Q&A

MMORPG.com:

Are there any significant differences between the European and North American versions of Cabal Online, or is it just a portal to the European version?

Cabal Online:

Its always nice to start off the interview with an easy question! In essence both versions are exactly the same. We share the same development teams, receive the same updates and the content is almost identical. While each version is run by a different company, in effect both are just regional versions of the same game and offer very much the same experience. So yes, www.cabalonline.com is the portal for European gamers, while the OGPlanet site is the portal for North American players.

MMORPG.com:

I noticed two nations within Cabal Online, is there competitive player vs. player action within Cabal Online?

Cabal Online:

Absolutely! An action-oriented game like Cabal Online just screams for good PvP and right from level one players are able to take part in competitive player vs player action. From the duel system, which allows players to bet on PvP duels, to the specially designated channels where players can PvP with their name hidden, there are a variety of arenas for player vs. player battles.

As you highlighted, a huge part of the PvP action is orientated around the two nations. Closely linked to the lore of the game, players are forced to chose a nation once they hit level 95. From then on it is possible to battle players and guilds from the opposing nation and players will be rewarded depending on the strength of opposition. The ultimate arena comes in the form of „Tierra Gloriosa “ ,a new war-map which is activated every day for a period of two hours. With towers and towns to capture, the winner is the nation who has captured all the towers or has the most points by the end of the war. At the end of each week there is one battle which is especially important. Hosted on a Saturday this war determines the dominant nation for the week ahead, with the winning nation leaving not only with personal rewards, but also nation rewards such as access to certain warping stations and an increased experience boost on certain maps.

In essence everything you do in PvP actually has a purpose, which is often not the case in many games. Be it the personal honour points you gain, or the additional bonuses you might receive for battling on the war map, PvP on CABAL is not only competitive but rewarding.

MMORPG.com:

How well do you think the casual gamer will fare in Cabal Online?

Cabal Online:

Very well. It is obviously key for any game that it is able to appeal not only to a small section of hardcore gamers but also to the casual user and CABAL appears to fare better than most in this area. Feedback from our users has suggested that the game is moderately easy to get into and can be picked up and dropped with relative ease. With a range of objectives, such as player level, skill level, crafting level and honour points, the game lets users pick and choose how they wish to develop their character. For example a user with less time may just concentrate on improving their character level, while someone with more time may also focus on maximizing their honour points. This flexibility ensures the game is accessible, yet also challenging, for users with varying levels of commitment to the game.

MMORPG.com:

What sets Cabal Online apart from the other free to play online games?

Cabal Online:

We would say that CABAL Online is one of, if not the, best free-to-play games on the market. With a set of features which would rival any game, players instantly notice that CABAL is not just a “carbon copy” of previous releases (unlike so many games which have appeared in recent years). With innovative features such as the combo-point system, challenges for both the hardcore and casual gamers and graphics which stand up against its rivals, these claims aren’t merely propaganda. If you don’t believe us simply take a look at the top gaming sites, with most users on these sites placing CABAL as one of the top games currently on the market; after all the customer rarely lies.

It is also worth noting that in comparison to other free-to-play games, CABAL Online performs highly on areas such as cheats, support, fairness and updates. Often these areas go unnoticed and companies are happy to sit back and take money from their users without providing an all-round quality experience. You won’t find this with CABAL and Games-Masters.com takes a pro-active stance in ridding the game of the negative elements which might hinder a users gaming experience.

MMORPG.com:

It was mentioned at www.cabalonline.com that you need to be level 40 to begin a guild, what are the level requirements to join a guild?

Cabal Online:

The website is correct. Players are required to be level 40 and pay a certain amount of gold in order to create a guild. These limits are easily attainable yet ensure that thousands of inactive guilds are not created. While guild creation has a limit, players are free to join a guild at any level. In fact players are automatically joined to a beginner’s guild when they start the game. This allows them to interact with other new users, sharing tips and advice and also grouping up for the more difficult starting quests.

MMORPG.com:

What level of cooperative play will there be in Cabal Online?

Cabal Online:

This really depends on the user. With the options of nation warfare, clan warfare and group dungeons, there is plenty of chances for large scale cooperative play. It is particularly important in nation wars and high-end dungeons that users work together as a team and success or failure is really determined by how well players do this. Players are also rewarded with a slight exp boost when hunting in groups, and the CABAL dungeons are perfect for exploring with a friend or two. With this being said, there is plenty of opportunity for the solo player. With timed dungeons, duels, war maps and hundreds of quests, group play is not essential to progress in the game.

MMORPG.com:

How does crafting play into Cabal Online, will it be as tedious as traditional crafting?

Cabal Online:

It depends what you mean by traditional crafting, however we can assure you crafting in CABAL Online is not tedious. Compared to other games the art of crafting is a much more specialized activity and while the majority of players reach a reasonable level of crafting on CABAL, only the most dedicated will excel. A good crafter in CABAL will be able to make a very profitable living, due to the quality and demand of the items they can make, and this is important to ensure players have an incentive to craft.

MMORPG.com:

Will players who spend more money at the Item store gain an unfair advantage over those who do not?

Cabal Online:

No, definitely not. The item shop in CABAL is not about being „better“, but more about comfort. It is important that with the item shop you do not alienate or overpower paying customers and items offered are therefore more about convenience. No item offered in the shop is essential for game play and you will therefore find as a free user you can achieve everything that a paying customer can (although it will obviously be more difficult to do so). To give you an example, one of the highest selling items in the cash shop is a return stone. This enables users to use the warp system and saves them time from running from A to B. Free players can still access the maps, however they will obviously need to take the time and effort to run from area to area.

MMORPG.com:

Is there any type of faction or reputation “grinding” involved in Cabal Online?

Cabal Online:

While there is no “faction” as such, we have a stat called honour which is separate from experience and skill level. Higher levels of honour are required to use some of the best items in game and as the name suggests also carries a certain degree of respect. Honour can be gained in several ways, including the killing of members of the other nation or by completing certain quests.

MMORPG.com:

Players love to stand apart from each other, what level of character customization is there in Cabal Online?

Cabal Online:

While CABAL does not set the field alight with its character customization, it is similar to most games in the market. Providing a nice range of hair styles, faces and body builds, users can customize the way their character looks in numerous ways. Further variety comes in the form of the items players use and with a wide variety of class and level specific weapons, armor and gears. Players are also able to buy from the cash shop outfits and dresses, such as a Santa outfit, which can be used to further distinguish themselves from other players. All in all players can clearly distinguish themselves from one another and you do not enter a town to see a hundred identical looking players.

MMORPG.com:

You recently launched the Episode 2 Update. What can you tell us about what this adds to the game?

Cabal Online:

Sure. Episode 2 was the first completely free major expansion to CABAL Online and was delivered in several smaller updates. It has added to the game in three main ways:

Firstly it has brought balance. Prior to the update the European version ran on a different set of stats to the Korean version of the game. This meant that certain stats such as critical damage were lower, certain classes were weaker and it resulted in a slight imbalance of classes and dungeon difficulty. With episode 2 we have returned back to the Korean model, which has brought some much needed balance and stability, and has resulted in a more enjoyable experience for our users.

Secondly through the increase of the level cap, and introduction of new maps, quests, skills and items, the game has expanded to meet the needs of an ever increasing high-level community. As players reached the level 150 cap we needed to not only increase this level cap but also add quality content to keep users interested. With episode 2 we have done this and the new content should keep even the fastest of levelers interested for some time to come.

Finally, the update has added a real purpose to player vs. player battles. With the new war map, the battle between the two nations has been taken to a whole new level and this has created a much more competitive player vs. player arena. Players are now rewarded for partaking in PvP, and fighting for a nation brings not only pride but also benefits. It is important that the PvP aspect of the game is not just a small part next to PvE and with Episode 2 we have seen PvP action in CABAL take on a new significance.

In summary Episode 2 has developed the major areas of the game and has provided an expansion which should keep the CABAL community busy for some time to come.

MMORPG.com:

Cabal started out as a pay to play game and has moved itself into the free-to-play realm. What can you tell us about this change and its impact on the game?

Cabal Online:

Moving from the traditional pay-to-play model to a free-to-play model was one of the biggest decisions we have had to make, however it has certainly paid off and we have no regrets. Many users unfairly equate the “free-to-play model” with the quality of the game, yet in truth some games simply require a different approach. Games like CABAL rely on large communities to really work and with the new model it has allowed this to happen. In the last year we have seen nearly a million new registrations and since the launch of Episode 2 last month nearly 80,000 unique users are logging in each week (even more impressive when you consider the game is only accessible to Europeans). Many would say “So what?”, after all the game is free so how hard can it be to attract users? The simple fact is that more and more users are trying CABAL Online, and more and more are coming back day after day and purchasing premium memberships. This can only be a testament to the quality of the game.

The new model has obviously brought its difficulties. For example we have found an influx of bot users, alz sellers and fraudsters. Yet we have worked hard to face these new challenges head on and with new tools are now able to crack-down hard on these negative elements. We now have a game which is much more profitable and most importantly more enjoyable for all of our users. As the well known saying goes, “One shoe does not fit all”, and CABAL is certainly now a much happier place under its new model.

MMORPG.com:

Is there anything else that you would like to tell our readers about Cabal Online?

Cabal Online:

Come and give the game a go. The great thing about free-to-play games is that there really is nothing to loose! Behind the scenes we continue to make improvements to the game. Just recently we have developed several new scripts to catch automated users, while the Chaos Arena and guild board are two exciting new additions just around the corner.