Originally posted by drbaltazar

 if i wanted to play this game,where you suggest i play ,dont want to be alone lol

I would personally choose a newer server, probably Gaia.

Pros: shorter spawn time, established guilds, plenty of in-game help, easier to find a party, less inflation (items cost twice as much on the Lailah server than on Teos)

Cons: emptier, harder to find party, empty PvP grounds in 40-60 (although you can choose to find in linked)

And you are definitely not alone. Shaiya is a middle-sized community. Enjoy the game, and don't forget to post your experiences. xD

 Lol, it's fun to blow off steam, neh?

You have many good points, and it is true that the item mall isn't a big problem in the first levels and modes. However, once you reach UM, rez runes become a pain, and even though it is possible to not spend a cent while enjoying it, it's extremely time-consuming, also because you have to rely on a party on later levels (people have to be afk, leave abruptly, etc.) Even finding a party is difficult sometimes.

And the part about farming once you reach a high level is also very true. That's precisely what I did, farming lvl 5s. The game can still be very enjoyable. The only problem is that Shaiya does not do well as a long-term investment. If you want to PvE, fine. You don't need any gear that's very difficult to get. My complaint is PvP. Linking sonics give me an absolute headache. It's impossible to do well in PvP with the best gear without spending money. So for anyone who just wants to waste a few hours, it's fun, but to seriously invest in the game in the long-term, you're forced to depend on real cash.

Is Runes of Magic that bad? Wow... If you don't mind the horror type, I would recommend Requiem. I haven't played it myself, but I heard it was bloody fun. The reason I chose Atlantica over it was because you're forced to pay for an exp subscription ($6), or grind for very long hours. Atlantica is good, not great, but if you like strategy PvP, then it's for you.

 Actually I got it now. Teehee. Their new client server download is much quicker with a smaller file, curiously enough. Turns out the installer works. You must have to wait 10 minutes before the setup opens up. As of right now, I can't say it's worth the trouble, but it seems to have a lot of potential.

 Lol at the last screenshot. Now you can understand why Shaiya is age 17+. Someone had admiration for some Greek goddesses or something...

 Lol, I never choose to duel others until I'm at a decent level to be useful for PvP. As a mage, that's not easy. I usually use ~ only in PvP when there are a ton of lighties around and I need a quick target (I played fury). Home turns you in the opposite direction--good for a quick run. Mage is the fastest class to level, and very suitable for NM. I would devote all stats to INT-no exceptions. As for the skills, avoid the PvP ones, concentrate on the different elements of attacks. You do know about that system, yes?

The community is lovely. I've made plenty of friends as well, but make sure to take your time at picking a suitable guild. One of the frustrating things, like in every MMO, is that they don't always speak English. And some of them are blind. xP

 Welcome to Shaiya. xD

Graphics can be adjusted for quality based on your lag and card. It actually does make a difference. I actually like the controls system, and I've taken it for granted when other MMOs don't have WASD controls. The Home key is very useful. 

Actually, there is one target button: ~ Sometimes it's a little bugged, although it's supposed to give you the nearest enemy, whether that's a monster of PvPer.

New server, eh? I'm not surprised it's called Gaia. I started playing when they only had one. Now they have four. *sniffs* Good ol' days.

Stat and skill redos aren't really necessary. Read the guides, and you'll have no problems putting in the right stats and skills (check forums; it's very useful and organized). Or just ask any high-level player and they'll give you the right advice. Are you playing lightie or fury side? 

 I want to play this game very, very badly, but for some reason fate thinks otherwise.

First, I tried to download it off the game client. I tried at least SEVEN times on two different computers. On one computer, the closest it go was to 72%, and then I ALWAYS landed in a blue screen, no matter what i did. I didn't have any other programs open. On the other computer, after a little lag the computer always froze. Both my computers are perfectly fine and new. System requirements is not a problem (although it shouldn't be anyways since I'm not even playing, just downloading.)

So I tried some mirror sites. Many of them required making accounts on that site, so I wasn't interested. One mirror site was waaayyy too slow, around 80 KB/s. Another was very fast for the first two minutes (400 Kb/s) but then suddenly stopped after five minutes.

So, I decided to take my chance at RapidShare. They had it divided into 13 parts, all RAR files. I downloaded each one (it was not easy; you had to click, then wait three minutes, wait 30 minutes for the download, then after two files wait another fifteen minutes, etc.) and WinRar. I extracted the files into one 2.5G file and opened it. Nothing happened. My cursor just kept swirling endlessly, and there was no 'the program could not run' or whatnot. Nothing happened. TT__TT

Help please.

 Yeah, call me a loser for playing this game for 1.5 years, more off than on though. Since I'm a student, I'm not a hardcore player. I've never tried any of the pay to play games, but based off other F2P games, Shaiya is one of the best F2P MMOs. That being said, it sadly does not make up for other flaws, of why I eventually quit.

Shaiya is the most STRUCTURED F2P game. It's hard to explain; there are a certain number of monsters especially suited for the needs of the targeted players, the maps are very organized, the spawn times are calculated, etc. It's rather hard to explain, but there's a sense of professional organization and thought involved in its creation.

Concept 8/10

You can choose to play Union of Fury or Alliance of Light. They have completely different maps, different races (but not classes), gear, etc. I personally prefer the lightie maps but fury dungeons. They are always at war with each other in the battlegrounds, and by winning altars you win bless for your entire side. There is no coherent storyline, no ultimate goal, but neither is it confusing nor tremendously addictive.

The trademark of Shaiya are its four levels: easy, normal, hard, and ultimate. Easy is to figure out what class you want to play, capped at 30. Hard is unlocked when you hit level 40 on normal (previously 50) and ultimate level 40 hard. In hard and ultimate mode, you get a boost of skill and stat points. However, they take 3-6x longer to level. And, in ultimate mode, if you die, you lose your character forever. This requires you to use resurrection runes, which are extremely costly. (Recently they have a rez item in the item mall, but it costs about $75). 

Graphics 9/10

Shaiya graphics are ah-some. You won't be able to find any graphics better for a F2P game. My high-level Oracle shoes looked like goth Barbie three-inch heels. The landscape is varied, your character looks great, and for guys who play female chars they get a panty peek every time you jump. My only complaint is that they didn't make use of the time cycle. Shaiya does have day and night, although you can't tell much of a difference, random blizzards and rainstorms, but that isn't involved in the gameplay at all, which is a disappointment. The snow is only there to look pretty, sometimes blinding.

PvE 7/10

Levels 1-20 are a blast. You only have to grind for quests, you get to explore the landscape, and you get to experience the partying option, which, in my opinion, is the best part of the game. My only complaint is that for the quests, it is sometimes ridiculously hard to find the monsters you are trying to kill. They might tell you "right outside of town," but if you're on the wrong side it can be extremely frustrating.

Levels 40-60 are a pain in the ass to level. Soloing is now impossible; parties gain exp 5x faster. Classes become more specialized. It gets down to repetitive grinding, and it's often very frustrating because it takes so long that a crucial member of the party often has to go (priests and mages are easy to replace, but guardians not so). In Episode 4, they've changed the leveling curve so it takes less long, which is a good thing. It's not so bad in normal mode, but it takes hard and ultimate mode 6x more exp needed to level. By this time, exp stones and charms are a must, and they're usually not cheap either.

PvP 9/10

PvP is generally pretty enjoyable, but there's just one flaw: you can't PvP in normal mode, forget about easy mode, so it means you have to wait until you unlock hard mode before you can enjoy PvP. Episode 4 has made "party sieging" possible of members of up to 30 (previously 7). However, PvP can become very empty in 20-30 and 40-60 during certain hours of the day, which makes it extremely dull.

Events/ Item Mall 4/10

Shaiya events make me want to doze. They're really very disappointing that few people care about. In Episode 4, some of this has changed, since events are now linked between servers, but there's hardly anything creative other than running to all the altars and killing GMs.

Like all F2P games, Shaiya entices you to rob you of your money. I know people who spend $120 a month on the game. I know someone else who spent $800 to get one item and kept failing: linked sonic boots. Sonics are lapis, with an OP Hammer, that has a 20% chance of linking. If you fail, you lose the boots as well. They're a necessity for any serious PvPer. The item mall is not optional, it's necessary. Otherwise, you're going to have to gold/lapis farm on a high level toon (55+) for some pretty long hours.

Overall 29/40

Shaiya is not a bad game. It's essentially fun, nothing ground-breaking, but there's a generally supportive community. The creators did a decent job. It's Aeria Games that messed it up.