Ragnarok Online

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Ragnarok Online
Developer(s)	GRAVITY Co., Ltd.
Publisher(s)	GRAVITY Co., Ltd.
Engine	AEGIS and Granny 3D
Platform(s)	Windows
Release date	KO August 31, 1998 TW October, 2002 JP December 1, 2002 TH March, 2003 CN 20 May, 2003[1] NA June 1, 2003 PH September, 2003 ID October, 2003 IN April, 2004 SG /MY April, 2004 AU December, 2004 BR February, 2005 SP /CHIL April, 2006 FR June, 2007
Genre(s)	MMORPG
Mode(s)	Multiplayer
Rating(s)	aDeSe: +13 CERO: B (12+) ELSPA: 11+ ESRB: T (Teen) OFLC (AU): M15+ SELL: 12 USK: 12+
Media	Download/CD
System requirements	Intel Pentium 500 MHz equiv. CPU, 128MB RAM, Internet access, DirectX 8, 8MB graphics card, sound card, 1GB+ hard drive space
Input methods	Keyboard, mouse

Ragnarok Online (Korean: 라그나로크 온라인), often referred to as RO, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game created by GRAVITY Co., Ltd. based on the manhwa Ragnarok by Lee Myung-Jin. It was first released in South Korea on 31 August 1998 for Microsoft Windows and has since been released in many other locales around the world. Much of the game's mythos is based on Norse mythology, but its style has been influenced by Christianity and various Asian cultures as well. The game has spawned an animated series, Ragnarok the Animation, and a sequel game, Ragnarok Online 2: The Gate of the World, is currently in development.

Contents 1 Setting 2 Job System 2.1 First Jobs 2.2 Extended Classes 2.3 2-1 Jobs 2.4 2-2 Jobs 2.5 Transcendent Classes 3 Player vs. Player (PvP) 4 War of Emperium 4.1 Guild Point System 5 Audio 6 Ragnarok Mobile 7 Kafra Shop 8 See also 9 References 10 External links 10.1 Game archive and review sites

[edit] Setting

Ragnarok Online is divided into a series of maps, each of which has its own terrain and native monsters, though many monsters are native to multiple regions. Transportation between maps requires loading the new map and monsters cannot travel from one map to another.

There are three major nations in Ragnarok Online, the first of which and where all players start is Rune Midgard. The Schwaltzvalt Republic, an industrialized neighbor to the North, was added in Episode 10^[2] and Arunafeltz, a religious nation modeled after a combination of Israel and Turkey is the subject of Episode 11.^[3]

A series of other, minor nations also exist, generally modeled after an ancient society in the real world, examples such as Amatsu, which is modeled after ancient Japan,^[4] and Louyang, which is modeled after ancient China.^[5]

Areas from Norse mythology are also included, such as Niflheim, the land of the dead, and Valhalla, where players can become Transcendent Classes. New map content is constantly being added to game in the form of Episode updates.

[edit] Job System

Jobs are one of the most important aspects of Ragnarok Online, as the job a player chooses will have profound implications on his or her strengths and weaknesses, both in a party and outside of one. The job system includes a total of 39 different jobs, divided into 6 categories: Novices, Super Novices, First Job Classes, Second Job Classes, Transcendent Classes and Extended Classes. The list of job classes are as follows:

Swordman		Thief		Merchant
Knight	Crusader	Assassin	Rogue	Blacksmith	Alchemist
Lord Knight	Paladin	Assassin Cross	Stalker	Master Smith (Whitesmith)	Biochemist (Creator)

Mage		Archer		Acolyte
Wizard	Sage	Hunter	Dancer/Bard	Priest	Monk
High Wizard	Scholar (Professor)	Sniper	Gypsy/Clown(Minstrel)	High Priest	Champion

Extended Classes:

Taekwon Boy/Girl		Ninja		Gunslinger
Soul Linker	Taekwon Master	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

• Novice
  • Guild: None
  • Combat Style: Melee Combatant

All players start in the game's first class, the novice. Novices are, as their name implies, largely a tutorial class built for allowing new players to get the general feel of the game. Novices originally only had one ability, called Basic Skills, which as it is leveled progressively increases the number of functions the player is able to use, such as the creation of chat rooms, the use of Kafra Storage, and the use of emoticons.^[6] After the end of beta, novices were additionally able to learn two other skills, First Aid and Play Dead, by completing special quests. When Basic Skills reaches level 9, a novice becomes eligible to change jobs, an opportunity most players make use of, unless they wish to become a Super Novice or stay a novice forever.

[edit] First Jobs

• Swordman
  • Guild: Swordman Association, Izlude
  • Combat Style: Melee Combatant

The typical fighter class, Swordmen are the strongest physical attackers of the first jobs. Swordmen excel at melee combat due to their strong attacks and physical defense. The armors with the highest defense rate in the game is also exclusive to swordsman job. This job's skills focus on increasing the physical attack power of the character or allowing the swordman to withstand more damage.

• Magician
  • Guild: Mage Guild, Geffen
  • Combat Style: Offensive Spellcaster

As swordmen are the fighters of Ragnarok, magicians are the black mages. Magicians are extremely weak in melee combat, but compensate for it with the use of powerful magic. As a result, they are most effective in a party with another, more melee-capable character, in front of them, such as a swordman. This job's skills almost entirely are offensive magic, including the four basic elements of fire, water, earth, and wind.

• Archer
  • Guild: Archer Guild, Payon
  • Type: Ranged Combatant

Archers are simple ranged attackers, though they lack the affinity with nature commonly associated with a ranger class. Archers excel at defeating their enemies from a safe distance where they are not directly in harm's way. This job's skills focus on increasing the range and accuracy of the character's ranged attacks or allow the character multiple strikes simultaneously. With only five non-quest skills, archer is the only job where a player can closely master all of the skills of the class prior to his or her job change.

• Merchant
  • Guild: Merchant Association, Alberta
  • Combat Style: Melee Combatant

An archetype which may be unique to Ragnarok, Merchants forego physical or magical abilities to gain a number of economic and financial benefits in the game, such as the ability to change the buy/sell prices of NPC stores for themselves or to set up stores with the Vending skill. Merchants do have some physical attack power, and possess the powerful Mammonite attack skill, allowing them to do additional damage through the use of zeny.

• Thief
  • Guild: Thief Guild, Pyramid, Morroc
  • Combat Style: Melee Combatant or Ranged Combatant

A staple of most RPGs, the thief implements the thief archetype. Thieves excel in their speed, using their skills to hit multiple times a turn while not being hit by their enemies. Jobs that roots from Thief class can have the highest possible flee rate due to the Improve Dodge skill of thieves. They are often not very physically strong and are generally not the primary attackers in parties if a swordman is present.

• Acolyte
  • Guild: Prontera Sanctuary, Prontera
  • Combat Style: Supportive Spellcaster or Melee Combatant

The healers of Ragnarok, the acolyte job implements both the white mage and cleric archetypes simultaneously. Some Acolytes choose to pursue the former route, permanently taking a subservient position within parties by being "full support" and only focusing on supportive magic, while others focus on the latter and its combat implications. The great disparity between those these two interpretations of the acolyte class reflects the disparity between the second-level jobs that an acolyte can become, either the supportive priest or the physical attacking monk.

• Super Novice
  • Guild: Super Novice Association, Al de Baran
  • Combat Style: Any

Prior to the introduction of the super novice class, there were a number of players who attempted to get to level 99 as a novice, for various personal reasons or for bragging rights. In response to this, a special character class, the super novice, was created for them. The super novice class retains most of the features of the novice class, but is also able to learn almost all of the skills associated with the other first job classes, with the exception of those requiring weapons novices are not proficient with, such as a bow or a two-handed sword. Unlike the other first-level jobs, there are no corresponding second-level jobs and super novices are not able to transcend. The maximum job level for super novices, however, is 99, allowing for great flexibility on the part of the player in the skills he or she chooses to learn. Becoming a super novice requires base level 45 in addition to the normal requirement of Basic Skills level 9. The super novice also gets more skill points than first class characters.

[edit] Extended Classes

• Taekwon Boy/Taekwon Girl
  • Guild: None
  • Combat Style: Melee Combatant

The first of the Extended Classes, the Taekwon Boy or Taekwon Girl are martial artists of the martial art of Taekwondo. To this end, they are not able to use any weapons, though they may equip most types of armor. Implemented into iRO in September, 2006 as part of Episode 10.3 Noghalt, they are the newest first job to iRO. While there is no formal guild for this class as there is for the other classes, a player may choose this job in Payon.

• Gunslinger
  • Guild: Gunslinger Guild, Einbroch(que_ng 149 167)
  • Combat Style: Ranged Combatant

The second of the Extended Classes, gunslingers use guns and bullets of all varieties to inflict damage upon their enemies from a distance. There are no second jobs for the gunslinger job and gunslingers are unable to transcend, but to make up for this the maximum job level for gunslingers is 70 rather than the usual 50. They have many disadvantages when compared with other ranged classes; gunslingers have lower attack power while using higher ASPD weapons (gatling gun, and revolver), or lower attacking speed when using higher attack power weapons (shotgun, and grenade launcher), however they have the biggest attack modifiers compared to their counterparts. They were implemented into iRO on January, 2007 as part of Episode 10.4 Hugel.

• Ninja
  • Guild: Ninja Guild, Amatsu(amatsu 45 137)
  • Combat Style: Ranged/Melee Combatant, Offensive Spellcaster

The third of the Extended Classes, ninja, specialize in using a combination of elemental magic of the three primary elements and throwing kunai and shuriken at their enemies. There is some confusion on the usage of shuriken. Two types of shurikens are available to ninjas, the standard throwing shuriken that act like arrows and the Fuuma Shuriken, a large shuriken used as a permanent weapon. Like gunslingers, there are no second jobs for ninja and they cannot transcend. They are compensated for this by having a maximum job level of 70 rather than the normal 50. They were implemented into iRO on January, 2007 as part of Episode 10.4 Hugel.

[edit] 2-1 Jobs

• Knight
  • Guild: Prontera Chivalry, Prontera
  • Combat Style: Melee Combatant

As the 2-1 job for swordsman, the power of knights lies in their incredible durability and physical strength. Knights may specialize in either spear or sword attacks. Many of the knight skills are applicable only to a particular weapon class such as spear or sword. The knight's two hand quicken greatly increases their two handed sword attack speed and their counter attack skill can enable them to kill opponents without receiving damage. Knights can learn to ride on a Peco Peco to increase their movement speed. They generally do not use magic in the typical sense, using their SP for special combat skills or for abilities that increase their combat worthiness such as endurance.

• Wizard
  • Guild: Wizard Guild, Geffen
  • Combat Style: Offensive Spellcaster

Just as the knight improves on the physical aspect of the swordsman, so does the wizard improve upon the magical aspect of the magician. The wizard is the master of arcane magic, existing solely to bend all four of the basic elements to his or her will. The wizard's goal is to increase the amount of damage he or she is able to do, and this is reflected in the large number of additional spells at the wizard's disposal. Wizards are extremely offensive spell casters. They specialize in causing damage with Area of Effect (AoE) spells, such as summoning a snow storm (Storm Gust) to damage multiple targets at once. Though the wizard's AoE spells have long cast times, the high amounts of damage make up for the long wait.

• Hunter
  • Guild: Hunter Guild, Payon Forest Hugel
  • Combat Style: Ranged Combatant

While the affinity with nature is all but absent in the archer class that precedes it, the hunter is as pure a ranger as they come. Making use of traps and a pet falcon, hunters rely on creatively dispatching their enemies rather than melee combat. The location of the Hunter guild has been moved to Hugel as of Episode 10.4 Hugel.

• Blacksmith
  • Guild: Blacksmith Association, Geffen Einbroch
  • Combat Style: Melee Combatant

The blacksmith is the 2-1 job option for merchants. Like alchemists, blacksmiths focus on the production of items, although whereas alchemists produce potions, blacksmiths produce weapons and refines material. The weapon production skills are complemented by an array of skills meant to boost physical attack power, maximizing damage, dealing perfect damage to any monster type providing an overall well-rounded melee combat class. The supportive skills of the Blacksmith which is shared to party members can give an entire party added power and advantages. The location of the Blacksmith guild was moved to Einbroch as of Episode 10.4 Hugel.

• Priest
  • Guild: Prontera Sanctuary, Prontera
  • Combat Style: Supportive Spellcaster and/or Melee Combatant

Priests are the logical extension of the "full support" acolyte. With a large amount of supportive magic at their disposal, priests are strong support characters in a party. Some priests have chosen to take a path similar to that of a monk, though due to the addition of the latter class, this has been less common. As a priest of the church, they can also eliminate undead/demon monsters with their Exorcism skills (such as Magnus Exorcismus and Turn Undead).

• Assassin
  • Guild: Assassin Guild, Sograt Desert
  • Combat Style: Melee Combatant

Whereas rogues focus on the brigand aspect of the thief class, assassins focus on the killing aspect. Assassins (and their transcended Assassins Cross) are the only class able to equip a weapon in each hand and the exclusive users of Katar weapons. Assassins, unlike rogues, have a variety of damage dealing and poisoning skills. The assassin (and assassin cross) are the only people who can walk faster than others without the use of Increase Agility, as long as they leveled the proper skill, (Thief's Improve Dodge) in addition, assassin (and assassin cross) is the only job that can dual-wield two one-handed weapon at the same time. The katar wielding Assassins also receives a certain advantage in the game that are not given to any other job. Katar users are given double amount of critical hit. Therefore, whatever amount of critical rate Assassins have, it would always be doubled meaning that they only need 45-50 critical hit to achieve Perfect Critical damaging.

• Taekwon Master
  • Guild: (None),Payon (Location of job change NPC)
  • Combat Style: Melee Combatant

Known as Kwonsung, Star Knight or Star Gladiator in other localizations, these are Taekwons who have mastered their skills, and can convert a book's power. The Taekwon Master can use various skills to get an advantage on certain maps or versus monsters. Possible advantages include increased experience gains from monsters, improved attack/defence, or other improved stats.

[edit] 2-2 Jobs

• Crusader
  • Guild: Prontera Castle, Prontera
  • Combat Style: Melee Combatant and Supportive Spellcaster

The disparity between crusaders and knights is similar to the disparity between priests and monks in that there are two distinctly different ways to play as the first job, the swordman. In the case of the crusader, the swordman is willing to forgo some of the benefits of being a perfect physical warrior in order to gain the use of holy and supportive magic. In addition, crusaders adopt the use of shields and one-handed swords, a tactic all but absent among knights, due to the preference for two-handed swords or spears in the skill set of the knight class. The Crusader is also the only job in the game aside from Paladin to permanently increase total hp by learning a skill. Like knights, crusaders may also learn to ride on a Peco Peco.

• Sage
  • Guild: Sage Academy, Juno
  • Combat Style: Supportive Spellcaster and/or Mageknight Combatant

While wizards gain additional spells and an increased potential to cause damage, sages gain skills such as the ability to cancel spells mid-cast or to move while charging to increase the versatility and usability of the spells they already possess. Sages also have the ability to enchant the ground with a spell called Magnetic Earth (Land protector in other localizations), preventing all AoE (Area of Effect) magic from causing damage. Sages are useful during WoE because of their supportive magic and abilities to stop wizards, whom are potentially dangerous in WoE situations because of their AoE skills. Sages are extremely different from wizards because of their abilities to cancel and absorb magic. They are the anti-form of the wizard, built to manipulate magic to their own bidding and prevent it from hurting others. They can also fight in close combat while attacking with magic and casting at the same time through the form of Free Cast and Auto Cast, making this talent very dangerous in the right hands.

• Bard
  • Guild: None, Comodo (Location of job change NPC)
  • Combat Style: Supportive Spellcaster and Ranged or Melee Combatant

The 2-2 Job for male archers, bards are the musicians of Rune-Midgard. Unlike archers, who were ranged attackers, bards are a much more supportive class, using their music to increase the power of the other members of their party. Bards act very much like Paladins would in other games. They provide Auras that can increase health, increase damage or decrease damage taken, shorten cast times, etc. Their effectiveness is increased if a Dancer is partied along. One can adopt the bard job in Comodo.

• Dancer
  • Guild: Dancer Guild, Comodo
  • Combat Style: Supportive Spellcaster and Ranged or Melee Combatant

The 2-2 job for female archers, dancers are the visual accompaniment to the music of the bard. The dancer class is very similar to the bard yet has skills with very different effects, although if both are present in a party their ability to improve the party's strength is even greater still. Dancers act very much like Paladins would in other games; however totally different from bard in terms of solo dance/sing and job bonus stat. They provide Auras that can decrease mp usage, increases hit, or increases critical rates, also decreaes enemies' ASPD and attack speed, etc. Their effectiveness is increased if a Bard is partied along. One can adopt the dancer job in Comodo.

• Alchemist
  • Guild: Alchemist Association, Al de Baran
  • Combat Style: Offensive and Supportive Spellcaster/Summoner

The 2-2 job for merchants, alchemists possess a markedly different playing style than the more physical merchant and blacksmith classes, relying more on the usage of summoning monsters or using attack items to cause damage than melee combat. Alchemists also possess the ability to create potions similar to the way blacksmiths are able to create weapons and armor. As of Episode 10.2 Lighthalzen, implemented into iRO in March 2006, Alchemists are able to summon Homunculi to fight for them, greatly increasing the combat-worthiness of the class.

• Rogue
  • Guild: Paros Lighthouse, Comodo Field
  • Combat Style: Melee or Ranged Combatant

Whereas assassins focus specifically on the combat aspect of thieves, rogues focus more on continuing the development of one's capacity for law-breaking behavior, from improving the ability to steal from monsters through the use of Gank to the flagrant vandalism of the Scribble skill. A notable difference between the Assassin and Rogue is the set of "Divest" skills, used to remove equipment from enemy players, the skill improves once the Rogue becomes a Stalker.

• Monk
  • Guild: St. Capitolina Abbey, Prontera Field
  • Combat Style: Melee Combatant or Offensive Spellcaster

Unlike priests, which focus on supporting warriors of other sorts, monks take their acolyte supportive abilities and apply them to become better warriors themselves. A much more violent and melee-oriented class than priests, monks are not a particularly party-friendly class, as they generally do not have the ability to support anyone other than themselves, though they are very good at this task. Nonetheless, as the class is open to interpretation by the players who take it, there are players who have chosen to forgo this mold and be an active members of parties, regardless of their class's general inability to support other warriors. Their Asura Strike (Extremity Fist or Guillotine Fist in some version) is the most powerful neutral propertied single attack in the game.

• Soul Linker
  • Guild: None, Morroc (Location of job change NPC)
  • Combat Style: Offensive and/or Supportive Spellcaster

Soul Linkers are taekwon boys and taekwon girls who have given up the martial art in favor of the continued development of their spiritual abilities. While they lose their ability to use taekwondo kicks in combat, the skills of this job focus on maximizing the ability of other classes either by bestowing, temporarily, additional skills upon them or enhancing the potency ones they already have. Like taekwon boys, taekwon girls and taekwon masters, there is no formal guild for soul linkers. Since they call on the ancient spirits of legendary warriors, it takes huge amounts of SP even an accomplished soul linker with the prodigy to talk to the dead gets exhausted.

[edit] Transcendent Classes

There are those who passed the test given to them by the messenger of the gods: the Valkyrie. Their prize is to be reborn, and to be taught by the gods themselves in their second life on Midgard.

• Lord Knight: Even stronger, some Knight's lust for strength leads them down the path of a Berserker where their rage consumes them until death. Others manage to calm themselves before death takes them. As always, these men of strength are always at the front lines of the king's army. Their Spiral Pierce gives incredible amounts of damage by using their spear's weight. They can also increase their minimum damage and hit rate with skill. Parrying also enables Two handed sword Lord Knights to negate most melee attacks.

• Assassin Cross: An elite group of Assassins who are taught a secret technique: poisoning themselves to strengthen their body. More agile than the normal Assassins, they are very powerful with their devastating Soul Destroyer (Soul Breaker) and splash damaging Meteor Assault which is both based on the INT and STR stats of the player.

• Biochemist (Creator): A bit of a darker side of Alchemists. With their powerful potions, they now use the skills Acid Bomb (Acid Demonstration) to deal high damage to those with high VIT and Full Chemical Protection to help stop their equipment from being destroyed by others. This class is known as Creator in other localizations.

• Champion: Though given another chance by the gods, the monks once again turn to training their physical strength and ignoring the call to help others. Now with the power of the gods, they are able to strike and kill in one hit. The combo capabilities of Champion is far more powerful than Monks. Champions can now call five spirits all at once. They can pull off the deadly Guillotine Fist (Asura Strike) faster than Monks, and deliver a devastating palm strike. Champions are truly a powerful class and deadly killer with a cost of restricted neutral propertied based physical attack.

• Gypsy: With more lithe and agile bodies granted by the gods (notice the AGI stat and the flee rate formula remains the same (base level + agi + equipments = flee rate) ), Gypsies are hard to resist especially when one begins her dance. Not a single drop of sweat can be seen. Every dance and movement seemingly effortless. Graceful dance is her specialty, dancing gracefully to lure the monster to its death with the newly acquired Arrow Vulcan and tarot card of fate skills.

• High Priest: Despite the many skills taught to them by the Priests of Prontera Church, they still need to learn a few more from the gods themselves. Now able to create areas where no violence may occur, they are able to heal more, bless more and serve even more. They are truly a gift from the gods.

• High Wizard: Once a wizard is taught secrets from the gods, they become one of the Elite. They deal even more damage than before. Wreaking havoc in battle, they kill faster with their damage enhancing skills.

• Whitesmith (Mastersmith): Stronger versions of Blacksmiths, they forge more and now allowed refine weapons (but not armors). They are the only job in the game to upgrade weapons with a bit higher chances than NPC's based on their job level. The +10 weapons can be easily achieved by Mastersmiths. They deal larger amounts of damage with High Speed Cart Ram (Cart Termination)(with a cost of certain amounts of zeny) and can destroy their enemies armor and weapons. They can power up themselves with bigger amounts of money in the form of Maximum Overthrust. This job is known as Mastersmith in other localizations.

• Minstrel (Clown): Taught new songs by the gods themselves, Minstrels are now a powerful class. They are able to enchant the enemy with different music and deal large amounts of damage with Melody Strike before the effect wears out. Minstrel and Gypsy job can also give half their stats to a supported character enabling the supported fighter to increase their damage. This job is known as Clown in other localizations.

• Paladin: An even stronger version of Crusaders. They now have skills such as Pressure to deal damage to those who disbelieve in God and Gospels (Battle Chant) of God to help themselves and their friends. They can use Martyr's Reckoning to increase their offensive capabilities in exchange for their life or use Rapid Smiting which depends on the STR and the weight of the shield.

• Scholar (Professor): The blend of supportive and offensive properties of Sages are raised up to a whole new level for Scholars. Instead of focusing on the offensive aspect of magic, scholars are able to support other people by being able to convert their health into SP using a skill called Indulge (HP Conversion). Scholars can also trade their SP for another player's using Soul Exhale (Soul Exchange), which is useful for party members and allies that are low on SP. Scholars can even destroy the SP of enemies and damage them using Soul Siphon (Soul Burn)(also with a chance to destroy their own and damage themselves back). This attack causes mental damage to the opponent and completely reduces their SP to zero, preventing them from using their abilities. Scholars have a myriad of magical skills that are useful for many different situations. The power of the Scholar can be advanced in magemelee and magic combat through the skill Double Casting which enables them to use the same spell twice without using SP. This class is known as Professor in other localizations.

• Sniper: Snipers are the advanced class of Hunters. No longer focused on merely bows and arrows nor traps, they are now focusing on their lifelong friend, the falcon. When friendship strengthens, so does their power. They also have skills that amplify their bow mastery, as well as piercing arrow skills.

• Stalker: Stalkers are masters of hiding and stealth. Improve Concentrations, True Sight, Ruwach, Sight and even falcons' detecting skills can never detect a hidden Stalker by using their skill Stalk (Chase Walk). They can be right behind you and you would never know. They were originally trained to spy upon the Assassins for the Rogue guild but refusing, they now roam alone through the lands. As a Stalker, you can remove all pieces of gear that a character has on temporarily by using a skill called Full Strip (Full Divest) which can remove an opponent's headgear, armor, shield, and weapon all at once with a low chance.

A player will change jobs multiple times over the course of playing, though the number of changes will be determined by choices made by the player.^[7] A job change after or an alternate to transcendent class is mentioned to be released in 2008.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Player vs. Player (PvP)

Player vs. Player in Ragnarok Online takes place on series of maps identical to the game's major towns but devoid of all exits and non-player characters. Access to these maps is restricted to players level 31 and above and comes in two modes: Yoyo Mode and Nightmare Mode. The primary difference between the two modes concerns the penalties for dying; Yoyo Mode has no penalty for death, while Nightmare Mode has the experience point loss and item loss penalties that exist on all non-PvP maps.^[8]

[edit] War of Emperium

Also known as the "Guild War," for two hours on any day of the week (depending on the server) an event called War of Emperium (commonly abbreviated "WoE") takes place. Guilds that have obtained the Seal of Approval skill may attempt to enter and gain control of a series of castles available in-game. On the fourth floor of each castle lies the Emperium; if a guild breaks another guild's Emperium, that guild gains control of the castle. If a guild can maintain control of a castle until the end of the War of Emperium it will retain control until the next War of Emperium and may gain a variety of benefits for victory, including access to special 'Guild Dungeons', which give the members of the holding guild a definite advantage in gaining experience and items.^[9] During War of Emperium hours, the castle maps are set in PvP mode and behave much the same as the standard PvP maps with a few exceptions, in particular the lack of damage indicators and a large decrease to the effectiveness of magic, skills, and ranged attacks. War of Emperium is the most popular feature of the game^[10] and most players participate in it at least once per week.^[11]

[edit] Guild Point System

As a unique feature for iRO (International Ragnarok Online) the Guild Point System allows guilds who fully defend their castle for the full 2 hours of War of Emperium, to obtain guild points. The point distribution is as follows:

• - 3 points can be earned every Wed/Sat for a guild that can successfully own and defend a castle for the full 2 hour WoE period.
• - 5 points can be earned by a guild that is able to hit a point where they have 50 econ or 100 econ on a castle. Each guild can obtain this bonus point only once during a 3 month period.
• - 10 points can be earned by a guild that is able to hold a castle with 100 econ for 20 consecutive WoE days. Each guild can obtain this bonus point only once during a 6 month period.^[12]

These points are added up after a 3/6 month cycle and guilds who have the highest amount of points are given rare and valuable items. Players keep track of their guilds progress on the official website. Not only can players see how well their guild is doing, but they can also keep track of other guilds that may be gaining a lead. Guilds are able to increase their point intake by controlling more castles at once. This requires a large and organized guild, but can overall be very worthwhile.

At the end of a 3 month cycle the 3 point leaders for each server will be given a single God Item Piece for the castle in which they currently hold or held to obtain their points for that 3 month period. The top 5 guilds will also be given 5 Bloody Dead Branch items.

At the end of a 6 month cycle the top 6 point leaders for each server will be given the chance to participate in a Team PvP Tournament to further win rare items and rewards and a spot in the final rounds of the next year's USRC. The top 2 teams will be invited to the cross server battles and would not need to participate in the same server battles.^[13]

[edit] Audio

Main article: The memory of RAGNAROK

The background music of Ragnarok Online currently consists of 124 individual tracks (Track numbers start at 1 and end at 125 but number 32 is missing), composed, arranged, recorded and mixed by SoundTeMP and Hankook Recording Studio, with some tracks by NEOCYON. The game's music spans a wide variety of genres and musical styles, including trance, techno, jazz, rock, and orchestral. New tracks are added to the soundtrack as with every new area added to the game world.

A limited edition two-disc original soundtrack, titled The memory of RAGNAROK, was released in 2006. The album features vocal arrangements of certain pieces, performed by Lee Seung-Yeon, Lee Jeong-Hee and Seo Ji-Hae. The album's booklet features text in Korean, Chinese, English, and Japanese.^[14]

[edit] Ragnarok Mobile

Gravity Co. Ltd. released 8 separate games for the mobile phone allowing players to experience the game on the road. Each version focuses on the main aspect of the acolyte, thief, merchant, mage, archer, and swordsmen class based on the version of the game they have. Players are able to advance their characters using the attributes STR, AGI, VIT, LUK, INT, and DEX. Though not placed in the server, players control their character and complete a series of quests or tasks. As players earn zeny, (the in-game currency), they are able to send the zeny to their real accounts. Along with that, a ranking is present where characters are ranked by the amount of zeny the character has. ^[15]

[edit] Kafra Shop

The Kafra Shop was added to iRO (International Ragnarok Online) on June 19th 2007. Users are able to purchase Kafra Credit Points with U.S. dollars as a currency for the special items limited to the Kafra Shop. Payment for Kafra Credit Points can be made directly through Paypal, and/or can be acquired as a bonus for paying the already necessary monthly subscription. The transaction fees are as follows:

Product	Price
500 Points	4.99 USD
1050 Points	9.99 USD
1650 Points	14.99 USD
2300 Points	19.99 USD
5200 Points	39.99 USD

As of June 19th 2007, users are able to purchase consumable items, boxes, and evolved/exclusive headgears. All of the items present are able to be kept forever except the consumable items, which disappear after each use. This service appears on other servers of Ragnarok Online such as jRO (Japanese Ragnarok Online), idRO (Indonesian Ragnarok Online) and kRO (Korean Ragnarok Online). In addition, upgraded forms of normal equipment can be rented using kafra points. This equipment and weapons can be rented for up to 7days before they disappear, and they cannot be refined, and neither do they have any slots for the compounding of cards.^[16]

[edit] See also

• Ragnarok The Animation, an Anime based on the game
• Gravity Corp.
• Level Up! Games
• Ragnarok, a Manhwa that served as basis for the game
• Ragnarok Online 2, a sequel to the game
• Ragnarok Battle Offline, a doujin brawler
• Ragnarök Online DS, a Nintendo DS game based on the MMORPG

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Ragnarok Online Official Site

[edit] Game archive and review sites

• Ragnarok Online at MobyGames
• Ragnarok Online at GameFAQs
• Ragnarok Online at Metacritic