Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted

HI

I was thinking of trying this game but remembered something about the accounts being hacked at one time being posted on here..Besides that ,would the game be worth it in the long run..?..Mature acting community?

Tom

For a quick recap; the game had several major problems on release.  Although it had some players who have been remarkably loyal because of the game's unique features, many left because of the problems. 

Two major changes were eventually made; playing as a dragon was made much more fun as dragons were made powerful, and the beginning tutorials and areas were greatly improved. 

As a result, the subscriber population began to grow, and the game reached break-even profitability.  The game was now salable, and the venture capitalist sold the game to EI/PE (?) who were not experienced in the business. 

Because of required changes by the billing co. at the same time, EI decided instead to institute their own (insecure) billing system.  It was not hacked (AFAIK) but it could have been.  The ownership reverted to the VC, who then sold the game to a group of Hz former developers and engineers, Virtrium.  So far, Vi has been excellent; they've done what they said they would (secure billing system first thing of course), do not overpromise, and make sure that what they do is tested and works.  First.  Amazing concept.  They announce what they might do, and they LISTEN (another amazing concept) and modify the plans to meet the players' suggestions.  Very good, professional group.  One of the devs posted that they are in the black, so yes, I expect them to be around for a long time.

Sorry, got carried away.  The community has always been one of Hz's strengths.  Even better these days, as many of the players have "done it all" and get a lot of their enjoyment from mentoring.  Order server has fewer people who are  somewhat more into Roleplay, Chaos has more players. 

Dragons are the most popular race, and most players have at least a dragon alt.  They are slightly weak in the lower levels, and cannot fly until they become adults by completing the Rite of Passage quest series; a very good quest.  Full strength is achieved by becoming Ancient, who are BIG, and powerful.

Crafting is unique, and some players primarily craft, including building/garden/shop construction as well as the usual tools, weapons and armor.  

Great post..thanks..

I'm a new player on the trial and I have really enjoyed the trial so far.

imo from what I've seen, a long term commitment to this game would be worthwhile. Based on the community, devs,  and what the game has to offer.

The skill system doesn't confine you to one class so if you'd like to branch out into other skills you can.

Crafting is cool too. There is the ability to own property and build your own place if you level up the skills. There are community building projects to help out on, work for hire, etc.

There isn't alot of chatting going on, but I've found the community helpful and mature.

There is no credit card needed to play around with the 14 day trial. So if your reading this and wondering about giving the trial a shot, I'd say it's definitely worth your time.

How populated is the game? If I make an account will there be enough people to adventure with?

There are two servers, Order and Chaos.  Order is more into Role Play, and has fewer players, so I'd suggest Chaos, especially if you play at unusual times.  There is a chat channel for new player assistance, and the Marketplace channel is where a lot of questions get asked also. 

Originally posted by majiph

How populated is the game? If I make an account will there be enough people to adventure with?

Horizons is a crafting game with a little Adventuring thrown in.

Many guilds have members who maintain low level alts for just that purpose. See Quietcamper's post above; it is a welcoming community.

I once did the trail, but decided not to continue with the game because of schoolwork, but now I'm back (gained another 14 days for free because of the possible return), and I have kind of one big question.

Based on the time I've been playing now, it seems like the game is just one big grindfest. I then ask myself, do I want to pay € 15,- a month to grind stuff...

Please, if someone can assure me that the game contains more then that, tell me.

(note: At the moment, I'm not in a guild or anything, wich gives me not really someone to talk to, wich in turn leads to the fact that I just watch tv as I play, wich make that I don't really watch the chat channel, wich directs me to the fact that I won't join a guild that way. If someone is interested in welcoming a new person in his/her/it's guild... :) )

Welcome back. :)

It's up to you whether it's a grindfest. One can say that any game is a grindfest, and every game has been accused of it at varying frequency. Ultimately it depends on what activities you choose to spend your in-game time doing.

Here are a few of the obvious, non-socialising-based things you can do other than grinding. I've played Horizons less than six months, though, so I'm by no means an expert and may've neglected some points.

Socialising-based things are abundant as well. There are guilds, of course. A helpful community known for relative maturity. Rampant roleplaying on the RP server, "Order."

----------Quests:

It has quests, many of which are actually interesting and more involved than the standard quests one encounters in other games. The interesting ones tend to come from non-standard NPCs (i.e. not trainers), so you have a bit of a hunt to do.

----------Exploration:

There are out-of-the-way locales to explore, portal destinations to attune to...

I've particularly enjoyed exploring the snowy land around Kirasanct and Mahagra, where glittering ice buildings and Fiendish ruins lay half-hidden.

Now that hatchling dragons can glide off precipices, one can make it a goal to find the highest places to glide from.

There are plots of land owned (or not, in which case you can buy them) and built by players, as well as dragon lairs. Plots are generally near other plots, which in some cases forms towns. You can explore plots/lairs, seeing what others have built; some are quite beautiful.

You can use their crafting machines: Mark on your map the locations of high-teir crafting machines, because these grant you a bonus to the skill associated with the machine.

In many plots/lairs, the owners install storage silos, and sometimes these are publically accessible: Mark these on your map too, especially if they're close to resources. You can determine if the silo is public by finding the plot's plaque-thing-on-the-ground-at-the-edge / the lair's entrance and double-clicking it, which shows ownership information and a list of structures. Check each storage structure; the permissions are displayed on the right, and if it's public, it will be "Allow All."

----------Cr