TalonRO ~ An Insider's Point of View

[Angelique]

"You must be this tall play this long before you can grasp the genius of our server."  I can't think of any other server's community that insists on months of up-front time investment before you can "get it" (as if that's a motivation to play).
Having read the economy part, I seem to get the feeling your entire economy revolves around Talon Coins.

Just like any MMORPG, starting off is difficult. Prices seem ridiculously high, and it seems impossible for you to get to that level. Until you actually play for some time, you don't realise it's actually quite easy to get to a high degree of play, it doesn't require donating, it just takes some time initially because you are an almost buck naked novice with no resources and little understanding of the tRO economy and gameplay changes as a result of the customs. One of the Joys of playing tRO is that actually have fun and feel like you've achieved something because it's not made to be easy. Other server's communities might not insist on it -- but hey they aren't doing as well as tRO are they?

The inflation/deflation of the server revolves around Talon Coins for items that exist inside the guru (which does not include everything), and that is at a maximum of ±100,000 zeny in extreme situations (keep in mind this is in the context of Talon Coins being worth on average 1,000,000 zeny. 10% up or down from the "average" price in the time I've been playing at tRO (more than 2 years), and to my knowledge within the last ~4 years it's been in a similar state. The rest of the economy moderates itself (supply and demand). A server which can keep prices at a steady state for more than 4 years is doing something right.

It's also important to note that the prices of items revolve around Talon Coins, but it is not necessary to donate for Talon Coins to be well geared. A donation will get you started faster than others, but will get you nowhere close to the end-game play and gears. I've played on this server for ~2 years and have managed to mass more than ~10billion zeny worth of gears without donating even once. That's the equivalent of $10,000 USD in donations. I mention this because you seem to be under the impression you need to buy Talon Coins to be successful in game. Most donators will donate a few hundred dollars, in the extreme maybe a few thousand dollars. But they will still lag behind those who play for their gears.

My gears combined with my "donated $20 to tRO for charity after 4 years of playing" boyfriend amass much more than this amount, but we STILL find there are gears we have still yet to get. If you can find someone who is willing to donate more than $20,000 USD to get to the same level as a long time player then by all means go ahead :/ But your whole assumption that the donation system, and buying Talon Coins, defines tRO is a farce.

Also, please understand that the Talon Coin system (that is, the exchange rate) is controlled by the community, not the GMs, so fluctuations in the economy are as a result of the community as a whole.

Also, if something is overpowered, but it's available to everyone, does it stop becoming overpowered?  Being overpowered means it's absolutely the best solution, as in, you would never want to NOT use it.  Just because it's available to everyone, does that actually balance things, or just give the appearance of balance?[/color][/b]

It's actually balanced. If everyone has the ability to get the item with a little effort, everyone is on an even playing field. Rather than 1 person owning GR in PVP and being the only one who can tank that IC Asura, everyone can tank that IC Asura. Rather than only the rich being able to afford these cards, anyone can afford them and use them.

It becomes unbalanced when an item gives a small group of individuals an advantage in game play over all other individuals. This simply does not happen in tRO.

It is a little strange to see heaps of MVP cards everywhere initially, but that's why people say you should stay at tRO for longer than a few weeks and get a better feel of the server rather than writing it off so quickly. You actually start to understand the balance of the server.

I highly doubt this will change your exceedingly negative view of tRO, however I wanted to respond to some points and try to help you understand it from the perspective of a long-time player.

[Triper]

I'm tired of seeing the same complaints all over again about the same items[I don't need to point names, that users know that and it's enough, we're not 3 years old kids afterall] and this isn't just for this topic only, also applies to some others too because this is starting to be always the same with some servers and this one is getting a bit out of hands.


It's fine when people defend over accusations about their servers/where they play, they're on their rights, but some are just too much because it's not defend anymore, it's more like - I don't want to see any single negative point about my server around so I'm going to try to turn that accusation upside down MWAHAHAHAHAHHA and that's just too much.
We're not on the nazi time@WWII or rule by some dictator, people are free to have their own opinions[even if some are a bit over the top and people should take care about that. Emotions are cool and stuff, they're what make you different from others, but don't let them control you when you post it, you may end posting something that you didn't want because you were dominated by them] so a bit of respect should be given, like if it was your own post, and not just jump and just call this and that.

Serious, some people need to accept that and that:
-> Negative points/reviews about a server will always exist, you can either accept them and improve your server based on that or simply ignore their existance.
If you don't like that then too bad, it's their opinion, accept the fact that you're not alone in the world.
-> There is no need to go into "OMG BRITNEY NOOO" mode over a bad review, it's just that the server wasn't as someone though so they are pointing the flaws, it's up to staff of that server to accept or reject the opinions.
If they're pointing fingers about this and that non-stop then it's another thing, you're on your own right to defend as the rules say but there is no need to transform the topic into a drama pool and you can always report the post using the Report to moderator at the bottom right corner of it in some cases.
->  There is no need to bash on the same aspect of a server non-stop, we already got it - "YOU DON'T LIKE THAT, FINE. Can we now change to another subject?". Poking more on the wound is not productive for anyone.
-> Each server is different so different mechanics, different ways of them work, different ways of economy work around, there is no need to make that be noticed all the time or claim that they suck because of that.
There is life outside of the game, remember it![And also more servers! YES, THEY EXIST! AMAZING, right?]
-> Some people also only play servers that have a ton of gear easy to get by who spends real money by tons of reasons[some bad, some good].
Does this mean that we need to be always on alert about that fact that is a negative aspect to you? No, if you've problems with that, you can post that problem when reviewing the server and it's done. If the staff reads it they will know that you don't like it and it may also make others don't like too since players reading your review will also notice that and be aware of the problem, there is no need to always complain about that when the server in question is brought to the topic in any discussion. It's your opinion and you gave it, job done. If others complain about it, then you can join your voice to it but that's all.
If you don't want to make a review, you can always try to talk with the staff and discuss that privately and see f they're open to get a balanced way for both sides or simply just change servers, problem resolved, no drama involved.
-> If the staff of a server likes to say thanks for every single review, it's their thing.
Like it or not, their community may enjoy that because they see that the staff cares about them.
Sometimes it may be extreme, true, but it's their way of acting and if someone does that, others may do the same too. Some do it here, some just say thanks for the time used to post reviews here in their servers using the global broadcast. Others just make a post on their forums. It's a simple thanks for the time used to show how the server is for outsides that for some may mean a lot.

Saying this, if people want to keep discussing stuff like grown up people, go for it, it's cool to see those discussions and reading both sides of the coin and sometimes those discussions even end in something totally not expected and someone learns a new thing.

If it's for more of the same like 2 kids discussing over which lollipop is better when both are the same, I will have to really think about closing this topic, make a new post and posting names and the reason of why they forced the topic to be closed and I'm sure that nobody wants it to end like that. Will it look bad? Sure but I just got tired of the same non-productive topics where people just seem to know how to bash.

Serious, I'm a person with a super open mind and I've no problem with people expressing their opinions and I can accept when I error and fail too but every time that there is a review about some servers and/or some specific detail, it seems to end always on the same which hurts more then it helps the community.

Just as a final note to end this wall of text[I know how much people hatelove them], I would also like to remember that this little section exists and that people can post there to:

Discuss about different Ragnarok Online Private servers in this forum only. Anything from rants to pure appreciation. Please do not flame or troll.

Yes, you can make topics and discuss those things there and even by making a global approach about them, neat isn't it?

[gametraffic]

ty for review is fair

[BloodTyrant]

So I've been playing on this server for a little over 3 weeks now, and here are my opinions so far (will try to align with the original poster's topics with some added topics of my own)

It's unfortunate that the OP started with GMs, as my experience with the TalonRO staff was less than pleasant.
Eager to give myself an early boost, I went ahead and donated a small amount of money to get some starter gears.  But I accidentally messed up the donation claim (my own fault).  However, this ticket sat for 4 days before I finally had to approach GM after GM until I finally got up to Boreas... who as the OP already mentioned, is not the best at communicating with others.  He has a bit of a god-complex and to this day claims that "we do not get paid for our services".  How much of the donation money you see is between you and the owner, but please stop claiming that you're maintaining the server for absolutely free; that money goes somewhere.

After seeing some more of his forum responses, he has a quite the snarky attitude to any criticism and will sometimes takes things to a personal level.  This is not necessarily a bad thing though, as it shows he cares about the server.  He does his job well, but needs to lighten up, since he is the lead GM of a GAME after all.  He alone is the only black mark I have on the GMs, the rest are great GMs that are very active and friendly.  From what I've seen so far, there's usually at least 1 event per day.


About the Community...
!main chat was kind of a miss for me...  The intention for having that feature was good, but in the end, I mostly found undesirables there.  Sarcasm, spoilers, and trolls run rampant every now and then.  Also, I personally have a hard time following the !main rules, as I feel they are too strict and the punishment too harsh (3 hour mute on attack and chat for first offense - you can still play other chars though and afk overnight).  That being said, I've never seen a server with such good enforcement, it does filter out some of the unwanted noise of a general chat.  I now prefer to play with !main off though for those reasons I stated earlier, which kind of defeats the purpose of the feature if you ask me.  However, if you can follow the rules of !main chat and ignore the pettiness that comes with it at times, you can find some good folk willing to help out or just chat.

My guild experience is limited, as I had a hard time finding a guild for my tastes.  Most seem to be just small social guilds mixed in with a few hardcore competitors.  I simply wanted a guild in between, but had a hard time finding one.  Your experience may differ.


The Forums are the best I've seen for any RO server, it's the most active one I've been a part of.  With responses lasting no more than 30mins or so for all my posts.  The control panel for Talon RO is pretty nice too, as it is more accurate to use than RMS with all the modded items designed specifically for this server.  The item database can show you the lowest vend price in real time, and there's a sweet stat calculator too =).  I am impressed with the amount of work that went into this CP for just a private server.  There are always things that can be improved with it of course, but nothing crucial or urgent.  On a side note, I would've loved to have seen a @mobinfo in-game, as I was used to this feature from a previous server.


As for the Economy....
I am mixed about this one.  While it's true that Talon Coins keep the economy stable, I do not agree with the ease to obtain some of the "godly" items like some MVP cards.  As it stands, a good farmer can get one in a few days work.  I like the feeling of self-achievement that comes with a bit of difficulty, but that is dwindled a bit here since almost anyone can get those items in fairly short order.  This also leads to more emphasis on farming rather than gearing up for challenging MVPs and the like.  But the SQI items seem like a good replacement for that (never got that far though). 

The Talon Coin prices are amazingly stable as well, which are never too far off from 1mil.  I find that hard to believe with the amount of farming involved in this server.  I didn't think there was enough of a zeny sink to maintain the inflation, but somehow it works.


I have no qualms with the Server Performance either.  It is always up and while there are some occasional lag spikes, it's nothing to get in a roar about.  Sure, I died once or twice due to lag, but what RO server doesn't have it?  It's as good as they come at any rate.


One major issue I do have with this server is the availability of resetting and the possibility of cross-trans.  I am the type of person who feels like someone should earn their stripes with research and dedication...  As I stated before, I have a sense of pride and satisfaction in making a top-notch character through hard work and perseverance on a low-rate server.  But that feeling kind've fell through the floor here with mulligans being <5k zeny a pop.  It seems like the most efficient way to get a trans char you want is to make an ME priest or HW, etc and rush to rebirth so you can start your real trans char.  I would implore the GMs to make resetting require a little bit more of a conscious choice, and perhaps rethink allowing cross trans.

All in all though, this server was mostly fun as it has the greatest population out there to-date and plenty of side activities.  If you can get used to the rules and don't mind the differences, then this server will be a blast.  Unfortunately, I realized I can no longer keep up with those crazy summer kids who can farm all day long, and have decided to put my time with RO on hold for now.  Good luck!

[DeePee]

Hi there. Thanks for your honest review

It's unfortunate that you had a bad experience with some parts of the server. Let me try to reply to some of your concerns.

Tickets regarding donations can unfortunately take a few days. This is mainly because there's only a select few GMs who are able to handle tickets related to this (for good reason). If one of them is unavailable for a while, they can indeed take a little longer than usual tickets. There's sadly no way around that, but usually it gets done pretty quickly.

In terms of the !main chat, it can probably give a bad experience from time to time. There will always be bad apples around, but we try to manage it as much as we can, even with a population as big as we have now. Most of the time it seems to be a pretty fun place and punishments for foul language on !main are quite strict. So maybe you can give it another shot some time and hopefully you will have a better experience on !main.

While @mobinfo/@mi can indeed be quite useful, we have decided to not enable it. As we have a quite extensive MobDB on the panel, this is a good alternative. On top of that, that command means direct access to information about Event mobs, which is something we rather not like to have when just launching a new event.

We understand that the whole MVP card business isn't for everyone. It's partially something we inherited from our "mother" server, but at the same time we like giving everyone a fair chance to get these items themselves. On other servers, there'd be a few lucky people who find that rare MVP card and overpower everyone and their mother. On tRO, that will never be the case. Some of the cards have been changed/nerfed as well so that they aren't too game-breaking. Overall, we like to think that with the availability of them, it balances the game out pretty nicely.
And of course, if you don't wish to play with these cards, there's always Vanilla PvP/WoE where such cards are restricted. It's quite a popular mode in fact. Of course it does not affect PvM, but it will give you that good old RO feeling

Regarding the resets and cross-transing, I can't really comment on that. It's a matter of preference of course. However, I would like to say that we've been working on providing decent incentives for not cross-transing. For example, you can get Bronze Coins for doing the official jobchange quests (can be used for powerful rental weapons) and there are special Achievements to be obtained when reaching your Trans class without cross-transing.

Again, thank you for your review. We hope you find the place you like

[Boreas]

Eager to give myself an early boost, I went ahead and donated a small amount of money to get some starter gears.  But I accidentally messed up the donation claim (my own fault).  However, this ticket sat for 4 days before I finally had to approach GM after GM until I finally got up to Boreas... who as the OP already mentioned, is not the best at communicating with others.

Your fault, exactly, you got help, just took a little longer as I have a real life as well. Next time read the instructions and you won't run into this problem in the first place.

!main chat was kind of a miss for me...  The intention for having that feature was good, but in the end, I mostly found undesirables there.  Sarcasm, spoilers, and trolls run rampant every now and then.  Also, I personally have a hard time following the !main rules, as I feel they are too strict and the punishment too harsh (3 hour mute on attack and chat for first offense - you can still play other chars though and afk overnight).

Looking at your !main logs you are one of those trolls, thus your mute. You then PMed me on a different character, asking me to unmute you. Well, I rejected, so here we are I guess.


Good luck finding a server with no rules or GMs who don't enforce their rules. Byebye.

[Bebe]

This is not really a review since this is on someone's post , but my reply is mainly to the OP and BloodTyrant.

Personally, I think it's really nice to hear from other Talon RO players (me being a newbie myself xD )
so thank you, OP, and BloodTyrant! Also I get to see some of the GMs' reactions to the posts too hehehe

I think we should all have in mind that main chats will always have your typical trolls and can't be 100% relied on for help. However, to my experience, Talon RO has a lot of people willing to help you - even when I am lvling, I've had strangers come and help me xD

As for the rules, I think they are "strict" in order to avoid overflowing of trollish acts and such, hmm o-o? I know a lot of servers where GMs just don't care and let things go , which caused a lot of people being able to say whatever and anything they wanted - no censorship! my innocent eyes D:

So I think having rules that TalonRO has is pretty good then again... I'm the type who keeps to myself and does not participate in main chat and such xD I may be very biased on the rule part - sorry!!

Curious part on my own as for the population - no doubt I love seeing the population being 1000+ but are they all players? I thought most of the population was made out of the vendors.

That's the only thing that I'm curious about x3 but other than that TalonRO is awesome You like it, you stay - you don't like it, you go. It's something like that but mostly encouraged that you stay for a bit and play around

[DeePee]

Hi there Bebe,

We usually have around 500-550 vendors online nowadays. So our player peak from last week (1800+) consisted of around 540 vendors if I recall correctly. We actually had nearly 1300+ non-vendors online

[Bebe]

Oh! Thank you for the clarification :3

tbh I'm really happy you told me that so then I can convince my friends to come play xD a few kept making me doubt about the population, and I didn't have anything to back it up - except to just count all the vendors (tbh I really didn't wanna do lol)

well there's something to add on the "about TalonRO" part - helpful GMs and a large population

[BloodTyrant]

In terms of the !main chat, it can probably give a bad experience from time to time. There will always be bad apples around, but we try to manage it as much as we can, even with a population as big as we have now.

Ya, it simply just wasn't in my own personal tastes.  I think it was a bit of a culture shock to me that it was so clean, whereas every other online game it's usually a bit more aggressive and vulgar.  Change is good sometimes though =)  I do need to swear less.

While @mobinfo/@mi can indeed be quite useful, we have decided to not enable it. As we have a quite extensive MobDB on the panel, this is a good alternative. On top of that, that command means direct access to information about Event mobs, which is something we rather not like to have when just launching a new event.

I can live with that, it wasn't a game-breaker for me, just a convenience

On other servers, there'd be a few lucky people who find that rare MVP card and overpower everyone and their mother. On tRO, that will never be the case. Some of the cards have been changed/nerfed as well so that they aren't too game-breaking. Overall, we like to think that with the availability of them, it balances the game out pretty nicely.

It does keep the balance pretty well, but almost too well for my tastes.  I do have a bit of elitist in me, as I used to strive for top raiding guilds in WoW, etc.  I think it just felt to be too laid back where some goals were too easy to obtain, while others could be too difficult.  (there seemed to be a pretty big gap between 20-50mil items to me)

And of course, if you don't wish to play with these cards, there's always Vanilla PvP/WoE where such cards are restricted. It's quite a popular mode in fact. Of course it does not affect PvM, but it will give you that good old RO feeling

Not much of a pvp'er in me, which is why I didn't include it.  PvP just leads to complications and anger imo. I prefer to coordinate with others and accomplish goals.

Regarding the resets and cross-transing, I can't really comment on that. It's a matter of preference of course. However, I would like to say that we've been working on providing decent incentives for not cross-transing. For example, you can get Bronze Coins for doing the official jobchange quests (can be used for powerful rental weapons) and there are special Achievements to be obtained when reaching your Trans class without cross-transing.

This, unfortunately, was the major game-breaker for me.  But as you said it's a preference; perhaps you guys can poll on it in your forums if you haven't already =P



I would like to add on about Bebe's concern.  The population is fine, it's almost as good as it was in the RO glory years.  There's always people on almost every map.  Sometimes finding parties can be a bit difficult, but I hear the GMs are working on improving their party finder system.  I think this aspect will improve in the future.

[BloodTyrant]

Your fault, exactly, you got help, just took a little longer as I have a real life as well. Next time read the instructions and you won't run into this problem in the first place.

I do agree, it worked out in the end, thank you.  There didn't seem to be much drive from the other GMs to escalate though.

To reply in a more disrespectful manner (like you seem to enjoy doing).  It appears to me you have time to reply to forums posts every day, but not look at 3 or 4-day old support tickets?  I gave it 4 days of waiting before I got a bit impatient, sorry.  But no customer likes to be told to hold that long.  Just the nature of the beast, I would expect a bit of retaliation in those cases.  But this is just 1 case, so I shouldn't generalize on it.

Looking at your !main logs you are one of those trolls, thus your mute. You then PMed me on a different character, asking me to unmute you. Well, I rejected, so here we are I guess.

I believe this accusation to be false, as I did not flood main chat with the intent to flame or anger others.  But perhaps I'm a little hazy on the definition of this trolling term that's thrown around.  When I do swear, it's usually not directed at any individual.  "Treat others as you would like to be treated yourself".  I will admit coming to you seeking mercy was clearly not a wise choice, sorry about that.

Good luck finding a server with no rules or GMs who don't enforce their rules. Byebye.

Perhaps you should read my entire post before making these kind of comments.  I said I was quitting RO for time reasons.  I am not looking for another server, as this one is still one of the best.  I have a job like many other people, and since I do strive to be the best at everything I do, I simply dislike how I'm falling behind the other players (which I referred to as summer kids - I miss those years of my life).

Now to finish off in your own words "Byebye."  You did depreciate some of the enjoyment I had during TalonRO, and you don't seem to care that you drive some of your players away.

[Boreas]

Exactly, I don't care. A troll gone, nothing of value is lost. Bye man.

[BlackChurch]

i didn't play talon long either ..but long enough to notice how bad it is ....common sense will give you a some idea of how bad any server is

[DeePee]

TalonRO - where thousands of players without common sense waste their precious time.

[BlackChurch]

I am sure they do    but  my grief with talon is not the server itself ..but that is a pass issue anyways ..its great  that you all  support  a server you like/love...but not everyone is going to have to same experience as you ..so putting anyone down  for what their experiences are makes you just as useless as the server that person was a part of