The Legend of Mir 3
| Legend of Mir 3 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | WeMade Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | WeMade Entertainment, Shanda, Softworld, Eye Entertainment, Optic Communication, Quality Games Online (QGO) |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release | October, 2004 |
| Genre(s) | Massively multiplayer online role-playing game |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
The Legend of Mir 3 was a sprite based isometric 3-D massively multiplayer online role-playing game, developed by WeMade Entertainment. It is a sequel to The Legend of Mir 2.
The game remains largely unchanged from the previous version, with the exception of the graphics being upgraded from 8-bit to 16-bit. There is also improved player customization, far larger maps, and a revamped quest system.
Like its predecessor The Legend of Mir 2, The Legend of Mir 3 is hugely popular in China and South Korea. It has been certified by the Guinness Book of Records for having 750,000 subscribers online
Characters
Warrior
Warriors are a class of great strength and vitality. They are not easily killed in battle and have the advantage of being able to use a variety of heavy weapons and armour. Therefore, warriors favour attacks that are based on melee physical damage. They are weak in ranged attacks, however the variety of equipment that is developed specifically for Warriors complement their weakness in ranged combat. Warrior uses 'DC' [Damage Class(melee attack)] to kill the enemy. They have high HP (health points), high AC ("Armour Class" Defense from melee attacks) and have very little MP (Mana points) and low MR (Magic Resistance).
Warriors are recommended for beginners because of their simple yet destructive abilities.
Wizard
Wizards are a class of low strength and vitality, but have the ability to use powerful spells. Their offensive spells are very effective, but because it takes time to cast these spells, they are likely to leave themselves open for enemy attacks. Therefore, Wizards must aim to attack their enemies from a safe distance. Wizards are difficult to level in the early stages of the game, but grow into powerful characters as they learn additional spells. They use magic attacks such as "Frozen Earth" or "Ice Blades". They use 'MC' [Magic Charm (Ranged Magic)]. They have a wide variety of elements to choose from and use on their opponents or monsters. Elemental weaknesses are key to wizards. They have AoE (Area Of Effect) attacks as well as mass attacks. Wizards have low HP (hit points), Extremely high MP (Mana points), High MR (Magic Resistance) but low AC (Melee Defense).
Because of their many advantages and disadvantages, Wizards are a character that require a lot of attention.
Taoist
Taoists are well disciplined in the study of Astronomy, Medicine and others aside from Mu-Gong. Rather than directly engaging their enemies, their speciality lies in assisting their allies from the rear. Taoists can summon powerful creatures and have high resistances to magic and is a class with well balanced offensive and defensive abilities. Even though Taoists have many abilities, their lack of physical attack powers makes them difficult to level up. In order to overcome the slow leveling process, they must look for others to group with, and above all, have the desire to help others.
The Taoist is a support class. Similar to a priest, the taoist can heal and bless. Healing is one very important aspect of the game. Taoists throw talismans and poison. They focus on two key elements, Holy and Dark. They can also resurrect the dead, a very useful skill. Taoists are considered the hardest and most complex class to play. Taoists use 'SC' (Soul Charm), which is a balance between magic and melee attacks, and can be used to increase the amount of damage and skill use. Taoists have Balanced MP (Mana points) + HP (hit points) as well as Balance MR (Magic Resistance) + AC (melee Defense).
Unlike its predecessor, Taoists are a lot more powerful, thanks to more useful magic and greater durability, i.e. they can make themselves totally invisible using a skill at level 43. This helps them to evade monsters easily, or launch surprise attacks in the Wall wars (guild war system < battle for a walled town/city).
Assassin
A new class which was introduced in 2008 on the Korean version of Legend of Mir 3. The Assassin class is now also available on the Global Server since it launched on April 23, 2009. Assassins are members of a secret organization, for assassinations had not been recorded in history for a long time. They're capable of hiding themselves and performing attacks while being unseen by others, which naturally makes them excellent at making fast kills. It is necessary for them to avoid being in battles with many enemies, for their weak vitality and strength. Once their reach a certain level, they can specialize in PVP (player vs. player combat) or hunting monsters.
Assassins are recommended for experienced players, as they require smart moves, as well as wise decisions.
Closure
Despite the game's appeal, it was announced 09/12/2011 that the server for Legend of Mir 3 will be closing as of February 2012. This marks the end of an official server for Europe/USA.
History
Unauthorized Communities
Private servers have been and continue to be a large issue for the official operation of the game. Two years after the release of The Legend of Mir 2 a community of players obtained software required to operate unauthorized game servers; giving rise to large uniquely modified variants of the game. At release The Legend of Mir 3 was designed so similarly to it's predecessor it allowed for the community to slowly manipulate old software to support it too. This has continued to present day where a number of popular private game servers have emerged across the world with completely rewritten game client and server software. While the software created has been written in other programming languages and without use of the original source code they still rely on copyrighted images and sounds from the original game.
Murder
In 2005, a dispute between two Chinese players of the game erupted into murder. Qiu Chengwei, who had won an in-game virtual sword, had lent the sword to his friend, Zhu Caoyuan, who then sold the sword on eBay for 7200 yuan ($870). This enraged Qiu who then stabbed Zhu to death.[1][2]
Notes
- ↑ Chinese gamer sentenced to life, 8 June 2005, BBC, retrieved at 2013-09-24
- ↑ Online Games Sell Shockingly Pricey Stuff, Jul 17, 2013, Discovery News, retrieved at 2013-09-24