Rakion: Chaos Force/Gameplay

Rakion is an free-to-play, real-time, three-dimensional, fantasy action, room-based online game developed by the South Korean company Softnyx.

History
Rakion began with "closed" beta testing, which ran from August 11 to 25, 2005, in a limited group of countries (which included the United States, the UAE and, at a later date, Europe).

It switched from development to open beta testing on October 13, 2005 ; running to and releasing on December 1, 2005. At this point, the game began to follow a similar model to Softnyx's other MMOG, GunBound, where users could purchase "Softnyx Cash" with real-world currency and spend it on "Power User" status (which offers various benefits and unlocks further in-game purchases) or powerful, cash-only items, called ex-items.

Softnyx will be removing the Power User feature on 30 March 2009, due to complaints and it's imbalance for Non-PU users. Players who have previously bought PU will still have their effect until the time runs out.

Gameplay
The gameplay of Rakion is similar to that of most third or first-person shooter games. Players use the WASD keys to move their character around the map, and the camera controls are third-person shooter style. The mouse is used for controlling the camera and attacking.

Significant features include the Chaos mode, in which a character can become much more powerful after a number of kills, and Cells, summonable creatures that aid the summoner in combat.

There are five different game modes: Stage, Team Deathmatch, Solo Deathmatch, Boss War, and Golem War. A level limit may be selected when making a game. There is also a "Basic Mode" option in games, which ignores added stats.

Each class has a melee set and ranged set of attacks.

Classes
In Rakion, a player may choose from five classes when creating a character: Swordsmen, Archers, Mages, Blacksmiths, and Ninjas. Characters can transform into "chaos mode," a temporary enhancement acquired after attaining a certain number of kills.

Warrior
Swordsmen use a longsword to deal melee damage and a throwing knife as a ranged attack. In chaos mode, warriors become a blue humanoid with a double-sided sword that can be slashed in a quicker succession.

Archers
Archers use a gladius-like weapon to deal melee damage. However, the primary weapon for archers is their ranged weapon: a bow capable of firing arrows. In chaos mode, archers transform into a white, angelic figure that uses a bow with the capability of firing five powerful arrows at once that will throw the enemy a considerable distance upon impact.

Blacksmith
Blacksmiths use a war hammer as their melee attack and throwing axes as their ranged attack. In chaos mode, Blacksmiths become golem-like and carry a flail which can be swung in large arcs.

Ninja
Ninjas use a jitte, a weak but fast weapon, as their melee attack. They throw shurikens as their ranged attack. In chaos mode, ninjas become larger, red figures with upgraded attacking and throwing abilities.

Mage
Mages use a staff for their melee attacks. They can cast a variety of spells. Their ranged weapon is a wand that can cast ranged spells. In chaos mode, the mage summons a larger creature in which it controls. The puppet has upgraded spells.

Cells
Every player is allowed to buy cells in the shop. Cells cost gold and sometimes Softnyx Cash. You have many different cells. You can have 3 cells at one time. If you want to summon a cell in-game you have to press CTRL+1-2-3. In the left corner of your screen you can see your character and next to him you can see 3 circles. If you have cells, you can see them there and decide which one you would like to summon. There are numbers on your character. These are cell points. The cells in the circles will light up if they can be used. It will cost you cells points. If the cells disappear you get cell points. If the cells get killed you don't get cell points. Some cells can get hit when lying on the ground after a hit. If I don't mention that, they can't get hit while lying on the ground. Here are all the cells:

Nak: This is a quite violent spider which is available in the shop, like (almost) all the other cells. It shoots 1 sting per shot. A lot of people have this and use them a lot. If you want to have a nak, you'd better buy 3 of them, because they are worth nothing alone (they aren't strong or fast, but are very good at surrounding their opponent). Don't believe the info in the shop. I can tell you normal naks are actually nothing. But you can wear them at lvl 1. But now let's continue to his brothers.

White Nak: His more powerful brother (probably one of the most useful cells in game) which shoots 5 stings at a time in 5 directions!! When you summon 1 white nak, 3 appear. So if you have 3 white naks and you summon them all, in total you have 9. Now this is useful! You have to buy these with cash, but you get one (for 7 days) when you create an account. Its hp is not bad, but could be better. They don't move as fast as nak's other bro: the Black Nak, but the White Nak is certainly a good choise if you want a lot of kills because you can have 9 of them. White Nak is the only cell which comes by 3. AND YOU CAN WEAR HIM AT LVL 1 !!

Black Nak: There he is, the second brother of this weak Nak, the Black Nak! The Black Nak is REALLY FAST. And when i say really fast i mean he goes like a speedboat. It shoots 8 stings per shot in all directions and it attacks fast. The Black Nak is useful if you want some fun or you want to try out a new cell. Unfortunately, Black Nak costs cash and it doesn't even do that much damage. Its hp isn't that good either. You can wear him at lvl 1 tho. So if you really want to spend your money well on a Nak, I'd go for the White Nak.

Panzer: Here we have our old, true knight in armour. He has a large axe to attack his enemies. He attacks really slow, but when he hits you, he actually does quite some damage. You can buy him in the shop with gold, so you don't have to waste your well-earned (real-life) money on this cell. The Panzer also has got quite some hp, so it can handle some attacks quite good. You can wear him at level 4. Now you shouldn't think a Panzer is better than a White/Black Nak, because they would totally crush him. But because a Panzer is bought with gold, it's quite a good beginner cell which you can wear at level 4. Certainly a good start-off if you want a powerful cell. Let's go to his brothers.

White Panzer: Say hello to the White Panzer, Panzer's brother. He is better than the normal Panzer, but can't win from the third brother: Black Panzer. BUT (almost always a but), THE WHITE PANZER CAN FREEZE :D:D!! Now this is interesting. Your buddy freezes the enemy and you can crush him however you want (except for grip attack). You can wear this fella at lvl 4, just like his bro. You have to buy this 1 with cash, again. Quite a good choice.

Black Panzer: The Black Panzer has arrived. Oh, you missed him. He just rushed you by. This is the fastest knight you have ever seen. He walks faster than (almost) every character in Rakion and he attacks faster than both his bro's. You have to buy him with cash, but he is worth the money, I'd say. You can wear him at lvl 2 already !! :). If you buy it you will have a lot of fun with it.

Crossbowman: The Crossbowman is good. Well, he's quite good. He uses ranged attack (crossbow) to destruct his enemy. But this dumb dwarf guy walks to his enemy after each shot, to get kill by his enemy. This is because when he is lying on the ground after an attack, he can get hit... I'd rather buy a panzer if I were you. You can buy him in the shop with gold and you can wear him at level 8. I don't advise you to buy him, but if you want to buy him, go ahead.

Black Crossbowman: Now we're doing business. He shoots fast. Really fast. And he walks fast too. The disadvantage is still that he can get attacked while on the ground. This one stands up faster though. And he has another advantage: His arrows are HOMING !! Nice. You have to buy it (as for all the better versions of cells *grmpf*) with cash. But you can wear this one at level 4. Good to have.

Blazer: A nice mage in here. It's ofcourse a ranged cell. It can't move, only turn. It does good damage and it doesn't die that fast. Because it floats, it can't be knocked down. It shoots 1 purple blob to people. The blob looks flashy :). This is a nice cell which you can buy in the shop with gold. And you can wear it at level 12. I suggest you buy this 1 when you're lvl 12. It's useful on that level. Now, his brothers.

Black Blazer: This mage is even better than his brother. He is funny, because he shoots 3 of these flashy, purple blobs in 3 different directions. If the enemy is close to you it hurts. From a distance it hits multiple enemies (if it aimed well :P). So it is a good cell to have. As I said before, better versions are cash, so if you really don't want to waste a lot of money, I'd suggest you just bought the normal Blazer. But if you have played a long time and you want something different, I would certainly advise you to buy this 1. Let me just tell you, you can already it at level 8.

White Blazer: It owns his brothers. It's really good, o.O. He shoots 3 purple blobs which are not as powerful as the ones from the Black Blazer. Why it's better ? They don't spread. Oh, and they home. Hehe ^^. And which is important too, they can shoot through ally cells to hit the enemy. That's why it's not that cheap. They cost cash, also, and you can wear them at lvl 9. Really good choice!

Golem: This cell is the same as your master golem in Golem War. More info about Golem War is at Game Modes. It is a giant monster made from mud and stones. It has 2 attacks. Ranged and close combat. The ranged attack is where it picks up a giant brick and throws it at enemies. The close combat attack is where it swings his arm to smack enemies out of the sky or from the ground. It can't be knocked down. It is pretty damn strong and it has lots of hp. The only disadvantages are that it isn't really that fast and it costs a lot of cell points to summon it. You need to have Power User (which you buy with cash) to buy it, with gold. It's certainly a good choice.

Iron Golem: The same, but with more hp and stronger. I haven't really got much to say about this one. It's only available in events, not in the shop. Can't be knocked down either. If you ever get the chance to obtain it, GET IT !! It's like undestructable (not at lvl 1 ofcourse).

Taurus: Meet the best friend you will probably ever have in Rakion. This bull doesn't attack that much. But he has 2 powerful attacks, and if he uses them, it hurts. He has a running attack, the best of the 2. He runs towards you and if you get hit, it probably won't be once. And he has a headknock attack. He throws you away with the horn on his head. He can't be knocked down. Disadvantage: Sometimes they make the game lag. They cost a lot of cp and gold (power user also). But they have nice hp. As I mentioned you need power user and a lot of gold. You can wear it at, my god, level 30... It's a good choice, but i wouldn't advise you to buy 3 of them. If you want one, buy just 1. Oh yeah, he has a brother.

Black Taurus: Maybe even a better friend, because you need a lower level (20) to wear it and it has fear. Now I think you have never heard of fear. It's an attack which is used when it gets hit. It smacks all enemies off himself with a circle around him. All attacks are the same. The Black Taurus is lots faster than the normal Taurus. Can't be knocked down either. So this one is good to have, maybe even better. I think I don't even have to say it costs cash... But you can wear it on level 20.

Dragon: Admire him. He gives you SOO much back for it. He flies, dragon, high in the sky and has two ranged attacks and 1 normal attack. The normal attack is where he goes low and uses his claws to strike someone. The ranged attacks are better. The first one is where he spits a fire bolt at someone. This attack is good. He has a fire spray too, he flies low and he just spits a load of fire. Useful on golems and, ofcourse, players. The only things is that he makes the game a bit laggy sometimes. And he doesn't have that much hp, compared to his strength. Poweruser. And lots of gold. And lots of cp. But then he will own. You can wear it when you're, zzzzzzzz, level 35. But that's ok, because else it wouldn't be fun. If you want to buy one, I suggest you buy 1. Because 3 of them ruin the game by lag/too powerful. Have fun, be nice to him, he will work for you :). Ah, I can see his brothers come flying along.

Black Dragon: Wow, he's black. He's awesome. And he has poison. Hehe ^.^. The same attacks, but the fire bolt is green and the fire spray is green and black and it poisons :). The Black Dragon is powerful and it's fast and it has poison. You have to buy it with cash, a lot, but it pays back in the end. You can wear it at lvl 20, yaay, and if you buy it, again don't buy 3 of them (that's just my opinion, go ahead if you really want it) because it lags enormously.

White Dragon: A white one. Nicee. It freezes :D. Too bad it isn't as strong as the Black Dragon. Same attack again, but white fire(? I'd say ice) bolt and white spray which freezes. The freeze doesn't work on Gold/Master golems. They can freeze a long time, because the white spray can last pretty long. It costs quite some cash and you can wear it at lvl 25. They are good, and the lag is quite ok on this 1. Good choice.

Soul Cannon: Don't ask too much. It's a big fat fella which is slow with a big fat cannon in his arms. The cannon attacks pretty fast for a big thing like that. And it is strong. It shoots cannon balls which explode on the ground. The explosion is pretty big. The balls home a little bit. IF they ever get killed they explode. They have pretty good hp. When they get attacked they lean backwards and can't be attacked for 1 sec. It has a smack attack also. Where he leans over and, *BANG*, he smacks his cannon on the ground. It hurts, but the shooting is better. They cost a lot of cash, you have to think about this one. It's good, but it really isn't cheap. You can wear it at lvl 25. Think about it, it's not my money so i won't give you any advises, just telling you this one is good. Ah, there's his younger brother.

Green Soul Cannon: Pretty much the same. Exactly the same. The color is different. It costs a lot of cash also. Starts with lower stats, so his attacks are lower on lvl 1. BUT you can wear it on lvl 15. Again, think about it.

Longbow: He is good. Especially on PVP (Player Versus Player). The arrows home. It always hits. Except for when he hits objects or walls. Sometimes they hit through a block. It doesn't attack really fast. The hp is average. It costs quite some cash, but the cp is ok to summon. You can wear it at lvl 11. That's nice. Really good choice, it's still effective when you're lvl 50.

Game Modes
Excluding Stage mode, which puts all players on the same team, all of the game modes are PvP-based. Both the number of rounds and round-time-limits can be set. The game will automatically balance the teams after a round. There are four types of PvP games in Rakion. In both team and solo deathmatches, dead players respawn after 5 seconds. The Deathmatch modes have healing capsules and books that provide cell points; the other modes do not.


 *  Deathmatch (Solo): Solo Deathmatch is a free-for-all variation of team deathmatch. All players are on their own and the first player to achieve a specified amount of kills is declared the winner.


 *  Deathmatch (Teamplay): Almost the same as Solo Deathmatches, except that players are separated into teams.


 * Golem War: Players are assigned to a team in this mode. Each team has a Master Golem. Located somewhere in the map is the Golden Golem. The objective is to destroy the opponent's Master Golem, but only the person that kills the Gold Golem can do significant damage to the other team's Master Golem. To prevent teams "stealing" the Gold Golem from each other, it has separate health for each team. Unlike the other PvP modes, slain players do not respawn, and a team can also lose when all their players have been defeated. If the time runs out and both Master Golems are still alive, the team with the Golem with more health wins the round.


 * Boss War: This is a team-based headhunter fight. Each team has a player who's the "boss" that they must protect at all costs; if the boss dies then the team loses the game.


 * Stage: A co-operative game mode for 1 to 4 players (depending on the stage) that lets you play a PvE mission. After completing a stage, you get a grade ranging from S, A, B, C, or D, depending on how fast you complete the objective. Stages can not be repeated for more rewards, but can be redone for a higher rank.


 * Basic Mode: A setting which can be assigned to any non-stage game. All players' stats are as if they were level 1 for the duration of the game. No cells can be summoned in this mode aside from the lowest level cell, the Nak. Stats from equipment still applies.

Items
Rakion operates an in-game store, through which players can purchase various items using Gold and Cash. Gold can be earned by playing stages and multiplayer games. Items available for purchase include equipment, cells, potions, and item-upgrading material.

Most equipment and cells have level restrictions. Players must achieve the correct level to be able to use them. Potions, which do not have level requirements, have various effects, such as: restore health, restore armor, knock enemies back, give chaos points, or restore Cell Points.

One of Rakion's main features include "cells." Cells are creatures that can be summoned in games. They also appear as enemies in stages. Cells are capable of leveling up, just like a player. To summon a cell, a player must attain Cell Points by killing other cells, players, golems, or using potions. Each cell requires a certain amount of Cell Points to summon. Players may summon a maximum of three cells in a game.

Profanity filter
Saying profanities in-game causes the chat system to automatically replace them with the word "LOVE." However, this filter can be bypassed by simply hitting Ctrl+Backspace in the middle of the profane word.