Astellia is an upcoming MMORPG being prepped for release in North America from Barunson E&A. It’s due out in CBT in Korea next month, and due to release in the beginning of 2018 overseas. While we’re looking at the end of 2018 for its North American release, we wanted to chat with Barunson E&A now to find out what we can expect.
MMORPG: This is going into CBT in Korea next month with a projected release of 2Q 2018. Will we see this in the West?
Barunson E&A: Of course. NA is very important market for us, and we will launch in NA at a right time after stabilizing Korean service. The Korean version is Free to Play, but we are considering Pay to Play model to meet the NA gamers’ expectations.
MMORPG: How do player go about collecting Astell? Are this all obtainable in game or will there be monetized?
Barunson E&A: Basically players can obtain all of the Astells within the game itself.
MMORPG: It appears there is group PvE. What size? Normal group and then larger raids?
Barunson E&A: We are planning medium scale raid (16 ~ 20 players) in addition to 4 player dungeons.
Currently we are not considering large scale raid, it does not match the combat style that Astellia pursues.
MMORPG: Will there be PvP? Will it focus on 1v1 or group versus group?
Barunson E&A: Yes, we will provide 1v1 PvP, but battle results won’t be recorded. More like dueling. In Arena we will provide 1v1 and 4v4 systems. The core of Astellia’s PvP is 'Avalon', a large-scale battlefield. Avalon is a conflict zone that provide small to large scale PvP battle.
Astellia's main goal is to provide exciting PvP experience with massive PvP in Avalon.
MMORPG: Astells have roles like tank, healer, support character. Do players have unique roles as well? What classes will there be at launch?
Barunson E&A: There are five classes, Warrior (Tanker), Rogue (Melee dealer), Archer (Range dealer), Mage (Range dealer), Scalar (Healer). Both the Player and Astell classes are similar to that of traditional MMORPG class roles. Depending on the battle situation, the player can summon Astell to complement their weaknesses or strengthen their own power.
To explain the use of Astell while playing the game, players can choose combination of Astells by using Astell deck. If you want to deal more damage, you can select dealer Astell, and if you want safe play, you can select healer Astell to heal main character. Or, you can switch among tanker, healer and dealer for balanced, stable game play.
MMORPG: Will there be a focus on the economy and crafting?
Barunson E&A: Astellia is not focused deeply on an economy system, but crafting and item trading are well implemented. Most of the equipment can be obtained from the game and it can be crafted by the player. (Some of the crafted equipment have better stats than dropped equipment.)
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MMORPG: Will we see a realm versus realm conflict?
Barunson E&A: The Avalon (large scale battle field) I mentioned above is the battle for RvR. However, 'Avalon' will be periodically reset and thus, it is not a fixed RvR like WoW.
MMORPG: With over 30 types of Astells how do you manage to keep them unique?
Barunson E&A: Astells can be divided into two categories, class and usage types. Even in the same class or usage type, each Astell has different skills. Astell can be upgraded by the ‘Star Gem’, and players can strengthen the attributes of the class.
MMORPG: Why did you go with Unreal 3 over Unreal 4?
Barunson E&A: When the development of Astellia began back at the end of 2013, UE3 was the right choice to represent the concept and world view we were planning to go with.
