Having gone through nearly seven years of designing, ArcheAge introduces players to the world of fantasy “sand-park” MMO. The term “sandpark” came about, according to the developers, because the game features a mixture of the content style of sandbox games and “theme-park” games, meaning that the game seeks to remove some of the restrictions plaguing many other MMORPGs.

Exactly a year after its release in South Korea, XL Games announced its partnership with Trion World. Following this arrangement, ArcheAge was launched in Europe and NA in September 2014 by Trion Worlds. However, in 2018, after Gamigo acquired Trion, all publishing rights were transferred to Gamigo, a German game publisher for browser games and MMORPGs. 

Novel Origin and Set

ArcheAge is a game depiction of the novel written by South Korean novelist, Jeon Min-hee, titled: “The Archeage Chronicles trilogy.” The game chronicles the war-torn social life of the fantasy world of Erenor, which was created by Thiol. Erenor has three continents, Haranya on the east, Nuia to the west, and Auroria to the north. Players can only play as members of either the eastern or the western continents. The reason for this is because the Haranya and Nuia are two enemy empires. The northern district, however, is used mainly for player vs. player wars. Reason being that the northern continent is no man’s land, making it the perfect ground for guild wars. 

The life of the Haranya people was based mainly on medieval Asia’s culture, while that of the Nuia imitates that of medieval Europe. ArcheAge’s background lore revolves around a group of friends who found the “The Garden, known as the birthplace of Magic and the Navel of the World. Finding the garden transformed them into gods. However, a great fight breaks out between them, which leads to the destruction of Auroria (the original society of the races).  The life of the Haranya people was mainly based on medieval Asia’s life and times, while that of the Nuia imitates that of medieval Europe. 

ArcheAge’s background lore revolves around a group of friends who found the “The Garden, known as Magic’s origin. Finding the garden transformed them into gods. However, a great fight breaks out between them, which leads to the destruction of Auroria (the initial home of the races). To save her people, goddess Nuia opens the portal to a new world so that her people may migrate to the Western continent, but she died in the process. On getting to the new continent, the humans dwelling named themselves the Nuians in honor of the great sacrifice of goddess Nuia. After nearly a century of residing in the western continent, the Nuians forces grew. Two significant families ruled: the Illion family and the Sallium family. 

War soon broke out again between these families over control of the Crescent Bay (the central throne of the Nuians). This war was called the Eclipse war. The Sallium family lost the war and decided to flee to the Eastern continent of Haranya, and they became the Haranians. 

In-depth Customization and Gameplay

When you start ArcheAge, you are greeted by a fun cinematic intro that depicts the background lore and the great Migration. Once this is over, the game takes you to the character creation. First, you are to select a continent, or faction, to belong, after which you must pick a race out of the six races. Next is character customization. TArcheAgehe game allows in-depth character creation and customization, which I find fascinating as it will enable me to create a character that suits my idea of an ideal action figure. There are many options to pick from, ranging from hairstyle and eye color to tattoos and scars. Sadly, the height and body type are fixed, and as such, cannot be customized. The game also features the option of selecting already made characters just in case you’re not in the mood to do some customization. 

The character creation doesn’t just end at customization, players also create a class for themselves. Players are to select three out of ten basic skill types and thus creating a “class.” At the beginning of the game, only six skill types are made available to the player. The other four skills don’t come until the player gets to level 5. It is also at this level that players get the ability to combine skillsets.

PvE and PvP Naval Combat

I enjoy the game for its storyline as much as the combat and gameplay. ArcheAge offers PvE and PvP naval combat. It is such that the players trade, build, and equip their ships. Naval fights could either be against another player or a sea monster. The game also features many free zones that support PvP between players from opposing continents. Players within a fraction may also engage in combat. A player interested in such an intra-fraction battle must raise a flag. The player attacking in this mode is considered a criminal and can face incarceration. Unlike most MMOs, ArcheAge has a well-developed criminal justice system, with players run courts. Players are called upon to act as jury in this court, and players who have committed a criminal offense, such as murder, are judged and given judgment. Such players are then incarcerated; they serve their term either by working in the prison yard or by staging a prison break.

ArcheAge is not all combat and justice. The game features some lifestyle options such as owning houses, farming, crafting weapons, and other things. ArcheAge was very near to being a perfect MMO but the publishers prioritized pay-to-win mechanics in an obvious way. For this reason and a couple of different reasons, Gamigo decided to launch the ArcheAge: Unchained. The Unchained is a buy to play version of Archeage; which is identical with the original ArcheAge in terms of content and gameplay. Apart from abolishing P2W and being a buy-to-play, Unchained also comes with some new features such as new skillsets. 

Overall

ArcheAge also brings the prominent ArchePass, which allows act as some form of cosmetic battle pass. The Unchained comes with an update that improves the graphics and display of the game. In general, ArcheAge provides a fantastic gaming experience with lots of activities to keep you busy.