Rise of Midgard - First Week Thoughts

[tnznt]

Hello Guys,

So, some of you might not know but last friday, Rise of Midgard (Zinnia's Dawn of Midgard's Sucessor) was released.

The release moment had around 700 players online, so it was pretty nice to see that amount of novices running around and also, if you consider that most servers usually grow from 200-ish players to big populations (see NovaRO as an example, it had like 200 players not so long ago) it's a pretty good number even though it's less than ggRO. Another pretty nice point is that they had custom novice grounds, which is a pretty good impact imo, as it's not the same old s***, that you gotta keep killing Rockers until 10/10 (You can get 9/9 by talking with the NPCs).

About the server's configurations it's honestly one of the most well thought configurations I've ever seen. I'm not talking about the rates, drops and that kind of configurations but about the ones regarding the mechanics.

The zeny is shared with your game account, so you don't need a banker NPC or trade the zeny between your accounts. There's also something called 'Master Storage', that's a shared storage between all your game accounts (they have the same system iRO has, where you create a Master Account and create multiple Game Accounts within the same Control Panel).

Also, one of the most noticeable features is that it has fast refresh implemented by default and this is one of the biggest impacts I've seen there. To those that aren't familiar with third party programs, this was one of the features available in one of the most famous cheats, LinkZ.

Speaking about LinkZ, LinkZ (the guy that created the cheat) is the responsible by the server's security against cheaters which again, I thought it was a pretty smart move as most admins have little to no knowledge about third party programs even though they're good devs.

So, let's talk about the first week.

The server is good and running but it does have some issues.

Map Spotlight -  There's that Map Spotlight feature where, each day (or week, i don't remember) a whole region's maps get double exp. But the problem is, for some reason SOME maps aren't receiving the double exp, even though they're part of that region. This lets some players down as they plan their leveling in some map and when they arrive there, there's no double exp.

Daily Login Box - It's a nice feature that's default on most of the newer/good servers around, but this one kinda gets people angry as there's a lot of useless/bad rewards there so you might be disappointed if you expect to get something nice out of it.  NovaRO does a really good job with those and I really think this should be default to the servers using it.

WoE Guilds - At the moment, there are not that much guilds planning to WoE. The biggest ones are Lemon and Show No Love, there's a few small ones but they're really small and I didn't see them in-game that much.

Apart from those, I think the server is pretty good and without any major bugs or issues.

About WoE guilds I think that the Battlegrounds Character's System will bring a lot more diversity to the competitive scenario. If you don't know it's a system that you can start a 95/65 character that will do everything (exp, gear, supply) through BG, but their gear is temporary (15 days afaik) and they won't have access to PvE and high-end gear (Proxy, Variants, etc). So those that wants more that BG offers will have to grind that tasty PvM.

That's it for now guys, I really tried to be unbiased on this review, so you guys can have a better view on what's the server really like. If I remember anything else I'll add it here.

Server Site: http://riseofmidgard.com/

[Yuzo]

Let's see where it is in three months. The community tore it apart last time, probs the same again.

[tnznt]

Let's see where it is in three months. The community tore it apart last time, probs the same again.

Yea I heard that. Though, having TMW in the server is pretty hard if you care about it as they'll always try to find ways to get unfair advantages through 3pp and f*** up the server's economy/community and I think that's what happened last time.

[smokiebear]

would be helpful to put link to server @ first post

also what's TMW?

[MelonNotFound]

> Daily Login Box

One minute after logging in for the first time, I opened a daily box and got a coupon for bonus when buying cash point which will disappear after 16 hours. First minute and I already felt manipulated which is a very bad sign for me. I understand a server needs money to run and all but they could have made it less shady. Like the coupon doesn't need to have a time limit, at least not that quick, just like how coupon in real life usually work. I have not yet to open another daily box. Though I do like many of the unique features the server has.

Edit: Didn't help that the coupon description said I was "lucky" or "very lucky" to get it or something along the line which further the manipulative aspect.

[tnznt]

would be helpful to put link to server @ first post

also what's TMW?

TMW is a russian guild that goes by the name of This Means War. They're (in)famous for their really good coding skills when it comes to Ragnarok cheats, so even if a server has a really good protection, they'll certainly find a way to bypass it with their own third party program coded to that specific server making the gameplay less enjoyable to other guilds not using said cheats.

AFAIK in Dawn of Midgard, they managed to get a f*** (like, really a lot of them) of alchemist bots using cultivate and created 4~5b out of nowhere so it kinda broke the server.

[Tea_Pls]

> Daily Login Box

One minute after logging in for the first time, I opened a daily box and got a coupon for bonus when buying cash point which will disappear after 16 hours. First minute and I already felt manipulated which is a very bad sign for me. I understand a server needs money to run and all but they could have made it less shady. Like the coupon doesn't need to have a time limit, at least not that quick, just like how coupon in real life usually work. I have not yet to open another daily box. Though I do like many of the unique features the server has.

Edit: Didn't help that the coupon description said I was "lucky" or "very lucky" to get it or something along the line which further the manipulative aspect.

What you get is completely random, and they're thinking about switching out some of the less useful items. Sorry about your bad luck!

[tnznt]

What you get is completely random, and they're thinking about switching out some of the less useful items. Sorry about your bad luck!

I do agree with him though, it really needs some tweaks. The daily login is supposed to be something that rewards you for logging in, giving out useless items just makes people rage. It could have some more useful and less useful range of items but all items should be useful, even if they're like, 5 blue potions.

[MelonNotFound]

What you get is completely random, and they're thinking about switching out some of the less useful items. Sorry about your bad luck!

I know it's random but it gives a bad taste. I don't mind if I get nothing or simply useless item as I always have another chance everyday. But I got something that was supposed to be a reward and yet its whole existence is purely to manipulate me into spending money or I lose it. It makes me lose trust and trust for me is very important. They could have made it less aggressive (no timer, no description as if the item is rare or better don't make it part of the daily rewards, there should be better places for players to "win" these things). I have absolute nothing against owners trying to make money off their servers, I understand it's not free to develop and keep a server running, I'm easy on this, but the strategy used is just so not subtle at all and annoying. It's a bad impression, worse that it shows itself very early right when one just joined.

You can take this as a feedback or a criticism. Anyway just my opinion.

[Yuzo]

TMW is a russian guild that goes by the name of This Means War. They're (in)famous for their really good coding skills when it comes to Ragnarok cheats, so even if a server has a really good protection, they'll certainly find a way to bypass it with their own third party program coded to that specific server making the gameplay less enjoyable to other guilds not using said cheats.

AFAIK in Dawn of Midgard, they managed to get a f*** (like, really a lot of them) of alchemist bots using cultivate and created 4~5b out of nowhere so it kinda broke the server.

some people just can't play in good spirits. they always have to do whatever to gain advantages. It's an online game. a GAME. In real life games they encourage good sportsmanship and "playing in the spirit of the game". At least where I come from.

[tuisai12]

im posting this because i think i have found a good server again but well there will are really less than our fingers can count on that, I Quit the game because last day there's someone in the Clan,Party,Trade Chat that tells a rumor that "There's Not only Corrupt GM here but there's Guild of then in this Server so have fun grinding hunting for hours while their getting free stuffs" he said its real because one is a friend of his but he'll never tell who since he's still a friend,

after that it made think is it real or not, then i just ignore and continue doing my stuffs grinding leveling after some heavy grinding leveling and some farming it made me think again maybe its not worth investing time grinding hunting items for hours while other's are getting it for free that's such a let down then someone in chat said "wow this guild are rich guys" then that's light the fire on me(i might be wrong but its suspicious) about that guy who said there's a Guild of them, since most of the guild members have Costume Hat,Pet which is suspicious duno maybe their just a really rich commited guild.

here's another suspicious for me

server population never went up to 700 ever since considering Multi Clients(unlimited) is available lowest is 350 in sleeptimes with probably 150-200 or more merchants on vend + afk first jobs on prontera.

Random Events Participants = not more than 10 maybe their busy leveling or the population is really manipulated like there are also lots of afk first jobs just standing in the prontera.

i might be wrong that im just in denial stage but for me whether its true or not i wont take the chance that i'll waste my time on this server while others are having such an easy life on it. that's it

ill probably not play RO private server again and stay with my offline one from, since i'd imagine if im also in their situation that if i own a Good Server i'll be sure to play on it too and use my GM power(very carefully without getting caught) since i have an offline i found out that there are lots of ways to abuse this, great a custom item that noone know's about, create custom mob that drops items i want,custom NPC that noone knows,etc,etc. that's just me as a beginner what more can a VerySkilled one can do.

[Aselaa]

im posting this because i think i have found a good server again but well there will are really less than our fingers can count on that, I Quit the game because last day there's someone in the Clan,Party,Trade Chat that tells a rumor that "There's Not only Corrupt GM here but there's Guild of then in this Server so have fun grinding hunting for hours while their getting free stuffs" he said its real because one is a friend of his but he'll never tell who since he's still a friend,

after that it made think is it real or not, then i just ignore and continue doing my stuffs grinding leveling after some heavy grinding leveling and some farming it made me think again maybe its not worth investing time grinding hunting items for hours while other's are getting it for free that's such a let down then someone in chat said "wow this guild are rich guys" then that's light the fire on me(i might be wrong but its suspicious) about that guy who said there's a Guild of them, since most of the guild members have Costume Hat,Pet which is suspicious duno maybe their just a really rich commited guild.

here's another suspicious for me

server population never went up to 700 ever since considering Multi Clients(unlimited) is available lowest is 350 in sleeptimes with probably 150-200 or more merchants on vend + afk first jobs on prontera.

Random Events Participants = not more than 10 maybe their busy leveling or the population is really manipulated like there are also lots of afk first jobs just standing in the prontera.

i might be wrong that im just in denial stage but for me whether its true or not i wont take the chance that i'll waste my time on this server while others are having such an easy life on it. that's it

ill probably not play RO private server again and stay with my offline one from, since i'd imagine if im also in their situation that if i own a Good Server i'll be sure to play on it too and use my GM power(very carefully without getting caught) since i have an offline i found out that there are lots of ways to abuse this, great a custom item that noone know's about, create custom mob that drops items i want,custom NPC that noone knows,etc,etc. that's just me as a beginner what more can a VerySkilled one can do.

It's not worth much if you choose to not believe it, but there is no guild receiving free stuff. There are no special NPCs or mobs to hand out items. I take corruption seriously.

As for a guild with many costumes/pets, players that donated on our previous server were given their cash points back on Rise. It's our way of saying thanks for supporting us and continuing to do so.

[tuisai12]

"As for a guild with many costumes/pets, players that donated on our previous server were given their cash points back on Rise. It's our way of saying thanks for supporting us and continuing to do so."

i sure hope so that there are no Corrupt Guild that some GM are supporting.

but with that statement above im glad i decided to quit at an early time, "Give Their Cash Points Back"?  (that's such a Nono for me fror a New Server) that's an instant massive advantange, that's why there are lots of Cash Points Sellers for Zeny from the start.. that could also be use as an excuse for if that guild is really a Corrupt One because noone will ever know/see if someone's getting free Cash Points.

if i knew that from the start i wouldnt even bother to check the server.

[Hunyee]

"As for a guild with many costumes/pets, players that donated on our previous server were given their cash points back on Rise. It's our way of saying thanks for supporting us and continuing to do so."

i sure hope so that there are no Corrupt Guild that some GM are supporting.

but with that statement above im glad i decided to quit at an early time, "Give Their Cash Points Back"?  (that's such a Nono for me fror a New Server) that's an instant massive advantange, that's why there are lots of Cash Points Sellers for Zeny from the start.. that could also be use as an excuse for if that guild is really a Corrupt One because noone will ever know/see if someone's getting free Cash Points.

if i knew that from the start i wouldnt even bother to check the server.

Why are you trying to create unnecessary drama? It makes sense that people who donated for the previous server get their money's worth on the new and upgraded server as it is essentially a 2.0 of the first one.

Besides, there really is nothing pay2win in the cash shop except for battle manuals (which you get from daily login rewards or buy from other players in case you do not wish to donate).

I propably should not be triggered by this guy but I have to say that RoM has been THE best private RO server experience I've had to this date. The administration team does a great job overcoming challenges and are very competent in managing both the stability of the server as the ingame experience.

For me, RoM has given me a fresh experience with playing RO even though I must be now on my 7th or 8th year of playing this game.

PS. I have not donated a single penny in case you were wondering.

[tuisai12]

i have to disagree that no pay2win you said it yourself, Except Battle Manual, im sure you saw lots of Vend/Sellers of Battle Manuals that's not pay2win? add there the Broken no delay Mount which is also very profitable way to convert Cash Points to zeny? now that's not pay2win?? its a massive advantage from a FRESH/NEW Server that's just like pay2win.

tho idc about p2w like this kind eventually you can catch up to them if you know what you're doing

but with players who have Cash Points from the start since they Donated from a First Failed Server? what the point of "NEW/Fresh SERVER" people will expect everyone will have a fresh start from 0.

its fine im just disappointed i once thought this was one of the best server too but good thing i found out early that's we're almost being tricked that its a New Server but its not since its a 2.0 etc and people will carry their Cash Points from that previous failed server, and  with the online players, 500-600+ divide that to estimated multi clients and minus Merchant Vendors.

that's my POV,  go ahead risk wasting your time hunting grinding for Hours/Days/Weeks while some will just get it for free if the Rumors are true because i wont risk mine.. GL tho maybe there will be a 3.0 Server and you'll carry out your Months of Grinding to that Server.

[Tea_Pls]

i have to disagree that no pay2win you said it yourself, Except Battle Manual, im sure you saw lots of Vend/Sellers of Battle Manuals that's not pay2win? add there the Broken no delay Mount which is also very profitable way to convert Cash Points to zeny? now that's not pay2win?? its a massive advantage from a FRESH/NEW Server that's just like pay2win.

tho idc about p2w like this kind eventually you can catch up to them if you know what you're doing

but with players who have Cash Points from the start since they Donated from a First Failed Server? what the point of "NEW/Fresh SERVER" people will expect everyone will have a fresh start from 0.

its fine im just disappointed i once thought this was one of the best server too but good thing i found out early that's we're almost being tricked that its a New Server but its not since its a 2.0 etc and people will carry their Cash Points from that previous failed server, and  with the online players, 500-600+ divide that to estimated multi clients and minus Merchant Vendors.

that's my POV,  go ahead risk wasting your time hunting grinding for Hours/Days/Weeks while some will just get it for free if the Rumors are true because i wont risk mine.. GL tho maybe there will be a 3.0 Server and you'll carry out your Months of Grinding to that Server.

They actually nerfed the mounts fairly quickly, and it was a very heavy-handed nerf that they had to tweak. As for those who paid for Cash Shop currency in Dawn of Midgard, who then had their currency given back for Rise of Midgard... If they weren't given their currency back, there would have been a riot. This is sometimes practiced among big gaming companies as well, when they close games for good.

Are you going to complain about the people who bought Cash Shop currency on the first day too? I've already spent $50 on the server because I believe it's deserving of my money.

[tuisai12]

nerfed? yup only today's maintenance so still the damage has been done it's been a profit for those who got Cash Points and mange to sell lots of it before the nerf.. its not my problem about that Previous server its about the New/Fresh Server but its really not some of us are looking for a Fresh/New Server that's Fair and Square but with that Cash Points carry on from previous server i repeat again that im glad i stop earlier.

and nah i never have a problem with guys who ""LEGIT TOP UP"", i would even do the same with just proper consideration tho that if its really worth it, we have different definition of worth it tho for sure i wont donate,top up to a Server with a bad reputation and low players online, its like there's not even 100+ players there with the multi client + Vends.

[Tea_Pls]

nerfed? yup only today's maintenance so still the damage has been done it's been a profit for those who got Cash Points and mange to sell lots of it before the nerf.. its not my problem about that Previous server its about the New/Fresh Server but its really not some of us are looking for a Fresh/New Server that's Fair and Square but with that Cash Points carry on from previous server i repeat again that im glad i stop earlier.

and nah i never have a problem with guys who ""LEGIT TOP UP"", i would even do the same with just proper consideration tho that if its really worth it, we have different definition of worth it tho for sure i wont donate,top up to a Server with a bad reputation and low players online, its like there's not even 100+ players there with the multi client + Vends.

No, my friend. The maintenance that nerfed them was days ago.

They did buy their Cash Shop currency legitly, they just did it earlier. There's literally no difference between them spending their money then, versus them spending their money now, besides time. If you're assuming they're getting free handouts because some random dude on #trade said so, without proof, you are either stupid or stunningly naive. Anyone can join a server they dislike and spew nonsense like that. Anyone.

[tuisai12]

well as i can see there's a PROOF already  from the earlier post from tnznt there's an issue in the Previous Server about a Russian Guild that got 4-5b out of nowhere so who knows if that's really a Russian Guild with incredible coding,hacking skills or just a COVER UP for their Corruption in a Guild which pretty much match up with what that random dude is saying.

its fine if im stupid/naive to your eyes and other's but after reading about TNZNT Post and seeing that random dude with almost the ""SAME ISSUE"" that match up with the previous server issue that some legit ***** happened, i have every reason to believe it.

[Zinnia]

Ugh! That's an interesting topic, I couldn't answer to it earlier, but let me give some food for thoughts now:

@Tnznt: Thanks a lot for your review! I'm glad to know you like the protection. Yes the daily login reward and the spotlight need refinements. We're getting around them.
Concerning the balance between BG,PvP and PVM it's definitely something really important for us. I think the BG characters will have a positive impact, if not this week, in the future on the sunday woe competition.

@Melon: I understand. I'm currently reworking the daily login system. Concerning the Bonus CP coupons I think on the contrary it's a great item. It's a reward for players who login regularly to have a little bonus CP if they want to support the server. it's a gift, a bonus, a thank you.
Once again keep in mind the shop is fully cosmetic and you aren't pushed/forced to donate/support the server if you don't want to! You won't be put at any disadvantage.


@tuisai12: There's a few things here I need to make clear but I understand why you're afraid

1) We take corruption VERY VERY seriously. Nobody has access to the game database except our sysadmin (who doesn't play) and Asela. In addition, every member of the staff team has views on what's being done on the database. It makes it pretty impossible for anyone in the staff to provide items to a particular guild.
In addition, we have GM logs on the website (so you can check yourself if one of our GM is doing shady stuff)
And we even made it IMPOSSIBLE for our GMs to create items or trade them. We even made a video about it last year: https://www.facebook.com/riseofmidgard/videos/460289994155034/

So yes, we allow our GMs to play the game, but it's because they really have no way of abusing their GM powers.

2) Concerning the DoM donations points being given again on RoM, honestly I don't see the problem with it. I announced DoM last year as an everlasting server yet I couldn't hold my promise because of my mistakes. Since I make this project out of passion (I'm a marketing manager IRL, I can tell you I don't need money), it's my way to say to the players thank you for their support and show them that RoM is definitely not a cash grab server. It's not made for money, it's a project made out of passion.
Not mentioning the cash shop is entirely cosmetic. There are mounts, yes, but I don't see how p2w that can be since you cannot skill/attack while on them. We also added a cast time to enable them too last week.

3) Multi clienting and vending is an interesting topic and I could provide you some KPI but I don't think we should enter that debate here. Long story short: 80% of the users only use 1 account, we have 1200-1400 unique daily users (unique masteraccounts/ips), and there's always between 70 and 90 vendors. So you see, on 700~ concurrent online players, you have at least 490~540 unique players online at the same time. I don't think that's bad!

I'd be very happy to talk to you more about that in private or in a dedicated topic on RMS/RoM forum though, game KPIs and analytics is kinda my IRL job and I urged my developers to develop and entire control panel to monitor all of these statistics. I work with that kind of statistics a lot on RO.

4)

well as i can see there's a PROOF already  from the earlier post from tnznt there's an issue in the Previous Server about a Russian Guild that got 4-5b out of nowhere so who knows if that's really a Russian Guild with incredible coding,hacking skills or just a COVER UP for their Corruption in a Guild which pretty much match up with what that random dude is saying.

its fine if im stupid/naive to your eyes and other's but after reading about TNZNT Post and seeing that random dude with almost the ""SAME ISSUE"" that match up with the previous server issue that some legit ***** happened, i have every reason to believe it.

I don't really understand what you mean here. Sorry!
But if you think that This Means War got their zeny last year (4b/5b worth of z) through corruption, you're wrong.
They botted, bug abused monk/rogue quests with infinite monster respawns and they used plant cultivation.

That is why on RoM plant cultivation isn't self sustaining anymore, the monsters in rogue/monk quests do not drop items anymore, and we developed a complete anti-bot tool that makes botting on the server almost impossible. (And there's more to come soon about it :') )


Anyway! Thanks a lot for reading me, I hope I could answer some of your worries and clarify what wasn't!
If not, I wish you the best and I really thank you for your feedback. Hope it helped!


.- Zinnia

[tuisai12]

@zinnia im glad that you Take Corruption Seriously but i sure hope also your staffs/gm/etc

1.its impossible for GM's to create items? i just saw in the first few days in the website some GM use @item 34xxx i ignored it since its just 34xxx its probably a Costume item, but are we sure that all GM's are in there and being track?

allow Gm's to play the game that's fine i just hope they wont be tempted to find a way to use their GM power, tho i know as a GM or Staff they get some Free Cash Points etc as "SALARY" if they're playing right? i doubt they'll grind for hours/days if they can easily have max lvl char too.

2. my only issue with this is that i wasnt or some of us dont know that it will be like this, that some players will get Instant Cash Points from previous server while me/we are expecting it will be a Fresh Start from 0, because that Cash Points can be easily converted to Zeny specially at the start of the game which will make their RO Life Easier and have a Great Advantage from the Start.. and that increases that amount of players who will gain advantage on us Grinders/Hunters from the start aside from Legit Donators on the first few days.

about mounts its problem is the No Delay mounting/demounting it can be abused in many ways like Hunting Boss you can easily outrun/kite/etc because of that nodelay. but its patched now, tho some people know/figured out that Mount is OP in the previous days before it was patched, that makes it a SOLID Profit for Cash Points to Zeny by selling Mounts. more advantage specially for those who got Free Cash Points because of previous server..

3. i sure hope that's true for the sake of those players that still wants to play, but for me i'll never believe what's on any site it can easily be manipulated/etc, like yes you can track some GM's there but are we sure that's all the GM's? what if there's a GM that's not included in that website and cant be track so he can easily Abuse his power? that's an example there are many other ways.

also at the Online Players now its 383 its been 300+ since 8 hours ago, i guess some merchants are gone because of maintenance earlier. and there are 1189 DAILY Unique?? that makes me doubt more if that website information is really true/accurate.

its good that you're taking Corruption very seriously but are your GM's/Staffs the same? are you sure you can keep track of them all? you cant control them all, people can easily be tempted specially if its right within their grasp even in OFFICIAL Servers there are lots of scandals/issues that happened because of Corruption/GM Abuse/Temptation.

so that's it overall i believe that you telling the truth that you take Corruption seriously but again are you sure about your GM's/Staffs/etc? they can easily keep it a secret from you if they're doing some shady stuffs/etc. so that's it. maybe you can work on that and GL.

[Zinnia]

Look at the video here! https://www.facebook.com/riseofmidgard/videos/460289994155034/
You will understand why I tell you our GM/Staff have absolutely no way of cheating!

GMs don't have @item they have a custom command that is called @costumeitem and that doesn't work on other players but them Basically it allows them to customize the skin of their characters, they can only create costumes for their GM character, but that's it. Character creation is also disabled on their account. They can only have 1 GM character / account and that's all.

The playercount is always close to 400~ during those hours in weekdays, our playerbase is essentially from US (780 uniques) and BR (540 uniques), which means they are currently asleep or soon going to work : ) Peak hours for RoM are generally between 18:00 to 1:00 GMT+0 London Time. I would love it to be changed with more players coming from PH though and convince them the server, with all of the ping influence features, is good for them!
So yes. 1200~1400 Unique players who log at least once every 24 hours, and more than 4000 unique registrations. (not regular account registrations, which means it doesn't count double accounts)
Those numbers aren't tweaked!