I’ve been dabbling in Skyforge lately, due to the overwhelming amount of changes we’ve seen made to the game in recent months. Curiosity got the best me, and I’m glad I made the return. While the recent overhaul to the campaign and removal of the Atlas have made waves of positive and negative in the community, the Skyforge I find today is a game that’s altogether more palatable and less confusing than before. Ergo, it’s more fun to just jump in and play.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not perfect, and I think My.com and Obsidian shot themselves in a foot originally when they marketed it strictly as an MMORPG. Yes, it is an MMO, but for most MMORPG gamers looking for a big world that feels cohesive and whole, Skyforge just doesn’t fit the bill. It’s too fragmented, too instanced, to be what most MMO gamers would consider a true MMORPG. Instead, if you approach Skyforge as an Online Action RPG (think Path of Exile, Marvel Heroes, etc) it quickly fits into a niche more ably.
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I’ve long argued that the term MMORPG is too broad, and even “MMOG” is losing meaning. But Skyforge is an MMO and it is an RPG at heart. It’s just not the sort most gamers here are looking for. But with the recent overhauls to how progression works and how much content is accessible at any given time (hint: a lot more than before), Skyforge is a lot more fun than I remember.
Gone is the Atlas, and in its place is the Campaign Map which will guide you through the game’s core adventures, while unlocking classes, adding power (the main stat) and prestige (think “level”) to your character. You’ll even progress through the game’s story, though I admit that it’s not exactly Skyforge’s strong suit. Along the way you’ll get looped into directive’s from the council of gods which funnel players into specific activities for bonus rewards, you’ll power up your class with class specific side missions, and earn gear all along the way from the various reward systems.
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No more spending sparks, no more million different currencies. Gone too, it seems (someone can correct me) is the limit on progress tied to those systems. Skyforge’s modus operandi is still confusing to an extent, but it’s much easier to follow these days than it was when the game launched and the tutorial upon starting anew is very helpful now. I will say that if you want to start fresh and not pick up the game in the middle of the campaign after time away, you’ll want to get a new email signed up to My.com. The game still uses a one character per account model (since you can play and progress all classes), and if you’re looking to relearn the game that’s problematic since you can’t start from scratch without a new account.
Combat’s received a bit of an overhaul too – namely with the fact that a lot more skills can be used while moving, and enemies now frequently drop special weapons that the player can use as sort of “power ups” that last for a bit of time before you’re back to your normal skills. During the Christmas event going on right now, they’re all festively themed too – nothing quite like beating up a giant mechanid with a candy can of fury or giant red mittens.
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I’m not a god yet, but my Prestige level is over 37,000 now, and I’m clearing out the campaign to get my “Junior God” status. Perhaps once I get there and see all the game has to offer, we’ll revisit its score. What I will say right now is that if you’re looking for a game you can play in short bursts or long periods of time, without a whole lot of investment, you can do a whole lot worse than Skyforge. I still wish there was more visual customization, but there’s a load of content in the game now and plenty of ways to play. Have you visited Allods and Obsidian’s MMO lately? What do you think of all the changes?
