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Hero Online: Hands On: First Look

DanaDana Member Posts: 2,415

Carolyn Koh has been playing the Hero Online beta. Today, we have this first look report of what she has experience so far. Before its launches, Carolyn plans to file a second, more in-depth preview.

image As you level, you gain stat points and skill points. The Martial Arts Kyu/Dan system of ranking is employed. Kyu being a "student" rank and Dan being a "master" rank, in the martial arts world, Kyu ranks count downwards and Dan ranks count upwards. How they are employed in Hero Online is an upward count, using Dan ranks as a main level and Kyu ranks as sub-levels. So you started off at 1st Kyu and at level 10 became 1st Dan 0 Kyu. Got it? Okay. Good.

The problem I faced was that the manual on the website really wasn’t much help and there were no in-game tutorial or NPCs who guided you in what to do. So I was standing there with several thousand other beta testers running around, all asking the same questions that I couldn’t ask because the "Lion’s Roar" (worldwide chat channel) required Chi to use and at level one, I didn’t have enough Chi. All the better to prevent annoying abuse by those simply creating new characters to spam a channel but for someone entering the game, it was completely frustrating.

You can read more here.

Dana Massey
Formerly of MMORPG.com
Currently Lead Designer for Bit Trap Studios

Comments

  • vonnirvonnir Member Posts: 6
    well carolyn i will tell u this is by far the most awesome game i played and still playing since loa and as far as the guide goes lep u can find allu need to know in the forums of hero::)
  • the420kidthe420kid Member UncommonPosts: 440

    nice write up, you made some mistakes regarding what stats do ect, there is a hero onlien guide that I made and posted in the mmorpg pub forum for people before the open beta..

    This game is pretty fun but quickly becomes boring.  After about level 35+, it gets very grindy, which in itself isnt a bad thing I dont midn working for my levels but does scare me how long it takes to go from 40-41 considering there is 100 levels.  99-100 is a month investment I bet :)

    That aside every single person of every single class all run around collecting packs of monsters and aoe them.  Theres no real party play aside from groupign and killing your own monsters solo, provided you kill slower than your ally then ya party was worth it, if you kill faster your lowering your exp to party this person. I do find it a little repetative and really has nothing in the game to detour you when you bore of aoeing mobs.  No real crafting / fishing / housing type system its prettyy much grind or chat in town.

    The itemization in hero is really pethetic, there is 1 type of armor for men and 1 for women.  It doesnt matter if you are a pharmacist or a warrior you wear the same bloody armor with same defense ect, basicaly aside from how you put out your statistics your defense / offense is identical to every single person in the game.  There is no such thing as a rare item there is just the item Ie if you use axe there is a lvl xx axe oh but wait it could be axe lvl xx +1-2-3-4-5, weak form of itemization.  There is no rare different colored lvl xx axe for you to hope to find there is just that axe.

    All and all I would rate this game about a 4 out of 10 and the 4 is only there becuase its fun for about 3 days then I lost my motivation to want to continue.  Maybe this is your type of game but it isnt mine Good luk and happy gaming.

  • VhalnVhaln Member Posts: 3,159


    Have to agree with the420kid.  At first, Hero is Diablo-like fun, if Diablo only had one class (w/ four different looks), a much much lengthier levelling curve, and were crowded with other players, with whom there isn't much point to interacting, and all look the same.  I think it's the most shallow MMO I've ever played, which is to say, it gets boring very fast.
    It does seem pretty popular, though, like it may be a hit, anyhow.  I guess it already is a hit over in Korea




    When I want a single-player story, I'll play a single-player game. When I play an MMO, I want a massively multiplayer world.

  • Russ007Russ007 Member Posts: 19
    The game played well for my beta testing experance, graphics were very nice.  To control my toon i had to pratice, but picked it up quickly ....If you are into nice landscapes and an asian story line you'll enjoy this one ...
  • the420kidthe420kid Member UncommonPosts: 440


    Originally posted by Vhaln
    Have to agree with the420kid.  At first, Hero is Diablo-like fun, if Diablo only had one class (w/ four different looks), a much much lengthier levelling curve, and were crowded with other players, with whom there isn't much point to interacting, and all look the same.  I think it's the most shallow MMO I've ever played, which is to say, it gets boring very fast.
    It does seem pretty popular, though, like it may be a hit, anyhow.  I guess it already is a hit over in Korea



    Ya we got something in common that is for sure cause I feel the same as you and as your sig.  I didn't mention the community in my last post cause I figure if you loved the game enough you could deal with it or perhaps it would change ect. cant fault the game for the quality of people who play it.  That being said the community is horrible, as I said before everyone does nothing but aoe and at least 90% of the community will KS your pack its annoying.  your basically trying to get any place to yourself that's why I'm glad I'm really hardcore gamer cause I can usually pull away from the majority of players if I get into the game as it starts, there weren't to many people around me and those that were there usually KS'd me hehe can only imagine what it would be like for the highest number of players whatever level that is, you usually find a good pack and get 3-4 levels or more from same area then move on so I'm sure there is a lvl gap xx-xx on 1 of the best spawns that has the highest number of players.

    VHaln;

    I cant accually say this is good or will be good but on the 24th of July check out trickster www.tricksteronline.com, the graphics are far from top end but the depth seems good.  There is a really high lvl cap supposed to gain nice chunk of levels as well as there player housing / non combat lvling / crafting / fishing ect seems to have some of the features that help keep players interested that a lot of the grind only games don't have..  It may suck though I cant say either way just that I'm interested.  I'm currently waiting for a www.lostchaos.com.my verification mail to check that game out but i've Heard its not much past the good graphics well see, been 7 hours waiting now :P

  • slawcioslawcio Member Posts: 21
    Yeah the game ran fine for me in the ealier phase of beta but yesterday i decided to try it again and downloaded the patch. First i got a blue screen then the computer crashed completly and i just finished reinstallign windows.
  • hicks26hicks26 Member Posts: 142
    I myself enjoy the game and the aspects of martial arts. I find grinding to become annoying though as in most MMO's. The fact that I can take a friend out and power level them helps me greatly as he wanted to try a different class, I took him from level 1-10 in about 5min while I was killing lvl 34 panthers at level 23.

    As your party level's up higher, the exp is shared out more evenly. As an example I was killing the above mobs and getting 1800+ exp and my friend was getting 100, as he leveled up it dropped for me as he gained more. This makes helping friends out seem like less of a chore.

    One main problem I have with the game is the lack of being able to just random party with people. As a casual player I dont have the chance to join a guild or level up with a group of friends as there is only two of us that play it. The main factor is with such an open better it's hard to find people who speak a common language to party with. Has anyone else had this problem?

    Anyway, back on topic, I find the graphics to be very clean and gameplay to be fun at the start but as stated, it does get boring quickly, esp if your on your own.


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  • FeldronFeldron Member UncommonPosts: 337

    "Pets level with you and there are different pets."

    Pets do not level up with they lvl up over time

  • Jade6Jade6 Member Posts: 429

    Eye candy + grind fest + PvP focus = Korean MMORPG. The name changes, but the game remains the same.

    What you will never find in a Korean game is any sort of actual depth, meaning, sense of purpose or storyline.

  • ViramorViramor Member Posts: 68
    I think the Korean developers might finally be catching on though to capture the NA and euro markets with games like Aion and Tabula Rasa coming up, hopefully heh.
  • CarolynKohCarolynKoh Staff WriterMember Posts: 202


    Originally posted by Feldron

    "Pets level with you and there are different pets."
    Pets do not level up with they lvl up over time


    Or as I have discovered since... they level up if you let them "play"   as they gain xp killing critters as well.

    I'll be doing a little more testing over the rest of beta although more information might already be posted on the http://www.heroonline.info/ fansite.  Which has proven to contain a wealth of information.



    Notice: The views expressed in this post are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of MMORPG.com or its management.

  • GraytalonGraytalon Member UncommonPosts: 1

    I played Hero Online during CB and OB.  I really did like the graphics and the way the game played.  It shows a tremendous potential to snare a market here in the states.  But, and here's my real issue with the game, there isn't any depth to it. 

    As has been stated before, you grind until level 25 when you get your second skill book.  With that, every class can AoE.  Every one!  It seems they didn't want anyone to be unable to be able to grind faster.  Of course, if you happen to be part of a large group of people of a certain level it can become, um, challenging.  I played each class and job.  Until level 40 you can swap any toon for any toon.  Ok, with the possible execption of needing a Hunter to tame and a Physician to stun for the Hunter to tame (that's for the unique mounts).

    The other thing I found rather distasteful was the fact that people were hawking gold sites 5 days into the game.  Open Beta will not have a wipe.  As such there were several groups lvling to grind nothing but gold and gear.  But that's sort of to be expected.  And you can be KS'd for exp.  I can't count the numbers of times I would get a group of leapords grouped up to have some pole wielder come in and steal them (was playing a ranged hunter at the time). 

    It seems the standard build for anyone wanting to grind or pvp is strength/intell with a touch of dex.  While I would argue a ranged player can be played easier in the beginning, after a while it's all the same tactics.  Group up your mobs and ae them.

    It also seemed to me that there wasn't enough information at the beginning of the game.  The online manual was/is very limited and there wasn't enough of a player base with a clue to glean good info from the forums.  I guess that is true of most new games, but the fact remains that this isn't a new game.  This is a translated game. 

    The help system is non-existant.  I asked a few questions in the Tech Support forums, but didn't get a good response.  Let me rephrase that.  There isn't a obvious help system with a way to submit a ticket for assistance.  I say obvious because I didn't find one. 

    I really did want to enjoy this game, but after grinding 5 toons to 35 and 1 to 40 I gave up.  It seemed to be the same toons with different faces all doing the same thing.  The boredom factor hit early with me.  Maybe I am just an old MMO burn out, but this game brings nothing really new to the table. 

    This game has a very diverse gaming community.  Literally from all over the world and all walks of life.  I think it will be interesting to check on in a few months to see how the rest of the world finds it.  But for now I am going to get a little more sun and maybe work on building a patio for a BBQ pit.

  • JodandoJodando Member Posts: 280
    While I can understand why many see this game in a negative light, I agree with Carolyn wholeheartedly when she says that there is more to the game than meets the eye. I'm still unconvinced that what we are currently playing is all Hero Online has to offer. There is more to come, I can feel it...

    In any case, I'm certainly still gonna be playing. As it is now, the game's not bad at all. Gaming oftentimes is what you make of it. And I'm personally making this game quite fun.


  • kysarykysary Member Posts: 7

    It seems Well interesante in my part, to test is clearly, good ties 120 slots for itens, more it takes that it is a value of the same item and not another one in slot.

    I go to test the beta.

  • jerryharvey5jerryharvey5 Member Posts: 26
    I really liked the review. The best parts were you dislikgin the game cause I had those same problems and hated it. Little to no customazation and graphics kinda sucked. Overall in the hype meter I gave it a 3/10.
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