Hey guys, this is pinoyGR looking to another MMORPG that has been suggested for a review. This time its MU Online, I’ve been hearing about this game for a while now but didn’t pay to much attention as I first judge it by its cover and that’s where I got it wrong because this game might take your time too.

MU Online is a 3D medieval fantasy MMORPG, produced by Webzen, a Korean gaming company. In the Philippines, the pay to play (P2P) version is distributed by Digital Media Exchange through the company Mobius Games.

Although graphics is not such a big thing here it might be an advantage to those pinoy gamers that doesn’t have those high-end PC. The sound is also great but ang pinagmamalaki ng MU is its simple gameplay, yep.. sometimes simplicity can be good.

Gameplay

As with many MMORPGs you select a character and fight monsters to gain experience. MU is populated by a large variety of monsters, from simple ones like goblins to frightening ones such as the Elite Yeti or Gorgon. Each monster-type is unique, has different spawn points, and drops different items. For more information regarding monster types and descriptions, refer to the Official MU Online Philippine Webpage

Outlaws and Heroes

Outside of a duel, PvP fighting is possible but discouraged. When one player attacks another, a self-defense system is activated, in which the attacked player may kill the aggressor within a time limit. Self-defense is also activated when a player attacks an Elf’s summoned creature. If one player kills another without Self-defense active, he/she becomes an Outlaw, more commonly known in-game as “Player Killer” or PK. Outlaws have disadvantages during game play, depending on his Outlaw level.

To clear Outlaw status, the character must wait a significant amount of time without killing other players. The wait can be shortened by killing large number of monsters, which is generally done in one of the servers that does not permit PvP attacks, to avoid being attacked by another person. The amount of time reduced from the outlaw penalty is equal to the monster’s level in seconds, and depending on the number of monsters killed, the penalty time may be dramatically decreased.

A Hero is a character that has killed three or more 2nd Stage Outlaws since logging into the account. The Heroes have a 1/32 chance of dropping items at death and will lose less experience when killed by a mob. The Hero status clears in one hour, though the timer is reset back to one hour after every PK killed. To become a Hero, you must kill three 2nd Stage Outlaws without letting them hit you. If Self-Defense activates, the kill doesn’t count to become a Hero.

Quests

Quests – Like almost any other massive multiplayer online game mu online have quests. But it is quite different from others as most of the items for the quest are easily found and therefore not much of a challenge. After completing it you will be rewarded by an upper class depending on your level and class type. You must have a certain level pertaining to your class in order to start the quest. Mu online however is quite challenging and takes a long time to level, although it is one of the most vigorous game out there.

Storyline

The game is centered on the conflict between 3 races (descendants of the now extinct human race) in their bid to control precious resources, and their desire to advance their respective agendas through any means necessary. There are three different races:

• Accretia – A race of cyborgs who were forced to turn to artificial bodies due to the harsh environment on their home planet. Now they have forsaken flesh in their pursuit of perfection and they scorn every flesh being in the universe. Their metallic bodies are the toughest in the game and their technology is the most superior but they have no access to magic. Reestablished as The Empire, Accretia entered the Novus conflict against both Cora and Bellato.
• Bellato – Due to the intense gravity on their home planet, the Bellato are the smallest people. They are a race of inventors that are able to combine creative tools and weapons with the Light form of universal magic. The Bellato enter the war as the least physically capable and yet given their ingenuity they have the potential to become the strongest. Before they became the Bellato Union, however, they were the Bellato Empire, who seized control after the Cora civil war but were beaten by the Accretians. Under such sustained attacks they fell from power, yet they have bided their time until they can become a force to be reckoned with once again.
• Cora – They are an ancient race that scorn technology. Highly spiritual and gifted with natural magical abilities, Corites regard themselves as the highest form of creation. Their magical arts are far more superior to that of which the Bellato practice. Their god is Decem, whom they believed had given Corites their powers as well as their mission to subjugate all other forms of life in his name and to rid the galaxy of technology. The Holy Alliance of Cora was thus born to carry out their crusade.

Race-specific abilities

Each race has a unique, powerful ability:

• Launcher System: The Accretian launcher is an enormous ranged weapon the size and power of which make it unusable by any other race. Launchers can fire missiles across great distances and are capable of firing many different types of rockets with either physical or elemental damage properties. However, there is a great delay period between shots but this delay can be overcome by using launcher specific armour. Accretians have the additional ability to enter siege mode, increasing fire rate but disallowing motion. Launchers can only be used at levels 15 and above and Siege Kits can only be used at levels 30 and above. There are currently two different Siege Kits: the level 30 kit is good for 1000 shots and increases defence by 20%, the level 40 kit is good for 1500 shots and increases attack power by 35%. After a Siege Kit runs out of durability it is destroyed and the player has to buy a new one.
  • Latest upgrade of the siege kit is the Epochal Siege Kit(level 50), A.K.A red siege kit. There are 2 types, the attack kit(1000 shots) and the defense kit(2000 shots).**
• Massive Armour Unit (MAU): Bellato have the ability to pilot MAUs. MAUs are large, heavily armoured and well armed mecha. They come in two main varieties: Catapult and Goliath. Catapult MAUs use ranged weaponry while Goliath MAUs use melee weapons. MAUs are very durable, but the pilot cannot use skills or magic while riding them. A player must switch to the Driver class at level 30 to operate a MAU. The player can purchase up to 4 MAUs from the MAU Dealer NPC. These MAUs can be upgraded (by paying a fee) according to the player character’s level and UNIT PT; the higher the UNIT PT and level of the player, the more upgrades available to their MAU. The level 40 MAU upgrades change the color of the MAU’s armour to black leading to the nickname of Black MAUs or BMAUs. MAUs also costs the most to maintain out of all the equipment, due to them not being able to self heal and thus requiring the player to pay a heavy repair fee. A normal MAU can cost around 1.3 million dalant to replace/upgrade and a Black MAU can cost up to 10 million dalant.
  • Last upgrade of the MAU is a Red MAU unit.
• Animus: Decem has granted the Cora the ability to summon creatures called animus. Animus appear and can help the Corite who summoned it and its allies by attacking, healing, tanking or stunning opponents. Only a Cora who chooses the Summoner class at level 30 or a specialist who chooses the Artist class at lvl 40 can summon Animus (for Summoners) or Sealed-Animus (for Artists). An Animus has its own HP/FP and exp which are individual from the player’s own stats. A player must level each Animus individually. When an Animus is summoned, a window displaying the Animus HP/FP and Exp is displayed. This window also has an order tab which the player can use to make the animus attack or heal whatever the player is targeting. The 4 Animus are Paimon (close range combat and tank), Hecate (force attack and stun), Inanna (healing), Isis (powerful physical attack). When a player is promoted to the Summoner class they receive a free level 25 Animus reaver of Paimon, Inanna or Hecate. These 3 can also be bought from the Force Mentor NPC. Isis can only be obtained from a Turncoat monster drop or by being promoted to the Graizer class at level 40.

Last Evolution Of Isis Animus is the Red Isis.

Classes

Brawler

Using their fists to fight are called Brawlers. Brawlers focus on fighting with their hands using gauntlets, where they learn to channel their kinetic energy into lightning-quick pugilistic attacks. There are “Boxers” (dexterity based fighters), students who focus on hand speed tend to rely on the violent volume of their rapid-fire, two-fisted strikes to knock out their opponents. In contrast, “Brawlers” (power based fighters) who minor in Kick Strikes concentrate on their kicking power, which may be slower and more deliberate, but deal more damage. For these Brawlers, one spinning leg strike, delivered with powerful precision, is often all they need to end a fight. Furthermore there are “Warlocks” (intelligence based fighters) who disdain most physical skills and opt to focus primarily on “ki” energies and form them into powerful blast from their palms and the rest of their body. This type attacks the slowest but use their body to create massive AoE (area of effect) skills the fastest of any class and has a pow increase buff. Fighters are primarily damage dealers and offer the highest SP rate in the game and have moderately high pow and hp and are decent to low everywhere else. They are a popular class to start out with. They are the tallest characters in the game.

Swordsman

Students who use swords and blades are called Swordmen. By honing their dexterity, some Swordsmen choose to minor in Blades, using these lighter, shorter weapons to create a higher defense radius for themselves, where they can thrust and parry with ease and flow, even as they sacrifice low base damage and attack with rapid intensity. Some Swordsmen, on the other hand, choose to use Broadswords. This focus limits their defensive abilities but also multiplies their offensive output, so that when an opponent does meet the end of their blade, the blow is swift, clean, and most of all, final. Pow versions of this weapon create massive damage through the use of combos and are purely close range fighters. The intelligence version of a swordman (often dubbed the Juggernaut) also uses broadswords and deliver powerful magic attacks from a distance. Their focus is a mix of magic attacks and sword attacks to use “waves” to attack enemies. They are known to summon elements from the sky. They also have the 2nd most sought after buff “Tranquility” which increases defense of each party member. Int swordsmen however unlike other classes don’t have a level 127 skill so many would prefer to change their int type swordsmen to dex or pow types. Swordmen offer a nice array of stats rounded more towards pow and defense, having the best of these stats in the game as well as hp often arguably the best as well. They are designed to be the “tank” class and are most popular for new players as they wield long blades. Either minor is equally formidable in higher grade levels but be warned for those who major in Swordsmanship, theirs is a life lived not only on the edge but by the edge.

Archer

The one who use bow and arrow are called Archers. Archery students can choose to minor in Short Bows, which produce higher minimum damage to start off with and are extremely accurate; or Long Bows, which deal higher maximum damage at higher grade levels but can be prone to misses. With short bow archers (dex reliant), they focus on fast attacks that disrupt enemy attack patterns. They have the best evasion in the game and further it with a party buff that increases evasion (Evasive Chant). This type is most popular in archers as it offers decent damage, high chance of evasion, and easy to duel others. Long bow type archers are the least popular class in the game. They are the hardest to level up as they have low defense and evasion (more so that other non-dex classes) and the 2nd lowest hp in the game. Their skills are very slow and have no skills that benefit a team. As they progress they gain skills that disrupt enemy movement and maintain their high damage as well as their slow attack speed. This class is often dubbed “broken”. The intelligence archer is another unpopular class but the range of it’s popularity varies. This type uses bows to attack in a large area either around them or in front of them. They have decent to slow attack speed and low physical damage but are a great asset to a group on higher levels. Little is known about this class as there are few players to attain a high level with this class, and fewer still that play them. Archers spend money on arrows much like any other game and may find themselves short stocked. One advantage to archers is in having a strong bow, they can also buy stronger arrows which can further their attack damage.

Qigong

Students who use wands or spears as their weapon. Accomplished Shamans can sway the fate of entire battles with a myriad of skills and abilities. Shamans can opt to be pow-type which are masters in spears. Pow-type shamans have heightened attack power but can cast limited spells due to limited int stats. Int type shamans are mavericks in magic and can cast powerful healing and buffering spells to support their party and to increase their defense and health points. These type of shamans are known to be full-support shamans. This build only has 5 attack spells. Most of their stat points go to int and they favor using a wand over a spear. The third type of shaman is an attack shaman. This type also uses a wand and distributes most of its stat point to int. However most of the skills they have focus on attacking and less on support. Their attacks are mostly wide-ranged and deals a great amount of damage to the most number of mobs. It always helps to have Shamans in your party because, as you will realize soon enough during your tenure on campus, the balance of your existence may depend on them. Healing shamans “Fs” are the game nurses. They offer the most buffs of any class and are the only ones that can heal. FSs only have 5 attack spells which makes it difficult for them to accomplish quests on their own. Spear Qigong deal out high damage the fastest of any class in the game. Some players start by being an FS and once they gained enough levels they shift their build to that of a pow-shaman.