"Hunt together or die alone" is the tagline RaiderZ holds, a game which implores players to group together and hunt fantastical creatures or literally, die alone. So, before I jump into my first week in playing this game, I'll give you a bit of background information. Developed by MAIET Entertainment, widely known for the online game Gunz: The Duel, RaiderZ is a free to play action MMORPG. Set in the Kingdom of Rendel, a once prosperous nation, has now become ridden with fierce monsters and it is up to you to claim peace to Rendel.
Now that is out the way, my first week in RaiderZ had me on a pretty fun and eventful journey. I reached level 20 within a week's worth of play (I have been told the highest level is 35), but never the less there is a lot of content to get through.
Currently I am playing a Bezerker class, your heavy warrior type if you will, it is the standard hack 'n' slash type, heavy plate armour and either a 2 Handed Sword/Mace. Upon creating my character you enter the starting zone, after a bit of storytelling, you come across a settlement which is based around a pirate ship. The art style is nicely put together, zones are set across nice backdrops with well crafted buildings dotted around the landscapes, and with the engine the game has, well it looks very good.
The questing system so far is very standard. Your usual "kill this, kill that" which is very common in free-to-play MMORPGs. Throughout the starting zone I find myself swinging my hulking weapon at an array of enemies, the monster design in this game is great, especially the bosses. After working my way through a series of quests I get to craft my own weapon and armour.
)
Note here: crafting is the only way to gain new weapons and armour, and this is why the game encourages you to hunt enemies, as they drop a lot of the materials needed.
Upon leveling up a skill point is gained and you drop it into a skill of your desire, whether it be a passive or active skill. Upon putting 10 points into your skill tree you have the chance to learn skills from other class trees. This is where it gets interesting, although you have to be weapon specific. For example, if I were to spec in the cleric tree, my Bezerker would need to be using a two-handed Mace to use the active skills. This can be quite limiting, but it is also intriguing to customise your character in this way. I'll reserve judgment on the system until later on.
Playing the game since launch has had its ups and downs. A lot of people were experiencing connection issues and lag spikes. I hadn't come across this for quite a while, until I hit some of the more densely populated zones. It hasn't been a huge problem, but when you are trying to power through a few quests, it gets quite annoying when your attacks don't register.
)
Before I leave this first part of our review in progress I'll touch upon the cash shop. As of launch the Cash Shop, to me, is not a necessity. Items featured in the cash shop activate features such as XP Boosts, skill resets, "fashion" items and enchanting rate boosts. Although it is not needed, enchanting seems to me like it will become a integral aspect to a hardcore player in RaiderZ. (Note I'll be touching upon enchanting later).
RaiderZ at the moment has been a fun experience, the combat has attracted me greatly and grouping with others makes the game twice the fun. Check back soon for our second part of this review in progress series to see what's coming next or jump right into the game now to experience it for yourself!
- Check out Richard's "A Boss Around Every Corner"
- Read the Riode Zone Preview
- Watch an epic Chimera Fight
