Rakion: Chaos Force/Gameplay

Rakion is a free, three-dimensional, fantasy action online game developed by the South Korean company Softnyx. It was in a free "closed" beta testing from August 11 - 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, which ended on December 1, 2005. At this point, the game began to follow a similar model to Softnyx's other MMOG, GunBound. Users may purchase "Softnyx Cash" with real-world currency and spend it on "Power User" status (which offers various benefits and unlocks further ingame purchases) or items that are often very powerful and not available to the non-paying public.

Story
Very little story has been released for Rakion, however what has been released indicates that the battles in the game are part of a wider series of conflicts over "cell" - a substance that can summon new life, focus energy and several other things. Rakion takes place after a large war - many of the ingame texts reference how things used to be in that war, or that an item is a remnant from that war. There is also Alcon (a place, person, or substance), which is believed to be a great evil which is mentioned as poisoning one map and distorting the properties of many creatures.

Gameplay
The gameplay of Rakion is similar to a lot of third or first-person shooter games. One uses the WASD keys to move the character around, and the default camera is FPS style, though the player's character can be seen. A secondary console control camera is also available. Characters have a variety of combos and attacks, and all characters have both a ranged weapon and a melee weapon that can be switched between by pressing "Q". The camera is rotated by the mouse, and the attack buttons are the left mouse button (C1) and the right mouse button (C2, used most commonly for special attacks and special combos). There are four different game modes in Rakion. Players also have a "basic mode" option that does not take into account statistics and creatures, making all players in the match equal.

Classes
In Rakion, a player is a member of any of the five classes. The choices are Swordsman (sometimes called Warrior), Archer, Blacksmith, Ninja, and Mage. Each class has a melee and a ranged attack, and, under certain conditions, can transform into "Chaos Mode". Players who have the ability to transform into chaos mode have a blue glow surrounding their body as a warning to others. While in chaos mode, players have more vitality, cannot be knocked down, and do a lot more damage.

Swordsman
The swordsman is a male knight wearing light plate armor. He excels in melee combat, striking with respectable speed and average damage.


 * Melee: A longsword with a decent speed and good attack damage. It is used in a wide variety of attacks to slash and stab quickly while also doing high amounts of damage to heavy opponents.


 * Ranged: A small but heavy dagger with medium range and above average damage. It base damage is second only to the blacksmith's axe among physical projectiles. However, it flies at a rather awkward angle, making it difficult for anyone but the most experienced player to use it effectively.


 * Chaos: The swordsman transforms into a blue, humanoid being with three eyes wearing heavy armor wielding a double-sided sword-spear hybrid. It can be used for a combo, but is more commonly and more well adapted for a lightning-fast attack that spins and hurls the victim into the air. It can also be charged for a crippling running slash that rips apart large targets and other chaos beings.

Archer
Archers are female characters that are armored lightly. They wield a longbow as their ranged weapon and carry a shortsword. Archers naturally excel at ranged combat, but should not be underestimated in melee.


 * Melee: The archer has a small gladius-like sword and uses this for a limited amount of attacks, most of which are slow and not quite as effective as those of the swordsman or blacksmith. Like all classes, this is the default weapon for archers, but is usually switched immediately upon entering the game.


 * Ranged: As can be expected, the archer uses a bow as its ranged weapon. Arrows have an infinite range, travel fast, and are can be fatal even at lower levels. Effective use of this weapon requires good aiming and proper timing.


 * Chaos: The archer transforms into an angelic-looking being with a white aura. Their primary weapon is now their bow, and can theoretically shoot up to two arrows per second at maximum speed. The arrows also travel considerably faster than the arrows of a normal archer, but also does the same damage as a normal arrow though it cannot be guarded. Judge(the right click) is a skill only available to the chaos archer; after a two-second charge time five powerful, un-guardable arrows are shot that will almost ensure a kill if all hit. The chaos archer also has an invincible attack where she spins with her arrow. Anyone nearby takes significant damage and becomes stunned for a decent amount of time. All arrows from the chaos archer have substantial knockback, causing the person hit to fly back and be knocked down. The arrows also make the person hit to get up automatically after an alloted ammout of time.

Blacksmith
Blacksmiths are large, heavyset male characters who wear full plate armor, complete with a helmet. Though they are humanoid, their true race is unknown but they are thought to be related to golems. They can deal out a lot of damage, and sustain incredible amounts themselves. But their great power and endurance does pay a price, as their attack speed is low and they don't move as fast as the average Swordsman.


 * Melee: A large warhammer is swung in horizontal, vertical and diagonal arcs against enemies. It can also charge for a powerful special attack that sends out a strong shockwave of damage. The Blacksmith has the strongest jumping attack of all the classes. However, even though his attacks are very powerful they come with an equally large amount of delay, leaving him open to grips.


 * Ranged: The throwing axes of blacksmith are similar to the throwing knives of the swordsman, but deal far more damage and don't fly quite as far. The axe is the most powerful ranged attack in the game, but is hard to hit with due to its slow flight through the air.


 * Chaos: The Blacksmith now looks more like a golem, and is heavily armored, with blue skin. He carries a large flail, and his face is painted. The ground shockwaves created by the flail are about twice the size of the normal ones. He can also charge up for a running pummel attack, or swing his flail around in a wide arc (260 degrees), decimating weaker foes.

Ninja
A minimally-armored female human character who wields a split blade, shurikens and explosives. Ninjas are the fastest characters in the game, and particularly excel at "grip" (grabbing) attacks and special attacks. They have very weak basic attacks, and the lowest health of any class initially. However they are at the top when it comes to running and attack speed.


 * Melee: A thin blade that looks like a sai split down the middle. Their attacks are weak but extraordinarily fast. They are the only class that has a 4-strike combo, though this is weak. They can "glide" for a few moments and become invincible. The ninja's true power lies in its deadly grips, which can blow off an entire health bar.


 * Ranged: The ninja takes out shurikens ("dart-knives") and throws them in groups of either three or nine. Although weak, shurikens in groups of three can be thrown without a charging period. However, these do not stun the enemy. Shurikens in groups of nine require the ninja to charge, but do far more damage and stun like all other attacks. Groups of three fan out in a cone-like formation, while groups of nine fall in a short-range shotgun pattern.


 * Chaos: The ninja transforms into a demonic-looking woman with a red glow. The half-sai turns into a short, thin, curved blade and is now wielded underhand. She can now dash forwards while slashing, and the combo attack finishes with an explosion that has the largest area of effect in the game. She can also spin around in a "phoenix"; this attack bypasses armor and attacks health directly. Also, the ninja can now throw stars in groups of 18, and, like the Phoenix, these bypass armor and directly damage health.

Mage
The mage is probably one of the most mysterious characters in the game, due that they wear a mask, never showing their true face. This character is a humanoid character with an undefined gender (Softnyx has stated that they are both male and female). They are designed to be support and long-range bombardment characters, and they are the only class that can heal. They have three powerful ranged attacks. However, mages tend to suffer from low health values, limited abilities in close combat, high delay attacks, and they are slowest runners of all classes.


 * Melee: A staff or cane that can be used for a weak striking attack. It can also be used for casting a row of magical ice pillars at an enemy, which are unguardable but come with a high delay. Their front grip is also unique in that that it can freeze victims in a block of ice, leaving them open to any attack, and does not knock them down. Other than that, it can cast a hurricane that pushes all enemies away from it, and it can cast healing orbs that can either heal the mage who casted it, an allied player, or an enemy mage. It's healing power depends on the mage's special attack level.


 * Ranged: The mage takes out a mace or a wand and uses it to cast a magic bomb attack and a homing meteor attack. The magic bombs are thrown at a target, but must be charged first. They explode after 1.5 seconds, comparable to grenades. The meteors are more powerful than the magic bombs, but require the mage to "lock on" to a target for a few seconds.


 * Chaos: A larger and more powerful magician, which is actually just a puppet, is summoned and the smaller mage controls it by sitting on its back . This larger mage can cast a far more powerful version of the ice attack, sending out three lines at 10 degree intervals. It can also cast a faster (both in lock-on time and travel speed) version of the mage's meteor, which can be guarded/avoided with precision timing. This seeker cannot be blocked, unless blocking from a certain angle. The Chaos Mage can heal 30% of the health of all allied players in an area of effect, though it does not affect the Chaos Mage itself.

Creatures
There are several different creatures in Rakion. All of them appear in Stage Mode, and they can all be bought in the shop. Like other items, creatures have level requirements. Creatures gain experience and level too; a higher level creature costs more cell points to summon, but it has higher stats, and should one wish to re-sell it, it will fetch a higher price.
 * Nak: A spider-like creature, it is weak and slow-moving. Naks spit poison at their enemies at close range. Since it is rather weak, it tends to appear in enormous swarms in Stage mode. Even at higher levels Naks are easily destroyed by a few (or even one) attacks. Newcomers to Rakion get a single Nak for free, but they must buy all of their other cells.
 * Blood Nak: A normal Nak that has been corrupted by Alcon. These Naks have less health but do a lot more damage. They also attack twice as fast as an ordinary Nak, but due to their low health are also killed faster. These creatures are seldom bought by players, but appear in several stages.
 * Panzer: An armored knight. Panzers can take a lot more abuse than Naks, and their Halberds do more damage. However, they are not nearly as stealthy and make a lot of noise when they move and attack. Also, they move very slowly and take a long time to get up after they have fallen.
 * Assault Panzer: A Panzer that does a lot more damage but has a lot less health. Assault Panzers also run much faster than their uncorrupt counterparts, and attack faster. Comparable to a Blood Nak with a lot more health and dealing a lot more damage, these creatures are devastating at higher levels.
 * Crossbow: A small dwarf wielding a crossbow, they move and attack quite slowly. They fire two bolts from their crossbow at close range, and even though they are quite powerful they are slow and inaccurate. They also kick you if you get too close. Due to the long time it takes for them to get up, they can be attacked while they are lying on the ground.
 * Blazer: A mage wearing red robes that hovers slightly above the ground. Although immobile, they have a decent amount of health. They shoot large purple blasts of energy at long range, dealing massive splashing damage. However, they have an immense cooldown time and are vulnerable to attack.
 *  Sky Blazer: A Blazer that hovers high above the ground, they both have more health and do more damage than the normal Blazer. They can only be destroyed by ranged attacks, but since they attack faster they are much harder to kill than a regular Blazer.
 * Soul Cannon: A golem-like creature that has a cannon attached to its right arm. It shoots cannonballs at medium range, but is unable to hit air targets. The cannonballs explode violently and do heavy splash damage, these cannonballs cannot also be blocked. It also has a melee attack where it swings its thick right arm and whacks the player when he/she gets too close. It cannot be knocked down. When a Soul Cannon is destroyed, after about five seconds it self-destructs, creating a huge blast that deals tremendous damage.
 * Longbow: Elvish creatures of unknown gender. As their name implies, they wield longbows and shoot powerful arrows that decimate the enemy at long range. Their arrows follow you, and can even curve up if you try to jump out of their way. However they are slow and have no close range attack. Like the Crossbow, you can also hit them when they are lying on the ground.
 * Golem: A bipedal giant creature made out of stone and clay. It can punch powerfully at close range and hurls large boulders of earth at longer range, these boulders are cannot be blocked. However, it is a very large target and easy prey for all attacks. It also moves and attacks very slowly, and is very expensive for players to summon. This creature is the main focus of Golem Wars.
 * Iron Golem: A Golem made of iron with darker color than a regular Golem, higher health, higher damage but will not have a higher attack speed.
 * Taurus: A minotaur-like creature resembling a bull. It has a double-gore attack with its horn that is very powerful to the unsuspecting. The Taurus can also do a running dash. They walk faster than most other creatures and cannot be knocked down. Taurus have less health than the Golem, but have the potential to do more damage.
 * Dragon: The ultimate juggernauts of destruction, the dragons soar high above the playing field. They have an immense firepower, but relatively low endurance. They can spit a large fire blast at long range that deals titanic damage, cannot be blocked, and also have a flamethrower-like attack. If a target has low health, the Dragon flies close and hooks it with its claws. Dragons are expensive, but their firepower is well worth the high cost.
 * Ice Wind: An airborne winged creature that looks somewhat like a blue harpy. They shoot ice blasts at long range that freeze you for around half a second (cannot freeze Golems or other large enemies). They were the main theme of the two Christmas event stages in 2006, and were available for free until the end of the Christmas event. This creature is now buyable and will stay permanent.

Game modes
Excluding Stage mode, which puts players on the same team, all of the game modes are PvP-based. A game can consist of anywhere from 1 to 21 rounds, and a round can last between five and twenty minutes. There are four types of PvP games in Rakion. The game will automatically balance the teams after a round by swapping the players with most experience to the other team. This switch will only occur if one team has less players than the other. In most types of deathmatch dead players respawn after a 7-second period and have four seconds of invincibilty when they respawn. The Deathmatch modes have healing capsules and books that provide cell points; the other modes do not.

Solo Deathmatch: Solo Deathmatch is a free-for-all variation of team deathmatch. All players are on their own (though unofficial alliances are occasionally initiated), and the first player to achieve a specified amount of kills is declared the winner. In the event of a tie when time runs out, the first player to achieve the highest amount of kills for the round wins.

Team Deathmatch: Almost the same as Solo Deathmatches, except that there are teams. By default, twenty kill points are needed to win a round. People who play this game generally modify it to have more rounds and require more kills to get the most gold and experience. Not an overall rewarding type of game in terms of experience, but it is easy for newcomers and a good source of Gold.

Golem War: Players are assigned to a team in this mode. Each team has a Master Golem (with a red or blue aura, depending on the team), and in the center of the map there is a Golden Golem. The objective is to destroy the opponent's Master Golem, but there is a catch: Only the person that kills the Gold Golem can do any damage to the other team's Master Golem; all other players do 1% of the damage they would normally do. 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 everyone is slaughtered. If the time runs out and both Master Golems are still alive, the team with the Golem with more health wins the round. Golem War is generally accepted as the best way to make Gold and Experience in Rakion, aside from Stage mode.

Boss War: A recently added mode, it is a team-based headhunter fight. Each team has a boss that they must protect at all costs; if the boss dies the team loses the game. A team's boss is the person with the highest level on the team. It is not notable for giving experience, but the cash outcome is good. This mode does not have healing pickups, but Mages can still heal other team members (generally the boss).

Profanity filter
The in-game chat system automatically replaces most profanity with the word "LOVE", as in "You mother LOVEing LOVEer!" The filter isn't limited to whole words, so typing the word "class" will appear as "clLOVE". In the past, the filter could be bypassed by typing a ' in the middle of the word as an escape sequence. Also some words are included such as password. However, this bypass was patched.

Criticism
Rakion uses a similar online structure to another Korean based game, GunZ. Both games are not run on dedicated servers and instead make the client act as his own server, a peer to peer network. Some critics have critcized Softnyx for this design decision since in places other than South Korea, the distance latency often creates unfair advantages over other players. Other concerns have been noted that it gives hackers more "tools" to cheat with. Softnyx only response to this is that Rakion is meant to be run as a LAN set up and not against far away players.