Ragnarok Online: Difference between revisions
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''Ragnarok Online'', like many other [[massively multiplayer online games]]{{ |
''Ragnarok Online'', like many other [[massively multiplayer online games]]{{fact}}, does not have a set [[plot]]. The game is essentially open-ended; players are free to roam the game world at their leisure with the only limiting factor being the ferocity of the monsters native to a given area. There are many quests in the game which provide players with opportunities for gaining experience points, special skills or equipment other than simply killing monsters. Some events are related to a specific time of year (such as the annual Christmas quest),<ref>{{cite web|author=iRO GM Team|title=A Rune Midgard Christmas!|publisher=Gravity Co., Ltd|url=http://iro.ragnarokonline.com/News/Event/eventContent.asp?mNum=3&cid=82&page=1}}</ref> but most are available year-round. |
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===Player vs. player (PvP)=== |
===Player vs. player (PvP)=== |
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Revision as of 08:16, 30 March 2007
| Ragnarok Online | |
|---|---|
| Ragnarok Online logo | |
| Developer(s) | GRAVITY Co., Ltd. |
| Publisher(s) | GRAVITY Co., Ltd. |
| Engine | AEGIS and Granny 3D |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | MMORPG |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
Ragnarok Online (Korean: 라그나로크 온라인), often referred to as RO, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game created by GRAVITY Co., Ltd. based on the manhwa Ragnarok by Lee Myung-Jin. It was first released in South Korea on 31 August, 2002 for Microsoft Windows and has since been released in many other locales around the world. Much of the game's mythos is based on Norse mythology, but its style has been influenced by Christianity and various Asian cultures as well. The game has spawned an animated series, Ragnarok the Animation, and a sequel, Ragnarok Online 2: The Gate of the World, is currently in development.
Gameplay
Ragnarok Online uses a combination of isometric sprites and three dimensional graphics in order to present the world of the game. Characters are able to select the job, hair color and hair style for each of their characters. Gender also varies from player to player, but all characters on a given account have the same gender due to technical limitations and Gravity policy.[2]
Gravity franchises the game to allow distribution in a variety of locales not directly supported by the company. As of 26 March, 2007, official franchises of the game are available in South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brazil, Singapore, Russia, India. Service in Oceania was terminated on 2 March, 2007, marking the first time a locale has been closed.[3] Two other less country-specific versions of the game exist, European Ragnarok Online serving Germany, Italy, Austria, Turkey, France, the United Kingdom and Switzerland and International Ragnarok Online serving North America and most countries that do not have their own franchise.
Four servers currently exist in International Ragnarok Online: Chaos, Loki, Iris and the Sakray test server. Other franchises may have fewer or more servers depending on the amount of demand for the game in the country in question. Some franchises include an Urdr server where player-killing is possible outside of towns. While many players of the International franchise have expressed interest in such a server for that franchise,[4] no action has been taken towards that goal as of 25 March, 2007.
Interface
Both a mouse and a keyboard are required to play Ragnarok Online. The heads-up display consists of a log and chat window, a minimap, various menus and a status window detailing the current hit points and spell points, progress towards leveling up and encumbrance of the character as well as the amount of money he or she possesses. With the exception of the status window, all components of the heads-up display can be disabled by the player.
Icons representing status effects, regardless of whether they are positive or negative, appear at the right-hand of the screen. Menus allow the player to access his or her skills, stats, inventory and various configuration options. The player may assign hotkeys to streamline access to commonly-used skills or items on the function keys of the keyboard.
Character customization
Jobs are one of the most important aspects of playing Ragnarok Online, as the job a player chooses will have profound implications on his or her strengths and weaknesses, both in a party and outside of one. The job system includes a total of 39 different jobs, divided into four categories: Novices, First Job Classes, Second Job Classes and Transcendent Classes. A player will change jobs multiple times over the course of playing, though the number of changes will be determined by choices made by the player.[5]
Quests
Ragnarok Online, like many other massively multiplayer online games[citation needed], does not have a set plot. The game is essentially open-ended; players are free to roam the game world at their leisure with the only limiting factor being the ferocity of the monsters native to a given area. There are many quests in the game which provide players with opportunities for gaining experience points, special skills or equipment other than simply killing monsters. Some events are related to a specific time of year (such as the annual Christmas quest),[6] but most are available year-round.
Player vs. player (PvP)
Player vs. Player in Ragnarok Online takes place on series of maps identical to the game's major towns but devoid of all exits and non-player characters. Access to these maps is restricted to players level 31 and above and comes in two modes: Yoyo Mode and Nightmare Mode. The primary difference between the two modes concerns the penalties for dying; Yoyo Mode has no penalty for death, while Nightmare Mode has the experience point loss and item loss penalties that exist on all non-PvP maps.[7]
War of Emperium
Also known as the "Guild War," for two hours on every Wednesday and Saturday an event called War of Emperium (commonly abbreviated "WoE") takes place. Guilds that have obtained the Seal of Approval skill may attempt to enter and gain control of a series of castles available in-game. On the fourth floor of each castle lies the Emperium; if a guild breaks another guild's Emperium, that guild gains control of the castle. If a guild can maintain control of a castle until the end of the War of Emperium it will retain control until the next War of Emperium and may gain a variety of benefits for victory.[8] During War of Emperium hours, the castle maps are set in PvP mode and behave much the same as the standard PvP maps with a few exceptions, in particular the lack of damage indicators and a large decrease to the effectiveness of magic, skills, and ranged attacks. War of Emperium is the most popular feature of the game[9] and most players participate in it at least once per week.[10]
Setting
Ragnarok Online is divided into a series of maps, each of which has its own terrain and native monsters, though many monsters are native to multiple regions. Transportation between maps requires loading the new map and monsters cannot travel from one map to another.
There are three major nations in Ragnarok Online, the first of which and where all players start is Rune Midgard. The Schwaltzvalt Republic, an industrialized neighbor to the North, was added in Episode 10[11] and Arunafeltz, a religious nation modeled after a combination of Israel and Turkey is the subject of Episode 11.[12]
A series of other, minor nations also exist, generally modeled after an ancient society in the real world, such as Amatsu, which is modeled after ancient Japan,[13] and Louyang, which is modeled after ancient China.[14]
Audio
The background music of Ragnarok Online currently consists of 109 individual tracks, composed, arranged, recorded and mixed by SoundTeMP and Hankook Recording Studio. The game's music spans a wide variety of genres and musical styles, including trance, techno, jazz, rock, and orchestral. New tracks are added to the soundtrack as with every new area added to the game world.
A limited edition two-disc original soundtrack, titled The memory of RAGNAROK, was released in 2006. The album also features vocal arrangements of certain pieces, performed by Lee Seung-Yeon, Lee Jeong-Hee and Seo Ji-Hae. The album's booklet features text in Korean, Chinese, English, and Japanese.
See also
- Ragnarok The Animation, an Anime based on the game
- Ragnarok Flash Animation, a cartoon by Gameflier
- Gravity Corp.
- Level Up! Games
- Ragnarok, a Manhwa that served as basis for the game
- Ragnarok Online 2, a sequel to the game
- Ragnarok Battle Offline, a doujin brawler
References
- ^ Shanda Entertainment. "Service & Product". Shanda Corporation.
- ^ iRO GM Team. "Can I make both male and female characters?". Gravity Co., Ltd.
- ^ OnGameNet. "oRO Closure Notice". Oceanic Eternity Community.
- ^ "Would you play on a iRO PVP Server?". Gravity Co., Ltd.
- ^ "Ragnarok Online Characters". Gravity Co., Ltd.
- ^ iRO GM Team. "A Rune Midgard Christmas!". Gravity Co., Ltd.
- ^ "Ragnarok Online's unique PVP!". Gravity Co., Ltd.
- ^ "The War of Emperium". Gravity Co., Ltd.
- ^ "Which feature of RO do you like the most?". Gravity Co., Ltd.
- ^ "How often do you participate in War of Emperium?". Gravity Co., Ltd.
- ^ iRO GM Team. "Schwaltzvalt Republic - Part 2. Einbroch, the City of Steel". Gravity Co., Ltd.
- ^ ""Episode 11.1 Rachel"". RP Future Wiki.
- ^ iRO GM Team. "Global Project vol. 1 - Amatsu". Gravity Co., Ltd.
- ^ iRO GM Team. "Global Project vol. 4 - Louyang". Gravity Co., Ltd.