Jade Dynasty, the highly anticipated martial arts MMORPG and third title from Perfect World Entertainment, is now open to the public!

Based on the popular Chinese internet novel Zhu Xian, Jade Dynasty allows players to step into a world of martial arts as they search for the secret of immortality.

There are many new features and aspects to Jade Dynasty that set it apart from other MMOs, while still retaining the classic gameplay that players have come to love and expect.

Players will begin their journey as an "Initiate," learning the state of the world and basic gameplay features. In the starting city, players will also be introduced to the five Factions.

Each Faction is a school of thought, teaching a specific way of life (good or evil) and a path to immortality. Since each Faction holds radically different ideas than the others, each Faction will feature a different play style, as well as different quests--even a different story!

The Factions are: Vim, the tanks; Skysong, the healers; Jadeon, the ranged attacker; Lupin, the assassin, the high critical damage class; and the Modo, the necromancer and shape-shifter.

Each class will have access to both pets and Espers. Every class will be able to obtain a pet in the starting area, Sunstream. Pets will not be limited to a certain Faction. As player's progress with pets, they can even have their pet's craft items! Espers are a magical item equipped like a weapon or gear.

Espers, not only provide extra skills to the player, but are also a part of a new set of tools in the MMO space. The Esper allows a player to unlock one of the three leveling aids we've introduced in Jade Dynasty--the Invigorate setting. If an Esper has at least 50% energy--which is gained purely by being in-game--a player can Invigorate their character, and the Esper will take control of the character and fight specified mobs. This tool isn't a free ride though- it will only run as long as the Esper's energy lasts.

Other leveling aids available in Jade Dynasty are the Meditate and Dream feature. By activating Meditate, a player can continuously gain a small amount of experience as long as they remain stationary in a safe zone. Dreaming is activated by obtaining an in-game item, then selecting the Dream checkbox when logging out of the game.

Jade Dynasty also has several features that will be familiar to any MMORPG player. There will be plenty of crafting possibilities for players who wish to have the best gear, although a Jade Dynasty twist also allows your pet to craft his own gear. There will also be ground and flying mounts available, both for increased movement speed as well as mounted combat.

Players who favor PvP will also feel right at home in Jade Dynasty. We will have both PvE and PvP realms, which will allow players to keep the same character but switch between the play styles as they wish with a click of a button. Players will also be able to form Clans, and then several Clans can form an Alliance for ultimate power. Alliances will be crucial in the Battlegrounds, a huge arena designed for large scale PvP battles and for endgame raid dungeons.

In the next coming weeks, we'll delve deeper into some of these features and look at why Jade Dynasty is one of the most anticipated martial art MMOs to date.