DivergenceRO - Closed to public(applications only)

[Blinzer2]

What is Divergence?

Divergence is an alternate version of the Ragnarok Online world. The customization is exceptional, but not in a traditional sense. Divergence is not about adding customs to the game, but tweaking and repurposing the already existing things the game has to offer to create a superior game to the original in every way. The way the game is played is the same, but the world is different.

Divergence's world is based off of Pre-Renewal with Trans Classes(circa 2008), which is what I consider the "Super Smash Bros Melee" of Ragnarok Online. It aims primarily to preserve the way the game was played during that era for strong classes, while giving weaker ones the things they were missing in order to be able to compete. It improves the PvM experience not by adding custom dungeons or cheap gimmicks to dance around the fundamental flaws PvM has, but by addressing them directly and specifically.

Who would be interested in Divergence?

If you're tired of Merchant/Mage/Thief being bad in PvM, this is the server for you. If you're tired of party play being completely trivial and not mattering at all, this is the server for you. If you're tired of grinding stupidly weak monsters for ridiculously overpowered cards that don't even match the characteristics of the monster it drops from, this is the server for you. If you think the PvM in Ragnarok is just a chore you need to go through to be able to get to the good stuff, this is the server for you. If you think the itemization progression of Ragnarok is uninteresting and makes no sense, this is the server for you. If you think gear is completely polarizing and spread out randomly, this is the server for you. If 4 slotted composite bows have made you forget that bosses even drop weapons, this is the server for you. If you think Stalker, Lord Knight, Gunslinger, High Wizard and High Priest are all garbage in PvP, this is the server for you. If you think half of the monsters in the game are completely useless and there's no reason to ever fight them, this is the server for you. And if you're not interested in any of that and just feel like playing 0 delay AD Creator/Support Prof/Unkillable Paladin/Efist Champ/Oneshot SinX SB build for the 500th time, you can do that too.

What are Divergence's Rates?

Divergence's rates are 1x/1x, along with:

Equipment 1%
Accessories 0.3%
Headgears 0.01%
Cards 0.4%

MVP Drops 100%
MVP Cards N/A(Inquire for more info)

Is there lore behind Divergence?

The world features a temporal plotline which adds to the original story of Ragnarok Online, and acts as the sequel to the story of a previous server I GMed on over 10 years ago. The main villain and final boss of the server is Thanatos, standing tall at the top of Thanatos Tower. You must work your way towards it in order to have a chance at stopping him from permanently fracturing the space-time continuum. Generally speaking, this will only be possible as a feat if most players on the server work together.

More lore dating back to Limitless:

Spoiler

"The initial siege from Thanatos was brutal. Monsters were unleashed everywhere upon the world, kinds we had never seen before. Who could have expected it? Nothing like this had ever happened before. The adventurers were completely caught by surprise, as his generals laid waste to the world and cornered the citizens of Midgard. Yuno was the first to fall, next was Hugel. I can still hear the cries of the people trying to escape on the rafts, they never stood a chance. Shortly after, all of the major cities of Rune Midgard had fallen into the hands of fiends. In all our history, we had never even seen a single city fall.

What were we to do? We fought back, that's what we did. We tried to push them back, and push them back we did. Conquering even a single plain was difficult, the fiends gave up no quarter willingly. We played a game of tug of war, I can't even count the amount of territories we had reclaimed that fell back into enemy hands. Slowly but surely, with me as their leader, we pressed onwards and reclaimed the land that was rightfully ours. It took months, no... years. I don't even remember a time when the world wasn't like this.

Now we are finally here, at the bottom of the wretched tower. How many lives lost, how much bloodshed... all for what? What were you thinking? Was there really a purpose to all of this, Thanatos? I had watched you fight so valorously against the devil himself on those plains of Morroc, all those years ago. Are you really coming to reclaim the world you yourself had saved? Am I to slay the one who had once fought to protect us when nobody else could?"

As the warriors of Limitless climbed the staircase of the floors of Thanatos Tower, they were met with faces of demons and ghouls of the likes no one had ever seen before. Spirits that embodied the emotions of negativity itself gathered to claim the souls of the weak, as the party pressed onwards to the top of the tower.

Finally, they had reached it. At the top stood a single figure looming over the horizon, back turned and calmly observing the world. Without hesitation the figure turned, revealing his reddened eyes and blackish aura.

'So, it is you...'

...

"Why? What is there to be gained from all of this?"

...

'Perish...' suddenly, Thanatos's form changed and Meteors began falling from the sky. The dark sword floating behind his back was now being gripped firmly by his otherworldly figure, as he aggressively lunged towards the party.

The armors of the party began to glow, as the blessings bestowed by the gods themselves upon the adventurers began to manifest. Thanatos brandished his blade of death and swung it at General Shafna, expecting it to easily dispatch of any given mortal. A powerful clank could be heard, as it is revealed that Shafna was able to parry the blow with his shield.

'?!?'



Blows were exchanged over the course of many hours. Many wounded, but the party appeared to be emerging victorious.

"We're close, everybody! Keep up the offensive, he is weakened!!"

Thanatos attempts to push through the front lines, but is met with a barrage of projectiles and magical forces of nature. The situation seemed to be under control for the people of Limitless, and it seemed that the world would finally be lifted of the curse. Suddenly, Thanatos ceased fighting, retreating to a safe position.

'...'

He began to channel what appeared to be a sealing magic. The power was so extreme that the gravitational force of his attack seemed to be pulling the Limitless into it. The earth began to shake, and visions began to warp.

"Everyone, take cover!"

Thanatos caught the party by surprise when instead of shooting the sigil at them, he shot the sigil up into the air, piercing the skies. Suddenly, there was silence. Then a faint rumble. Then, the skies began to crack. Green cracks in the sky itself began to form, as it seems liked the sky itself began to shatter and fall apart.

"wHAT THE heLL is going on?!?!" yelled one of the adventurers.

"AAAGGHHH!!" cried another.

General Shafna turned his attention to his army, as everything went quiet for him. The sigil opened up in the sky as large crystal shards began to descend, carrying figures. Figures that he recognized. Figures that... they were... the gods... but encased in crystal... trapped...?

"What the..."

The crystals encasing the gods of Midgard all chained together abruptly through an ethereal golden chain, locking them firmly into place at the center of the tower peak. A red purplish barrier formed around them that emitted an aura of immovability. Could it be...?

Before he even had time to process what has happened, blood splat on his face, causing him to snap out of his trance. Thanatos had now begun hacking and slashing away at his friends, vaporizing them into black dust. In just that short amount of time of his attention being diverted, what would appear to be half of his allies were gone, vanished into thin air. Portals and wormholes alike began to open up in space, as the sky continued to crumble. Shafna had noticed that the armors of his comrades were no longer glowing, and it seemed like he had finally understood what had transpired before his very eyes.

"... Every...body... RUUNNNN!!!" exclaimed Shafna.

The remains of the party frantically scattered in an attempt to flee the god, but the power he possessed appeared to be even greater than before. He was moving so quickly now that he appeared to simply teleport in front of the adventurers and cause them to vaporize into thin air. As Shafna began to make a run for it, a small group of survivors had regrouped with him as they ran together for the staircase back into the tower.

"General, what the hell is goin-" a warrior right behind him yelled, as Thanatos slashed right through him, leaving nothing but black behind.

He looked behind him. Everyone was gone. All of his allies had been slain. Only him and two others remained. He turned back to where he was running, quickly spotting one of the wormhole portals that had appeared in close range. He began to sprint as quickly as he could without looking back, as he heard the sounds of a blade swinging ominously into the air. Finally he turned, revealing that one of the two had fallen. He made eye contact with his last remaining survivor, signaling with his hand out of desperation.

"Quick, we can't let this be the end! Dive!"

The two, without questioning what the portal even was, dive head first into the portal, as a void of blackness surrounds them. They land on a floor, tumbling as somehow the portal behind them closes shut with Thanatos nowhere to be seen. From one moment to another, there was silence. There was the void. There was nothing. There they were, inside of the cosmos of the stars and spacetime itself.

They looked around them, admiring the vast cosmos with stars and space of infinity. In this place, time felt like it meant nothing. It felt like there lied the beginning, the middle, and the end. Within the essence of time itself, there is no tangibility to who you think you are, who you thought you would be, and who you are going to be. Where am I? Where should I go? What is the point of me going? When confronted with the vastness of the universe, one cannot help but to ponder such questions. They stood themselves up with great courage.

This is where your story begins.

[close]

Is there any way I can see footage of Divergence being played?

Yes. I am currently running through the game with a group of friends which is being streamed at www.twitch.tv/hugenatch. Follow it for when we go live in the upcoming days.



Where do I go to play Divergence?

This server is not open for the public. In order to join, you will have to fill out an application form and send it to me:

Age:
How long have you been playing Ragnarok Online?:
What are you looking for in a server?:
Why do you want to join Divergence?:
Do you acknowledge that you will not be able to rely on your old knowledge about the game while exploring this new world?:


This application is best sent to my discord at Blinzer#3093. I will be moderately critical in accepting applications.

Where do I donate?

You don't.