With Trion being the Western publisher for this it's now looking like we'll be seeing this a lot sooner than others anticipated.
Trion aims to launch the game later this year in North America, Europe, Turkey, Australia, and New Zealand.
So figured it was time for a catch-all and start dishing on what we know about the game. Any inaccurate info i'll change as i find out about it. Most of this will come from the updated English website (there's a TON of information out on the web for the Korean version but some just doesnt line up with what the EN site shows):
Development info:
The Lead Developer on this project is Jake Song. He's the gent who created Lineage. This is being created using the Crytek 3 engine. It's an open world sandbox game which features a half-open PvP system.
It's been in development for 6 years in Korea and in Closed Beta for 2 years. Open Beta just started recently and the retail launch. All in Korea. No info on NA beta yet.
--Game info
Races:
Nuian (Western styled humans)
- Resurrection buff is more effective
- Can build houses and castle related buildings faster
Elves
- Underwater breathing time is increased by 20 seconds
- Your swimming speed is increased by 5%
Hariharan (Eastern styled humans)
- Cool down on your recall ability is reduced by 30%
- Tree-felling and herb-collecting gathering time is reduced by 10%
Ferre (cat like humanoid)
- Damage from falling is reduced by 20%
- Climb trees and ladders 30% faster
There are 4 additional races revealed to be released later:
Fairy
Warborn
Returned
Dwarf
Classes:
From what i've seen coming out of the betas is that you can pick 3 schools out of a list of 10 and this determines your 'Class'. Leveling is quest based. Max level is 50.
When creating a character, the player can choose one from the four basic skills trees (Wild, Magic, Devotion, Combat).
After reaching level 5, the player is able to choose the 2nd skill tree, and at level 10 to choose the 3rd skill tree.
Here's an English version of a skill calculator: http://archeagedatabase.net/us/calc/
Ships:
You're able to build and use ships and have naval combat. (you can also become a pirate!)
Housing:
Player Housing is available, but supposedly not open to everyone due to limited space. There is a family system setup though and family members can share the same house. Families aren't the same as guilds(expeditions). Expeditions can build castles, but have to be prepared to defend them because others can attack it and bring it down.
Court System:
The reason they call their pvp rule-set a 'half-open' system is that when a player murders another their is a pool of blood left behind which can then be collected by witnesses. The same goes for stealing (yes there's stealing). When done you leave behind foot-prints that can be picked up. The blood and footprints can then be used and reported on. When a person gets too many strikes against them they're hauled off to court and possibly jail for a major debuff. If you do this too many times you'll become a pirate.
** Listed as a Korean OBT option, but not on the EN site.
He's the gent who created Lineage.
Oh boy, no games say "MOSTLY GRIND" like Lineage and Lineage 2. Just thinking about Lineage 2 makes me shudder.
When does open pvp start? Level 10? Or is it just whenever you leave the newb zone. And have they said what level the newb zone becomes moot?
If it is open then it is fair game for a level 50 to squash a level 10 or are their tiers?
Makes you wonder if that is one of the areas that will be westernized: either by implementing a tier system or by extending the protected newb area to level 20 or higher.
Open-world pvp in a level-based mmo system rather than a level-less skill-based one?
Bah. Pass.
i highly doubt it or if they do i'll be surprised. They're putting a lot of weight and development around the criminal system.Edit: Just found out that the shared questing areas start at level 32 and there's apparently a lot of safe zones around.
That is good to hear. 32 out of the supposed 50 seems reasonable.
Regarding the criminal system, I am intrigued but I really hope they work are willing to put in the effort to overseeing it. Because it will be so easy to exploit if not. All it would take is for a ganker and his newb friend to team up to grief another player. The ganker attacks the player and if they defend themselves, the newb purposefully jumps in the line of fire and dies so that the one who was being griefed/attacked is now a murderer.
I am also curious about the safe zones around the shared quest zones. If you are attacked, can you run to the safe zones and be protected? Or will it be patrolled by NPC guards that attack gankers? And what happens if the open world sandbox becomes like Shadowbane where a majority of the server plays the game carebear style?
Comments i've read so far that there's folks who can go a carebear route and never leave safe zones and just farm, craft, and build. They have to rely on others to go out and get the supplies they need to craft.
Can you do this all the way up to the level cap? It's dealing with pvp while levelling up to a cap that I simply have no patience for anymore. That naval combat looks ludicrously fun.
Well then, I won't give up hope just yet.
As for playing the meta game with pvp flags i'm not sure how it works. I see a scenario a bit different than the one you describe. Have someone not flagged or neutral go behind and pick up the evidence left behind and just never report on it.
Ooh. That is devious. I wonder if the evidence goes away, goes away over time, or has a set number of times it can be viewed before going away.
This is the type of stuff that frustrates me when the devs throw up their arms or shrug. To me it is an example of the worst kind of hype with not follow through.
How are you able to play the Korean version?
Here is a pretty good review from a lvl 50 player:
That does look pretty awesome. I hope Trion can make a successful launch of this game in NA/EU.
That ice power looks pretty wicked. It does seem like this game is the one who attacks first wins.
I love how the ships move with the sails up, heh. That there is some super buff and quick oarsmen.
The ship battles do look awesome. I take it there is no way to "heal" a ship at sea? Do they cost a ton and take a while to build?
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