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Ragnarok Online 2 shutting down in Southeast Asia
Ragnarok Online 2 isn't exactly taking the world by storm as of late. Following the title's closure in Korea last year, Ragnarok Online 2 is closing its doors in Singapore and Malaysia on October 9th. There is a pretty bright spot to this story, however, as Asiasoft's version of the game will accept account transfers from affected players. "Following the opening of Ragnarok 2's Odin Server to Philippine players last month, we are thrilled to be continuing the global expansion of Warpportal's Ragnarok Online 2 by welcoming all players from Southeast Asia regions!" Asiasoft posted. Southeast Asian players will not be able to access their characters until October 9th, and none of their Kafra Points will make the leap over to the new server.
Jukebox Heroes: Top 40 MMO themes, #40-31
MMO main themes hold the potential to be some of the most powerful and magical pieces of music, partly because we associate them with particular games more than anything else. A great theme will dredge up intense memories or euphoria by the third note, and I see composers putting in their all with many of these themes. A long time ago I did an MMO theme countdown of 20 tracks, but since then I've heard a lot more and have wanted to do the list all over again. So this week in Jukebox Heroes, we're kicking off a countdown of the top 40 MMO themes -- in my opinion, of course. I listened to over 150 themes and spent hours ranking them to create this list. Because these choices are bound to be a little controversial and stir up debate (which is encouraged!), I set down a few rules that I wanted to share here. I limited myself to just one theme from a particular title, even if there were multiple themes in a game. Entries had to be a main theme or the closest equivalent of that; they had to be from MMOs, not from MOBAs; and I had to divorce my weighting of the track itself from the popularity of and my experience with that game. So no points added or subtracted based on the love of the game; I'm counting down the best music, period. Let's see what numbers 40 through 31 have in store for us!
Ragnarok Online 2 closing in Korea next month
Ragnarok Online 2's days are numbered -- if you're living in South Korea, that is. If you're in North Korea, you're probably more concerned about central heating and plumbing than the availability of an MMO. Citing few players, Gravity announced that it will be taking Ragnarok Online 2 offline in Korea on December 23rd. The developer did include a hint of hope in the shutdown notice that the game could return in the future. While this may be cause for concern to those playing Ragnarok Online 2 in other regions, the company said that the service will continue for North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia.
Ragnarok browser game renamed for English market debut
A Ragnarok here, a Ragnarok there -- there are Ragnaroks everywhere! Last July we learned that Ragnarok Online was reinventing itself for browsers as Ragnarok Online: Prequel (which, by the way, is not any relation to Ragnarok 2). At that point, the browser version of the game, developed by Dream², was only available in China. Now, however, the company is bringing Prequel to the west and giving it a shiny new moniker to set it apart from the rest of the franchise. Ragnarok Zero, as the English version will be known, currently has its own website and forums up and running for fans to keep tabs on the game. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
One Shots: Taste the rainbow
I think rainbows are pretty darn cool, especially when they double up and you can freak out appropriately over them. More MMOs need rainbows, I think. Rainbows in raids! Rainbows in space! Rainbows in that dour death zone for ambiance! Reader Marshall and his crew know a good rainbow when they see one, as evidenced by our first One Shot of the day. "Some friends and I decided to try out Ragnarok Online 2," Marshall writes. "We ended up spending more time taking screenshots than playing the actual game that first night. These were some of the best ones." I think my retinas may be on fire due to the intense colors, but I don't mind. Rainbows! Will there be more rainbows in the rest of today's player-submitted screenshots? Sadly no, but we'll persevere nevertheless.
Ragnarok Online: Prequel coming to browsers
The long-running Ragnarok Online will seek to reinvent itself on browsers in the near future. Chinese developer Dream² acquired the license to remake the title into Ragnarok Online: Prequel (or New Ragnarok Online, according to its splash screen). Ragnarok Online: Prequel will be quite familiar to fans of the franchise. It's currently in testing for an unknown release date. The browser version is not to be confused with Ragnarok Online 2, which recently released in Europe. You can check out Ragnarok Online: Prequel's debut trailer after the jump! [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Rise and Shiny: Ragnarok Online 2
I remember playing Ragnarok Online, the first one, quite a while ago and semi-enjoying it. I liked the isometric views and even enjoyed some of the gameplay, but it was a bit of a mess much of the time. I walked away more confused than entertained. At the same time, I met reader after reader after reader who seemed to have grown up on the game. This "grind generation" was made of steely reserve and tougher stuff than I was because the game was notoriously grindy. How did they play it? Even now as I was looking for a few different views on Ragnarok Online 2, I came across a video that was hosted by a player who acknowledged the "boring grind" that left players with literally "nothing to do but level alts," yet he played the game to the max level, several times. If only we could get these guys to put that much energy into world peace, I might be having dinner in the middle of a former warzone right now! I found number two to be a bit like its older version but surprisingly modern and more fun than I thought. But only a bit more fun.
Rise and Shiny: Revisiting EverQuest at level 65
EverQuest is one of those titles that just won't go away. I mean that in the best possible way, of course. After 15 years and 19 (yes, 19!) expansions, it's possible that I could be writing about this game a decade from now. And why not? I just spent a month covering MUDs, some of them 20 years old, so why couldn't a game with such a rich history and loyal playerbase as EverQuest's stick around, well, forever? I started playing around 2000 or 2001. I didn't catch on to it as much as my wife and soon was back in Ultima Online and later titles like City of Heroes. I have always kept up with EverQuest while still feeling a bit left behind because I didn't stay with it from the beginning. I am so jealous of a player who has actively played any game for 15 years. The character he or she has built has a wonderful story to tell! Well, I decided this week was time to finally try to get back into EverQuest. What I found wasn't really surprising because I had kept up with the game's developments and played here and there, but the community and the gameplay definitely caught me off guard.
Ragnarok Online 2 releases in Europe
Ragnarok Online 2: Legend of the Second has been given the keys to Europe, as Gravity Europe announced that the free-to-play title is now available to play across the continent. The game comes with a new English translation, and promises to be "easier to dive into" than the original Ragnarok Online. Gravity Managing Director Yves Bléhaut said of the launch, "For us, Ragnarok Online 2 represents a major step in the life of a brand with as high a profile as Ragnarok. First and foremost, hosting so many players on two continents simultaneously represents a technical challenge for both us and our American partner, and it's also a major editorial step as two versions of Ragnarok will coexist: RO1 for purists, and one more accessible to the general public, RO2." Ragnarok Online 2 has been rolling out worldwide over the past few months. Gravity Europe is offering two different goodie packs through "specialized media" to promote the launch. [Source: Gravity Europe press release]
Ragnarok Online 2 is now available at a Steam store near you
Ragnarok Online 2 hit Steam yesterday, to the undoubted delight of Midgardians everywhere. The game brings back some of the mainstays of the original: Familiar classes, pets, cards, and other systems have all been included in the sequel. A lot of what makes Midgard home to players is available; it just happens to be returning in an updated and immersive 3-D world. Ragnarok Online 2 is a free-to-play title and will be supported by item shop transactions. You can catch videos of the game on its Steam page. [Thanks to groovy webizen Eric for the tip!]
Last week in MMO news: The best of Massively
Sometimes, you'd like to know that there are other MMOs out there, right? It's not all WoW, all the time! Our sister site Massively can provide you with everything you need to know about all of the other MMOs around -- past, present and future. Massively's 2013 MMO predictions Massively's annual MMO prediction usher in the new year. What will the gaming industry see from the genre in 2013? Will more games follow the F2P trend? Will The Elder Scrolls Online be a hit or a miss? Will new MMO releases stop trying to be World of Warcraft? Blizzard scraps Diablo III PvP mode, starts over Blizzard has decided that the long-in-production Team Deathmatch mode for PvP in Diablo III isn't living up to its standards and has scrapped the entire system. Lead Designer Jay Wilson wrote a dev diary in which he explained the concept of PvP in Diablo III and why Team Deathmatch wasn't working. He said that arena combat put too much of a focus on class balance that the team doesn't want. Ragnarok Online 2 open beta begins Ragnarok Online was the first MMO many of us long-time gamers every played. Earlier this week, the sequel opened its beta doors to English players. The game is a reworking of the first title, and brings back the job system, professions, the card system, and pets. There's also a way to set up your character to act as a player vendor while you're offline. Massively's Best of 2012 Awards When game obituaries and studio layoffs start to pile up in the news, Massively can seem like a herald of doom, but the reality is that the MMO industry is stronger and richer than ever. To end 2012, Massively's staff honors the best of the best for the year. The Elder Scrolls Online gets some myths dispelled Are you looking forward to seeing what happens when the developers at Bethesda finish working on The Elder Scrolls Online? Are you unsure how the game's Skyrim-based combat will work when accounting for lag in your aim? Do you have a fear of having everyone grouped on a single server? If you answered yes to any of those questions, it's probably a good idea for you to take a gander at this article. Massively's week in review Don't let WoW Insider do all of the talking when it comes to Massively's best content of the week. The Massively staff themselves have picked out what they think is the best content their site has to offer in their own weekly roundup.
Ragnarok Online 2 open beta denied to most of the world
Do you have your heart set on trying out the betalicious Ragnarok Online 2? Well, unless you are reading this from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, or Vietnam, you're fresh out of luck. While Ragnarok Online 2's open beta begins tomorrow, Asiasoft posted the news that it will be unavailable outside of those four countries "due to [its] license agreement with the game's developer, Gravity Co., Ltd." The open beta was previously scheduled to begin on December 27th of last year but apparently ran into unspecified problems. [Thanks to Anthony and Ville for the tip!]
Ragnarok Online 2 open beta begins
Ragnarok Online 2 crosses the open beta threshold for its English version today, as any and all players are welcome to give this MMO sequel a spin. The game is a reworking of the first title, and brings back the job system, professions, the card system, and pets. There's also a way to set up your character to act as a player vendor while you're offline. The open beta may be undergoing hiccups right now, as the official website is down and Wikipedia is reporting "connection problems." We'll be keeping an eye on its progress for those of you interested in this title!
Ragnarok Online 2 closed beta ended today, switches to open December 27th
For the past six days, Ragnarok Online 2's closed beta testers have been participating in what online game operator Asiasoft Online called a "wildly successful" CBT run. As of today, the closed beta is kaput; the studio has moved on to fixing the technical issues and squashing the in-game bugs folks encountered during that test in preparation for the upcoming open beta period. Starting on December 27th, players will be able to access the open beta, and shortly thereafter, the cash shop will be introduced. In a press release issued today, Sherman Tan, Chairman of Aisiasoft Online, expressed gratitude for the response and thanked all of the participating testers who contributed to improving the game. He stated, "The Ragnarok Online 2 [beta] launch has been one of our biggest successes and we are very humbled and encouraged by the overwhelming response from players who filled our game servers during the CBT period." To get in the open beta, visit the official site to download the free client. [Source: Asiasoft Online press release]
Ragnarok Online 2 schedules closed beta events
Starting today, Gravity's Ragnarok Online 2 is throwing several closed beta events as the studio tests this fantasy-themed sequel. The events take place from December 7th through the 12th, opening up the game during a good chunk of each day. To encourage players to test the title, Gravity has plenty of activities and rewards in store for loyal participants. Testers can reserve their open beta names, win costumes and titles, snag real-life prizes, and meet GMs in-game. If you're in the closed beta, definitely sound off below and let us know what you think about Ragnarok Online 2! [Thanks to Ivan for the tip!]
Ragnarok Online II scrapped, new Ragnarok Online II takes its place
It's always a difficult decision to take a game that you've put a ton of work into already and scrap it. Sometimes, no matter what developers dream up, it just turns out to be nowhere nearly as fun as originally intended. While we don't know the specifics on what precisely made Gravity Interactive change directions on Ragnarok Online II, news has come down the wire that they have nonetheless decided to heavily alter the direction they were headed in and instead deliver a true sequel to Ragnarok Online. The new version of Ragnarok Online II, now subtitled "Legend of the Second" will offer players familiar systems from the first game, only this time in an updated, immersive 3D world. Gone are the chibi graphics of the initial design in favor of more mature-looking characters. Gone too is the character-based weapon leveling system, the new leveling system, and unfamiliar races. Back in the mix are all the things that players enjoyed about the original Ragnarok Online: pets, cards, familiar classes, and more. This new version will launch into closed beta in Asia on August 31, 2010, with no specific date for the Western crossover at this time. Still, it warms our hearts when a gaming company is willing to make the hard choice and change direction -- making a game enjoyable, rather than sticking to the original plan and sacrificing fun. [Via iRo Wiki forums] [Thanks Coldbrand!]
Ragnarok Online II dated for 2010... finally
Gravity Interactive's first major title in the Western market, Ragnarok Online, is well known for its sugary-sweetness and unforgiving experience curve. While the title proved to be a hit for the developer in the Western and Eastern markets, it's newest brother, Ragnarok Online II, doesn't share the same story. RO II was released in 2007 to a mass-panning by the Asian market, and the game has undergone some significant revisions in that time, including a change of the engine from Unreal 2.5 to Gamebryo and an update to all of the in-game systems. However, with those systems in place, Gravity has announced that the title will be seeing a 2010 release in the Western market. Meanwhile, the Ragnarok franchise will be expanded with a social networking game as well, marking Gravity's new focus on the growing social network division of games.
