EssenceRO Review

Started by Usagimimi, Feb 11, 2010, 12:47 AM

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Usagimimi

I've been playing at EssenceRO for a few weeks now; I originally started playing a year or so ago, but I didn't stick around long enough to actually experience the server fully. Thus, my review commences, after approximately three weeks of adventuring.

Stability: 8/10

- EssenceRO lags rarely and I've never experienced a crash; however, around 04:00-07:00EST, the server will become "jumpy", meaning frequent lag spikes and disconnections. When you try to reconnect, it will appear as if the Character Server is down, since it'll reject you constantly (even though people are actually playing). The site will say that the Character Server is Online, but it acts funky around this time. If you want the best, most reliable gaming experience, stay clear of the server from 04:00-07:00EST.

Availability: 9/10

- As stated before, the server never crashes, and maintenances are always planned 5~12 days in advance. Even during the morning EST lag spikes, the server is available (technically); just be sure not to log out in this time period, or you'll constantly be rejected.

Community Friendliness: 7/10

- Other than the few random idiots (like Final j/k), the community is great. You ask a question, you get a response (usually). @main is full of idiots, however, and for some reason, there are a lot of people who feel it necessary to create characters with names such as "Vaginal Archer" and "I have a big ****". There appears to be no rule set against this, since it's so frequently done. People are also inclined to speak sexually in public chat about everything; my main experiences of this being in Gonryun. Beware of the random Warg-ridden Ranger who'll spam "Insert" because he's so desparate for attention. As for diversity, there are plenty of Pinoys, anglophones, francophones, and Spanish-speaking ("spanglophones"?) on the server, so everyone's welcome. Their broadcast system will even broadcast into several different languages, although the French translation is terribly done.

Eventfulness: 4/10

- No events really, other than the Survival Arena and some random, very, very, rare GM-held events. If you hate events (like me), and despise GMs who spam @broadcast with event-related nonsense, than EssenceRO is perfect. For event-lovers, though, you'll be disappointed in this area.

Game Master Friendliness: 9/10

- The Game Masters are really friendly and approachable. They're not in-game very often, but they stalk the forums a lot and you can see that they're busy since the Suggestion section is constantly updated with maintenance-pending ideas / rejections. The Bugs section is also updated often with maintenance-pending material; unfortunately, I posted about an Arrow Storm & Arrow Shower bug about a week ago, and they've yet to pay heed to it. It's fact they've visited the section since, for I posted a Kafra bug three days ago and they managed to file that, but not the Arrow Storm & Arrow Shower bug. Patience is key, I suppose, but mobbing with a Ranger is quite difficult since Arrow Storm only does 2~3 hits now (usually, it's around seven).

Game Master Availability: 4/10

- In-game? Non-existent. Sorry to say, but there are rarely any GMs in-game, and when they do come online, they don't stay long. Online greetings are short, simple, and over before you actually remember that question you've been dying to ask for a week. On the forums, however, the GMs are often there, except Tira (root admin) who appears to be inactive since a few months. Okale comes often; I haven't seen the other moderators / GMs on the forum in my three week stay, though.

Game Master Helpfulness: 4/10

- Again, availability issues. When you have a question to ask, you realize they've gone offline already. On the forums, it's not the GMs who answer you usually (Okale does sometimes, but it's not often unless it's in the Suggestions / Bugs area); you're depending on the community here, and luckily they're considerate enough to answer posts and questions, both in-game and on the forums.

Economy: 10/10

- I am very impressed with the economy; another review stated that 200~300mil for an Ice Pick is overpriced, but I'm used to 600mil for an unslotted Ice Pick, so 200mil is cheap for me. Cards and items are relatively cheap and fair-priced; the use of @ss is very welcoming since I've experienced times where players sell items at 1,000,000Z but @ss shows someone in Payon selling the same item for 250,000Z (Evil Wing). Always be sure to use @ss when purchasing items; generally the prices are all similar, but you don't really want to pay an extra 750,000Z for an Evil Wing or an extra 2,500,000Z for that random Card you happen to require.

Guild Competition: 7/10

- There are many, many, many guilds at EssenceRO, but most appear to be only "for-show" guilds, single-man guilds, or social guilds. I have yet to experience War of Emperium, but it would appear that there's one massive guild that runs everything, and it takes a few guilds to actually take them down. I'm sure it's a lot of fun, though; I do not plan on participating in War of Emperium on EssenceRO, however, due to the custom items and the lack of a goal.

Class Balance: 9/10

- Classes are balanced with minimal bugs (and these bugs are fixed relatively quickly); I'm not sure if any of them are over-powered or not, but the GMs make technical changes often if ever it occurs. You can view a history of changelogs on the forum. They've modified some classes and skills to be more balanced as well, such as Pneuma being bypassed by Phantasmic Arrow and Falcon Assault.

Final Notes:

- I was always skeptical of EssenceRO, especially when Third Jobs came into play; however, the GM team has balanced classes significantly, such as allowing Phantasmic Arrow and Falcon Assault to bypass Pneuma (seriously, it was about time: every class has a way to deviate around obstacles, but once a Ranger confronts Pneuma, they're helpless). The wings are nice; I find them overpowered, but since they're available to everyone, I guess it's all right in the end. The Valkyrie Helm +15% movement speed does not stack with AGI Up / buffs, so it makes it 1/2 useless unless you have other movement speed modifying equipment, such as Bloody Axe or the Mechanic's Acceleration tool. Overall, a fair server with a hard-working, non-existent GM team and a blissful community.

Final Grade: 71/100

Statement: Definitely give EssenceRO a try; it's worth it.

Annihilate

 I played there for 3 months and even managed to have 4 characters in the top 10 of the zeny ranking, but I eventually quit for the following reasons:

1. EssenceRO has no decent non-woe content aside from collecting hats. MvP HP there is so insanely boosted that the only real way of killing any worth-it MvP is with a Star Gladiator. Totally defeats rangers which are supposed to be the main MvP killers.

2. Max Base Level is a tad too high (much higher than 150) which screws up balance.  

3. Guild competition on eRO is bad. EssenceROWoE minus shatterpoint guild is nil.

4. 3rd Jobs in WoE is too premature w/o Renewal mechanics.

5. No GMs online 99% of the time, and  on the occasion when I actually had the golden opportunity of getting to ask a legit technical question[about why my homun was missing and yet I cant summon it back or even summon a new one], both GMs answered a resounding "I dont know, just remake your character."


Rudolph Zyaber

I quit essence for a lot of the same reasons. 

The economy is too hard to get into without mvping all day long.

The GM's are never ingame and never do events outside of big holiday ones which end up being "find the monster/npc, get a hat" events.

The woe scene is just the same thing over and over again with little variation, all that ever changes is "this zerg rush guild has XXXX important castle one day, the other zerg rush guild has XXXX important castle the next"

You're nobody on this server unless you roll with the "right" crowd or have X number of MVP cards in your possession.

I played this server for over a year and was at one point a forum moderator there, but I can't really see any good in it anymore so I left it.  Still haven't found a decent server to play since then though.
Bleh

Roby

Guys thanks for the review..

| When someone criticize you , that means you are progressing. |

Tom~


And so you killed yourself,
but you killed everyone else around you too.

DeadOwnz

#5
BullSh1t........

Quote from: Annihilate on Feb 14, 2010, 11:06 AM
I played there for 3 months and even managed to have 4 characters in the top 10 of the zeny ranking, but I eventually quit for the following reasons:

1. EssenceRO has no decent non-woe content aside from collecting hats. MvP HP there is so insanely boosted that the only real way of killing any worth-it MvP is with a Star Gladiator. Totally defeats rangers which are supposed to be the main MvP killers.
Snipers can still be mvpers thou whats wrong with making sg competition? 2 rangers = 1 Starglad is it that bad?

2. Max Base Level is a tad too high (much higher than 150) which screws up balance.  
Not really; if soo whats has become unbalanced then?


3. Guild competition on eRO is bad. EssenceROWoE minus shatterpoint guild is nil.
WHAT!!!? Iwhen we where in waters gate we had 3 castle im now in Extraordinary and we have 5 castle Shatterpoint is dead. Best guild is now NATG but wat does that have to do with taking a castle? You can still get a castle from it.

4. 3rd Jobs in WoE is too premature w/o Renewal mechanics.
Your a liar cause 3rd jobs arnt able to use 3rd job skills in woe OR PVP so wtf are u talking about
Only thing is the sprites.


5. No GMs online 99% of the time, and  on the occasion when I actually had the golden opportunity of getting to ask a legit technical question[about why my homun was missing and yet I cant summon it back or even summon a new one], both GMs answered a resounding "I dont know, just remake your character."
EssenceRO Gms come on atleast 1nce a day i agree that they dont hold events that oftten but their support is decent to where they will give u a good helpfull advice/information.

Pre-RO

orix1357

Quote from: DeadOwnz on Feb 16, 2010, 01:40 AM
BullSh1t........

Quote from: Annihilate on Feb 14, 2010, 11:06 AM
I played there for 3 months and even managed to have 4 characters in the top 10 of the zeny ranking, but I eventually quit for the following reasons:

1. EssenceRO has no decent non-woe content aside from collecting hats. MvP HP there is so insanely boosted that the only real way of killing any worth-it MvP is with a Star Gladiator. Totally defeats rangers which are supposed to be the main MvP killers.
Snipers can still be mvpers thou whats wrong with making sg competition? 2 rangers = 1 Starglad is it that bad?
Poster mentioned the MVP Margaretha Sorin. Try taking her out with ranged attacks.

2. Max Base Level is a tad too high (much higher than 150) which screws up balance.
Not really; if soo whats has become unbalanced then?
Without Renewal Mechanics, 3rd Jobs are naturally unbalanced.

3. Guild competition on eRO is bad. EssenceRO WoE minus shatterpoint guild is nil.
WHAT!!!? Iwhen we where in waters gate we had 3 castle im now in Extraordinary and we have 5 castle Shatterpoint is dead. Best guild is now NATG but wat does that have to do with taking a castle? You can still get a castle from it.
Can't say much here because I don't know what's going on with WOE competition.

4. 3rd Jobs in WoE is too premature w/o Renewal mechanics.
You're a liar 'cause 3rd jobs aren't able to use 3rd job skills in woe OR PVP so wtf are u talking about
Only thing is the sprites.

Can someone clarify if 3rd Job skills are disabled in PVP or WOE in Essence? If yes, then that's kinda lame since 3rd Jobs clearly has the advantage with their 120-max stats.

5. No GMs online 99% of the time, and  on the occasion when I actually had the golden opportunity of getting to ask a legit technical question[about why my homun was missing and yet I cant summon it back or even summon a new one], both GMs answered a resounding "I don't know, just remake your character."
EssenceRO Gms come on at least 1nce a day i agree that they don't hold events that often but their support is decent to where they will give u a good helpful advice/information.
Wow, if they don't have the knowledge to answer, they should have said so, not divert the person to a stupid solution. Remaking your character for a screwed-up Homunculus? That's just wrong.

Has played in: aeRO, heRO, OracleRO, ReboundRO, AriaRO, IntenseRO, VastRO, LuminaRO, AerialRO, NyuubiRO and PumpkinRO.

DeadOwnz

#7
1. Okay use SinX

2.What does 3rd jobs currpot my grf folder with their  sprites? U can only use their skills while hunting(and thats if the map isn't pvp) or in a duel.

3.I just said it.

4.Like i said
QuotePosted 05 March 2009 - 11:01 AM  by Administrator HiddenDragon
As many of you are aware, many 3rd classes have been released on essenceRO. There are still a LOT of things to iron out, and it'll be buggy for days (or even weeks) until they get fixed. Also, the classes can change at any time on kRO's renewal server and those changes will also be added here to keep them similar. However, we may make adjustments as we see fit seeing as our server does not make use of renewal RO mechanics.

Please do NOT pm a game master (GM) in game when you encounter a bug. Post it HERE on our bug tracker (link at the top right of your screen next to Wiki) so we can properly track and fix the bugs.

Where can I find out more about x class?
Rune Knight
Warlock
Arch Bishop
Ranger
Guillotine Cross
Mechanic
Shadow Chaser
Wanderer / Minstrel
Shura

How do I become a 3rd class?
You can job change to a 3rd class if it is available, and you are either base level 99 or job level 70. You can change from any 2nd class, however job changing from a transcendent 2nd class will allow you to keep your transcendent class' skills and increased HP.

What happens when I job change?
You keep all your current skills, and your job level goes back down to 1.

What why can't I use x skill?
Many of them have been disabled and will be slowly enabled one by one as the days go on. In addition, all 3rd class skills will NOT be usable on a pvp or gvg map, nor will they be usable while WoE is active until ALL 3rd classes have been released and completed (this could take a year). This is to preserve our existing balance as much as possible.
a missing homun sound like a BUG problem that maybe why he didn't get a ligit answer



5.Caint speak for a GM but where is his proof? Ill upload a screenshot of me asking the same question in a min.


Ive been playing essence since pre-wipe I know alot about this server. Try not to make hurtful statements if you really don't know anything about the server.
Pre-RO

Annihilate

Quote from: DeadOwnz on Feb 16, 2010, 01:40 AM
BullSh1t........

Quote from: Annihilate on Feb 14, 2010, 11:06 AM
I played there for 3 months and even managed to have 4 characters in the top 10 of the zeny ranking, but I eventually quit for the following reasons:

1. EssenceRO has no decent non-woe content aside from collecting hats. MvP HP there is so insanely boosted that the only real way of killing any worth-it MvP is with a Star Gladiator. Totally defeats rangers which are supposed to be the main MvP killers.
Snipers can still be mvpers thou whats wrong with making sg competition? 2 rangers = 1 Starglad is it that bad?

2. Max Base Level is a tad too high (much higher than 150) which screws up balance.  
Not really; if soo whats has become unbalanced then?


3. Guild competition on eRO is bad. EssenceROWoE minus shatterpoint guild is nil.
WHAT!!!? Iwhen we where in waters gate we had 3 castle im now in Extraordinary and we have 5 castle Shatterpoint is dead. Best guild is now NATG but wat does that have to do with taking a castle? You can still get a castle from it.

4. 3rd Jobs in WoE is too premature w/o Renewal mechanics.
Your a liar cause 3rd jobs arnt able to use 3rd job skills in woe OR PVP so wtf are u talking about
Only thing is the sprites.


5. No GMs online 99% of the time, and  on the occasion when I actually had the golden opportunity of getting to ask a legit technical question[about why my homun was missing and yet I cant summon it back or even summon a new one], both GMs answered a resounding "I dont know, just remake your character."
EssenceRO Gms come on atleast 1nce a day i agree that they dont hold events that oftten but their support is decent to where they will give u a good helpfull advice/information.




Jesus Christ why be so angriiiiii?

Anyway,

1. U havent mvp-d there or are totally clueless about it. MVPs there have 20mil+ HP. Try that with a ranger.

2. Status immunity calculations. Thats whats screwed up. If youre so good at woe i wouldnt even have to tell u this.

3. Same banana, different name, or maybe shatterpoint got so bored that they migrated elsewhere.

4. Read # 2.

5. Sure, whatever floats your boat.

DeadOwnz

Cause man i have to rep

1.That's not saying that SG's are the only class. I mvped Mistress Dracula Eddga Lady Tanee With a Sinx
I kill Pharaoh easy with Hunter n Gunslinger in same party

2. f*** up and customized are two different adjectives. No one has complained about that status immunity, so doesn't that make it a customization. i would see if people were pmsing about it then it would be considered f*** up but for right now it sits really good.

3. Nah AJ quit and came back so he merged with NATG and their really not that good. i belive creed is better. But as i say nothing is wrong with woe.

4. read #2
Pre-RO

Temjin

Quote from: DeadOwnz on Feb 16, 2010, 11:20 AM
Cause man i have to rep

1.That's not saying that SG's are the only class. I mvped Mistress Dracula Eddga Lady Tanee With a Sinx
I kill Pharaoh easy with Hunter n Gunslinger in same party

2. f*** up and customized are two different adjectives. No one has complained about that status immunity, so doesn't that make it a customization. i would see if people were pmsing about it then it would be considered f*** up but for right now it sits really good.

3. Nah AJ quit and came back so he merged with NATG and their really not that good. i belive creed is better. But as i say nothing is wrong with woe.

4. read #2

You are a fucking idiot. Why you even bother to post here, I will never know. It is BEYOND ME.

Way to "rep", you just made yourself look like a tool.

 Watch the language pretty boy

Green

#11
QuotePosted 05 March 2009 - 11:01 AM  by Administrator HiddenDragon
QuoteIn addition, all 3rd class skills will NOT be usable on a pvp or gvg map, nor will they be usable while WoE is active until ALL 3rd classes have been released and completed (this could take a year)


Explain to me how this post is supposed to prove that they aren't usable in WoE/PvP?

Seravy

It was over half a year ago when I last played EssenceRo, and my experience at that time was :

-MVP's are insanely buffed. EVERY MVP has at least 12-15 mil HP or more. You need a party to kill even the weakest one, even if you have a maxed character with good equipment.
-The only way to kill MVPs efficiently is using a Star Gladiator for damage, a Paladin to keep the gladiator alive, and one or more Priests/Archbishops to heal the Paladin if the MVP is a stronger one.
-ALL MVP maps have PVP turned on, and KSing an MVP is not only allowed, but encouraged. So the fourth party member needed in MVP parties is a professor. If you dispel the opposing star gladiator, they lost, because he needs to go away and regain miracle to have a chance against the mvp.
-Every other class except the gladiator,priest,paladin, and professor is useless for MVPing (ok warlocks are somewhat useful at killing off other parties, but they can't do much against the MVP itself)
-3rd class skills don't work on pvp maps, which includes every MVP map, so they are useless. If you can't use them in MVPing, nor PVPing, then what are you going to use them for? fighting against normal mobs like porings? Cool.
-The server doesn't announce rare item drops (mvp cards), and all the guilds I've tried used the Individual item option for mvping, which means the gladiator can keep whichever valuable items they want. Even the guilds where I asked and they replied "we use shared items" didn't use shared items, you had to ask for the item if you wanted it. (of course you had to believe the gladiator tells the truth and the item was/wasn't dropped, which at a 0.10 drop rate of mvp cards isn't likely to happen)
-I wasted 200 million zeny to buy donation credits, used them up on the proper NPC ordering a custom town, the NPC said "GMs will contact you in email", and I wasn't contacted ever since. When I PMed a GM directly on the forums, I got no answer either. Since then, they changed donation credits into non-tradeable items as well.
-Tons of original skills and items are changed, some for the better, some for the worse. For example, fireball and gravitation field is stronger, kiel cards don't stack, and I think mammonite ignores safety wall or something like that. There are so many changes it's hard to keep track of them all.

That's about it, I'm still looking for a good server.

GorthexTiger

Quote from: DeadOwnz on Feb 16, 2010, 01:40 AM
BullSh1t........

Quote from: Annihilate on Feb 14, 2010, 11:06 AM
I played there for 3 months and even managed to have 4 characters in the top 10 of the zeny ranking, but I eventually quit for the following reasons:

1. EssenceRO has no decent non-woe content aside from collecting hats. MvP HP there is so insanely boosted that the only real way of killing any worth-it MvP is with a Star Gladiator. Totally defeats rangers which are supposed to be the main MvP killers.
Snipers can still be mvpers thou whats wrong with making sg competition? 2 rangers = 1 Starglad is it that bad?

2. Max Base Level is a tad too high (much higher than 150) which screws up balance. 
Not really; if soo whats has become unbalanced then?


3. Guild competition on eRO is bad. EssenceROWoE minus shatterpoint guild is nil.
WHAT!!!? Iwhen we where in waters gate we had 3 castle im now in Extraordinary and we have 5 castle Shatterpoint is dead. Best guild is now NATG but wat does that have to do with taking a castle? You can still get a castle from it.

4. 3rd Jobs in WoE is too premature w/o Renewal mechanics.
Your a liar cause 3rd jobs arnt able to use 3rd job skills in woe OR PVP so wtf are u talking about
Only thing is the sprites.


5. No GMs online 99% of the time, and  on the occasion when I actually had the golden opportunity of getting to ask a legit technical question[about why my homun was missing and yet I cant summon it back or even summon a new one], both GMs answered a resounding "I dont know, just remake your character."
EssenceRO Gms come on atleast 1nce a day i agree that they dont hold events that oftten but their support is decent to where they will give u a good helpfull advice/information.


Remember that this a review and people are entitled to their opinion, no need to flip a handle and get all butt hurt about it. You're precious "rep" will be gone if you keep making yourself look like a retarded step child having a tantrum in the forums because you disagree with something.

Not everyone is going to like the server you do. [/newsflash]

@Servay: Did you post a review? Because you're responding like your Yusifer? O_o
Read about the "Great Dramas" Part 1, Part 2, & Part 3


DeadOwnz

making reply a false statement is all im arguing about.
Pre-RO