Here we are yet again, another day, another column, another post to discuss ArcheAge! My last column was mostly to discuss the news on Founder's Packs and a few other in-game experiences. Since then we've had one new blog post from Trion Worlds that discusses, “Traversing the World”. Let's leap into discussing that first and see where it goes!
The world of ArcheAge is huge and if you intend to walk everywhere, you're going to have brolic legs or get bored! In order to make your traveling a bit quicker why not grab a mount? As you follow the main questline you'll slowly be introduced to features in ArcheAge. One of which is your very first mount. I believe around level 10 for my race, the Firran, I was able to get a Snowlion which essentially was an awesome white, giant, lion with huge fangs. My creativity went as far as calling him Brosephlin. Don't act like you're not impressed. The quest for getting your mount is neat in the way that they start you out with a baby. You end up giving them water, food, and after waiting maybe 5 – 10 minutes you end up with a full grown mount that you can ride gloriously. While I have nothing against getting my mount as quickly as possible, I feel like having it journey around with me and eventually becoming a mount would have been cooler. Even if it was say only one or two quests that I'd wander around with it fighting with me as a pet rather than a mount, I'd get a kick out of that.
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Anyway, mounts can be summoned at any time and are great for getting where you need to go quicker. There are horses, elk, and snowlions that can even carry a passenger. This is great for people that are looking to bring a trade packs to other areas to sell. Aside from using mounts just for traveling, they also work like an actual character. They have health, stats, levels, and even equipment. This is why you may see people AFK running into walls or circles with their mount for leveling up them. Often on Mirage Island you'll see areas of people just running in circles chaotically. When I was at Mirage Island for the first time taking in this beautiful island this seemed to be one of the popular topics in the chat. People consistently going back and forth about people doing this but hey, whatever, people can do whatever they want. Especially if it's allowed and from what I understand, it is.
Let's take a step away from Mounts and go jump off a cliff, because why not? Waaaaait, don't jump yet, first you need a Glider! Gliders do exactly what they say they do in the name, glide. Follow the starting questline and you'll get a Glider a few levels after your first mount. I recall mentioning in my last column how cool it was once I first got my Glider. Despite almost falling to my death of course! If you're near a cliff, on a hill, then this is the perfect way to get to the bottom at a decent pace. Your first glider will be slow and not quite so aerodynamic but it'll get the job done and look awesome. The basic glider has no abilities, whereas other ones can get abilities such as an upward boost, dropping bombs, quick side rolls, and so forth. As I only found myself at Mirage Island just the other day, I'm still rocking the basic glider. But I purchased the recipe for a new one so crafting that will be a goal of mine. I mean, who doesn't want to flail through the air dropping bombs? Unlike Mounts, Gliders won't help you in your trade pack journey. There can only be one person per glider and you can't carry a trade or resource pack while gliding. This is primarily to help you scale a cliff or glide over a dangerous area to where you need to go. As you upgrade your Glider you'll also notice that you'll upgrade the flight speed, gliding ability, turning speed, and descent speed.
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Now for a fun one, boats! Yet again, you'll attain the fine and luxurious Rowboat if you continue the questline. This two-seat craft is armed to the teeth with two oars for rowing and the hull is jam-packed with wood. It even has a light at the bow of the ship. Why bother going for the bigger ships at this rate? I've sailed a Rowboat once before but have never sailed on the open ocean. It just happened to be a small pond with a Rowboat and I figured why not hop in? As the Rowboat has no cannons, no sail, and it's really just you rowing away, avoid sailing far from the coast. Pirates and people in general that see a perfect opportunity will take it to destroy you. You'll find yourself helpless if you're out in the middle of the ocean.
Next is the Clipper known to be a speedboat as it's fast and highly maneuverable. Whether you're looking to pop a few shots at an enemy with the Adventure Clipper or board an enemy with the Harpoon Clipper is up to you. If you're looking for transporting trade packs, then the Merchant Ship is for you. The Merchant Ship is long, fast, has two cannons and two underwater breathing devices. This ship can transport a good 20 packs across the ocean to whatever destination you desire. If you decide to go the route of the Merchant Ship, then you're going to want some protection. I recall reading on the ArcheAge Source fan forum about a story in which people were passing through essentially pirate territory. They thought there five or so ships would be enough protection so they strode on. Next thing you know a Guild of pirates pop up and offer to escort them to where they need to go for a fee or to destroy them, themselves. Now this fee wasn't anything crazy, but it's also a form of extortion. It's a demand with some protection as well.
