This charming and unique 2D MMO is quite a hidden gem having been a mac only game for almost 10 years it is vertually unknown to PC users. I'm just trying to spread the word of it because I'd been looking for a game like this for a very long time and it took years to find.

It's not going to please everyone so feel free to to read my MMORPG.com blog here for the review and + bump if you like what you see, otherwise you can just read it below. Cheers!

Clan Lord is definitely no new kid on the block having been released back in late 1997. It was the very first MMORPG ever made for the Mac, which then went on to be voted one of the top ten Mac games of the year in 2001 by Games Magazine, with a version becoming available for Windows in 2005.

 

This truly innovative and unique 2D MMORPG offers players the opportunity to remain completely immersed in character and actually work together rather than against each other like most other traditional MMORPG's. While it is possible for players to engage in a consensual duel through equipping specific duelling gear, there is no PvP as such; and nothing to gain from duelling. Players are much more focused on the enormous and continually expanding world around them from newly discovered highly deadly areas, to planar rifts sending skeletal and undead abominations pouring straight into town.

 

Clan Lord is heavily focused towards group activity and you can choose to be either one of the following professions; a Fighter, a Healer or a Mystic. All three work towards different goals, in different ways, but join together to overcome the challenges the world presents to them. It may be challenging to adjust to in the beginning, but it is very easy to form a group in town to go hunting as other players are always more than happy to help; probably having the most friendly and mature community I have ever come across. 

 

 

Gaining a rank (levelling up) is done in such a way that focuses more so on realism then a big bright notification, "You're now level 12!".  Different messages received determine how much experience you may have gained during combat; for example you may be slaughtering something which gives no experience or vanquishing something which gives you the most possible experience. It is then up to you to decide where to put your experience depending on which trainer out of the dozens available that you choose to train with.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's dangerous out there in the beautifully designed, highly addictive 2D world of Clan Lord, with many adventures to be had... what will be your destiny? 

 

 

Very well put together and pretty article, hell, I wanna try this game now! So is it a sandbox? Considering most MMORPGs this ancient are sandboxes it seems like.

It is more of a sandbox in there not being one set goal, but  there are many goals that you might choose from.  --Usually related to acquiring skills and strengths, but might also include role-play kinds of things. This game is all about making meaningful choices, because as you progress, your path tends to become more and more distinct.

The basic goal is survive the fairly hostile environment, and since you really can't do that alone, you have to form cooperative, reliable, relationships with other players.

You also though can compose music that will play in the client, and learn to cast illusions, and make paint (or pies!) that you can throw at other people to dye them some color or other, and fun stuff like that.  :-)

--I love it, frankly.

I've played Clan Lord on and off over the years originally back in 98/99 when it was still in beta, again from 2001 to 2005 and I've recently started playing again after a 6 year gap it was and still is one of the most enjoyable games I've ever played.

While some may find the base classes a little limiting (and the lack of powerful offensive magic disappointing)  the way the levelling system works soon shines through.  You have complete freedom to customise your training so there is no such thing as a cookie cutter build, prefer the glass cannon over the tank? you can do that, prefer to hit fast and accurately instead of one shotting everything before you have a chance to actually enjoy the fight? you can do that too and that's before you look at subclasses.

It's an immersive world where you have the freedom to rollplay as any character you can conceive with a large range of tools to help you do exactly that. We've had heroes, villains, witches, werewolves, servents of dark mysterious powers,knights of holy orders and anthropomorphic poultry.

But if there is one thing that makes Clan Lord stand out far and away above any other game I've played it's the community, you will be hard pressed to find a more mature and friendly crowd in any other online game.  There is a reason I keep coming back to this game this this is a large part of it.

Mjollnir, I had no idea you were such an old and wise exile. 

Glad you are in the lands again.