RO2: LotS

[Cassette]

I haven't seen any discussion on this upcoming game, either because no one is interested in it or because they haven't heard of it.

Ragnarok Online was my first real MMORPG that I started playing back in Beta, and although it was mainly a giant grindy son of a bitch, it did have it's strong points. The music was very well done, one of the only times I've actually listened to in-game music (Sorry WoW). The gameplay was very smooth. War of Emperium was probably the most fun I've had in a world-organized type of PvP. I absolutely loved the whole "MvP" boss aspect that put up a competitive world PvE/PvP aspect. I stopped playing it when TBC came out, and still don't have any intentions of going back to the cutesy little 2D world.

Gravity announced quite a while ago that they were working on RO2. In about October 2009, they actually re-assessed the entire game, scrapped it and started fresh completely based on community feedback. That's a pretty big step for a gaming company to completely scrap a new game because the community didn't like it, so I thought that was pretty admirable. The 'fresh' remake would be "Ragnarok Online 2: Legend of the Second". The new graphics, new models, new systems etc. look pretty darn good. I will say right off of the bat, that the interface looks like WoW's. However, just like the game developer over at SW:ToR mentioned, WoW has really created a standard. Do you make an interface that is fresh and something people aren't accustomed to? Or do you make an interface that 12+million people know.

For quick reference, I've included some awesome key notes from an interview done with the developer. You can find the rest of the interview along with pictures of the classes and second life jobs @ http://forums.irowiki.org/showthread.php?t=60378

RO2:LotS Scenario
In the original work it depicted Chaos as fighting the goddess Freya. In RO, Chaos won and sealed Freya away, but Chaos took a lot of damage and disappeared, so you were left with a world without either Chaos or Freya. The awakening of Freya is the basis for the scenario of RO2. Players can get involved in scenario quests at about level 30.

RO2:LotS Jobs
Initially you start off as one of 5 jobs, Swordsman, Rogue, Acolyte, Mage, or Archer. Around level 15 or 20 you do your first job change, with two branching jobs to chose from. We were going to do a 2nd job change job change too but that would require creating 20 different jobs, so instead we created the Chara system.

RO2:LotS Chara System
Chara, or Charisma comes from a Greek word and describes a character's personality. Through quests and battles, players will be rewarded with 'Order' or 'Chaos' charisma points. Depending on the amount of Chaos or Order points you have amassed, individual skills may perform completely differently. The first occupation for swordsman is Warrior, and with Chaos points you can become a Dark Warror, and with Order points you become a Light Warrior. You couldn't change to your second job, but through the Chara system you'd be able to play a completely different style of character. Anyways, because there's a lot of different points to manage like Skill Point and Chara Points, your individual stats in RO2:LotS, unlike RO are gained automatically.

Once you've changed a character to Order or Chaos, is it possible to change?

It's possible. First, through various quests, it's possible to play both Order and Chaos. Then, when you reach level 50 you would have enough points in both to make a change. If you changed to either order or chaos, you will need to gather points to change back. It wouldn't be fast to get enough points though.

RO2:LotS 'Dual Life System'
In RO, you can play as merchant and blacksmith jobs, but most players make merchants as sub characters just to sell items. Additionally, Merchants and blacksmiths don't present an image of being a job capable of combat. With that in mind, we created the 'Dual Life System'. In RO2:LotS, you have a main Battle Job, and also a second 'Life Job' which can create equipment or potions. So like Swordsman + Blacksmith, Swordsman + Alchemist, or Swordsman + Chef. A character's skill tree is divided into the Battle and Life Jobs you chose.

Depending on the situation the characters appearance would change. So when a character is in battle they would appear in their Battle Job form, and then when crafting items they would appear as their Life Job. When collecting herbs, or minerals, you could be either form. Also, the life skills also can have some skills that can be used specifically in combat. For example, as a Swordsman+Blacksmith, you could use the blacksmith skill 'Loud Voice' to power up your swordsman attack power. Some final skills would involve changing into your life job temporarily. When doing that, you could use exclusive skills, or certain abilities could be stronger. The merchant job for example can use the RO skill 'Mammonite'.

RO2:LotS 'Weaving' System
The system allows players to freely customize their equipments appearance. You can't directly modify the texture, but create combination using certain presets. Too much freedom could be a problem for some of our players. However if there's enough demand we could allow players to submit their own presets. It would be hard though because you have to try to ensure that metal equipment still looks right.

Any other new systems?
When a player logs out, they can become an NPC. For example, if you had the ability to repair gear as a blacksmith, a player could log out and other players could come to you (as an NPC) and use your services. An alchemist could provide potion creation with the necessary items. Of course you'd get money for this, so you can earn money while logged out. It's an evolution of RO's vending system. Also, RO's Kafra system makes a return.

So what are your thoughts?