Elsword is a free to play 2.5D side-scrolling anime action fantasy MMORPG. The game was developed in December 2007 by KOG Games, a South Korean game company. KOG wanted Elsword to take over from Grand Chase, another game developed by KOG. Both games shared many similarities, such as characters, background lore, combat style, etc. Albeit, Elsword had upgraded 2.5D graphics, as against Grand Chase’s 2-Dimension display. However, after Elsword had undergone beta testing, the developers decided to change some of the apparent similarities and make Elsword a game of its own. 

Elsword features action-oriented combat set in a colorful book style anime world. The game allows for PVP as well as PVE battles, with a lot of emphasis on the brawler c action. The game combines fast-paced fighting with colorful anime hand-drawn animations. 

Your Mission – Recover the El Stone, Save the Elrios

Set in the Elrios, the game focuses on the eponymous main character’s life and his companions as they try to save the land from the evil that has overtaken it and recover the El Stone. The El stone is the life force of their world, Elrios, which was stolen. Much of the player versus environment gameplay in the game takes place in dungeons. 

Gameplay

Running through dungeons is about 85% of the game. When you first start from level 1 to 99 and above its dungeon grinding. You can run these dungeons solo or with a group of friends. There are two types of dungeons: the first type is the ones that can easily be unlocked as you play quests in the story mode. These dungeons have three difficulties: normal, hard, and very hard difficulty. Once you’ve selected a dungeon to quest in, you then fight till you’ve killed everything inside. Once you’ve finished playing on a difficulty level, a more challenging level unlocks in the same dungeon. The most difficult levels can only be played in a group of not less than four people. Fatigue may quickly set in, as it is frustrating to replay an already conquered dungeon over again with a more challenging difficulty. But the reward system makes up for this because the thrill of competition with your teammates for loot and rank can be exciting.

The second kind of dungeon in the game: these are the special fields of battle. These are free-roam areas that require you to explore, kill monsters, and enjoy yourself. These dungeons are by far the most interesting and the most played. 

The game can be controlled using a keyboard, a mouse, or a gamepad. While playing, I used the keyboard and mouse combinations. However, it becomes a little complicated when the time comes to add combos and special skills. The combat style is such that you have to properly aim your attacks and combos using a combination of the movement keys and the Z key. This combat style distinguishes Elsword from other MMOs. 

Well-crafted Characters 

Once you begin the game, you can pick what character to play and what outfit to put on. Although very identical on the surface, Elsword presents each character with its own backstory so they feel quite different once you know them. The nine characters also play in play in different classes. They are:

Elsword (the Knight): He is the main character and a hot-headed swordsman. He is your go-to if you enjoy receiving and dealing damage brutally. His primary weakness is magic. 

Aisha (the Magician): Aisha was already an extraordinary magician at the age of 12. Unfortunately, she lost all her powers toa ring. She then joined Elsword to recover the ring, and she relearns some of her skills as she goes. 

Rena (the Ranger): I enjoy using Rena due to her marksman skills. Just like in Lord of the Rings, she is an elf with extraordinary archery skills. She joined Elsword to help save his world, which is somehow connected to hers.  

Raven (the taker): Betrayed by his best friend and imprisoned, he suffers a massive loss when his fiancée and comrades were killed while breaking him out of prison. Left for dead, he is picked up by the Nasods, who implant a mechanical arm in one of his hands. He wakes up enraged and bloodthirsty. He joins Elsword in a search for atonement.

Eve (Nasod): Formerly known with the alias of the Little Queen of the Nasods, she awakes from her millennium-long slumber to find herself alone, and her kingdom wiped out. Thus she joins the company to restore life as she once knew it.

Chung (the guardian): Just as his name goes, he is charged to ensure that no innocent gets hurt under his watch. He comes from a long lineage of guardians of Hamel City. Known as the Prince of Seiker, he fights using a giant cannon, named the “Destroyer.”

Ara (Little Xia): She is a skilled martial artist who wields a spear and is most suitable for melees.

Elesis (Free Knight): She is Elsword’s elder sister and a talented swordsman. She would go to any extremes to protect her brother.

Add (the Tracer): the nerd of the group and a descendant of researchers into the Nasod secrets. He is locked in an Ancient library for a long time and comes out insane. He wields a Nasod dynamo.

While this game is free to play, these characters can only be further customized using items gotten from the Item Mall. Items in the in-game can be purchased using real cash. Gamers have complained that although free-to-play, the gameplay favors players who buy more items from the store.

Elsword allows for Sparing and Arena PvP. While the former allows players to face off in a training session, the Arena is where players slug it out in exchange for Arena points, currency, ranking, amongst others. Elsword is deserving of the hype it still enjoys.