but generally match the looks of the normal mob of the same time in every respect except for the term (Elite) after their name and in most cases, a glowing aura of lights circling around them as they stand there, these can be found in most areas and spawn in various locations within the areas. Boss Mobs, the most difficult mobs out there, meant to be fought off in a team, these mobs are extremely dangerous, but their drops are often times well worth the risk and effort, these mobs can be found in specific places in the game and will always spawn in the same place in an area a set amount of time after it dies.
PvP – PvPing is a large part of this game at higher levels. I personally am not a huge PKer, but in levels beyond around level 35-40 you are forced out into areas that are known as ‘Neutral Areas’ to train for the next levels at any decent speed. In these areas, both countries (like factions) within the game train in the same area. The built in PvP system with the robots will attack other players automatically if they are set to do so. Normally it would be easy enough to turn off the PvP part of the robot and not worry about it, but even if your PvP is set to ‘off’ you can still be PvPed by someone in the opposite faction that has it on. On a side note, and with something that I’ve not seen in the game except for intentionally doing it to see what happens, it is possible for someone to PK someone of the same faction. When they do this they will receive evil points, and when their evil points are high enough, they will be sent to ‘prison’ until, over time, their evil points disipate enough for them to get out. When you PK another player of the opposite country you earn honor points. The player with the highest honor in a given faction will have a statue of them standing proud in their royal city.
Death – When you die to a monster, there is a small chance that you will drop an item on the ground as you die. When you revive in a city, you will only have a short time before it disappears to grab up anything you dropped to get it back, and that’s only if no one else beats you to it.. When PKed the chances are higher that you will drop items, and if you have evil points, the odds are almost 100% that you will drop something or another when you die, and it’s even possible when you have evil points to drop items that you are wearing when you die. Overall, I like this system as it prevents lower level players from trying to play in levels that are beyond them because they are too afraid to lose their items.
Guilds – The guild system in the game is prett cool, but also a little confusing. There are a lot of buildings in the guild, but a lot of them I still have not figured out the purpose of. There is a built in guild warehouse, but it will only allow for three pages of items at its highest level, and that’s not to mention how long it takes to get that high. As a guild leader myself currently, I have started an external guild warehouse system on the guild website instead of using the built in one and it works great so far.. And as for guild titles, there aren’t enough to go around. I’ve got several suggestions regarding guilds, and hopefully this system will be improved in the future..
