Ragnarok Online

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Ragnarok Online
Ragnarok Online logo
Developer(s)Gravity Corporation
Publisher(s)Gravity Corporation
Platform(s)Windows
ReleaseAugust 31, 2002
Genre(s)MMORPG
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Ragnarok Online (RO) is an MMORPG created by Gravity Corporation of South Korea. Much of the background of the game is based on the manhwa Ragnarok by Lee Myung-Jin. The soundtrack is provided by SoundTeMP. An anime was created, Ragnarok The Animation, which is based on the game. A sequel is currently in development, Ragnarok Online 2.

Basics

The MMORPG is loosely based upon the Ragnarok manwha, set in the world of Rune-Midgard. For the most part, the game lacks a plotline, but there are small side-quests or events set up by the administrators of the game sporadically to add depth and maintain interest.

The game's tutorial does mention that there is a war between man and monsters, an accurate observation given the fact that experience is given to the player when they kill monsters. However, warring is not limited to man versus monster combat, as ingame guilds can fight against each other in the War of Emperium, a battle between several guilds for castles in town, which give them access to dungeons and treasures that are not accessible to people who are not in the residing guild.

The currency of the game is Zeny, which may be obtained by the selling of items recovered from defeating monsters. The economy in Ragnarok Online is driven heavily by rare items that are not sold in stores and there is a very large difference in wealth between players, for the most part. The Merchant class offers vending of items to other players, overcharging of items, and even discounts.

There are eight equipment slots - three for headgear (top, middle and bottom), two for accessories, and one of each for shields, weapons, body armor, cloaks and footgear. Currently, only the 3 head pieces show significant external graphic variety. Weapon and shield are the only other items that can be seen externally, but are significantly less limited in variety.

File:Zhenbolt.jpg
Two monks in a battle with demons and zombies.

Each character has an HP bar and an SP bar. The HP (Hit Points) bar tells you how healthy you are. When HP is reduced to 0, the character "dies" and is returned to the city that the character had set their save point to. This also results in an experience reduction of 1%, though this does not apply for the Novice class. Skill Points (SP) are needed to use many job-related skills. If you have 0 SP remaining, you cannot use any skills that require SP. Both HP and SP regenerate on their own when the character is at rest (not moving), and at twice the speed if the character is sitting down. However, if the character holds more than 50% of their total weight capacity, they cannot automatically regain HP/SP. The regeneration speed of HP and SP depends on the Vitality and Intelligence attributes, respectively.

The game is very open-ended; after completing novice training, players are free to roam the map at their leisure, with the only restriction being the ferocity of the monsters in a given area. Low-leveled players generally have to stay close to towns, lest the enemies become too powerful for them to handle.

In addition, players have complete control over their Stats (Strength, Agility, Vitality, Intelligence, Dexterity, and Luck) and Skills (class-based) to create the type of character they want to play.

Cities

There are several major cities in Rune-Midgard, the world of Ragnarok Online. Players are allowed to visit any of them at any time, or any of the many places in between. For detailed information, please see List of Ragnarok Online locations

Prontera
The capital city of Rune-Midgard, located right in the center of the map. It's the center of commerce for most servers, as well as the home to the acolyte, knight and crusader classes. Prontera also houses the only official church in the game, and is the place to go to get married and is the easiest place for many novices to start, due to the abundance of low-level creatures.
Izlude
Satellite of Prontera. Izlude is the official home of the swordsmen. Izlude's port is also the only place by which one can reach Byalan Island and Jawaii (for married couples).
Geffen
Located northwest of Prontera. Home of the Magician Academy, where novices may become magicians. Geffen is also home to the Guild of Wizards and the Blacksmith Association. Geffen Tower, located in the center of the city, has a small dungeon which comprise its lower levels. The Wizard and Blacksmith guilds can also be found here. The superdungeon Glast Heim is located nearby and is generally considered a satellite dungeon due to its relatively close proximity and easy accessibility from Geffen.
Payon
A city nestled within the forest of the same name. This city is reminiscent of ancient Korean culture. It is located southeast of Prontera.
Archer Village
A small village loccated above Payon, where one can become an Archer. It can also be called the satellite city of Payon. There is a Zombie Cave located there which is a famous training ground for 1st Class beginners.
Alberta
A port city to the south of Payon, and home of the merchants. Alberta's port is the only means of accessing the sunken ship, Turtle Island, Amatsu, Kunlun, and Louyang excluding teleport. The city also plays host to numerous low-level creatures.
Morroc
An Arabic-themed desert city south of Prontera. Novices can become thieves in the pyramid just northwest of Morroc and assassins in the desert to the east of Morroc. This city is surrounded by a large number of medium level creatures.
Al de Baran
Due north of Prontera, with its large clock tower, which serves as a dungeon. Al de Baran is also the only way to reach Lutie (via Santa Claus). The Alchemist guild can be found here.
Lutie
Also known as Christmas Town, is the home of Santa Claus and the toy factory dungeon. As suggested by its name, it snows every day.
Comodo
Gambling capital of the Southwest, is a cross between Hawaii and Las Vegas. Night is eternal in the city, and fireworks can be seen in the sky at all times. Comodo's main attraction is its (non-playable) casino, and good leveling spots nearby. The Bard and Dancer guild can be found here. Added to iRO in August 2003. This city has two high levels and one medium level dungeon.
Juno
A large city north of Al de Baran, and the capital of the Scwartzveld Republic, a kingdom separate from Rune-Midgard. The Sage guild can be found here. The pathway to Transcendent Classes may also be found in here, in the Northwest corner of the city. Added to iRO in May 2004.
Amatsu
Styled after Ancient Japan. Here the pink-white blossoms of the cherry (sakura) trees are always in bloom. One of the city's major draws is the Tatami Maze. Amatsu was the first product of the "Global Project", in which new cities with themes based on countries with licensed RO servers were (and still are) added in rapid succession. Amatsu was added to iRO in September 2004.
Gonryun
Designed in Ancient Taiwanese style. Outside of iRO, it is known as Kunlun. In October 2004, Gonryun became the second city in the Global Project to be added to iRO.
File:Umstairs.jpg
With Global Project comes new and amazing environments.
Umbala
A lost village, located to the north of Comodo. Home of the self-denominated Utan tribe. It was added to iRO in November 2004.
Jawaii
Not completely a village or city, more of an Island. Commonly nicknamed the "Honeymoon Island." Most married couples go here to celebrate their marriage (and only married players are allowed to go there. Unmarried players can only reach Jawaii's pub for a drink and can not go out of the pub). It was added to iRO in March 2005.
Nifflheim
A city of the dead. There are many kinds of undead and demon monsters here, and the city may only be reached through Umbala's Yggdrassil Tree. It was added to iRO in December 2004
Louyang
Designed in Ancient Chinese style. It was added to iRO in March 2005. Is the third city of Global Project.
Ayothaya
Designed after ancient Thailand. Featuring the atmosphere of the former Thai capital in Ayutthaya period, it was added to iRO on 19th April, is the fourth and actually the last city of Global Project.
Einbroch
A city made from steel, supposedly being one of the first cities in the Schwartzveld Republic to go through the real-life equivalent of the Industrial Revolution. It was added to iRO October 2005.
Einbech
A small mining town and satellite city to Einbroch. Added to iRO with Einbroch.
Lighthalzen
A city of commerce. It was added in June 2005 to kRO.
Hugel
A small 'Garden City' town that currently serves an entrance to the Odin Dungeon. It was added on January 2006 to kRO. Located near the Hugel Fields on the Scwartzveld Republic.

Game mechanics

Level and class

Unlike most other RPGs, each character within Ragnarok has two different levels: Base Level (blvl) and Job Level (jlvl). This is denoted in shorthand as "Base/Job". So, a character with Base Level 5 and Job Level 1 would be described as 5/1.

Base Level indicates personal growth. Through base levels, your Stats grow — you become stronger, faster, or smarter.

Job Level indicates your progression within your chosen profession. For example, you become a better Archer or Blacksmith. In game terms, that means you get more Skills and bonus stat points.

The maximum level for first and second classes in legitimate versions of RO is 99/50. Advanced classes can reach 99/70 and the Super Novice class can reach 99/99. Some unofficial servers have base or job levels up to 255/100.

You begin the game as a novice. Upon reaching Job 10, a novice can change into a different job class, and become stronger. Or if the Novice wished to become a Super Novice they would wait until base level 45 to become one. There are six basic classes, also known as 1-1 classes:

1-1 classes

  • Archers uses bows and arrows to shoot enemies at long range.
  • Swordsmen deal with swords, spears, and excel in direct combat.
  • Thieves hide and use sneaky tactics to defeat enemies.
  • Mages use their magic to destroy foes.
  • Merchants initially have lesser battle skills, compensated for by the skill Mammonite (grants magnified attack at the cost of some zeny) and the ability to carry a cart (where large amounts of healing items could be stored and used in battle). Makes deals for better prices with NPCs, and vends items to other players.
  • Acolytes harness the power of God to aid themselves and others.

Each class branches off into two different second-level classes, to make an effective selection of 12 different classes. There is one additional special class, the Super Novice (which can choose from any of the 1-1 classes' skills), bringing the total to 13, not counting the advanced versions of each second class.

2-1 classes

These are the original second level classes, the other second-level classes (usually referred to as 2-2) were added after.

  • Knight – The primary 2nd class of the Swordsman has mastery of the two-hand sword and one-hand spear. Has a skill which enables ability to rent and ride the Pecopeco (an animal similar to the Chocobo of Final Fantasy).
  • Assassin – The primary 2nd class of the Thief uses katars or daggers in both hands. Can apply poison to attacks.
  • Wizard – The primary 2nd class of the Mage uses powerful magic of the elements: Fire, Ice, Lightning and Earth.
  • Hunter – The primary 2nd class of the Archer has mastery of the bow. Can use traps to kill or give enemies status ailments. Has a falcon to assist in battle.
  • Blacksmith – The primary 2nd class of the Merchant can make weapons. Has weapon mastery and combat abilities relating to maces and axes.
  • Priest – The primary 2nd class of the Acolyte has powerful healing magic and exorcises the undead. Usually the foundation of a party.

2-2 classes

This is a second alternative for a character's second class. These were added a while later than the original second classes.

  • Crusader – The alternate 2nd class of the Swordsman has skills with the two-hand spear and shield as well as healing and holy magic. Has the ability to rent and ride a Pecopeco, like the Knight.
  • Rogue – The alternate 2nd class of the Thief uses bow and arrows or dagger and shield while sneaking around and/or stripping the enemies armor and weapons, lowering their effectiveness in battle.
  • Sage – The alternate 2nd class of the Mage can give temporary elemental enchantments to weapons or small areas. Also has a unique skill allowing the Sage to cast spells while walking.
  • Bard and Dancer – The alternate 2nd classes of the Archer can sing and dance to support party members with various boosts. Male Archers can become Bards, while female Archers can become Dancers.
  • Alchemist – The alternate 2nd class of the Merchant can make and throw healing and offensive potions.
  • Monk – The alternate 2nd class of the Acolyte uses fists, spirit sphere attack skills, attack combinations and the deadly "Asura Strike" ability.

Advanced classes

New classes were added recently, termed Advanced Second Class in kRO (and private servers), and were released in iRO (July 2005) under the name Transcendent Classes. Other servers have had transcendent classes for much longer. These are advanced second classes, and to achieve them one must reach level 99 in their original second class, then become reborn - their character is reset back to level 1 as a Novice (now called Novice High). Leveling is the same except much more experience is required to gain levels. Your skills will have to be relearned (which leaves room to correct previous errors), but any quest-based skills you earned will be returned to you immediately upon reaching the appropriate level. You will then find yourself going through the first class jobs again (now called Swordsman High, Archer High, etc.) and when you change into second class, you will be in the new advanced form. All advanced jobs can level up to 99/70, receive 30% more HP/SP, and not only have access to the skills from the original version of the class, but new advanced-only skills.

Advanced 2-1 classes

  • Lord Knight – The primary Advanced 2nd Class of High Swordsman, with all the abilities of knights plus a few new abilities.
  • Assassin Cross – The primary Advanced 2nd Class of High Thief, with all former abilities of assassin, in addition to more poison skills, advanced katar mastery, and a devastating, almost unavoidable physical/magic attack.
  • High Wizard – The primary Advanced 2nd class of the High Mage that uses even more powerful spells.
  • Sniper – The primary Advanced 2nd class of the High Archer has further mastery of the bow and the falcon.
  • Whitesmith/MasterSmith – The primary Advanced 2nd class of the High Merchant can make weapons better than ever before. Has axe mastery and combat abilities relating to hammers and axes, and now can utilize these abilities better than ever. The name Mastersmith is used in the International version of Ragnarok Online.
  • High Priest – The primary Advanced 2nd class of the High Acolyte has powerful healing magic and exorcises the undead. Their new skills are powerful, and the extra skill points allows more variation for this skill-oriented class.

Advanced 2-2 classes

  • Paladin – The alternate advanced 2nd class of the High Swordsman has skills with the spear and shield as well as healing and holy magic. Has a skill which enables ability to rent and ride the Grand Pecopeco (same as crusader's, but with a different sprite). They gain some new skills such as Battle chant (the paladin cast an area spell around it's user, wich can help his party members by boosting them, or gives bad status or a powerfull holy slash to the others), Martyr Reckoning (a skill that allows it's user to deal 5 powerful shots using his HPs, the attack strength is based on the user's hps) and Shield Chain.
  • Stalker – The alternate advanced 2nd class of the High Thief uses bow and arrows or dagger and shield while sneaking around and stripping the enemies' weapon and equipment.
  • Professor/Scholar – The alternate advanced 2nd class of the High Mage can give temporary elemental enchantments to weapons or small areas. Also has a unique skill allowing the Professor to cast spells while walking, as well as take over the soul of its enemy. The name Scholar is used in the International version of Ragnarok Online.
  • Clown/Minstrel and Gypsy – The alternate advanced 2nd classes of the Archer High can sing and dance to support party members. Male High Archers can become Clowns/Minstrels, while female High Archers can become Gypsies. To the delight of many players, the name Clown was changed to Minstrel in the International version of Ragnarok Online.
  • Creator/Biochemist – The alternate advanced 2nd class of the High Merchant can make and throw more powerful types of healing and offensive potions, and now also has a created ally in the Homunculus. The name Biochemist is used in the International version of Ragnarok Online.
  • Champion – The alternate advanced 2nd class of the High Acolyte uses fists, more advanced powerful combo attacks, and its ability to collect 5 spirit spheres at once.

Tae Kwon class

The Tae Kwon Boy/Girl class is in development on the Korean version of Ragnarok Online. The Tae Kwon class is a first level class (after Novice), and its second classes are Soul Linker and Star Gladiator.

  • Tae Kwon Boy/Girl – A martial arts themed character specializing in various kicks is currently in beta testing on kRO. Little is yet known about it and the two 2nd classes, Star Gladiator and Soul Linker. However, it is scheduled for release for kRO on October 2005.
  • Soul Linker – One of the second classes for Taekwon Boy. He plays somewhat like a Priest, a Bard, and a Wizard, with some attacking magics, that affect medium and small monsters, class specific buffs that he cannot use on himself, and some buffs with various affects (such as reviving you when you die, or reflecting magic used against you). The hardest part of leveling is the drastic build change that occurs when changing to this class (he goes from a Monk-like build to a Priest-like build).
  • Star Gladiator – The Star Gladiator is more closely related to the Taekwon Boy, since, unlike Soul Linker, the build stays the same (his build could be made similar to the Monk build). He uses some skills that become related to a specific location in the world (once used, that location is marked forever) or a monster (the target can be reassigned).

Stats

In RO, there are six attributes that determine your stats:

Strength (STR)
Increases physical attack damage and carrying capacity, reduces chance of being afflicted with the Bleeding status. There is a melee attack bonus at every 10 points.
Agility (AGI)
Increases flee (dodge) rate and attack speed. Reduces delay in between casted skills.
Vitality (VIT)
Decreases damage taken, increases maximum HP and the rate at which HP is regenerated while at rest, increases healing ability of items, decreases chance of being afflicted by certain negative status affects.
Intelligence (INT)
Increases magic damage, magic defense, max SP, and SP regeneration rate, decreases chance of being afflicted by certain negative status affects. Increases potion creation chance for alchemists. Maximum magic damage is increased at every 5th point, minimum at every 7th, and SP regeneration at every 6th.
Dexterity (DEX)
Increases hit rate, cast speed and increases minimum damage. Increases refining/forging rates for blacksmiths and potion creation rates for alchemists. It also increases damage dealt with bow and arrows. There is a ranged attack bonus at every 10 points (this bonus also applies to bards/dancers weilding instruments/whips, which despite being melee weapons, do DEX-based damage).
Luck (LUK)
Increases critical hit and perfect dodge probability, slightly decreases chance of being afflicted by all negative status affects. Increases chances of successfully refining or forging a weapon for blacksmiths. May slightly increase potion creation chance for alchemists. Additionally, there is a slight bonus to attack power for every ten points of Luck

Due to the open-ended nature of the game, one can "build" their character any way they choose. However, due to the low number of overall stat points (and the cost increases that arise with higher stats), it is generally advised to excel in a few stats rather than try to balance them all. The maximum value of a stat is 99 without item or job bonuses, and only two stats can be raised to 99 before the stat points are exhausted, though it is unwise to totally max out two stats to the detriment of all others.

Most classes pick one or two main stats, and raise those two above all others, often with a third lower-but-still-good stat for support.

Cards

A card in Ragnarok Online is an item which is placed into equipment to give it bonuses (such as stat boosts, abilities, and damage reduction). There is a rare chance that certain enemies will drop cards. Cards may only be placed in "slotted" equipment (for example, if a sword has three slots, three cards can be compounded into it). Cards may only be placed on certain equipment, which is usually determined by the effect that the card has (the Pecopeco card provides HP bonus, hence it is compounded with armor). Merchants often vend these valuable items.

Parties and Guilds

File:Ragna7.jpg
War of Emperium

Players in the game may form parties to help by providing the party with added experience, as there is a bonus to the experience received by a player in a party. They can also benefit from it by having the ability to benefit from some skills normally usable by only one character.

Guilds are on the other hand, a way for people who already know each other well to show their uniqueness as a group, or as an expression of power or influence in the game. Each guild has a guild-master who has the initial ability to invite and reject possible members, and guilds also have levels, which members can push higher by contributing some experience to it through taxes on their own experience gain. Guilds with high levels may invite more members, and be officially recognized. This added attraction of being recognized entitles the guild to participate in massive player vs player / guild vs guild warfare called the War of Emperium. Poo.

War of Emperium

The War of Emperium, also known as WoE, is fought in castle maps, located near major cities, each castle having unique layouts. Guilds who manage to control the castle at a war's end get access to treasure boxes, which may yield extremely rare equipment.

Castles can only be taken during WoE time, which happens on most servers for 2 hours, twice a week, usually on weekends when there are the most players on. In the heart of every castle there is a yellow stone called the Emperium; the objective of the players is to break that stone and thus take that guild's castle. The guild that currently owns the castle must do everything to protect the Emperium from being destroyed, otherwise they lose the castle and need to re-take it. The only thing you need to take a castle is to be in a guild, and that guild has to be recognized (a guild skill). If you have no guild you can also fight, but will be unable to hit the Emperium. Even if 20 characters of different guilds are hitting the Emperium, only the one that gave the last hit and breaks the Emperium will take the castle, so it's sometimes about luck. A good idea is to kill everyone from other guilds in the Emperium room before hitting it, but most likely you will have no time to do that. Once the Emperium is broken, every guild inside the castle but the new owners will be warped back to their respawn point. A castle can be taken and retaken countless times until WoE time is over.

Always remember a guild is nothing without guild members, so even if this is a game, success is all about dealing with people. Treat your members well by giving them treasures and taking the weaker ones to level in the guild dungeon. This will give them a reason to log in on the next WoE and give their best to keep the castle.

Conduct

There are many things that are frowned upon in Ragnarok Online, as well as many people who do these things.

  • Shorthand messages like "heal plz" and requests for rare items, cash, adoptions or "tanks" are common, but are considered very rude by most players. Priests are especially vulnerable to low levels who ask for help leveling. "Buff plz" is also very common.
  • Bots are against the rules of most servers. A bot is a computer program that effectively plays the game for you to get levels and items without even being at the computer. Certain companies running officially licensed servers appear to ignore the use of bots, allegedly in order to maintain their steady income. Bots include modKore, OpenKore, VisualKore and Revemu. Most players despise the use of bots and will actively try to find bots and report them to the game masters. In most versions of RO, getting caught botting will result in a permanent ban on the first offense.
  • Programs that allow for a rapid succession of item or skill use are called 'macros'. These are sometimes plugins for bot programs, and are illegal but are nevertheless used by many players, especially those looking for a cheap advantage in War of Emperium guild vs. guild battles.
  • Kill-stealing, or targeting monsters other players have targeted for EXP, is against the rules and may result in account suspension or ban. The same applies to looting, where one player takes all the dropped items from another player's kill. In many places with a high concentration of enemies, such as the Orc Dungeon, kill-stealing is common and usually pardoned.
  • Private servers are illegal in many countries. Some use pirated copies of Gravity's server software, AEGIS. Most private servers use reverse engineered server emulators such as eAthena and its many variants. Server software like eAthena is legal by itself, but Gravity's client software and data (maps, sprites, etc.) are also used, which still makes these servers illegal. Regardless of that, many private servers have well over 1000 people playing at the same time - often advertising features such as higher drop rates, level experience, and job experience than pay-to-play servers - and spend a lot of money to maintain them, and are often largely member supported. Because the Korean version of RO is in a more advanced state of development than the other versions, Gravity KR, in an attempt to combat the problem, has blocked non Korean IPs from downloading from their website. However, they have not blocked IPs from downloading patches from the game clients, leaving private server players free to continue playing.
  • Game account hacking. This is easily done by installing stealth key loggers on the player's computer. Beware of playing in Internet Cafés because the risk that the workstations might be infected by these software is high. Remote installation of key loggers can also be easily done by including a Trojan Horse in a package such as a ZIP or RAR file disguised as utilities like bots and speed-hacks to enhance playing experience or cheat.

See also

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