Obviously Frogster Interactive had a good starting of its new free-to-play MMORPG Runes of Magic. They announced that over 100,000 charactors were created in December 15th, the first day of its open beta test. Can't wait to see how this game perform? MMOsite Write Club's member Andaleon brought us a Runes of Magic review. Enjoy it!
Strap thine armor and sharpen thy sword! Embark on a journey of discovery and peril in this recently opened MMORPG, Runes of Magic. The medieval lands of Taborea await thee!
Epochs of Lore
Runes of Magic has an in-depth lore that takes you back to the time of Taborea's creation. It all started when Ayvenas created a book in the shape of the world and recorded the origin of life. This was known to be Taborea. Taborea and the inhabitants underwent many different changes, good and bad, as millennia passed by. Each chapter of the book was called an "Age," and further subdivided into Epochs. The inhabitants fell and rose time and again because of their advancements, failures and sins. This is until we reach Taborea's epoch of discovery, the game's setting and timeline. This is an era filled with uncharted lands, monsters, and numerous discoveries waiting to be revealed. And that's where your journey begins.
Magically Surprising
Runes of Magic has top-notch visuals. Maps are highly detailed, from the wee little grasslands to enormous stone and marble cities. Day and night effects are amazingly portrayed, having beautiful skies from dusk 'til dawn. Every area is eye candy. The sparkle of crystals and water, the lush greens of Taborea's flora, and every single area in the game is worth exploring and discovering. Taborea's audio nuances give justice to every environment you explore. Calm and fierce tones blend together in harmony with the world you are in. There are times when the music is inappropriate for battle, however, especially when traversing the green, peaceful lands (usually having the calmer tones). You might also experience deafening silence in-game, since some or most of the BGMs don't loop automatically after playing.
You may encounter NPCs and monsters of the same models along the way. Repaints, resized and renamed monsters from other maps may be derived from the monsters of the lower-level maps. There are elite and boss monsters having unique appearances, thankfully. And other quest-giving NPCs have their own model, distinguishing them from the other town locals.
Map areas are huge and transition from one area to the next is definitely seamless. There's a lot to explore in the Runes of Magic world. The monsters are also evenly spread out through each area. There are numerous instanced dungeons to explore as well. However, the game usually forces you to party with others whenever entering a dungeon. There's often little to no chance going solo in a dungeon at all, especially when no one would really want to group with you for a quest or for the heck of it.
Character customization is limited, with only around 20 face types and hairstyles to choose from. Body colors can be changed, like hair and skin. Face archetypes include an androgynous male, which is somehow disturbing or enticing (depending on your tastes), and feels out of place in a medieval world. Your looks can be complemented by fashion styles of the armor or clothing that you wear around.
Runes of...Warcraft?!
Three words sum up most of the game's features and systems: World of Warcraft. The interface, windows (character, inventory, bank, trade, quest), and the tradeskills have strong influences from World of Warcraft. Most of the common interfaces and systems shall be skipped for the purposes of shedding light into the game's more important aspects.
Tradeskills, though reminiscent of World of Warcraft, do not severely limit the character's capacity to learn. If World of Warcraft allows for only two main professions to learn (and access to all secondary ones), Runes of Magic enables you to learn all of themĄ but enough comparing! Runes of Magic partly gives justice to the motto "Jack of all trades, master of none." Your character can learn every single tradeskill in the game, but you can only increase one tradeskill until master level. Other skills can be developed until one or two tiers below master level. Specific skills, such as forging a certain weapon or armor, can be bought and learned in the specific tradeskill NPC masters. This limitation in tradeskill development allows great leeway for players to think about what skill they should master in due time.
More details on next page.
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