Though it’s still in Beta here in the States, Ankama’s Wakfu is rolling around in Europe and gaining quite the following with an anime, books, comic books, and all other sorts of merchandise behind this colorful and unique isometric MMO. Launching tomorrow, the latest update to the beta in the US (and the game in the EU) brings in an all new zone with new monsters, new items, and a brand new part of the game’s ecology system as well. The Gobballs have long been a staple of the Wakfu and Dofus brand, but now for the first time their wild cousins are being introduced as monsters in the game world.
Accessed by a simple narrow bridge over deep waters, and surrounded completely by placid blue liquid, the Gobball Wilderness is ripe for the hunting, as well as the conquering. Taken directly from the forthcoming announcement, there’s also a whole zone that’s intended for players to fight over:
“This is a conquerable wilderness island, governed by a Member of the Gobball clan - Bouftoko. This island, which is also inhabited by classic wild Gobballs, will enable the nation that seizes control of it to spawn special Gobballs in their nation’s wilderness area. If a new nation seizes control, the special Gobballs will migrate to its wilderness area, and will stay there until another nation seizes control of the island.”
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Wakfu really is shaping up to be a unique and interesting game, and we don’t have too much longer to wait in the US to get our hands on the thing. In the meantime we caught up with Ankama’s Etienne Fougerousse to chat about all things Gobball.
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MMORPG.com: |
Tell us the back story on the Wild Gobballls. Where do they come from? |
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Etienne Fougerousse: |
The Wild Gobballs are an evolution of the classic Gobballs, emblematic creatures from the World of Twelve and of the same level as a Tofu. The Wild Gobballs are in fact Gobballs that migrated under the direction of their Chief, the Gobbsage to zones that aren’t controlled by a classical type of Clan Member. They then reverted to a more wild state, which you will quickly understand once you get to see them. The fact that there is no classic Clan Member to watch over their population will also have an impact on how the players will have to manage the ecosystem. |
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MMORPG.com: |
What can players expect from this update in the new zone? How does it relate to the last patch in August? |
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Etienne Fougerousse: |
The addition of this zone goes towards what we want to give to the players: new territories to explore and content that is adapted to all levels of players. This is also what we did last month with the Hoodlums and the Sadida Forest. Thanks to this zone, we introduce a link to the world before Ogrest’s Chaos: the Wild Gobballs have turned over the ground in those new zones so much that they’ve dug up relics from the Dofus era, in the swampy zones where they migrated to. Therefore, players who’ve previously played DOFUS the MMORPG will recognize some familiar items! |
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MMORPG.com: |
What challenges does the Gobballl Wilderness offer to players. How do they interact with the new race? |
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Etienne Fougerousse: |
The players who will find themselves battling the Wild Gobballs can expect a more difficult challenge than the one given by the classic Gobball, in addition to more interesting rewards! The fact that the zones are controlled by the Gobbsage from his conquerable island, and not by a traditional Clan Member, changes a lot of things. First off, the Wild Gobballs are in such great numbers that you do not have to worry about having them becoming extinct but more about your own extinction! And then after that, if your nation controls Gobbsage’s island, new monsters will appear in the wilderness zones which offer new challenges and a few really nice rewards at the end. |
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MMORPG.com: |
WAKFU continues to add new content, what plans do you have for the game with in the coming months? |
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Etienne Fougerousse: |
We are concentrating our efforts on the arrival of the last 4 classes, including the Feca, the Sram, the Masqueraider and the Osamoda as well as the addition of new playable zones, to offer as always more content that our players are very fond of. |
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MMORPG.com: |
Are there parts of this patch that you are really excited about, what is your favorite part of the Gobball Wilderness? |
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Etienne Fougerousse: |
I spent a lot of time designing the Pandawa class and after testing it recently, I am anxious to see the public’s feedback. It is a fun class, but requires a lot of strategy in order to bring out its full potential. Concerning the Wild Gobballs again, I love their Chief, Gobbsage, who has an incredible look and plays a very big role in regards to the wilderness zones as previously explained. |
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