Runes of Magic

Runes of Magic
Developer(s)	Runewaker Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Frogster Interactive, Frogster America
Version	4.0.7.2482
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Release date(s)	March 19, 2009 October 22, 2009
Genre(s)	Fantasy, MMORPG
Mode(s)	Multiplayer online
Rating(s)	ESRB: T (Teen) OFLC: Not Rated PEGI: 12+
Media/distribution	Direct download, DVD
System requirements Microsoft Windows CPU: Intel Pentium 4 2.0 GHz or equivalent RAM: 512 MB or more Video: DirectX 9.0c compatible video card with 128MB RAM or better (Pixel Shader 2.0 support) HDD: 10 GB free HD space Connection: Broadband Internet connection

Not to be confused with RuneScape.

Runes of Magic (RoM) is a free massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by the Taiwanese developer Runewaker Entertainment and adapted for the English and German-speaking market by German company Frogster Interactive. After going through an open beta phase, the game was launched on 19 March 2009 and Chapter II – The Elven Prophecy was launched on 15 September 2009. The next chapter, Chapter III – The Elder Kingdoms, started April 22, 2010, however all of Chapter III did not become available until August 11, 2010. The latest Chapter, Chapter IV - Lands of Despair, was released June 16, 2011. The game client is free to download, and no monthly subscription fee is required because the service is funded by real money transactions (RMT) in the Runes of Magic Item Shop.

Features

The games includes the ability to pick three classes, which allows players to carry skills across classes as they switch between them. There are two races available to play: Humans and Elves. There are eight classes available, making for 112 possible combinations of classes (counting combinations like "Mage/Priest" and "Priest/Mage" as one combination). Some races restrictions reduce this number. Each player can "equip" one main class and one secondary class. Any of the three classes chosen may be swapped into any combination.

The game features Player versus Player combat in the form of dueling and battlefields. Players may obtain their own houses, and guilds can buy castles that grant benefits to members of the guild. Siege combat is available between guilds called Siege War, which is under open beta-testing, available to all guilds.

Another feature of the game are the collectible "Monster Cards", which slain foes leave behind, which provide specific attribute points alongside the usual monster information. These cards act as trophies for players but also provide attribute bonuses. Each type of monster has a card that provides bonuses to character stats, but not every monster drops the cards.

Players can also obtain magical pets, who accompany the player and may participate in combat under certain conditions regarding the pet statistics, i.e. loyalty. Pets are obtained by using traps to catch a Magic Cavy which are sometimes dropped after defeating an enemy monster. After catching the Magic Cavy, the player will be randomly given a Pet Egg, from which the player can summon a pet to assist in the player's adventures.

Through the use of real-money transactions, a player is able to exchange cash for in-game currency referred to as Diamonds. Players are able to buy in-game items using Diamonds through the Cash Shop interface in the game client. Buying items in the Cash Shop using Diamonds also awards Rubies, which can also be used to buy items in the Cash Shop.

A new marriage system feature was added in early July, 2010. The marriage system is relationship system that allows two players to commit into a partnership. Depending on the relationship, players will then be rewarded with special in-game bonuses. Special Items have been added too such as Love and Friendship letters.

Chapters

The game's major patches are referred to as "Chapters". So far four chapters have been released; the latest being released June 16, 2011.

• Chapter I: The Rise of the Demon Lord (Release Date: March 19, 2009)
• Chapter II: The Elven Prophecy (Release Date: September 15, 2009)
• Chapter III: The Elder Kingdoms (Release Date: May 19, 2010)
• Chapter IV: The Lands of Despair (Release Date: June 16, 2011)

Classes

There are a total of 8 different character classes available in Runes of Magic. These are: Warrior, Scout, Rogue, Mage, Priest, Knight, Druid and Warden. The character race you choose to play will determine which 8 of those classes you have access to when creating your character, but the classes change depending on your particular race. For example, Humans are not allowed to play as a Warden or Druid, whereas Elves cannot play as a Knight or Priest.

Each class separates two distinct set of skills: General and Primary.

General skills of a particular class can be used when the class equipped is the Main or Secondary Class. Primary skills of a class can only be used when the class is equipped as the Main Class, but is not available when equipped as the Secondary Class.

Knight: Knights are the heaviest armored class in the game; the only one able to wear plate armor. With their special light-based attacks and shield abilities, knights fight their enemies effectively and draw their hatred over themselves.

Warrior: Warriors are masters in the use of arms, and can handle every close combat weapon while also being able to wear all kinds of armors, including chain mail. Driven by their battle rage they attack the enemy with special combinations of strikes and blows, and aim to increase the momentum of their attacks. They can also channel their rage into passive abilities to strengthen themselves or to provoke opponents and to scare them with an impressive display of their fury.

Rogue: Rogues are specialists in inflicting physical damage. In close range they use dagger techniques, and use ranged weapons for long range attacks. In contrast to warriors and scouts, rogues rely on subtle methods, such as stealth attacks, poison, and various techniques which inflict bleeding wounds. Rogues manage to avoid most trouble thanks to their swiftness and agility.

Scout: Scouts are masters in long range combat, and use their abilities to bring their bow and crossbow skills to perfection. In close combat they depend on evasion and delaying tactics to get into range for another shot or to wait for reinforcements who feel more at home in close range combat. Specially boosted long range attacks can defeat opponents in a short amount of time.

Priest: While priests are able to defend, restore hit points and increase stats of their companions, they also have the power to bring their fallen comrades back to life. They can wield shields; and only they have the ability to use the element of water to deal magical damage. However, their most important role remains calling out for godly assistance and mending wounds during battle.

Druid: Due to a close connection with nature, Druids are able to use their powers to fulfill their own wishes. Through them an additional resource has entered into Runes of Magic: Nature's Power. Through special skills, Druids build up more and more of Nature's Power and can release it at a given time to perform especially powerful spells. However, it is their diversity which makes Druids so special. They are powerful healers, who support the group's priests with rapid healing spells.

Mage: Magicians attack with fire and lightning and inflict astronomical magical damage. Some of their spells can enclose wide-ranging areas with fiery walls and keep whole hordes of monsters in check, although utility is phased out endgame. Seasoned magicians are said to be able to harness the power of the Phoenix. With the help of their arcane knowledge, they can protect themselves and their companions from harm, or increase the strength of the entire party.

Warden: The Warden has the most diverse variety of weapons at his disposal and is masterful in their use. The ability to wear chain armour also affords him the necessary protection to emerge victorious from battle. He is also able to draw on an arsenal of varied magical abilities. They serve mainly to weaken an opponent and to strengthen themselves. His true strengths are played out, however, in conjunction with one of his three faithful companions whom he can command in combat. The companion has the ability to go up against several enemies, keeping these occupied while the Warden himself swiftly and effortlessly subjugates his target.

Customization

Each avatar has five statistics: Strength, Dexterity, Stamina, Intelligence and Wisdom. The base values are determined by the main class. If a second class is selected, an additional 10% of the base values of the secondary class are added to the main class statistics. The values of the statistic are determined by the level of each respective class.

In general:

• Strength - Raises physical attack power
• Dexterity - Raises accuracy and dodge
• Stamina - Raises defense, health, and health regeneration
• Intelligence - Raises magical attack power and mana
• Wisdom - Raises magical defense, mana, and mana regeneration

In addition to acquiring weapons, armor, and accessories for each avatar, the player may also enchant additional statistics into the equipment improving health, mana, defense, physical attack, magical attack, and other attributes. These enhancing statistics are commonly referred to as a "stat." Stats can have 1 or more attributes. For example, "Frost of Imprisonment VIII" has 2 attributes: Stamina +57 and Wisdom +57, while "Vigor I" has only 1 attribute: Strength +3. The color of the stat determines how many attributes are improved.

Types of Stats

• Green: One enhancing statistic
• Yellow: Two enhancing statistics
• Orange: Three enhancing statistics

In addition to the color of the stat, each stat has a corresponding tier, which determines the value of the stat, such that a tier 1 stat, Strength I, increases Strength by 3, while a tier 2 stat, Strength II, increases Strength by 6.

In higher tier stats, the value of the statistic is determined by name of the stat. For example, a stat with the word, "Imprisonment," in the name increases the value of the specific stat by 57, whereas, the word "Temple" would denote an increase of 76. In addition to the five main statistics, stats may also increase an attribute, such as defense, physical attack, magical attack, and health points directly.

Up to six differently named stats can be added to any piece of equipment.

In addition to stats, each equipment may also hold runes, which also increase attributes of the avatar. Some pieces may have rune slots when found, but to have 4, the maximum possible, the player must purchase a "Driller" to make additional slots for runes.

Dungeons

The game's dungeons are split into three types: large player-versus-player open-world dungeons, small instances for six players, and large instances (or raids) for 12 players. There is also a 120-player dungeon under the first main city, Varanas.

Siege War

Siege War involves two guilds fighting for strategic points, Crystal Towers, on the battlefield using PvP combat and Siege-exclusive structures placed by players. Each guild, at the start of battle, commands a Guild Castle and three Crystal Towers. The goal for each guild is to have in possession the majority of the Crystal Towers within the time limit, or to take the opponent's Honor Crystal located in opponent's Guild Castle for five minutes to secure a victory.

To obtain structures or vehicles, players in each guild must obtain Merits and Crystals. Merits are obtain through killing enemy players and balloon mobs on the field. Merits can also be obtained by collecting from the Crystal Towers. Crystals are obtain through the collecting from the Crystal Towers and exchanging Merits for a Crystal Extraction Gem. Players in Siege War can obtain static structures capable of attacking players, such as Flame Towers and Electric Towers. They may also obtain structures that inhibit enemy movement, such as the Faces of Treachery. Guilds may also build siege vehicles to assist in battle, such as Ballistae, Battering Rams and Catapults.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	69.9%
Metacritic	71%
Review scores
Publication	Score
Eurogamer	6 out of 10
GameSpot	7 out of 10
GamesRadar	5 out of 10
GameTrailers	8.1 out of 10
IGN	7.9 out of 10
PC Gamer UK	48%
PC Zone	50%
VideoGamer.com	7 out of 10

Runes of Magic has been compared to World of Warcraft and also referred to as a clone, but Eurogamer's Daniel Etherington discounted this and stated the view "misses the point." Wesley Yin-Poole of Videogamer.com stated "The guys at Runewaker have clearly constructed Runes of Magic with World of Warcraft running in the background." He stated that despite being "somewhat of a WoW clone" and free-to-play, Runes of Magic contains elements which World of Warcraft does not, and that the latter's developers "would do well to consider." Online gaming website Massively's Shawn Schuster highlighted the range of crafting abilities in the game, as well as the ability to gain proficiency in them all without penalties. "Runes of Magic has these features we see in a triple-A MMO, yet it's a free-to-play RMT-based game." Jeremy Stratton has also written several weekly articles on Massively, with his "Lost Pages of Taborea" column, between March 23, 2010 and October 10, 2011.

According to Frogster 20,000 players created 100,000 characters on the first day of the game's open beta; December 15, 2008, rising to 450,000 characters by February 2009. On May 14, 2009, Frogster announced that one million users in Europe and North America have registered to play Runes of Magic. On August 16, 2010, after the launch of chapter III, they announced that Runes of Magic had exceeded four million registered users.

Awards

Runes of Magic won the German Game Developer Award for Best International PC Game of 2009. It also won nine awards in Massively's Reader's Choice and Staff Choice Awards in that same year, which included the Reader's Choice Awards for:

• Best Crafting in a 2009 MMO
• Best PvP in a 2009 MMO
• Best Capacity for Roleplay in a 2009 MMO
• Best Free-to-Play MMO of 2009
• Best Visuals/Graphics
• Overall Best New MMO of 2009.

Frogster International won the award for Best MMO Studio of 2009 on behalf of the developer of Runes of Magic, Runewaker Entertainment. Runes of Magic also won both the Reader's Choice Award and Staff Choice Award for the Best Launch of 2009.

In 2010, Runes of Magic was awarded for the second year in a row the German Game Developers Award for Best Online Game of 2010.

Middle East IP Ban

On September the 7th the license holder of the Runes of Magic in Middle East, Tahadi Games, requested from Frogster Online to pass an IP ban to all middle east users from the European servers. Users from the middle east were no longer able to log into the European version of the game and got an error message. The reason behind the IP ban request was that Tahadi Games obtained the rights to market Runes of Magic in both English and Arabic in the Middle East Region.

External links

• (English) Official Site of Europe/America
• (traditional Chinese) Official Site of Taiwan
• (simplified Chinese) Official Site of China
• (Japanese) Official Site of Japan
• (Korean) Official Site of Korea
• (Arabic)(English) Official Site of Middle East and North Africa
• (English) Runes of Magic listed as one of the Best Free MMORPG 2011 by MMO Worlds