The Saga of Ryzom

I spent quite a bit of time yesterday just running around getting familiar with the game again. I thoroughly enjoyed exploring Silan getting to know my adversaries. I decided to hunt some mobs for mats for crafting. The crafting in Ryzom is second only to SWG. Very indepth and allows for a lot of experimentation as well. So after crafting some very nice QL 30 swords and a few knives, i finally picked up my jewelry crafting skill.

I helped a few people do some quests and did some healing for a couple groups, then it was off to the jungle for some questing of my own.

I decided to start a new toon and play for the newb island so I could get the hand of this again. It's been a very long time for me, but I'm enjoying every minute of it.

SO! I would have to say crafting and exploring are my favorite things I like most in Ryzom. What's yours??

Roleplaying with the unique lore.

My favorite thing about Ryzom, by far, is the people who play it.

Digging hard to get at Q250 Sup mats and hunting named MOBs

I started. I'm barely level 11 in melee and 10 in magic and havent done craft or havest quests yet.

But so far I'd say it is pretty bad ass. I'm looking forward to making my own gear and racial and or FFA PVP sounds very nice. It's cool that they give pve and pvp options, and also nice that at least so far, I'm not leveling super fast and am not getting uber gear drops.

I like earning my stuff.

It seems odd that they have firearms.

I want to ride  a white elephant thing

The complexity and the freedom of choice. 

I am still looking for the lore that people talk about, but since I am still much a noobie, I am hoping I just haven't gotten far enough to experience it.

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Originally posted by Terroc
I am still looking for the lore that people talk about, but since I am still much a noobie, I am hoping I just haven't gotten far enough to experience it.

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In-game, the lore is not disseminated via quests except for twelve (hopefully more someday) "encyclopedia rites" which, while complex, do not ask you to do something absurd like saving a town. Instead, they are rites organised by races and tribes to allow interested homins to prove themselves worthy of receiving a knowledge-containing amber cube and a special ability or crafting plan. It's logical that many different people can undertake them.

There is also some lore available at faction temples. At this point it is prudent to note that not all is as it seems. What homins think they know about their history comes from what wasn't lost in the devastating Great Swarming of the non-playable race the Kitin, and what the higher powers have told them.

Another source of lore is players. When Nevrax owned Ryzom, live events were run that revealed fragments of lore and advanced the storyline (which could differ between servers, and did in some ways) by various amounts. Some events were tiny in scale and effect, some were just festivals and sports. Some were much more significant on a much larger scale, and some were somewhere between. There were invasions of cities and regions by the Kitin, and once, Kitin from the deep Roots occupied every region for about a week. Anyway, players who attended those events have unique experiences which they can recount to you. They may remember very interesting pieces of lore that were revealed. They might explain how recent history progressed. But, naturally, what they say will be subjective and may be coloured by their racial and religious biases. It's up to you to seek multiple sources and try to discern the truth, as well as guess the answers to the many mysteries of Atys.

We hope that the new owner will resume the storyline events.

The FREEDOM baby! The FREEDOM!

Ive only been playing this game for a few days, but I feel completely liberated from the class-theme park mentality that comes with most MMOs these days. In Ryzom you are free to become the best that you want to become with no class restrictions. You are free to be a melee fighter, who also casts spells, or a magic spell caster, who also has very nice melee dps.  Both of whom can heal themselves and others. Moreover, you are free to customize your melee attacks and spells to fit your needs. As if thats not enough, you are free to customize your gear in a huge variety of ways, using the rich and complex, but highly intuitive foraging and crafting systems.

For me, fun has always equaled having options. The more options you have, the more freedom you have, and (for me) that equates to more fun. For those who prefer to have NPCs and Developers telling them what to do, or directing them along a pre-determined path, this game may not be for you. But for those who like to set their own goals, and embark upon an unknown adventure of their own making...you will love this game. Its just the type of 'sandbox' in which I like to play.

The suprisingly good graphics and decent animations dont hurt. But for me its all about the freedom. This game could have the graphics of Diablo 2, and I would still love it.

The sandbox gameplay.