Ragnarok Online

Ragnarok Online

Developer:	Gravity Corporation
Publisher:	Gravity Corporation
Release date:	August 31, 2002
Genre:	MMORPG
Game modes:	Multiplayer
ESRB/ELSPA rating:	Not rated
Platform:	Windows
Media:	Download/CD
System requirements:	Intel Pentium 500MHz equiv. CPU, 128MB RAM, Internet access, DirectX 8, 8MB graphics card, sound card, 700MB hard drive space
Input:	Keyboard, mouse

Ragnarok Online (RO) is an MMORPG created by Gravity Corp. of South Korea. Much of the background of the game is based on the manhwa Ragnarok by Lee Myung-Jin.

Currently, there are official versions of the game in Korean, Japanese, English, Thai, Chinese, Indonesian, Filipino, Brazilian Portuguese and Bahasa Melayu. There is also a version for players in Germany, Italy, Austria, Turkey and Switzerland (better known as European RO or EuRO). An Australian version known as "Ragnarok Oceania" is in beta stage. Ragnarok is continually being revised and revamped, having new features added periodically. Most official licensed versions are now pay-to-play. There are many free private servers all over the world, but these servers are generally illegal and not tolerated by Gravity Corp. or any of the independent hosting companies outside of South Korea.

The game

Basics

The MMORPG is loosely based upon the Manhwa, being set in the world of Rune-Midgard. For the most part, there is no story to the game, but there are small side-quests or events set up by the adminstrators of the game sporadically to add depth and maintain interest.

The game's tutorial does mention that there is a war between man and monsters, an accurate observation given the fact that experience is given to the player when they kill monsters. However, warring is not limited to man v. monster combat, as ingame guilds can fight against each other in the 'War of Emperium', a battle between several guilds for castles in town, which give them access to dungeons and treasures that are not accessible to people who are not in the residing guild.

The currency of the game is Zeny, which may be obtained by the selling of items recovered from defeating monsters. The economy in Ragnarok Online is driven heavily by rare items that are not sold in stores and there is a very large difference in wealth between players, for the most part.

There are eight equipment slots. Three for headgear (top, middle, bottom), one for a shield, one for a weapon, one for body armor, one for footgear, one for a cloak, and two for accessories. (Note: The type of headgear you wear actually appears on your head, and the weapon you choose actually appears in your hand.)

Each character has an HP bar, and an SP bar. Hit Points (HP) tell you how healthy you are. If you have 0, you have died. Skill Points (SP) are needed to use many job-related skills. If you have 0 SP remaining, you cannot use any skills that require SP. Both HP and SP regenerate on their own, while the character is not walking. It regenerates at twice the speed if the character is sitting down. The regeneration speed of HP and SP depends on the Vitality and Intelligence attributes, respectively.

The game is very open-ended: After completing novice training, one is free to roam the world at their leisure, with the only restictions being the ferocity of the monsters in a given area. Low levelled players generally have to stay close to towns or else the enemies will be too powerful for them to handle.

Also, the character is given complete control over their Stats (Strength, Agility, Vitality, Intelligence, Dexterity, and Luck) and Skills (class-based) to create the type of character they want to play.

Cities

There are several major cities in the world of Rune-Midgard, the world of Ragnarok Online. Players are allowed to visit any of them at any time, or any of the many places in between.

Prontera: The capital city of Rune-Midgard, located right in the middle of the world. It's the center of commerce for most servers, as well as the home to the swordsman and acolyte classes. Prontera also houses the only official church in the game, and is the place to go to get married.

Izlude: Satellite of Prontera. Though Prontera may be the official home of the swordsmen, it is in Izlude that one will actually become a swordsman. Izlude's port is also the only place by which one can reach Byalan Island.

Geffen: Located northwest of Prontera. Home of the Mage Academy, where novices may become mages. The Geffen Tower, located in the middle of the city, has an extensive dungeon.

Payon: A city nestled in the forests which also bear the same name. This city is reminiscent of ancient Korean culture, and is where one becomes an archer. It's located southeast of Prontera.

Alberta: A port city to the south of Payon, and home of the merchants. Alberta's port is the only access without teleport to the sunken ship, the Turtle Island, Amatsu, and Kunlun.

Morroc: A city in the desert south of Prontera. Novices can become thieves in the pyramid just northwest of Morroc.

Al de Baran: Due north of Prontera, with its large clock tower. Al de Baran is also the only way to reach Lutie.

Lutie: Also known as Christmas Town, is the home of Santa Claus.

Comodo: Gambling capital of the Southwest, is a cross between Hawaii and Las Vegas. Fireworks can be seen in the sky at all times, and the night is eternal in the city. Comodo's main attraction is its non-functional casino, and decent leveling spots nearby. Added to iRO in August 2003

Juno: A large city north of Aldebaran. The Sage guild can be found here. Added to iRO in May 2004.

Amatsu: Styled after Ancient Japan. The pink-white blossoms of the cherry (sakura) trees are always in bloom, and the architecture also resembles the period. One of the major draws is the Tatami Maze. Amatsu was the first of the "Global Project", in which new cities with themes based on countries with licensed RO servers were (and still are) added in rapid succession. Amatsu was added to iRO in September 2004.

Kunlun: Designed in Ancient Chinese style. In October 2004, Kunlun became the second city in the Global Project to be added to iRO.

Umbala: A lost village, located to the north of Comodo. Home of the self-denominated Utan tribe. Umbala was the third city of the Global Project. It was added to iRO in November 2004.

Nifflheim: A city of the dead. It was added to iRO in December 2004.

Game mechanics

Level and class

Unlike most other RPGs, each character within Ragnarok has two different levels: Base Level (blvl) and Job Level (jlvl). This is denoted as "Base/Job". So, a character who is 5/1 would be Base Level 5, but Job Level 1.

Base Level indicates personal growth. Through base levels, your Stats grow- you become stronger, faster, or smarter, for example.

Job Level indicates your progression within your chosen profession. For example, you become a better Archer or Blacksmith. In game terms, that means you get more Skills and bonus stat points.

The maximum level for first and second classes in most versions of RO is 99/50. Advanced classes can reach 99/70 and the Super Novice class can reach 99/99.

You begin the game as a 1/1 novice. Upon reaching Job 10, a novice can change job, and become stronger. There are six basic classes, also known as 1-1 classes:

Swordsmen deal with swords, spears, and excel in direct combat.

Thieves hide and use sneaky tactics to defeat enemies.

Mages use their magic to destroy foes.

Archers excel in long-range bow attacks.

Merchants have poor battle skills, but instead deal with the NPCs and other players.

Acolytes harness the Power of God to aid themselves and others.

Each class branches off into two different "Second classes", to make an effective selection of 12 different classes. There is one additional special class, the Super Novice, bringing the total to 13, not counting the advanced versions of each second class.

2-1 classes:

Knight – The primary 2nd class of the Swordsman has mastery of the sword and spear. Rides the Pecopeco.

Assassin – The primary 2nd class of the Thief uses katars or daggers in both hands. Can apply poison to attacks.

Wizard – The primary 2nd class of the Mage uses powerful magic of the elements: Fire, Ice, Lightning and Earth.

Hunter – The primary 2nd class of the Archer has mastery of the bow. Can use traps to kill or give enemies status ailments. Has a falcon to assist in battle.

Blacksmith – The primary 2nd class of the Merchant can make weapons. Has axe mastery and combat abilities relating to hammers and axes.

Priest – The primary 2nd class of the Acolyte has powerful healing magic and exorcises the undead. Usually the foundation of a party.

2-2 classes:

Crusader – The alternate 2nd class of the Swordsman has skills with the spear and shield as well as healing and holy magic. Rides the Grand Pecopeco.

Rogue – The alternate 2nd class of the Thief uses bow and arrows or dagger and shield while sneaking around and stripping the enemies armor and weapons.

Sage – The alternate 2nd class of the Mage can give temporary elemental enchantments to weapons or small areas.

Bard and Dancer – The alternate 2nd classes of the Archer can sing and dance to support party members.

Alchemist – The alternate 2nd class of the Merchant can make and throw healing and offensive potions.

Monk – The alternate 2nd class of the Acolyte uses fists and has powerful combo attacks.

Stats

In RO, there are six attributes that determine your stats:

Strength (STR): increases physical attack damage and carrying capacity.
Agility (AGI): increases flee (dodge) rate and attack speed.
Vitality (VIT): decreases damage taken, increases maximum HP and the rate at which HP is regenerated while at rest.
Intelligence (INT): increases magic damage, magic defense, max SP, and SP regeneration rate.
Dexterity (DEX): increases hit rate and cast speed, and increases damage dealt with bow and arrows.
Luck (LUK): increases critical hit and perfect dodge probability.

Due to the open-ended nature of the game, one can "build" their character any way they choose. However, due to the low number of overall stat points (and the cost increases that arise with higher stats), it is generally advised to excel in a few stats rather than indulge in them all.

Most classes pick one or two "main" stats, and raise those two above all else. An offensive stat and a defensive stat often create a potent combination that allows the character to succeed.

Skills

Each class has a unique set of skills. Skills often have several levels, which normally range from either 1 to 10 or 1 to 5. Like learning a new skill, improving a known skill also takes a skill point.

After a first-level class player changes to a second-level class, the learned skills are maintained.

Other ways of learning a skill include taking a quest (apart from "First Aid", all skill quests are class-specific) or applying a card to equipment. Quest skills are permanent; card skills are only available as long as you're equipped with the item. However, skills learned with either method can't be improved, and are always at level 1 (or in the case of a card, set at a certain level described on the card, i.e.: Magnum Break level 3).

Conduct

There are many things that are frowned upon in Ragnarok Online, as well as many people who do these things.

Shorthand messages like "heal plz" and requests for rare items, cash, or "tanks" are common, but are considered very rude by most players.

Bots are against the rules of most servers. A bot is a computer program that effectively plays the game for you to get levels and items without even being at the computer. Similarly, programs that allow for a rapid succession of item or skill use called 'macros' are illegal but are used by many players, especially those involved in War of Emperium guild vs. guild battles. Most companies running officially licensed servers ignore or even encourage the use of bots in order to have more paid accounts.

Private servers are illegal in most countries. Some use pirated copies of Gravity's server software, AEGIS. Most private servers use reverse engineered server emulators such as eAthena and its many variants. Server software like eAthena is legal by itself, but Gravity's client software and data (maps, sprites, etc.) are also used, which still makes these servers illegal. Regardless of that, many private servers have well over 1000 people playing at the same time, and spend a lot of money to maintain them. Private servers servers are free, but tend to keep a low profile for obvious reasons. Because eAthena works best with the Korean version of RO, Gravity, in an attempt to combat the problem, has blocked non Korean IPs from downloading from thier website. They have not, however, blocked IPs from downloading patches from the game clients, leaving private server players free to continue playing.

The anime

In the first quarter of 2004, an anime based on the MMORPG, as compared to the manhwa, was released on TV Tokyo. It has 26 episodes, and a second season is on the way. The Philippine distributor of the game, Level-Up Games, Inc., teamed up with ABS-CBN Broadcating Corporation for local licensing and distribution rights of the anime.

The story happens in the same world of Rune-Midgard, yet the progression gets darker. An evil entity called the Dark Lord wants to sow chaos in the world with the help of seven crystals that represent seven evil forces who are his subordinates.

Characters

Roan: A swordsman whose motivation is to gain power to protect his childhood friend, Yuufa. Later turns into a crusader (an alternate second job).
Yuufa/Yufa: An acolyte and Roan's childhood friend. She is haunted by memories of her elder brother, Keough. Later turns into a priestess.
Takius: A mage who wears a blindfold and searches the world for the ultimate truth. Later turns into a sage.
Iruga: An assassin who became best friends with Keough. He regrets the event where Keough was killed in Glast Heim.
Judia: A hunter who has developed a relationship with Iruga. In the Japanese version she speaks with a Kansai accent; in the Philippine version she speaks in the Marinduque accent.
Maaya/Maya: A merchant who has a penchant for items. She also has compassion for monsters. She is accompanied by her pet Poring named Poi-poi.
Keough: Yuufa's elder brother, a knight, and currently a subordinate of the Dark Lord. He was cursed to be that way after he was killed in Glast Heim.

External links

Ragnarok Online global portal
International Ragnarok Online (iRO) website
Emperium.org – kRO's updates translated to English, showing a glimpse of the future of RO
RO Datazone – Precise mathematical formulae that describe in perfect detail the mechanics of the game