Era of Arcania
by Aethyna
Oct 13, 2017 |
3
Votes |
3
Played |
0
Reviews
10
rate
Genres:
RPG , MMOGraphics:
3DLabels:
Mounts , Guilds , Pet , Player vs Player (PvP) , Wings , Home , Fantasy Setting , Dungeon/ InstancePlatforms:
Publishers:
37Games With the release of the feared black dragon, the world in Era of Arcania once again teeters on the brink of panic and chaos. It is now up to you and the other Explorers in the Explorers' Guild to help rid the world of dangerous creatures released by the very people who had unleash the dragon in the first place. Play Now Similar Games Played
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Note: Era of Arcania has been previously released under the name, Sword and Magic, as part of a collaborative effort with the LINE Corporation.Summary
Era of Arcania is most certainly not your standard casual RPG. Unlike many other common RPGs, the gameplay in this game feels a lot like one of those massive standalone MMORPGs on PC. Even the semi-action-based combat system feels a lot more intuitive and visceral despite still having an auto-combat option which players can use from time to time. There are also plenty of events for you to participate in and activities for you to do. Granted that the game still needs a bit of tweaking prior to its official release, Era of Arcania is one of those rare MMOs that will make your jaw drop because of the unique game experience it can provide.
Plotline
Approximately ten thousand years ago, a war erupted between god and devil. The Archangel Castiel took on the Abyssal Lord in an epic clash near the end of the war where he managed to defeat the Lord by usurping its powers into himself. However, in the process, he not only became the world most powerful presence but he has also become corrupted by the demonic essence. Something must be done!
Thankfully, a human hero has risen up to the challenge and took the Archangel Castiel in a one-on-one battle. Needless to say, the hero won the fight and peace returned to the world.
However, a faction of humans that called themselves Dread Lords have been secretively plotting to disrupt the peace... starting by releasing the fearsome black dragon, Zevrinth, that has been under lock and key at the Explorers’ Guild for generations. They are led by a mystery man who has the power to enchant the minds of creatures and people alike so he can control them.
Being among the newest batch of Explorers who have just been inducted into the coveted Explorers’ Guild, the burden of taking on this mysterious band of people now falls on your shoulders. Will you be able to put a stop to all of their nefarious plans and possibly take the fight to their leader to end things once and for all?
Gameplay
Like most MMORPGs, Era of Arcania offers players the usual archetype classes, namely Warrior, Assassin, Mage and Archer to play as, but interestingly, the game adds in a new class – the Dancers which are basically a mix between a caster DPS and healer, resulting in this new ranged DPS/Support class. Not all classes in this game are gender-locked, though for Dancers, you can only play as female. It’s also nice that you can create up to 3 characters per account so you’ll be able to try other classes out if you ended up not liking the class you’ve chosen.
The tutorial and the story intro in this game is very different from what you may be used to. Instead of showing them separately, the game merges both of them into a single session, telling you the storyline verbally as you follow the tutorial’s instructions and learn how to play the game. It’s a rather different sort of arrangement but admittedly, I’m not very sure if this is a great idea. Most players I’ll reckon will not be listening to the narrator and end up not knowing why they are fighting Archangel Castiel.
Anyway, after the boss fight that signals the end of the tutorial, you’ll find yourself at the Explorers’ Training Camp, right before taking on the final exams that will make you a full and proud member of the Explorers’ Guild.
Questing in Era of Arcania is simpler than ever, mainly because you don’t even need to tap on the quest giver to start or turn in a quest. The game automatically does that for you once you’re within the vicinity of the quest giver in question. The same goes for picking up quest items. Simply approach the item and your character will automatically collect the item for you... no tapping is needed!
There are also a wide variety of quests that you can complete to earn experience points and level up. For instance, the Bounty Quests (5 quests per day) will grant you Exp to level up your Explorer rank rather than your character level. There is auto-pathfinding as well, so you don’t really need to find the quest givers yourself.
The semi-action-based combat system that you’ll get to experience in Era of Arcania is also one of the more interesting aspects of the game. The controls aren’t exactly very different – you’ll still be moving your character using the joystick-like button on the left and using your abilities by tapping on the buttons on the right. However, battles in this game, especially boss fights feel a lot more visceral, intuitive and well... active. Complemented with smooth and responsive controls, fights become more satisfying if you play it manually rather than simply turning on auto-combat.
Not to mention, auto-combat will often land your character in the direct path of the boss’s easily avoidable skills so sometimes, it’s best to just take over the reins and play the fights yourself. For boss fights, there is also a special segment near the end where buttons will appear on your screen asking you to tap on them. These buttons function as damage boosts which will all contribute to the PK ability that your character is about to unleash on the boss. Oh and there is tab-targeting as well, so you can easily tab between targets prior to or during a fight.
Due to its more interesting fights, Era of Arcania breaks the mold by allowing players to play their characters manually during PvP fights. Yes, that’s right, you can finally do that in this game! Granted that the feature might not be as useful in PvP event like Ladder where you’ll be fighting against AI-controlled characters, but for actual real-time fights between human-controlled characters, PvP can easily turn into an event that’s seriously engaging and competitive. This is very unlike most casual RPGs where PvP mostly boils down to CP, boosts (if there are any) and luck – a player’s skill has no part to play.
Now, similar to most MMOs, your CP rating will help you estimate your chances of success when taking on an enemy, be it an AI or another human player. As such, it is important to keep improving your CP and thankfully, there are plenty of ways you can do so. The easiest being equipping and enhancing your gear. Gear items can also be upgraded and reforged as well as embedded with special gems. Any excess gear you may have can in turn be traded at the player auction house or salvaged into crafting materials.
Your character’s skills also play a crucial part in boosting your overall CP. Because of this, you’ll need to spend the game currency (gold) that you get to upgrade your skills. At certain levels, a new Rune for the skill will be available for you to unlock too. These Runes function to augment your skills, giving them extra effects and in general, improving their combat efficiency. There are also passive skills, which will be unlocked at level 30; and vein skills, which will be unlocked at level 50.
Although the game is not exactly a party-based game, you can still recruit familiars to join you on your adventures. These familiars can be leveled up using EXP Stones, but you must remember to deploy them or you won’t gain the nice Combat Power (CP) boost they provide.
The same goes for Pets, but Mounts are a bit different. Unlike most casual MMOs where the first mount you get is usually a permanent mount, you are only given a limited time (8 hours to be exact) with your mount and that’s about it. This is a bit disappointing I suppose, but since your character runs pretty fast, the most you’ll be losing out is the stats that your mount provides. There are many more features that you can gradually unlock as you level up, including titles and wings.
Era of Arcania is definitely not a dull game, partly because of its fun combat, and partly because there are just so many things to do! For PvE, there are multiple dungeons for you to dive into, including solo dungeons, team dungeons and world bosses. The PvP aspect of the game is pretty varied as well. The Ladder is the very first PvP option you’ll unlock (and at a rather suitably early part of the gameplay, I might add), but as you progress, you’ll get Faction War, Battlefield, Chaotic Field, GvG, Arena, and lastly, for the max-leveled (level 60), Pneuma Duels.
Intriguingly, there are other features in this game that gives players something else to do aside from just fighting, such as player housing and marriage.
As fun as Era of Arcania has been for me, I’ve been experiencing regular crashes around every 30 mins or so regardless of what I was doing in the game. It might be a device-related issue; not a game-related issue though.
Community
Like most casual RPGs, guilds play a very vital role in livening up the game. Not to mention, there are also perks to be had if you join a guild; and you’ll even gain access to special, guild-only events like Demon Hunt, Guild Banquet, Guild Boss, Speed Hunt and Territory War where your guild will fight for dominance over a region on the map. Of course, in return, you’ll be expected to complete daily Guild quests, and donate gold or diamonds to the Guild.
Graphics/ Sound
There is a trend among casual Asian RPGs where they will try to turn their traditionally 2.5D MMOs into 3D and for Era of Arcania, this is one of the best selling points of the game. Aside from being 3D and all (though you can opt for 2.5D if you like), the game has immersive and compelling visuals for a mobile game. The interface design looks very sleek and modern as well.
However, I’d really like an option – maybe in the form of a small button or as an optional checkbox in the settings – where I can get the camera to snap to and align to the front of your character whenever I move her around or engage in combat. More often than not, I find myself trying to swerve the camera around as I try to dance around the boss avoiding its skills and casting spells just so I can see where the boss is at. Admittedly, it feels a bit cumbersome.
In terms of its sound, this game has a really nice piano score at the beginning but the in-game music is relatively okay. The music for each location may not be very memorable, but they are perfectly suited to the theme of the location they are played in.
Conclusion
Featuring a brilliant 3D look complete with stunning visuals, Era of Arcania is definitely not your typical mobile MMORPG. Aside from the amazing appearance, the game’s gameplay is incredible as well. Combat feels visceral and intuitive though the camera view needs to be improved (a snap-to-front feature would be nice). There are plenty of stuff for you to do, be it PvE, PvP or special events, as well as many ways for you to improve your character so he or she can be the ultimate Explorer in the coveted Explorers’ Guild.
Honestly, I’ve been completely blown away by the immersion and the fun Era of Arcania is able to provide. Once it’s officially released and you’ve got a chance to try it out, I’m sure you will be too! Find Games Like Era of Arcania
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