THIS GAME IS STILL IN OPEN BETA SO THIS REVIEW WILL CHANGE AS THE GAME RELEASES MORE CONTENT AND POSSIBLE FIXES!
Alright I'm not going to sugar coat this at all...but this game needs serious work. Before anyone starts throwing comments left and right about how I am wrong remember...I'm never wrong. Now back on subject! Archlord 2 is NOT I repeat NOT a direct sequel to the original Archlord. "But omg Igneius it has a TWO in the name"! NO just like Ragnarok Online 2 Archlord 2 is basically not a direct sequel. Apparently the entire story of Archlord 2 is based on a parallel dimension. Yeah I don't get it either but from what I could grasp in the trailer it's the same thing. Orcs/Moonelf vs Humans/Dracopeopleshits...w/e. Both separated into the Azuni(Humans) and the Crunn(Orcs). ERMERGERD WOW CLONE MUCH? Is what I've read all over the place. But that's for whoever is playing this to decide. MOVING ON!
Azuni Crunn
Class wise there are no classes. Yep that's right a classless system! You can also equip a secondary weapon ala Guild Wars 2 and utilize that weapons skills to help you out on the battlefield! Want to be an archer with the ability to tank in case a monster or players gets too close? You can! Want to be a wizard that can cast powerful magic skills while being able to further damage large mobs with a two handed sword? You can! This adds another layer of complexity to PvP and PvE but it is rarely used due to sets benefiting one stat that the other may need. Example would be the shield and sword and bow users. Both are viable for using a set that gives +dodge and so on since both can do greatly with a pure agility build. But a bow+staff user is kind of left out in the open due to the lack of magic attack from the armor and missing stats. So it isn't all fun and games! Also the main weapon you choose from the start gets 1 additional skill point per weapon level. That's right you get to level your weapons individually and you will receive a debuff on said weapons if your weapon level is lower than what is required to wield it!
Now most of you are thinking that this game is open world where each faction clashes on the field and mighty warriors test their mettle...but you would be mistaken. The game goes the carebear route. Quest areas are PvE ONLY and PvP is limited to Battlegrounds,Contested Areas(which are separate),and Skirmishes. Okay...I could understand this for you know the tutorial area or whatever the hell you want to call it kind of like how on Aion the first few maps are safe then BAM rifts are opening and players from the opposing faction pour through to murder the hell out of you causing high level players from your faction to raise weapons in order to defend you the not so geared player! But for the ENTIRE game in terms of PvE you are never met with any opposition other than monsters. That...is...boring! Why would you call this a hardcore pvp mmorpg when the entire time from levels 1-41(current cap) are empty of any PvP?! I went into the skirmish area thinking I might get into some heated battle...but I was WRONG! NOBODY is in the level 10 or 20 contested areas. NOBODY! Now I get it...most players are probably in the level 41 battlegrounds and so on but really...NOBODY?! One of my friends bumped into ONE person in the contested area for level 10...after being there for about an hour. Just....whatever...for you PvP lovers(like myself) you are going to have to sit through a few days of doing quests before you get to see any PvP just like I am doing right now to hit level 30 and get some PvP done...hopefully.
The PvE in this game is just as stale as most games. Grab a quest,go out and kill or collect stuff or both,and then head on back to get your experience points! Yep...FUN! Not even the dungeons are mildly interesting with the exception of Nightmare but even that is a pain to take place in! Why you may ask? Because I have been in the dungeon finder que for about 15 minutes and have yet to get a party to tackle nightmare! Normal dungeons are a joke and can be soloed by any player even though it does take more time! So there is no real reason to do anything in a group other than dungeons. FUN! The only promise of things getting interesting are when the announced contested areas with bosses and other things gets released! I can't wait to take down a huge boss while having to watch my back for any Crunn players! But that is a ways off and right now this is all we have to go with.
Graphics wise...well it's alright. Having played Mu Online,Ragnarok Online,and other games with less than interesting graphics I am fine with these. The one thing that does annoy me is that I have a gaming rig that can run TERA,Aion(forts etc),and other demanding games at 60+ frames per second but you are telling me that THIS game makes the FPS drop to 25?! WHAT KIND OF POOP IS THIS?! Bleh...this might get fixed...or not...I'm hoping it does!
Now I know I kind of went off on this game but it isn't all bad! Skills are flashy,combat is fine...with the exception of you sometimes not auto attacking,and gear looks smexy as it always should! But like I said at the start...this game needs a whole lot of work! The majority of the PvP is basically left for end game. So to those of you that wanted to have fun right from the start...NOT HERE! But for now I suggest people play this so they can hit the level cap,get geared,and be ready to tackle the next wave of content! Preview of new content to be added is right here! Archlord 2 New Areas
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