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Lost Pages of Taborea: Grouping basics
This week, I've been thinking a lot about Runes of Magic's ability to cater to players with different MMO backgrounds. Many players may never have played a subscription game from the West, while others may never have experienced the different mechanics found in Eastern F2P MMOs. What you get is a banquet of food and all the guests aren't sure of the proper etiquette or rules or when it's time to eat. If we stick with a food analogy, the group feature would be a main dish. Lots of F2P MMOs have been imported from the East, and they don't handle grouping in quite the same way as Western subscription-based games. In fact, the ideas of raiding, pick-up-groups, and instances that can be found in almost any Western MMO, don't exist in most F2P games. This article takes a look at some specifics of grouping in RoM, including the recruitment board, experience debt, looking for a group, and etiquette.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Call to arms!
It's only been a few months since I started writing the Runes of Magic column, but it seems much longer than that. I love writing these guides, tips, and opinion pieces for fans of this awesome MMO, but I felt something was missing. Even after all the terrific comments and discussions from players, there seems to be many people who haven't tried RoM yet. Seeing comments -- almost weekly -- about people saying they are going to try RoM is really cool. I am a huge fan of the game, and it's my intention to bring the fun and excitement of it to you, through my articles. I'm not hoping that I stop hearing about new players, because those comments are a small sign I've succeeded in my writings, but I do want to take the opportunity to present a "call to arms". RoM is an amazing one-of-a-kind MMO that has captured my imagination and adventure for fun. It can be all too easy to lump this game into an already complicated world of free-to-play MMOs, and dismiss it as "more of the same". It really isn't more of the same. Let's take a look at how this MMO is different, fun, steadily growing, and branching out into the MMO community. This article should catch everyone up on the current status of the game, and how it has faired in the spotlight.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Gotta catch 'em all
What an incredible expansion Chapter III: The Elder Kingdoms is turning out to be! In addition to the awesomeness of the new two-seated mounts and the new instance, Runes of Magic also received surprisingly large new gameplay features. Yes, I'm talking about the new pet system that seemed to be overshadowed during the advertising of The Warnorken Castle, but is no less exciting than Warnorken Arena, for which the patch was named. The pet system is so large in scope that it renewed the initial wonder and excitement I had when I first logged in to RoM and saw all the uniquely deep elements it began with. Finding, naming, and caring for pets is an entire game unto itself that bleeds into -- and feeds -- other aspects of RoM as well. It's Pokemon meets Digimon meets MMO, and it's delivered to you by the Easter Bunny. Hop past the jump to reveal all the inner workings of this awesome new system.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Building a rogue/priest
One thing I've been slacking on is looking deeper into all the class combinations that Runes of Magic offers. I've tried rolling other characters before, but I've barely dinged 20/20 on any of them. They have been left collecting dust for too long. So, I've been rummaging through all the guides, asking questions in-game, visiting the forums, and playing alts to write on a specific class combo. As I'm always attracted to the weird and unusual, I had to start with a lesser-used pairing. I think the rogue/priest combination is one of the most intriguing classes in RoM. At first glance, it's a super-squishy pairing that runs out of energy fast. Looking a little deeper will show it to be a deadly mix of DPS, healing, and group support that allows a lot of freedom to how you prefer to play. It's a fun, funky combo with a lot of versatility for soloing through the game and partying in high-level instances.
Lost Pages of Taborea: PvP culture
Even though I'm not a very competitive player, I sometimes like having the additional options found in PvP servers. In fact, my main character has been on one since Runes of Magic's open beta, and I've come to really appreciate the fun that can be had on it. Simply being a spectator of all the random and exciting fights has been enough to outweigh the annoyance of being a target for more than a few gankings. RoM's fully open PvP system makes for an interesting cultural perspective in which the players create the equilibrium of peace and conflict. It may be surprising -- or not -- given the somewhat harsh rules, but life on a PvP server is a fairly peaceful experience. This week I take a look at the past and present of RoM's PvP system. What are some of the system's implementations? How have players adjusted to self-govern? Why isn't there rampant chaos? It's an interesting learning experience if you're new to RoM or you've never played on a PvP server, but it's also a great retrospective for you veterans to get involved with.
Lost Pages of Taborea: You can play for free
The life of a free-to-play game columnist sometimes feels like driving a super-charger across a post-apocalyptic planet's surface: pock-marked with jagged smoking craters, littered with crumbling cities and dotted with shanty towns full of biker gangs. No matter how hard I try to avoid anything dangerous on my way to a coveted twinkie factory, it's only a matter of time before I run into some. I usually try to avoid anything that I think will immediately ignite a box of old, wet dynamite when talking about Runes of Magic, but I think I'm going to go out on a limb this time by saying you most certainly can play RoM for free. I had spent two years browsing many other MMOs' cash shops before I saw RoM's, and back then a lot of what they sold were time-restricted items. You could buy any assortment of outfits, mounts, or even some attribute boosters, but you lost most items after a short amount of time. I know a lot of F2Ps operate differently now and have started experimenting with many ways of selling items, beyond any perceived notion that the game was built with simple roadblocks. Still, I think those games feel very separated from their cash shops and that's why RoM's shop stands out to me.
Lost Pages of Taborea: It's all about the lore
I thought long and hard about how to approach a story-based post for Runes of Magic. In the end, I felt it was best not to write on the lore, but about the lore. To sit down and lay out what happens for you felt like cheating you of actual game play. I didn't want to write what I thought would essentially be a long list of spoilers, but rather try and paint a picture of Taborea. Something that could hopefully act as a book review -- in a way -- to let you know the flavor of the world without spelling it all out. I applaud Runewaker for the work they've done to include a rich amount of story into RoM. They're a Taiwanese developer making an MMORPG for a largely Western audience. Then, the German publisher Frogster has to deal with localizing everything into English. Those are no easy hurdles to jump and still end up with a story as good as the one Runewaker and Frogster give us. Before translating even begins, they have to deal with imagining a Western tale. RoM has become very popular and Runewaker is no doubt steadily growing their company, but they are still fairly small in relation to some larger Western developers and have to work that much harder to get the quality job done.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Quick, cheap high-level armor upgrades
The armor enhancement feature in Runes of Magic is undoubtedly insane. Between being able to add rune slots, raise tier levels, burn stats, raise durability and boost power rating, upgrading becomes a game of its own. I've noticed it adds an incredible level of complexity that can be confusing when I decided to upgrade my character. Could I just buy a ton of Purified Fusion Stones and up the tier of what I currently have, is it better to burn six green stats, or is it necessary to do everything? I've been tackling these issues, as I find myself wanting to speed up the rate at which I can solo -- post level 50. I sifted through a lot of the same game chatter, when I asked my question about which direction I could go to improve my attributes. Many answers pointed me to spending an exorbitant amount of real cash on Purified Fusion Stones and combining them with yellow stats -- if necessary -- until I was good enough to start making repeat runs through Cyclops Stronghold. That seemed to be a straightforward route, if money wasn't an issue. If I had enough money, I could just as easily buy pre-upgraded equipment from players selling it on world chat, or bought any combination of Mana Stones from the auction house. Then I'd have all the components I'd need to make very well-geared equipment customized with the exact stats I wanted. Unfortunately, the dollar I planted in the back yard failed to grow, and I'm stuck with limited funds. The other issue was that I just wanted to be good enough to smooth out the high level experience curve. I wasn't looking to solo instance bosses my level. I was looking for the middle of the road with an equal time investment.
Lost Pages of Taborea: The cash shop
I'm really looking forward to the coming weeks in Runes of Magic. I'm shopping around for a new guild to partake of siege wars and other guild goodness. I'm also planning to throw some funts or maybe even a macaroni toward the Item Mall. I've spent money on RoM before, but most of it went toward decorating my house, customizing the look of my equipment, or extra storage chests. This time around, it's all about beefing up my attributes and jumping into more content. I need to alleviate that trudging-through-mud feeling I'm getting from the leveling curve while prepping for some dungeon action. It will be win-win for everyone. I'll be having more fun by opening up new aspects of gameplay and you'll get to read all about it. First thing I need to do though is speed up some armor-enhancing to boost my ability to kick some butt. Since I'll be doing all of this shopping, I thought I'd cover my opinions on how Frogster handles the Item Mall. Click past the break -- free of charge -- to see my opinions on pricing, what types of items you can get and how it will affect your gaming.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Costume Killer
If you play MMOs long enough, you may find yourself running across glitches or mechanics with interesting side effects. Sometimes these side effects can be beneficial to your gameplay because they circumvent difficult parts of a game. Maybe jumping at just the right spot lets you walk on air and cross a cavern, or maybe certain spells and items give beneficial effects which allow you to down the Lich King. These types of loopholes have always interested me from a psychological perspective. They present a moral gray area for players to make a decision. On one hand, nothing is being used that isn't already in the game. There are no outside programs or hacking of any kind, but the mechanics of these unintentional easter eggs seem to tiptoe around what are supposed to be challenges. Runes of Magic has its own gray area that affects the PK system on PvP servers. I'll give you the gist of it, what it results in, and my opinion on whether players should be using it or not.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Six things you should know about Chapter 3
Can you smell it? It's the fresh, clean scent of new content and it can be very addictive. It can cause corner gas stations everywhere to run out of energy drinks and governments to enact laws as players around the world drop everything and make a mad dash for their PCs. The real-life dash is quickly followed by an in-game running of the bulls to explore new features and gain new levels with the ferocity of a starving Dragonfang Wolf. The whole incident usually ends with players waking up, looking out the window to see whether it's night or day, checking to see which day of the week it is and smelling anything but fresh and clean. Rejoice, because the time has come for Runes of Magic. The main release of Chapter 3 is out giving players even more to do and giving me more to write about. I've gotten my digital hands dirty to come up with a list of interesting points you should know about this latest chapter. While you can look over a list of some of the main features on RoM's website, I wanted to make my own slightly different lists. I think you'll agree that there's plenty to love about this new release.
Lost Pages of Taborea: That nasty level curve
The sands of time have poured like Red Bull at an all-night LAN party and the week was gone before I knew it. However, Father Time is reversing things on me this week because I'm looking at 24 hours without playing Runes of Magic this week. Even though this is a painful prospect, I can take some comfort in knowing that Chapter 3 will be waiting on the other side. I'm itching to get back in and continue my climb to the new level 60 cap. A month ago, I thought I was going to be prepared for it, but I had hit a leveling curve. It turns out that leveling slows way down when making the move from Weeping Coast to level 53 and up Savage Lands. Let's laugh in Father Time's face as we whittle away a few minutes of the day by looking at how this level curve affects RoM.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Roleplaying horizontally
I'm definitely not what you would term a hardcore player. I've been playing for a whole year and have just reached level 54/45 on my main. My gear is OK -- not great -- and that's only because an old guild mate loaned the pieces to me months before he quit playing. I haven't been able to run through any dungeon since Mystic Altar and I don't even try to pick fights with other players my level. So, how can I sit here and tell you that I love Runes of Magic enough to forfeit the majority of my young adult life to it? Two words: role and horizontal. Roleplaying is something that is understandably not for everyone, but I'm not talking about a strict actor or actress role. I'm talking about just crossing the line between viewing an MMO as a video game that owes you everything and accepting a little responsibility to use some imagination to increase how much fun you have. Horizontal gameplay is a term that's been thrown around a lot lately, referring to ever expanding content that doesn't rely entirely on leveling. Jump past the break to see why this is such a sweet combination in RoM.
Lost Pages of Taborea: A look into Chapter Three
It's been a fun week of questing and exploration for me in Runes of Magic. I've been digging deeper into the heart of the Savage Lands and learning more lore while discovering new visual treasures. When I first entered the level 53 and up zone, I thought it was some kind of tropical dinosaur utopia. Most of the areas I ventured into have that visual style, but there's also a mix of Elven villages, mountains guarded by apemen and tiki style huts to give the zone unique variety. Of course, I gave all that a break when the first part of Chapter III: The Elder Kingdoms came out. I was anxious to see the new content with its new systems and pretty graphics. After impatiently waiting for my client to update, I was able to journey to the new lands and see some pretty cool stuff. Now, I think it's about time I gave some of my impressions before all of Chapter 3 is released and I'm too busy playing to write about it.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Banhammer time
For a while now, Frogster has been fiddling with how a player can buy diamonds to later trade and sell in the auction house. Ever so slowly, they had to implement more and more restrictions because of credit fraud and gold sellers. Those restrictions came in the form of what you could no longer use to buy tradable diamonds, until there was almost no other way except to purchase game cards from select retailers. Now it seems the ongoing problem has come to a head with the announcement that Runes of Magic has temporarily turned off the trading of diamonds for gold completely. While it certainly doesn't paint RoM in a good light and may look like it has marred their great track record, gold selling issues are nothing exclusive to the game. Bots and gold spam are something that many MMOs eventually deal with and it's a positive sign that the developers are working on it. Maybe they're taking a queue from Aion's RMT videos or maybe they had it planned for a long time, but RoM has recently gone after the player-side of the problem by laying down the banhammer.
Lost Pages of Taborea: How is crafting holding up?
Runes of Magic's craft system currently lacks a huge fan base. I thinks it's a great system that's very flexible, but the current work vs. rewards as well as limited items doesn't make it terribly appealing. Crafting takes a lot of gathering to yield the most basic of items, which usually don't sell for much -- or at all -- on the auction house. This has raised the incentives for players to seek out better rewards through raiding or bartering highly upgraded drops. Even the crafted items aren't very desirable to upgrade, especially when compared to world and dungeon drops. That's not to say it's worthless. Through the most recent craft improvements, players can take the time to craft quality outfits to aid them on their journey to level cap -- before they start raiding for the better drops. I myself love to gather, raise my profession level, and make some decent gold by selling resources in the auction house. I don't see the system ever needing rebuilt to grow or expand, but just added to. If we take a look at the way it is now, and how it's built to allow for a lot of possibilities, I think you'll agree.
Lost Pages of Taborea: A year of Runes of Magic
You may be hard pressed to find anyone saying Runes of Magic had a rough year. The Western-style MMORPG with its free-to-play business model garnered a lot of attention from all over the web while it was just in beta. Frogster had a smooth launch that saw a rapid increase in RoM's player base. Servers were popping up all over the world at breakneck speed. And just when some might think that was going to be it, a steady stream of updates grew the game over the year into a more content-rich experience than ever. Grab your Extra Ginger Beer, or whatever your fuel of choice is, and follow along after the break to see how RoM has progressed into the great game it is now.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Community guide to Runes of Magic
Welcome to the new Runes of Magic column here at Massively. The Varanas Council has mandated that I bring you word from Taborea, every Monday. Upon failure to do so, I am ordered to take part in endless repeatable quests in the Ystra Highlands. This would be fine, if it were not for me being a charter member of the Society for the Preservation of the Ystra Ferret. You can see how I can't let that happen. So you, dear readers, reap the benefits of me staying timely and bringing you gobs of interesting and useful information, and saving a few cute fuzzy ferrets at the same time. With that, Let's dive right into our first post with a selection of sites and resources to get the would-be Taborean traveler started leveling and exploring.
Runes of Magic touts 3 million player mark
Free-to-play titan Runes of Magic celebrated its one-year anniversary with a proclamation that upwards of three million users have registered to explore the fantasy world of Taborea. The Runewaker-developed title currently features 23 servers and over six million player characters spread among three million accounts. Frogster, responsible for publishing the game in North America and Europe, adds that players have killed 7.5 million boss mobs over the title's first year, but have only managed to down the powerful Demon Lord story boss a paltry 24 times. Frogster has also put together a compilation video highlighting the first year of gameplay enhancements and additions, as well as a comprehensive listing of anniversary activities.
