NovaRO

[Yozakura]

Most points are no longer relevant. I might rewrite it if I feel like it... which I don't.

Spoiler

So after playing two~ months on the server, I've finally collected enough information to formally write a forum review for NovaRO. As a player who generally prefers super low rates (1~3x), these past years, I compromised and gave the higher 'low-rates' a chance, and while most of them were disappointments, a few were nice. And on top of them all, NovaRO, a renewal 25/25/10 low-midrate, stands. Here's why.


Server: Stability and Availability -- 9/10

The server is always online, with a relatively stable connection. Some players experience connection hiccups from time to time, but that's normal anyway, nothing too big.


Community: Friendliness and Eventfulness -- 8/10

The community is very nice, friendly and helpful, and there's a fair share of trolls who help keep things interesting. While some players generally tend to retreat to the inner circles of their guilds, the server sees a good amount of player interaction, with parties regularly forming for Gramps and instances. While it may feel difficult for lower-level players at certain timezones to join or assemble a party, especially those who like MVPing and leveling in ET, that's mainly due to the relatively fast leveling pace and the convenience of Gramps quests, and that most players are at the top level bracket.

That said, the community isn't perfect (not that a perfect community exists anywhere to begin with), but it enjoys a healthy balance of awesome people, nubs (<3), and pretty much everything else.


Administration and Game Masters -- 10/10

NovaRO's administration is one of the most active I've seen in years. They're very open to their players' opinions and input, but have a firm vision of what they want to maintain. Any issues found and reported are quickly resolved, usually on or before the next server maintenance. GM hosted events aren't very common, but that's because they often go overboard with large scale events--that means a ton more fun.


Economy -- 8/10

Due to some minor nerfs on certain drops that are too easy to farm, NovaRO enjoys a relatively healthy economy, with market prices maintaining stable prices, some in fact dropping, instead of swelling too much. Players are encouraged to trade with each other, rather than grind NPC loot endlessly.


Vote and Cash Shops -- 7/10

I'm not gonna lie, I was never too fond of cash shops. That's why I quit official servers. And I especially hate the term donation to be applied to it. NovaRO, however, enjoys a cash shop that isn't exclusive to donations, also accessible via gold coins, its ingame event currency. Besides the usual consumables such as Enriched ores and Silvervine Fruits, there are a few powerful class hats, but nothing too overpowered like HD Ori/Elu or Refine Certificates.

The Vote store is an entirely separate shop on its own, offering a smaller, but similar selection to the cash shop.


Class Balance -- 10/10

While this should be attributed to renewal itself, rather than to NovaRO, its faithful accuracy to official game mechanics results in excellent balance. While many players claim Rangers are broken in PVM and Suras and Genetics everywhere else, every class has its role, and certain players are just excellent at theirs.


Guild Competition -- 7/10

After a short period of inactivity and apparent lack of competition during WoEs, things seemed to have picked back up recently, with a few other guilds preparing to join the havoc in the near future. If things keep up, it won't be long 'til it's active again.


Custom Features -- 10/10

As I previously stated, NovaRO's admins like going overboard with large scale events. We're currently in the middle of the Summer Festival event, which is open for an hour every three hours, where players can play minigames and earn some awesome goodies, along with an exclusive instance. There's also the Monster Hunting system, where parties of five can challenge and hunt down powerful bosses and create Shadow equipment sets, and I believe an expansion is coming soon, and I'm definitely looking forward to it.


Overall

NovaRO is an excellent server. It boasts updated, accurate and balanced renewal mechanics, with its hardworking team providing the playerbase with a good balance of official and custom content. And with its rates, it shouldn't be hard for new players to catch up to the main crowd. Definitely recommended.

[close]

[NovaRagnarok]

Thank you very much for your review Yozakura.
When I first suggested my server on your Server Seeking thread I wasn't sure if we were exactly what you were looking for, but reading this, and from conversations we've had, it pleases me to no end to see how much you're enjoying it.
I hope we continue to meet your expectations and hopefully surpass them.

[Yozakura]

Haha yeah, the server has been really impressive so far. Keep it up, Nova!