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RF - Your opinions please

MajesticoMajestico Member UncommonPosts: 481

Having finally gotten the client to download the patch, I am now ready to embark on my RF adventure.

As I respect the opinions of the people who use this web-site, I thought I would ask for your experiences of the game, whether they are good or bad.

I know I should check out the official web-site, before asking, but I reckon they would give a biased opinion, therefore, in addition to wanting to hear your own RF Online experiences, I have some basic questions.

Probably the most basic of all, what does the RF stand for?  I see on the loading page, the disclaimer about 'fantasy and romance',. and was curious as to what this entails game-wise.  Is that what the RF stands for?

What race and class is good for solo-ing (and for that matter, is this game solo-friendly?)

Equally, which race and class are best for PvP?  And does the game have large-scale RvR battles?

Why did the game become free?  I am guessing it was a bit of a flop, as I have heard a lot of detractors of this game. 

Now that it is free, is it worth playing?  Or is it just another Asian-style grind-fest?

Is there any RP?  What are the quests like?  Is there a story-line, strong lore?

Also, if you just want to tell me about how you got on when you played, I would like to read about that as well.

Any responses would be appreciated.

Comments

  • ZagatoMKRZagatoMKR Member UncommonPosts: 263

    RF used to stand for "Romance and Fantasy" but (for CM or official?) then changed to "Rising Force".

    I haven't really played other races than Cora, but I've heard that Striker is a good solo class on Acc side. For Cora I'd say Spirit->Summoner s a good solo class, though in RFO you don't want to solo too much (it's really a party-based game). I soloed to lvl46 though, well I partied a bit at some critical points like lvl39->40.

    Chip War is large scale RvR(vR) battle. Any class is okay in PvP, some better some less, but it all depends on your equipment and skill (know what to use and when). If you want to "PWN" in PvP, be ready to spend tons on cash shop.

    CM didn't want to make it F2P, but developer CCR said that they will not support with future expansions if CM doesn't go F2P.

    Well after it went F2P the game became even more unbalanced, but if you're ready to spend lots and lots on cash shop, you can have a lot of fun, I guess.

    Lore is so and so... not much RP since F2P and quests are basically "go there, kill that" or kill/collect.

    Not sure what's your last question, but I learned of the game from MMORPG.com and I got into beta after winning a competition MMORPG.com had. I played the game after beta as well as I was one of the lucky ones whom got the game from CM for free (box and first month free). I played for about a year in total on official servers and have to say that Episode 1 Giga 3 version was the best fun I ever had. After all the expansions game went for worst in my opinion. Nowadays the biggest problem is population differences, hackers and some say botting (never bothered me though) oh and CM can't make any in-game events because CCR didn't give then new GM tools LOL. I stopped playing sometime after game going F2P because of the lack of real new content, old bugs and the RFO world still seemed too small for me and PvP became "biggest cash shopper wins".

    Still I recommend you to try it out as to date it's the only MMORPG game that allows you free PvP imo.

    Cheers.

  • kwongwahkwongwah Member Posts: 6

    First off, do not expect it to be anything like WoW. These are my own opinions and are not neccessarily reflective of the whole RFO community

    QUESTING

    You will not see quests to help you level all the way to lvl 55, in fact after the first five quest you will find they will no longer help you xp level directly, the quests are still worth doing because you get armor and weapons rather than relying on drops. The quests in WoW and RFO are worlds apart literally. RFO level quests will look like a half hearted attempts at quest content.

    That said there are instance content which you can gain access to via loot drops or grouping with a player with the said loot drop.

    LEVELING

    In your early career you need to avoid grouping at pre lvl 30  because you will often fall into the trap of PT gimping yourself. You will hear many players talk about this, rather than go through all the details read up on the official forums. In short leveling is a carbon copy of asian MMORPG grind fest leveling, nothing as bad as lineage 2 but from all accounts close to it.

    You need to level your melee and ranged PT to the level to be able to use the melee and ranged weapons appropriate for your level. This is important because of stamina, if you run out of stamina, you no longer run, you walk. If you walk, you die.

    You won't encounter opponent Races in the newbie zone, but you will occasionally see own- race killers, which race leaders often deal with as the own-race killers hurt the race in question.

    PVP

    This is where the fun begins. On a old server lvl 45+ is when PVP becomes viable else you will be one shot all day long. As such it's recommended you stick to the new servers but even those you need to be lvl 30+ or higher. Every eight hours there is a mass PVP event, when of appropriate level these become fun, assuming your race actually turns up. Again read more about this on the offical forums

    WHY THE GAME WENT FREE

    Many reason aside the ones already stated. When I first played the game launched for the western market it cost as much as a WoW subscription and had less content than the first 10 levels of an allience/horde race in the RFO game alone. There is very little customisation to be found in this game compared to others like WoW, EQ or the king of customisable avatars (pre-CU) SWG. Again it all falls down to what customers considered value for money, when it was subs it was certainly in my view not value for money especially after playing games like WoW, SWG, Anarchy Online and EQ1 & 2

    Being a bit harsh, you'd find more customisation in an arcade version of Pacman than RFO. That's extreme but you'll get my point. It was not value for money in the eyes of many. Why pay a sub for game time which happens every 8 hours and very little in the way of content and customisation?

    SUMMARY

    Expect the game be a very radical departure from WoW. Assuming you put the time and effort into your avatar, in a race with a good race leader, you will find PvP very enjoyable and far better than the battlegrounds you get in WoW. Considering how old the game is and the mechanics, RFO is not friendly to new players and you will feel alienated for a large part of the game till you catch up to the rest of the crowd. That's if you stay that long. But it you do the fun truly begins.

    Flanking in WoW? Bleh, RFO will show you what out flanked truly means

     

     

  • MajesticoMajestico Member UncommonPosts: 481

    Thanks for your opinions, and keep them coming as this is a game which I plan to dip into occassionaly.  You see, being a bit of a MMO whore, and with a short attention span, I tend to play many games at once (not at once, but you know what I mean).  I tend to have my 'big three', namely the three games which I play the most (usually subscription ones).  I am not the biggest fan of Asian-style, grinding games, but as they provide a monumental challenge, I do tend to play them alongside my more story based games.

    This started when I first played L2, and I hated it.  I was new to MMO's at the time, and frustrated that I couild not find any real players, only bots, and the few real players would just ignore my newbie questions.  Don't they remember that they were once in the same boat?

    So, I promptly quit the game, at only about 14th level.  Then after much time, and having gotten my rp-fix from games such as EQ2 and WoW (I play on Moonglade, a rp-specific server, which is mature and friendly for a WoW server).  I was looking for a new challenge.  Something that was so difficult to achieve that the sense of rewards would be massive.  So I renewed my L2 account.  No matter how much I try though, I am not a true hardcore player, and the fact that people were using illigel, bot programs made me think that all my precise hours were being wasted.  The bot problem was ridiculous, just as bad as it had been before.  It became apparent that the dev's were doing very little to cure this problem.  Which in my opinion ruins a games economy, and also means that players using bots to level were cheating.  So sadly I quit again.

    There is something about L2 though.  I thought it was just me, but I've heard other people mention it too.  It will sit there in your hard-drive, telling you to give it another go.

    Then however, I discovered free2play games.  These were very similar to L2, and one in particular Shaiya, has the same fantastic graphics as L2.  It also has a neat progression system, were you can play up to 30 in easy mode, then 50 in hard, and then that unlocks the next stage of difficulty, until you finally manage to unlock the Ultima game.  In this game, not only is it a fantastic challenge, but if you are killed and unable to get rez'ed within 3 minutes, then it is bye=bye to your character.  Permadeath!  A hardcore enthusiasts dream.

    Now I have only recently began my career in Shaiya, but it makes me wonder why I would go back to L2 when it is just as good, and has options such as perma-death, which a lot of hardcore players have been crying out for.  Sure, not fun for some, but great for the purests.

    As for RF Online, I have only just begun my career.  So far it seems to be fun, although I don't like the look of drops.  A few questions, if you will indulge me.

    What are the coloured numbers with lines through them mean?  You know, the ones outside in the starting area?  What is the guild system like, and how easy is it to find one to join?  Do you belong to a faction at the start, and are there contested battles against other factions?  I would love to play in a game with player wars, instead of just simple pvp, and if there are, what level do you have to be to join?

    How is the romance of the games disclaimer involved in the game?  And how does crafting work?  I seem to have found lots of hunting materials, but with only one bag, I am loosing a lot of loot.  No one answers my questions in the channels, so can someone here tell me how to get or buy more bags?

    Is there any story-line, and lore (which I think adds to a game's immersive qualities)?  Can you be attacked by members of your own faction/race, and are there safe zones?

    I also heard somewhere that there will be no more future content added, as another company has the rights.  Is this true?  I would hate for a game not to be updated.

    Sorry this post has been so large, and at times off the point, but I was just filling you in with my gaming background, so you could offer me some advice.

    I play on Novus at the moment (I don't know if there are any rp sepcific servers), and I would love to make some allies.  If you are new to the game also, let me know, and we can travel together, and take on the game as a team.  Afterall, a problem  shared is a problem halved and all that.

    Cannot remember my pc's name at the moment, but I shall list it and race and class, so that we can meet up.  Also, if you play the game, I would still be interested in making friends, even if you are a vet gamer.  I would also like to join a guild, if you have any which you think may suit me?

    Any info, opinions, etc will posted here will be apreciated.  Thanks.

  • kwongwahkwongwah Member Posts: 6

    Erm... where to begin...

    SERVERS

    Novus is the oldest server, which was the combination of the Spirit and four elemental servers available at launch. This has not surprisingly the biggest proportion of the population, it also means a bunch of significantly higher number of high level players. It is also currently dominated by the Accretia (robots), reason for the dominance I will not go or be dragged into.

    The other two servers were launched not long after the game changed from the subs to micropayment/free2play system. Lumen and Solus. Lumen was open at the time of the chnage, Solus a few weeks later.

    FACTIONS

    Well, not factions but races, there are three, Accretia (bots), Bellato (migits) and Cora (elves). YOu pick one of them when you start the game. When you encounter anyone from the other two race outside of the town/outpost structures (or instances) you can attack them and they you. Unlike Lineage 2, you have newbie zones in which the other races can not enter, so you do not have very low level player killing by high level players. HOwever the moment you step outside the newbie zone, you are open to attack by other races.

    NEWBIE ZONE

    You only leave the newbie zone via a portal or zone line. You will get a popup or loadscreen when you use the portal or cross a zone line. So you will get ample warning. As for the numbers and lines. TBH after two years of playing the game I have no clue to their purpose.

    As I mentioned you can be attacked by your own race members but these are relatively rare, and require the use of chaos pots. Killing of own race members outside of guild war PvP is not tolerated, and often people will come to your aid. People who kill own race members usually have a main character of another race or are bot players, hence why it isn't tolerated.

    ANTI BOT SYSTEM

    Unfortunately as with any MMORPG, there are bots. Like other games, the customer service uses race leaders to help deal with the problem. I don't understand the full mechanics of the system because it still confuses me. All I know is race leaders can chat ban them.

    RACE LEADERS

    Race leaders are elected by the population of the race. They have access to a chat channel in which all members of their RACE can see the chat regardless of where they are. Race leaders used to be determined by who has the highest PVP points.

    STORY

    Well it's not very highly visible unfortunately. But if fiction and stuff is what you're interested in then I'll point you to http://www.thenovuseye.net/    (some of the humor might escape you when you're new to the game tho)

    That also has a count down to the chip war event so you know when the next one is about to take place. But as you are on Novus I do not recommend you going there till you are at least lvl 40 but you can go take a look around if you feel adventurous, just expect to die a lot... like ten times every minute

    CRAFTING

    This one is too difficult for me to explain within the confines of this forum. However to craft weapons ammo and armor, you have to be a SPECIALIST. Crafting is most similar to the system found in EQ in which you buy a tool, put things in it and press combine. Almost all materials that are dropped that is not a weapon or armor is used in crafting. If you're Bellato or Cora, any class can craft the Elite spells for their race otherwise they have to obtain them via drops in all race zones.

    AUCTION HOUSE

    I can't remember correctly for all races but I think the Auction house is located in a RACE Outpost zone, not the newbie zone. YOu can put upto five items for sale on them. YOu put an item in the AH slot, set a price and leave it there till someone pays the price you have set. There is no highest bidding as such. When a sale is comfirmed you will be charged 10% of the price you sold the item at.

     

    Think that should cover the basics.

     

     

     

     

  • MajesticoMajestico Member UncommonPosts: 481

    Thanks for your answers they have helped a lot.  So, basically, unless I am a Specialist the crafting materials are useless to me?  Are they worth gathering to sell?

    Also, what is the 'romance' of the sub-title refer to?

  • jimbo833jimbo833 Member Posts: 158

    always take the crafting items, and sell to NPC it's the best and like only way to make money.

    sorry idk what the romance means, in the starting movie (1 of them) you do see a bell saving  cora from an army of monsters but thas all i can relate to it

  • kwongwahkwongwah Member Posts: 6

     

     

    Originally posted by Majestico


    Thanks for your answers they have helped a lot.  So, basically, unless I am a Specialist the crafting materials are useless to me?  Are they worth gathering to sell?
    Also, what is the 'romance' of the sub-title refer to?

    Well the vast majority of crafting materials will be useless to you (unless specialist) in terms of actual in game mechanical use. As stated it is best to sell it to other players or just vendor them for cash. Depending on which race you are will determine which are useful to your race crafters so you will need to research this. Some will be utterly worthless to your race but that same item will be worth a lot to another race. However THERE IS NO WAY TO TRADE WITH OPPOSING RACES. So it'll be useless to you.

     

     

     

    As for the romance part of the title, it refers to bugger all to the best of my knowledge. Korean to English translation leaves a lot to be desired. One of the beuatiful things about translation is some phrases simply do not exist in other languages so translation does an approximation of it. I'm no expert on Korean language so I can't elborate on it.

  • ZagatoMKRZagatoMKR Member UncommonPosts: 263

    It might have something to do with:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9jEudlmTJM
    <3 Lia

    Btw. be ready to be ganked and one-shotted a lot in this game, it a part of the ride... just don't get frustrated over it.

    Cheers.

  • repapipsrepapips Member Posts: 450

    Bellato has this huge robot that can kill another race in 2 to 3 hits

    image

  • einexileeinexile Member UncommonPosts: 197

    RF Online is my favorite of the F2P games, and I recommend it, but be prepared for a few downers.

    The game goes for so long without being a grindfest that you'll think it may never come, but it hits hard at level 34. I've been stuck at  level 34 for almost a year now and basically quit the game. It was fun while it lasted.

    They've got an interesting chat system with two channels that cost in-game money to use and have per-minute limits set on them. It can be maddening at first, but it works alright.

    Like many eastern MMOs, the chat box is locked to the bottom left hand corner and includes no options whatsoever to widen it or darken the background. You will never get used to this.

    Use the backslash key to switch your hotbar from the function keys to the number keys like you are probably accustomed to.

    You're not going to PVP for a long time. You'll be ganked left and right, and this is not a game for people can't enjoy an unexpected murder coming out of nowhere. On the other hand with no corpse camping and plenty of leveling areas you'll also never get griefed in any way.

    People will yell at you for participating in the Chip War at too low a level. Ignore them, they aren't paying for the game either and what they're really upset about is one more player model suffocating their budget video cards. Of course as a courtesy to those who aren't pushy about it you might consider opting out of lowbie Chip War participation if you aren't enjoying it, but I had a blast just trying to stay alive.

    Be careful buffing other players unasked, because low rank buffs will cancel and replace the high rank ones, some of which are hard to come by.

    Turn off your music and dump all the MP3s into Winamp or another program you can control from inside a fullscreen game. Winamp will let you bind any key combinations you want to play, ffwd, etc. and override practically anything to do it. A lot of the music is terrible and the game handles it very poorly, but about 1/3 of it is wonderful and if you whittle your playlist down to just the appropriate atmosphere tracks it does wonders for the feel of the game.

    Anything you do to get rid of the damned song that plays in the launcher, the game will undo and put back how it was. It will even play in your head when you're not at your computer.

    Roll Bellato, never mind you might feel like a furry for a minute - Bellato side overall has a lot more charm to it than the other factions IMO.

    Don't get it in your head that ArchLord might be worth a try because it's CodeMasters' other F2P. It is not maintained in any way and is basically a disaster. If that bug bites you go for Rohan or Rappelz.

    einexile the meek
    Vacuos, Winterlong, Vaciante, Eicosapenta
    Atlantean, Tyranny, Malton

  • sbantingsbanting Member Posts: 238

    I love the game, and for the real info, it was called Rising Force Online in Korean Beta then renamed to RF Online when it was released.

    The game is a great game, I've not been able to stop playing it, even with War etc, I still go back to this game.

    I can't see how you can ever be stuck at level 34 for a year, as I solo'ed to level 40 quite easily as a Bell in like a week if that. The game has the best community spirit I've ever seen, the nicest people play to be honest, I've made some good friends, one of the only mmorpgs I can say I have. It requires groups towards that big 50 make, and thats where you really make friends.

    I must say though the best way to play this game, if you hate grinding, is to play on a private server, it cuts out the grind and makes the game more fun, also the private servers are ahead of CM's server by 1 or 2 updates now.

    image

  • saint4Godsaint4God Member Posts: 699

    RF Online is probably the best free to play adventuring MMORPG.  The graphics are nice when you ramp them up, the creatures and genre are unique, and the macro system is fabulous.  There's no roleplay that I've seen and is the main reason why I don't play often.  The user-interface can use some work and it does feel like a grind after the mid-twenties in levels.  I pretty much felt 'stuck' because I can't find any quests that don't involve going into gankland causing me too much frustration to attempt.  Perhaps I'm not going the right places, I don't know...and don't feel like whacking beasts for hours upon hours to get to the next level.  I hear the PvP is good, but my character is not up in the stratosphere to try it out.  I like the classes, overall, though the Cora male hits that 'slightly disturbing' mark that many anime 'bad guys' seem to have with me.  Bellato is my fav. because they feel like the underdog and always like to fight for the struggling good-guys.  The mechas are fun though, gotta admit. 

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