Profile: thekwong
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• • A honest review

  • oh wow its neume D:

    anyway~ I'm playing other games and enjoying them for now. I may eventually come back after changes though (and after I get bored with all the new mmo's coming out). Keep up the good work and I hope SOTNW is successful in the future.

  • Posted: 3/21/08 7:48 PM
    Sword of the New World
• • A honest review

  • I got to 100 on sotnw (the american version) and only 50-60 on the singaporean version. (I quit because it was going p2p). Honestly, I don't think adding more recipes helps because it just makes the gold farmers and bots that pick up items stronger. Everyone else will have to farm for that gold or sell one of their items for millions of gold and then they can afford even more recipes and make the items.

    The game needs a revamp on AR/DR so its not 100% the factor of pvp, and instanced raids at least so not the same 3 clans hoards the loot xD. It's going to be a long long long time before 40% of the people above 80 have 84 elites xD

  • Posted: 3/16/08 10:39 PM
    Sword of the New World
• • A honest review

  • SOTNW is also known as GE in other versions. Because GE is shorter, I'll be calling SOTNW GE in this review.

    About myself and the game:
    played singapore's GE (closed beta, open beta) until it was announced that the game would be going p2p. Was level 51 at that time.
    eventually joined SOTNW the day it became f2p.
    eventually got to level 100 and shortly quit.

    
    Ok, we all know that SOTNW is a f2p game. And quite honestly, SOTNW still is the best f2p game I've tried. I mean I actually got to max level. I gave up at level 29 in Silkroad online (for instance). For everyone that complains about: "you can't afk anymore." You still can, just not if you get knocked down. This just means you have to set yourself up better (since in later levels you get knocked down a lot!)

    Even if you don't like grinding, this game's aoe system is insane. Most mobs your level die in one aoe, and sometimes two, which is why the spawn rates in this game are insane. If your alone in an area (the better spawn areas) and run around a few feet, you already have a new group of mobs on you that you have to AOE.

    Lets go over some Pro's/Con's because those seem easier on the eyes:

    Pros:
    - Has raids
    - Lots of AOEs
    - Pretty unique multi character control system
    - The grind isn't as bad as other games
    - The best graphics ive seen in a F2P game (i love GE graphics)
    - Decent music, but I still turned them off
    - Has instances called "missions" and some are worth doing
    - Lots of characters to choose from

    Cons
    - 100% item based game (skills not neccessary unless exact same gear)
    - Characters are not balanced for both PVE and PVP
    - Raids are not instances
    - Skills are repetitive
    - PVP isn't as interesting because your characters die fast meaning you can't really micromanage them for a long time
    - Drop loot is really random (annoying for raids)

    If you look at the Pros and Cons, this game is worth playing until you hit max level. Now, I'll explain exactly why I quit.

    The game is way to item dependent. Now that may seem like a lame reason to quit especially after wasting months to hit max level, but it's really not. The way the game was designed is largely influenced by the gear.

    Ok, so if you have played this game before, you'd know there is something called defense rate and attack rate. Basically if your defense rate is higher than the enemies attack rate, you'll be dodging. (the larger the difference, the more you dodge). And if you play this game, you'll know there are elite weapons and armors. The highest ones used to be level 84 only, but now there are level 100 ones.

    Basically, the right armor with the rice enhancements (like a +5 84 elite plate with +3 dr) can make you unstoppable unless the other player has even more attack rating. Its a lot easier to pump DR because shields give you another +2. This means anyone not using elite weapons can't even hit you. I'm not kidding. Between one person with elite armors and weapons against 10 people with unique weapons, the one person will win, or at least take an hour to die.

    So if everyone gets the same gear, in the end it'd be fair?

    True, but the strongest guilds would never let you get that gear. It's not impossible to do that. Remember in the cons list where I said Raids are instances? That means that if you and your guild initiate a raid, any other person from anywhere can come to it. That also means they can PK you for it and then kill the boss, and then take the item.

    So just fight back?

    How? They have so much defense rate because they started farming 84 elites before we did.

    There are other ways to get elite 84's?

    Well, yes there are. In the past, before the recent updates, there were certain boss monsters that'd drop elite 84s and recipes for them. But then the people in the top guilds would be farming them 24/7 because those bosses have an exact respawn timer. Fun, this means they are doing all the raids, which also have a reuse timer, and the normal bosses in the many maps. So, you're level 100 (or veteren) with nothing to do. Why? Because if you try something, you'll just get pked for it.

    Oh yea, its not better in the NONpk server either. If you start a raid, other guilds will come and try to KS your monster anyways. To top that off, the drop isn't exactly based off who or what party did the most damage. I haven't figured it out exactly, but sometimes its really random when one guy goes in, hits the boss, runs away and watches - then you kill the boss and he comes in and takes the loot.

    Because the game is so heavily dependent on defense and attack rate, there's basically no skill involved. Don't count on PVP being fun either in high levels unless you and your opponent have the exact same gear. It might be worth a try then.

    
    oh yea, I'd like to add: It's probably actually not that difficult to join of the top clans, but after making friends in a guild you started with, what kind of jerk would you be to leave all of a sudden to join another clan just for loot? Those clans probably take forever to give you the drops of a raid anyways because your the "newest one" if you do even get in. And if you want to catch up and you do get an 84 elite, the other members are already getting the new 100 elites. Even if you do stick it out then, you're going to be incredibly bored.

    People are quitting already because A) they couldn't stand the grind to 100 or B) because they didn't have enough gear and kept getting pk'd by people with better gear

    soon, the top players (like my old guildmates from singapore GE) will be quitting too because C) there's no "fresh blood" because no one can compete with the top of the top since they can and do control the game

  • Posted: 3/13/08 4:01 AM
    Sword of the New World
• • A Sad Ending To A Great Game =(

  • as far as i know, in all versions of Granado Espada (SOTNW is the American server's name), afk leveling is possible. In all versions, if you get knocked down, you have to reset your characters so they can attack and heal again beacsue their stanced has changed.

    
    anyways, to those that "complain" about the grind, try playing another korean mmorpg. Even without afk leveling, SOTNW is one of the less grindy games because AOES make leveling so fast. I hit level 100 long long long time ago with a a few level 50-70 alts. The reason I quit is because how unbalanced the game is at late game.

    
    This is single handidly the MOST item based game ever. A level 100 with 84 Elite armor and weapons can kill 10 families without elite 84's because those 10 families will never or rarily even hit someone with 84 elite armor. Not only that, if you think you will get some 84 elites, good luck. Besides being able to buy some recipes, the only other way is to raid for them. Sounds fun? hardly. On the server I was on, three clans were on the top and PK'd any other guild that attempted a raid. How is that possible? Raids are instances. If you summon a raid boss, another clan can easily come inside your raid, kill you all, and then kill the boss.

    
    Oh, sound like fun? a little competition? Not really when their clan has enough 84 elites and you can't hit anything because your weapons aren't good enough.

    
    Now lets take it a bit further ahead in time. You can now buy recipes for 84 elites (but getting the materials sucks). Oh! Now everyone's on fair game right? Wrong. Now those guilds that beat you with 84 elites have 100 elites while you now have 84 elites. Once again, you can't touch them.

    
    This game ruins itself because of its EXTREME item dependency. You hardly need any skills to play this game at all if you have the items.

    
    So lesson is: if you're in that top guild, have fun playing, but you'll quit eventually because no one new challanges you because they can't.

    
    If you're not in that guild, ouch. Good luck ever experiencing the end game content.

  • Posted: 3/11/08 9:51 PM
    Sword of the New World