Silkroad Online

Overview
Silkroad online is a Korean MMORPG currently in open beta. Players start in Jangan (Chang'an), China and gain skills and fight enemies based on mythology from China, other Asian countries, the middle east, and Europe. At level 20, players can become Merchants, Hunters or Thieves (Merchants trade along the Silk Road for money, Thieves try to kill them and take their money, and Hunters travel with the merchants to defend them from the thieves).

Story
Several characters have different goals on the very long path that is know as the Silk Road, and set out to adventure, kill monsters, and generally find fame, glory and power on the Silk Road.

Community
The game has a wide and constantly growing player base and therefore new servers are in high demand in the English-speaking community, due to the overabundance of players. Towns are always crowded with players, mostly AFK players selling items in their stalls (A function that allows your character to sell items to other players at a set price without actually being there yourself). Popular levelling areas always have players and as a result there is alot of kill stealing and competition over monsters.

Graphics/Sound
The game is rich in graphics and gameplay, and the sound is above average with unique new age oriental tunes that invokes strong theme and relevant ambience.

Character Development
There are several "elements" in th game you can level to use to your advantage. These skills consist of Fire, Ice, Lightning, Force, Spear/Glaive, Sword/Blade, and Bow. You could master all of these if you wanted, but levelling two is recommended. There is alot of decision making in the game and there are no fixed professions. When creating a character, you can choose from several head types, weapons, armours, heights and volumes.

Weapons
The weapons in the game fall into 5 catagories. There are swords, better for using with magic than on their own, and allow you to equip a shield. Blades are the same as swords except in appearance and the fact that they are stronger than swords without magic. Spears are good with magic, and stronger than the sword, but you cannot equip a shield. Glaives are to spears as swords are to blades. Bows are good with magic, and most players use them for the ability to attack an enemy at long range. You cannot equip a shield with these and you need to buy arrows. They are also very fast and ideal for players that choose speed over damage.

Clothing/Armor
Clothing falls into 3 catagories. There is 'Armor', 'Protector', and 'Garment'. Armor gives more of a bonus to physical attacks and gives the character more defence than the others, but also gives you slower running speed than other types of clothing. Garment gives more of a bonus to magical attacks, and allows you to run slightly faster than if you were to wear Armor or Protector. Protector is a cross between Armor and Garment.

Quests
There are several quests in Silkroad Online, virtually all of these quests involve killing a number of monsters, taking items that the quest NPC has asked for, and bringing it back to the NPC. The rewards for these quests are mostly money, experience points, and skill points, but in some quests you will recieve items as a reward, mostly HP/MP recovery items.

Transport
In Silkroad Online, a character can run and walk. Also, from level 10 and above, characters can buy horses. When your character dismounts the horse, it will disappear and you will have to buy another one. These horses are generally faster than running, and therefore are a preferred method of transportation on long journies. Your horse can be attacked while you are riding it, by aggressive monsters. Your horse has a set HP depending on which horse you buy. Better horses can be purchased at later levels. There are also camels, which are slower than horses, but can carry items, as your inventory can get full. This makes it an ideal transport for Traders. There are a few 'Ferries', but as in other MMORPGs, you do not ride it, it is simply a teleport across the water. Some spells allow you to run faster on foot.

Combat
Combat is very good, visually and gameplay-wise. You character's damage, attacking speed, and weapon range depend on the weapon and your stats. After your enemy is defeated, they drop items and money, for you to pick up. If another player kills a monster and the monster drops items, you cannot pick them up until a minute has passed. This allows for players not to get their items stolen. After level 4, when a character dies, they lose some exp and respawn in town. If you die several times, your character loses items too. Characters are highly dependant on HP and MP recovery items. There is a 'Beserker' mode, where if you kill enough enemies, your Beserker Gauge fills, and your character can transform into a glowing demon-like being, where your running speed, attacking speed, defence and strength will be enhanced for a short amount of time. Because of this, it is mostly used in emergencies and taking down strong enemies. After the timer has ended, your character will transform back to normal and you will have to fill the gauge again to receive Berserker mode. Many spells allow for your character to enchant their weapon. You can enchant them with ice, fire, or lightning. This generally increased your strength, and the different elements have different effects on the enemy. These spells use MP, and end after a very short time.

Elements
The 4 elements are Fire, Ice, Lightning and Force. Force is healing magic, Fire is offensive, and can burn your enemy (Damages over time), Ice slows down and sometimes freezes your enemy, making them unable to act for a few seconds. Because of this, Ice is very popular in PVP. Lightning speeds up your attacks and paralyzes the enemy, leaving them unable to attack.

PVP
There is also PVP (Player Versus Player) in Silkroad Online, at level 10 and over you can purchase capes that allow you to attack any player outside of a town wearing a different coloured cape. You do not gain or lose anything in PVP in Silkroad. At level 20 and over, you can attack any player also 20 or over, but killing enough people gives you a "Murderer" status where your character's name goes red, and any player can attack you. This results in a large mob of players running after a "Murderer", attempting to kill him. If a player dies while in "Murderer" status, they risk losing exp and/or money/items.