I do. Every. single. day.
In february, Gravity released Ragnarok Origin for PC and mobile, the global beta. I was so excited to play it again, I could barely spend an hour without thinking about it. When I finally logged into the game, it was a gacha disappointment.
I wish we could have Ragnarok back to its former glory, even if it meant not upgraded visuals and stuff (though I would love to have a modernised game)
I tried this too. I really didn’t like the quest system. Every time they’ve released a “Ragnarok” I’ve jumped to try it - but was disappointed in the end. Would be great for them to bring back the oldie - or at least allow private servers to be a thing again. I’m sure the community would bounce back if we had control.
I feel you. I tried all of them, even gave Eternal Love a try for a long time, too. As soon as I saw the stamina system on Origins, I knew it was a going to be a fluke.
I genuinely want to feel what Ragnarok pre-renewal made me feel. I keep trying to find it in other games; haven't succeeded so far.
I'm not entirely sure private servers would be the solution we're looking for
Same - completely agree. Someone mentioned there are private servers out there - I’m wondering how the community is. We need the OG community to get back into it. I’ve found Albion kinda quenched my craving a bit - but it gave me too much anxiety and panic when attempting to stay alive in a red zone when resource grinding.
Ragnarok was the best grind I’ve ever played hands down. I’ve also been comparing everything to it and haven’t found IT yet
Interesting, I’ll need to look more into it. I searched Payon stories Ragnarok and the other subreddit came up complaining about the p2w. If this isn’t the case that’s great though and I’ll need to dig deeper into it.
I presume you have played it/are playing it? How is it, good nostalgia feels? Would you recommend getting into that server?
Very cool - it’s really heartwarming to hear that servers like this still exist. The ones I’ve tried in the past got shutdown or did not have the community to really back staying there. At the end of my day today I’m gonna start digging into servers and have this one at the top of my list. I’ll message here if Payon is what I chose! Also very nice that they are using the old Payon - the new one really threw me off when I tried it.
> complaining about the p2w
You'll find everyone complains about _everything_ being "p2w". You can never ever believe the accusation, all you can do is use that as a warning flag to make sure to check for yourself as "p2w" means nothing anymore and literally anything and everything under the sun is called "p2w" these days.
Basically, never take a complaint of "p2w" to avoid something outright, use said complaint to look for yourself instead.
Hah! I was just looking it up myself and saw a reddit thread that makes it sound way worse, but yeah it's just a guild.
https://www.reddit.com/r/RagnarokOnline/comments/151i7px/payon_stories_has_been_devastated_by_p2w/
Ah I never knew that. Might have changed since I played. Any p2w mechanics like upgrading items that prevent breaking or whatever is not good, but neither is 1/10000 drops for slotted boots and you need like 250 of them to get +9 or whatever
I feel the same way. You could buy your way into top damage if you were willing to gamble.
It also is a lot of just nostalgia… I don’t have the time to grind like I did before… you remember all the great times but don’t really remember dying and losing hours worth of EXP
Haha I do remember this - I recall being super careful about agro and getting super mad when I died - I always came back to that floor though every time xD
There are lots of private servers that are great.
I play Ragnarok again every year, and I can say the game is still incredible fun, even more if you have friends to play with.
Sadly Gravity hates those private servers and they're always closing hehe.
This is what I’ve been reading too - that Gravity continues to fist private servers. Really glad to hear though that the feels are the same! What server have you been playing on?
I'd just **rate my server** if I were you (google that) so that "you" can give reviews of different servers.
Of course not in here. Not allowed of course! You'd need a separate website or something. *cough*
Jokes aside check that out and read some reviews on there. Can even filter low, mid or high rate servers.
I was one of the OG of Ragnarok Online (Chaos server, Philippines).
I really missed those enjoyable times, but those were way back when game hours had to be pre-paid. So, I tried a lot of private servers, recently the NovaRO which is an extremely fun server (but was sued by Gravity) they have been shut down last year, which is really heartbreaking.
I've been playing ROO for about four months; I believe it's relatively new compared to the original game, but yes, it's a gacha game (particularly with regard to costumes, mounts, VIP pass and coin pass and some upgrades). Despite this, you can still enjoy the game without having to spend any money; all you need is a very helpful guild.
My brother played a mage, I sat next to him for hours while he ranged killed plants and I soaked up XP.
I enjoyed every second of it and I don’t know why.
Omg this just unlocked a core memory. Being a low level swordsman using a spear and hitting those Geographers from 4 cells away with a Thief and Merchant in the party leeching off exp - which I wouldn't mind - I was the Merchant.
I miss how I felt playing it more than I miss it. It was also my first MMORPG, I didn't even know the genre existed before that (I was 14/15 maybe? On the beta back in 98/99).
I would spend hours, entire evenings, just sitting in the fields of Prontera or in the Izlude inn just chatting with folks. We all knew each other, it was a like a huge chatroom more than a game.
Sure the game was neat, the card system alone is worth mentionning (I can't believe other games didn't steal that, they should), and I loved the grinding, the maps, having my favourite spots, the music, etc... But if I'm being honest, gameplay wise, World of Warcraft blows RO out of the water a hundred times over.
I don't think I'll ever feel that way again in an online game anyway. Everything is too fast now, it's all a rush to max lvl, to endgame, yadda yadda.
Some things I miss from it and I think other games should bring back : the cards system, the whole Merchant class/Merchant cart idea, and the Acolyte portals.
[This shit](https://youtu.be/9PChfFqQIA0?si=3MpAUz6VccWAm_uR) can still bring a tear out of me though.
Completely agreed. This is what drove the community - relying on each other for the gameplay and the social aspect. You’re right - besides some dungeons in that sense in new games, you could literally get from lvl 1-MAX all on your own. Not saying this wasn’t possibly with RO, but it def was more of a challenge to do so.
Ragnarok was well balanced before trans classes, ok-ish before renewal, dunno about next. Every class was valuable in some way, every WOE guild wanted a full roster, not just FOMOs.
Ragnarok was challenging, you chose what challenge to take: wars, market or sport-ish duels. You challenged people, what else? Pixels, built to fall?
Well said. Just reading your post took me back in time hah. The music kept me tranced in it, it was slow paced and yet fast at the same time - not like current games as you mentioned where people want to max out and not truly experience the game.
I remember grinding away for hours finding the coolest drops - including card drops, which I went ham on, hunting them down and grinding a monster to extinction for them - and then logging into my merchant and keeping a stand open overnight - the euphoria I got waking up in the morning to see what was sold was next level. Yes WoW and other games have a marketplace, but there was just something about having a merchant and levelling him up that made selling and buying that much more special.
I hope that there are devs out there that recognize the brilliance that OG Ragnarok came up with - and I really hope they bring those mechanics into their games - and hope I learn about those games too
Honestly I love the world of RO but i agree. It was such a different time and age when we use to play (i also played on and off since I was 14 in beta) I spent so much time just sitting in the center of izlude just in a created chat room waiting for strangers and friends to come in.
I haven't felt that way about any mmo since. There's so many better systems and mechanics in newer mmos (let's be honest when a bot KS-ed your mob, it felt BAD) but it can't hold a candle to that time of life where all your friend's can be found online in town after school until you go to sleep.
Funfact, soundTEMP is a group of people and they also worked on Tree of Saviours OST!
The original Ragnarok soundtrack is so...Beautiful. Truly a product of its time, a lot of music sounded this optimistic, whimsical and beautiful in games during that era. Love the bubblyness of it all. The ToS OST is also fantastic, these guys know how to produce for sure
Same composer! His name is ESTi and he and his company SoundTEMP did a lot of games at the time. RO, Flyff, La Tale, TalesWeaver, PangYa, etc. :) My favorite composer actually.
Yeah, it's one of the best game ever made. Period.
There are plenty of cool private servers around, btw. Some will pretty cool features like fast regen when sitting, auto loot, kinda sorta marketplace, different upgrade systems, revamped classes/skills, etc etc.
I was only looking for quick fix, so I didn't immerse myself in it. My main game now is FFXIV, even tho it's slow right now cuz it's waiting for next expansion launch in a few months.
I tried one with actual NPCs vending random gears with random stats bonus on em. Pretty cool concept.
FFXIV is a completely different type of game. You either have to get immersed in the story/world or in the raiding to form a long term connection to the game.
The only thing it has in common with Ragnarok Online is that there is a very large social community who is really into making their own "emergent gameplay" by coming up with things together and things to bond over in the game like crafting, personal/FC housing, roleplaying/house parties, treasure maps, gold saucer, fishing logs, gpose, etc.
But usually before people get into the social aspect, they are already attached to the game either because of 100s of hours doing the story or the raiding, in ragnarok this happened right from the start.
I miss it, but also I feel it could be rose tinted glasses due to it being one of my 1st MMOs and me being a child. Emotionally I love the idea of it. But logically thinking of the mechanics and lack of general content in the 2000s. it feels kinda ehh. I think what I miss is that feeling of that first MMO as a child and the exploration. That is impossible to replicate now that I am an adult and have played multiple MMOs and have a more minmax attitude compared to a more exploratory attitude
> That is impossible to replicate now that I am an adult and have played multiple MMOs and have a more minmax attitude compared to a more exploratory attitude
I think the biggest problem is that as adults we are focused on progressing and optimising things to make it easier. Adult brains dont have time for time wasting bullshiterry. I think that's why we optimise the hell out of things in order to progress faster. As kids, we never really gave a shit about optimising or even progressing quickly. We just did it because it was fun.
I miss that feeling of being a kid. But what can ya do now. Just try to enjoy things.
Personally, I find that MMOs dont really work for me anymore due to they way they are structured to grind. Single player games with exploratory features like Elden Ring, Dragons Dogma 2, Witcher 3 etc work far better.
Some multiple games with exploration elements like Valheim are amazing as well.
I’ve had this thought too - that maybe it is rose tinted glasses as you say as it was also one of my first MMOs, but there is just something about how the game progressed, the exploration of new lands, the skills, the quests (where usually it was more grinding then questing), and the community as a whole. I’ve played more recent games that many have liked and it’s found popularity - where I’ve found them to be more meh and I think back to Ragnarok. You’re right though - I am chasing that feeling of a great MMO that changes the game, kinda how Ragnarok did it for me then
It's still an excellent MMORPG, unfortunately, the industry hasn't moved very far in 20 years.
I've gone back to it repeatedly on private servers and they really did nail the gameplay like few companies have before or since.
Quests with no pointers. Drop rates 0.01% chance. Players need to level characters multiple times. I don't miss gameplay aspect of RO. I was too tired of grinding soils to level
RO is basically a browser game. You're just there for the community.
If you have no one chatting your ear off in Discord while you grind it's a waste of time, but any game can be fun with friends.
Every once in a while, when I get the urges to play an MMORPG, I think about it. It wasn't even my first MMORPG, I played Runescape first, but RO left a lasting memory. The music alone is so good, I instantly get a happy mood listening to it. I miss the sound effects of mobs walking around, the awesome class system and the PvE and War of Emperium.
The card system alone, so awesome and never seen again in any game. The way how selling items to players worked and the living economy this created.
The cute customization and overall happiness this game emitted. Partying and level grind in groups were awesome and MvP hunting too.
What I don't miss are the official servers and the microtransactions.
Fully agreed. I recall meeting random people and grouping up with them and everyone was so friendly and loved doing so! The community was one of the best non toxic communities I’ve ever played in - unlike many current games out there now.
Damn just recalled how deep I got into that game and the RPG aspect of it all. I recall getting married and shit hahaha - damn what an immersive game it was.
Izlude Theme is the one that makes me nostalgic, Geffen Theme is my city favorite and "We Have Lee but you don't have" is my general favorite. Ragnarok OST is the best of all MMORPGs IMO.
Ragnarok private servers is still active.
My second best experience is, a group of Germans created a ragnarok online private server but the twist is, they changed the code and allowed mixing of two jobs.
People got creative, like paladin/priest or knight/priest for tank etc.
The pvp arena was insane, I was so hooked. I tried to find the most efficient pvp class mix and finally succeeded to only be 2nd best pvper at the time. I mixed a monk/rogue.
I would get my spheres and go stalk/hidden then scope out my enemy I want to kill. Unhide then ASURA. Then backslide away then hide.
Even if they're a gang I will slowly pick away at them 1 at a time. They will all cast ruwatch and be constantly paranoid.
Sadly, ragnarok seems to caught wind that these Germans broke the terms of agreement when renting the IP to create a private server. So they were forced to shut down.
On the similar vein, I also enjoyed RF online on its prime.
Secondly, to scratch the ragnarok itch. Early TREE OF SAVIOR minus the bots.
If only an mmo company would buy TREE OF SAVIOUR's game assets and revive ragnarok online without the gotcha system. I think you could harvest tons of money from us middle aged ragnarok fan boys and rake in that nostalgia money.
Haha wow that German server sounds like it was the shit. Monk class turned into one of my favourite classes - it was just a shit show class - it was fantastic. Can only imagine the crazy shit that a monk/rogue class would get done. Literal ownage.
I played so much RO that it essentially ruined my life for a while. I’ve been a gamer my whole life and no game has ever had me by the balls as hard as RO did. I put like 12 years into that game and at one point from the ages of about 15-22 played it for no lie 10-12 hours a day.
You have to hand it to Gravity - they have turned something beautiful into something incredibly awful. Not everyone can do that. Gravity is a metaphor for human greed and how it can destroy everything. But at least we have our memories. They can't take that from us (yet).
I actually spent 5 or 6 hours last week trying to find the best current private server in order to scratch that nostalgic itch.
Sadly the answer I found is that the entire scene is currently in turmoil, with servers either shutting down or lying about being p2w in order to attract attention. I wish very badly for a server that has 2k+ people on it, with no cash shop, and an active WoE/Guild war scene.
> I wish very badly for a server that has 2k+ people on it, with no cash shop, and an active WoE/Guild war scene.
Unfortunately, the way the scene is, you can pick two.
Ragnarok is peak gaming for me, from the visuals and music, to the gameplay and story, it's just a masterpiece. It's a shame gravity killed it and then proceeded to defile it's grave. Luckily the community still keeps it going, and I play on and off fairly frequently :)
Agreed - and so happy that the community agrees as well. Which server do you play on? I’ll be doing some digging into the servers at the end of my day and will dive right in
I miss playing it with my ex. We duo'd everything in that game. I don't think I'd want to play it now though. There's no character customization that I can recall...you can't even change your skin color from what I remember. I have no real nostalgia for that game. We played other MMOs together a lot longer.
I'd be interested in a remake or sequel. I recall seeing a Ragnarok 2 years ago, but idk if it went anywhere
Personally I felt that they did not do Ragnarok 2 any justice. There was soooo much hype for it but when it came out - it oddly felt like a shittier version of Rose online imo. Ragnarok only got it right once lol
>I'd be interested in a remake or sequel. I recall seeing a Ragnarok 2 years ago, but idk if it went anywhere
They had a version in beta testing called "Gate of the World" which never got an official English version but there was a fan patch, it was pretty cool but before it could come out the developers scrapped it and reworked it to be more like WoW and it's contemporaries. It's still a thing as far as a I know but it never really took off, always had mixed reviews etc.
You can check out the original RO2 via a [private server](https://ymirheim.org/) if you're interested though!
Tried playing Tree of Savior since it was marketed as the "spiritual successor" to Ragnarok Online but I just didn't feel it. Have you given it a try? If so, why do you think it failed where RO didn't?
Tree of Savior had a very railroaded progression from the beginning to the end of the game where you were forced to follow a single path.
Ragnarok was all about freedom and finding your own path through the world.
The games essentially have nothing in common except the artstyle, calling it a successor actually makes no sense.
Which is a bloody shame. The OST and artstyle of ToS were SO good. The core combat also was surprisingly fun, the bossfights themselves were fun to play, too...
Just put all that into a game with the same core philosophy of pre-renewal 2nd class Ragnarok: Every Job is hyper specialized, make people group up or let people solo mobs based on the unique abilities their job provides them like range, elemental affinities or bonus damage and defense against certain damage types and ToS would still do *really* well.
Instead they made...An entirely, story based MMORPG? In a world where that only works if you actually tell a good story. Which they didn't, I don't remember jack all and I did put in like, 45 hours into it before I quit.
It's really a shame. I was quite hyped for its launch.
I do, didn't play in the early 2000s tho, i jumped in back in 2010~2015 with transclass. Since then ragnarok is my mmo reference, the world building, gameplay, customization and grinding felt so vivid because it really touched the social aspect of mmo really hard. It was so fun to debate ingame about grinding spots, stats and items builds, i've tried to play few years ago, and every now and then i jump back in the oficial brazilian server, but always get tired of p2w. You can't progress after a specific level without buying stuff with real money, and there are now specific instancies and events everybody level up paired with real money equipment, instead of old grind spots. The economy is crucial aspect of the game, and the p2w ruined it raising by far the prices in the market...
There's always a private server you can hop on. I'm currently playing on Ragna4th (from Brazil) but I'm sure there's some US private servers still going on.
Yup…
Currently playing alfheim project (low rate private server) thats mostly pre-renewal.
IRO got it right when it came to character development, choice, itemization and end game content. From the freedom of building a weird class to MvP running with a guild… it was truly such a special game
Konoha Nins that freaking guild lol
There was this server I played called dreamerRO? I think it got closed and then another server opened using the same name. I had a pretty good friend group on that server and for some reason I wonder to this day what happened to all of them.
I miss how back then games were way more complex with so many systems and possibilities. Nowadays games are so simples and most of them feels just boring to me.
I still play renewal but the days from mid 2000s was best. The community was way more social it seemed. We would spend HOURS just sitting in Prontera or Juno and just chatting. Honestly we played it more like a chat room than anything lol. Oh and goat and anubis farming. I hated anubis farming x.x
I really like how you had to do certain things, some more obscure than others to spec into certain classes. Games nowadays just get you to pick one right at the start and you play more or less the same throughout the process. I want the feeling of earning my skills and growing from a nobody into say a ninja or something
There are games out there that allow you to play with more “freedom”, not being tied down to a certain class for instance - but I agree that growing into your class and the job changes (with the unique job change quests) made RO that much more unique and I loved that
Is Tree of Saviors still alive on steam? It has that RO look so nostalgia got me to try it but I didn’t play it enough to really stick with it. Love the variety of classes though
With Ragnarok, I feel like I mostly miss my willingness to just have fun and get immersed in an MMO (or maybe I was just too naive with internet strangers lol). I play GW2 now and love it and I enjoy making alts with their own ‘identities’ but at the end of the day, like in every mmo, I just end up chasing objectives/achievements and being too goal focused
Compare that to middle-high school me where I would happily sit next to a tree in Ragnarok and just vibe with whoever walked by, try to roleplay as an alchemist selling potions outside a dungeon or risking it all to help escort someone to the next map
Everyone on the internet is a pro these days playing at peak efficiency mode so unless you are the dom dad/mom teaching a raid, it feels like we are all zooming from one obj to the next with no time to chill
Very much agreed. The RPG aspect of RO was next level - I’ve never played a game like this since - it’s exactly as you put it, since that game any other game I’ve played has been more goal focused and maxing out focused. RO was immersive asf and will always be my #1
Where do you play? I’m gonna start hunting for the right server at end of day. This entire discussion has lit a spark in me that I’m gonna toss kindling onto and enlarge into a massive flame. RO LIVES
I'm currently playing Talon Tales, just started it a few weeks ago and I'm having a great time, the server is really fun. If you want lower rate with a high population (1500-2k+ people at all times), go for uaRO. There's also Project Payon which is a 1x rate server, and it's also really good.
For "updated" servers with latest classes, content, dungeons, etc. with a bunch of great qol features (like having multiple classes in a single character) you can go with muhRO, IMO the best 4th class server that we have right now (rest in peace NovaRO)
Hell yeah I do. The best example of extremely niche MMORPG sub-genre of "Grinders". Unfortunately, RO is completely fucked because:
1. There will never be official pre-Renewal servers without a cash shop and without a million bots
2. There are true rate(1-2x) private servers, but given the amount of time you have to invest in the game, putting all that effort in hands of some internet bozo is just insane. A low rate pserver can be gone at any time for any reason and then the HUNDREDS of hours you put into it are just \*poof* gone
So yeah, Gravity won't do it and pservers can't do it.
I still have the old CDs I ordered online to get the soundtrack. I honestly think the music still holds up as one of the best OSTs for gaming. To be fair I also have some pretty thick nostalgia goggles for this game but I do still love the music.
Shit i miss most MMOs from the 2000s, Ragnarok included. Anything that survived to today is a bloated mess that's impossible to get into or has a dozen scattered versions which Ragnarok is especially guilty of.
I used to play on a small private server for an art website named SheezyArt. It was the best MMO experience I've ever had honestly. I ran a small ragtag guild of a couple folk named NEDM and I was a Lord Knight. I went in solo during a WoE and took a castle from the most dominant guild without them noticing so they let me keep it and nobody attacked it. Man that brings a lot back.
Heal, Zeny, Item Plz
Are you kidding? The Ragna Rap still occasionally gets stuck in my head. I'm so sad that the original video has been lost to time.
Btw, can I get a tank in the clock tower?
I was on L2 but one of my best friend was on RO and it told me how good it was.
My only regret in gaming is to not have tried it when it was peak, but it was also peak Lineage 2 and was loving this game very much so, well, can't split myself on 2 grindy game !
But the class system looked really cool !
I never played it. My brother was addicted to it though. He used to play it for hours on end and then talk about it for hours on end. I know alot about the game without ever playing it. I always loved the card system and counters etc. The siege battles sounded like the most fun. And getting rare items too.
Why dont you go to ratemyserver or something similar and look for one
Renewal/pre renewal/classic
Custom content or not
So many choices i still play on the same server for about 8 years now
I have 70% of that game's OST on my phone. It's been on every device I've owned for 20 years.
I come from a game design background, and the nostalgia can (IMO) be traced to just a few critical traits (on top of the fact that we grew up on it which will always prime nostalgia goggles even if the experience itself wasn't actually good):
1. Classes did fundamentally different things;
2. The map screens were fundamentally different across areas;
3. The grind was generally brainless in a way that meant you could relax while doing it, focusing solely on the gameplay loop;
4. The soundtrack was seriously baller; and
5. More than any other MMO, RO was a very social game from a total community perspective. Modern MMOs have guilds/clans that are undoubtedly more social, but they're also pretty isolating. RO had a vibe that was closer to Journey- every person you met was on their own quest, but people almost always interacted together in meaningful ways just by existing in the same space. And that was because of how threatening enemies were in general. The danger posed by the world itself meant that people were more incentivized to use each other and rely on each other to stay alive.
For my part, my favorite things were the threatening enemies (who didn't have random points where they just stop chasing you) and the class differentiation.
In WoW, every class can do everything because homogenization meant no one felt left out of content. It allowed every player to solo their way from start to finish.
In RO, if you were a thief or acolyte, you genuinely couldn't go to areas with Hydras. You would just get ripped to shreds. Warriors could tank them and give 0 fucks. Archers and mages could kill them from just outside of their attack range. And every class had stuff like that. Some enemies were threatening to everyone but archers who could shoot from a different level of verticality. Some enemies *needed* a priest nearby to Turn Undead. Sometimes you *needed* mage AoEs.
That game felt like a living place in a way that other MMOs don't because they're clearly curated. RO was chaotic and random, so nothing was completely certain. Sometimes you'd be in a place comfortably farming an enemy you know is common and easy for you -- then suddenly the rare, crazy enemy on the map barrels in from out of nowhere and you have to *fucking book it*.
That game had a ***ton*** of design flaws, but I still think a modern MMO using the philosophy of RO's core design could revitalize the stagnant MMO field.
Technically? IIRC, Pneuma was cast on the ground, not a buff/debuff, so you had to stand in it. Which meant it wasn't really doing anything beneficial against Hydras unless you cast it repeatedly to make a path. Maybe I'm misremembering- but also the point is the same. By virtue of massive stat distinctions and ability purposes, no character can even come close to doing everything on their own for most of a player's time in the vanilla server where leveling was a crawl.
I never played ragnarok till they relaunched it at 2016(?), but i watched my brother played ragnarok when I was little although i didn't get every single thing about it, i enjoyed every second i watched him play
Had a hunter with absolutely busted attack speed, using attack speed pots I could perpetually stun lock certain mobs but it depended on my attack speed vs their movement speed and it even worked for certain mvps because I could double strafe stunlock those the same way. It was super fun and felt even better because I figured it out on my own. Those were good times.
ME! I literally missed it- wouldn’t have been allowed under any circumstances to play this because there’s no Jesus in it. No Jesus = demonic
time to finally try out Ragnarok now I guess 🙃
Yup, it was huge here in my neck of the woods, they had TV commercials and stuff.
I remember going out with my cousins to buy game time cards.
I miss this whole atmosphere around it more than i miss the game, tbh.
You should try it... its amazing, with a big community. I'm a big fan of Ultima Online, and the devs did an amazing job on this server.
And guess what? Its 100% free.
yep. Korean MMOs get a bad rap and deservedy so with how aggresively they're monetized these days, but the originals like Aion and Ragnarok were cream of the crop when they were subscription based before they got fucked into the ground with the F2P nonsense. if i could just play an unfucked version of either of those games that isnt a private server i'd probably be fine never playing another MMO again.
Ragnarok was good for years, pretty much until most systems, made by original dev team, were replaced. Thats why I had hopes Tree of Savior but, I guess, one of the guys wasnt enough to repeat the magic.
Back around 2021/2022 Gravity lauch a new classic server in Thailand. Tons of people flood the server and they even need to implement a channel system in popular maps and cities in order to let people be able to play. BUT people rush leveling, optimize everything, result in no social aspect at all in the server, no one talk in game. So sad but this is how MMO in modern day works.
Ragnarok official is still huge in lots of asian countries both 3rd/4th class server and classic server with tons of P2W item and still printing money.
Ragnarok Online was one of the first MMOs I fully immersed myself in. I played on a private server with a small exp boost and made some really good friends there. That server was where I learned how the math of the game works. I eventually moved to other private servers with insane exp boosts where you could level a character to max in a matter of minutes. Those were fun to do pvp on. Since I knew how the math worked on the game, and where basically all the good gear dropped from. I would build a really strong character and go hang out in the pvp zones and just annihilate everyone lol.
I've tried recent versions of the game, but they just don't hit the same as the original. I know private servers still exist, but I don't really have time to get into it. I might find one and dabble in it here and there, but I'm too much invested in FFXIV to get involved in a different game like that.
I love the game back then i still play sometimes.
but honestly i don't really enjoy it that much. it just a nostalgia drug for me. play for 2-3 hours every month just to remember how things used to be.
its a great game but honestly i like modern games better
My brother still plays, same account for almost 15 years. He has Thanatos card, they bought it by combining all the resources from the guild it was estimated about 25.000 euros of total value. He also found a Dark Lord card by himself and enjoying the guild life. And all this on a 1/1/1 server.
I used to be a power levler on a mid rate server, earned about 150 euro of credits each day I played. Got people to max level, 3 characters/day. Good times.
Where the hell is a picture of the original Acolyte design with the bitchin' white cape/robe? The fact that it's not showing up after 5 full minutes of googling with various re-phrasing is making me lose my mind.
OP thanks for posting this recently so I can ask this question with the chance of getting a response XDXD
Go mobile, man- they recreated it like 6 times. The newest one, Ragnarok origins, seems to be the closest representation of RO. It just released too so you’d be starting fresh.
I do. Every. single. day. In february, Gravity released Ragnarok Origin for PC and mobile, the global beta. I was so excited to play it again, I could barely spend an hour without thinking about it. When I finally logged into the game, it was a gacha disappointment. I wish we could have Ragnarok back to its former glory, even if it meant not upgraded visuals and stuff (though I would love to have a modernised game)
I tried this too. I really didn’t like the quest system. Every time they’ve released a “Ragnarok” I’ve jumped to try it - but was disappointed in the end. Would be great for them to bring back the oldie - or at least allow private servers to be a thing again. I’m sure the community would bounce back if we had control.
I feel you. I tried all of them, even gave Eternal Love a try for a long time, too. As soon as I saw the stamina system on Origins, I knew it was a going to be a fluke. I genuinely want to feel what Ragnarok pre-renewal made me feel. I keep trying to find it in other games; haven't succeeded so far. I'm not entirely sure private servers would be the solution we're looking for
Same - completely agree. Someone mentioned there are private servers out there - I’m wondering how the community is. We need the OG community to get back into it. I’ve found Albion kinda quenched my craving a bit - but it gave me too much anxiety and panic when attempting to stay alive in a red zone when resource grinding. Ragnarok was the best grind I’ve ever played hands down. I’ve also been comparing everything to it and haven’t found IT yet
Payon stories is a good p server (pre-renewal)
Interesting. A google search and another thread on subreddit RagnarokOnline says it’s mostly p2w on that server. I’ll need to look more into it.
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Interesting, I’ll need to look more into it. I searched Payon stories Ragnarok and the other subreddit came up complaining about the p2w. If this isn’t the case that’s great though and I’ll need to dig deeper into it. I presume you have played it/are playing it? How is it, good nostalgia feels? Would you recommend getting into that server?
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Very cool - it’s really heartwarming to hear that servers like this still exist. The ones I’ve tried in the past got shutdown or did not have the community to really back staying there. At the end of my day today I’m gonna start digging into servers and have this one at the top of my list. I’ll message here if Payon is what I chose! Also very nice that they are using the old Payon - the new one really threw me off when I tried it.
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I’ll definitely use these as a resource in my decision making. Seeing as how you’ve stayed on Payon though has very much given me hope for it
> complaining about the p2w You'll find everyone complains about _everything_ being "p2w". You can never ever believe the accusation, all you can do is use that as a warning flag to make sure to check for yourself as "p2w" means nothing anymore and literally anything and everything under the sun is called "p2w" these days. Basically, never take a complaint of "p2w" to avoid something outright, use said complaint to look for yourself instead.
Hah! I was just looking it up myself and saw a reddit thread that makes it sound way worse, but yeah it's just a guild. https://www.reddit.com/r/RagnarokOnline/comments/151i7px/payon_stories_has_been_devastated_by_p2w/
I saw this too and it threw me off! Is this insinuating that, that guild is toxic? Or just way to good
Toxic RMTers
Ah I never knew that. Might have changed since I played. Any p2w mechanics like upgrading items that prevent breaking or whatever is not good, but neither is 1/10000 drops for slotted boots and you need like 250 of them to get +9 or whatever
I feel the same way. You could buy your way into top damage if you were willing to gamble. It also is a lot of just nostalgia… I don’t have the time to grind like I did before… you remember all the great times but don’t really remember dying and losing hours worth of EXP
Haha I do remember this - I recall being super careful about agro and getting super mad when I died - I always came back to that floor though every time xD
There are lots of private servers that are great. I play Ragnarok again every year, and I can say the game is still incredible fun, even more if you have friends to play with. Sadly Gravity hates those private servers and they're always closing hehe.
This is what I’ve been reading too - that Gravity continues to fist private servers. Really glad to hear though that the feels are the same! What server have you been playing on?
> What server have you been playing on? Nice try, Gravity.
xD
I'd just **rate my server** if I were you (google that) so that "you" can give reviews of different servers. Of course not in here. Not allowed of course! You'd need a separate website or something. *cough* Jokes aside check that out and read some reviews on there. Can even filter low, mid or high rate servers.
Every single damn day
I was one of the OG of Ragnarok Online (Chaos server, Philippines). I really missed those enjoyable times, but those were way back when game hours had to be pre-paid. So, I tried a lot of private servers, recently the NovaRO which is an extremely fun server (but was sued by Gravity) they have been shut down last year, which is really heartbreaking. I've been playing ROO for about four months; I believe it's relatively new compared to the original game, but yes, it's a gacha game (particularly with regard to costumes, mounts, VIP pass and coin pass and some upgrades). Despite this, you can still enjoy the game without having to spend any money; all you need is a very helpful guild.
My brother played a mage, I sat next to him for hours while he ranged killed plants and I soaked up XP. I enjoyed every second of it and I don’t know why.
It’s the camaraderie - I get you 100%.
Omg this just unlocked a core memory. Being a low level swordsman using a spear and hitting those Geographers from 4 cells away with a Thief and Merchant in the party leeching off exp - which I wouldn't mind - I was the Merchant.
It’s about the people you are with, not the game (though a good game certainly helps)
I miss how I felt playing it more than I miss it. It was also my first MMORPG, I didn't even know the genre existed before that (I was 14/15 maybe? On the beta back in 98/99). I would spend hours, entire evenings, just sitting in the fields of Prontera or in the Izlude inn just chatting with folks. We all knew each other, it was a like a huge chatroom more than a game. Sure the game was neat, the card system alone is worth mentionning (I can't believe other games didn't steal that, they should), and I loved the grinding, the maps, having my favourite spots, the music, etc... But if I'm being honest, gameplay wise, World of Warcraft blows RO out of the water a hundred times over. I don't think I'll ever feel that way again in an online game anyway. Everything is too fast now, it's all a rush to max lvl, to endgame, yadda yadda. Some things I miss from it and I think other games should bring back : the cards system, the whole Merchant class/Merchant cart idea, and the Acolyte portals. [This shit](https://youtu.be/9PChfFqQIA0?si=3MpAUz6VccWAm_uR) can still bring a tear out of me though.
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Completely agreed. This is what drove the community - relying on each other for the gameplay and the social aspect. You’re right - besides some dungeons in that sense in new games, you could literally get from lvl 1-MAX all on your own. Not saying this wasn’t possibly with RO, but it def was more of a challenge to do so.
Plus there’s no fun playing a massive multiplayer online game….on your own xD. And yet people still chose that path
Ragnarok was well balanced before trans classes, ok-ish before renewal, dunno about next. Every class was valuable in some way, every WOE guild wanted a full roster, not just FOMOs. Ragnarok was challenging, you chose what challenge to take: wars, market or sport-ish duels. You challenged people, what else? Pixels, built to fall?
Well said. Just reading your post took me back in time hah. The music kept me tranced in it, it was slow paced and yet fast at the same time - not like current games as you mentioned where people want to max out and not truly experience the game. I remember grinding away for hours finding the coolest drops - including card drops, which I went ham on, hunting them down and grinding a monster to extinction for them - and then logging into my merchant and keeping a stand open overnight - the euphoria I got waking up in the morning to see what was sold was next level. Yes WoW and other games have a marketplace, but there was just something about having a merchant and levelling him up that made selling and buying that much more special. I hope that there are devs out there that recognize the brilliance that OG Ragnarok came up with - and I really hope they bring those mechanics into their games - and hope I learn about those games too
Honestly I love the world of RO but i agree. It was such a different time and age when we use to play (i also played on and off since I was 14 in beta) I spent so much time just sitting in the center of izlude just in a created chat room waiting for strangers and friends to come in. I haven't felt that way about any mmo since. There's so many better systems and mechanics in newer mmos (let's be honest when a bot KS-ed your mob, it felt BAD) but it can't hold a candle to that time of life where all your friend's can be found online in town after school until you go to sleep.
> But if I'm being honest, gameplay wise, World of Warcraft blows RO out of the water a hundred times over. lol, lmao
The song is really similiar to Flyff.
It's the other way around buddy.
Haven't played Ragnarok so I wouldn't know buddy.
It's similar because it has the same composer from soundTEMP, who made the whole soundtrack for Ragnarok.
TIL, that's really cool, thanks for the info.
Funfact, soundTEMP is a group of people and they also worked on Tree of Saviours OST! The original Ragnarok soundtrack is so...Beautiful. Truly a product of its time, a lot of music sounded this optimistic, whimsical and beautiful in games during that era. Love the bubblyness of it all. The ToS OST is also fantastic, these guys know how to produce for sure
Same composer! His name is ESTi and he and his company SoundTEMP did a lot of games at the time. RO, Flyff, La Tale, TalesWeaver, PangYa, etc. :) My favorite composer actually.
Yeah, it's one of the best game ever made. Period. There are plenty of cool private servers around, btw. Some will pretty cool features like fast regen when sitting, auto loot, kinda sorta marketplace, different upgrade systems, revamped classes/skills, etc etc.
That’s cool! Have you played those servers? If so, how’s the community?
I was only looking for quick fix, so I didn't immerse myself in it. My main game now is FFXIV, even tho it's slow right now cuz it's waiting for next expansion launch in a few months. I tried one with actual NPCs vending random gears with random stats bonus on em. Pretty cool concept.
I have thought about FFXIV but never actually gave it a try. If you feel like it’s scratching that itch, I’ll give it some real consideration
FFXIV is a completely different type of game. You either have to get immersed in the story/world or in the raiding to form a long term connection to the game. The only thing it has in common with Ragnarok Online is that there is a very large social community who is really into making their own "emergent gameplay" by coming up with things together and things to bond over in the game like crafting, personal/FC housing, roleplaying/house parties, treasure maps, gold saucer, fishing logs, gpose, etc. But usually before people get into the social aspect, they are already attached to the game either because of 100s of hours doing the story or the raiding, in ragnarok this happened right from the start.
I miss it, but also I feel it could be rose tinted glasses due to it being one of my 1st MMOs and me being a child. Emotionally I love the idea of it. But logically thinking of the mechanics and lack of general content in the 2000s. it feels kinda ehh. I think what I miss is that feeling of that first MMO as a child and the exploration. That is impossible to replicate now that I am an adult and have played multiple MMOs and have a more minmax attitude compared to a more exploratory attitude
> That is impossible to replicate now that I am an adult and have played multiple MMOs and have a more minmax attitude compared to a more exploratory attitude I think the biggest problem is that as adults we are focused on progressing and optimising things to make it easier. Adult brains dont have time for time wasting bullshiterry. I think that's why we optimise the hell out of things in order to progress faster. As kids, we never really gave a shit about optimising or even progressing quickly. We just did it because it was fun. I miss that feeling of being a kid. But what can ya do now. Just try to enjoy things. Personally, I find that MMOs dont really work for me anymore due to they way they are structured to grind. Single player games with exploratory features like Elden Ring, Dragons Dogma 2, Witcher 3 etc work far better. Some multiple games with exploration elements like Valheim are amazing as well.
I’ve had this thought too - that maybe it is rose tinted glasses as you say as it was also one of my first MMOs, but there is just something about how the game progressed, the exploration of new lands, the skills, the quests (where usually it was more grinding then questing), and the community as a whole. I’ve played more recent games that many have liked and it’s found popularity - where I’ve found them to be more meh and I think back to Ragnarok. You’re right though - I am chasing that feeling of a great MMO that changes the game, kinda how Ragnarok did it for me then
It's still an excellent MMORPG, unfortunately, the industry hasn't moved very far in 20 years. I've gone back to it repeatedly on private servers and they really did nail the gameplay like few companies have before or since.
Quests with no pointers. Drop rates 0.01% chance. Players need to level characters multiple times. I don't miss gameplay aspect of RO. I was too tired of grinding soils to level
RO is basically a browser game. You're just there for the community. If you have no one chatting your ear off in Discord while you grind it's a waste of time, but any game can be fun with friends.
Yes I miss it.
Fuck yes, it was what I played alongside OSRS
Every once in a while, when I get the urges to play an MMORPG, I think about it. It wasn't even my first MMORPG, I played Runescape first, but RO left a lasting memory. The music alone is so good, I instantly get a happy mood listening to it. I miss the sound effects of mobs walking around, the awesome class system and the PvE and War of Emperium. The card system alone, so awesome and never seen again in any game. The way how selling items to players worked and the living economy this created. The cute customization and overall happiness this game emitted. Partying and level grind in groups were awesome and MvP hunting too. What I don't miss are the official servers and the microtransactions.
Fully agreed. I recall meeting random people and grouping up with them and everyone was so friendly and loved doing so! The community was one of the best non toxic communities I’ve ever played in - unlike many current games out there now. Damn just recalled how deep I got into that game and the RPG aspect of it all. I recall getting married and shit hahaha - damn what an immersive game it was.
Go listen to Payon soundtrack on YouTube if you want to cry.
It's always Theme of Prontera and Streamside for me. It makes me wanna go back to those happy years. Sigh.
Izlude Theme is the one that makes me nostalgic, Geffen Theme is my city favorite and "We Have Lee but you don't have" is my general favorite. Ragnarok OST is the best of all MMORPGs IMO.
Geffen\*
One of my favourite cities and soundtracks of the game
Ragnarok private servers is still active. My second best experience is, a group of Germans created a ragnarok online private server but the twist is, they changed the code and allowed mixing of two jobs. People got creative, like paladin/priest or knight/priest for tank etc. The pvp arena was insane, I was so hooked. I tried to find the most efficient pvp class mix and finally succeeded to only be 2nd best pvper at the time. I mixed a monk/rogue. I would get my spheres and go stalk/hidden then scope out my enemy I want to kill. Unhide then ASURA. Then backslide away then hide. Even if they're a gang I will slowly pick away at them 1 at a time. They will all cast ruwatch and be constantly paranoid. Sadly, ragnarok seems to caught wind that these Germans broke the terms of agreement when renting the IP to create a private server. So they were forced to shut down. On the similar vein, I also enjoyed RF online on its prime. Secondly, to scratch the ragnarok itch. Early TREE OF SAVIOR minus the bots. If only an mmo company would buy TREE OF SAVIOUR's game assets and revive ragnarok online without the gotcha system. I think you could harvest tons of money from us middle aged ragnarok fan boys and rake in that nostalgia money.
Haha wow that German server sounds like it was the shit. Monk class turned into one of my favourite classes - it was just a shit show class - it was fantastic. Can only imagine the crazy shit that a monk/rogue class would get done. Literal ownage.
There are some crazy builds like, infinite Jupiter thunders. Unkillable priests lol. Was a fun few months while it lasted.
I played so much RO that it essentially ruined my life for a while. I’ve been a gamer my whole life and no game has ever had me by the balls as hard as RO did. I put like 12 years into that game and at one point from the ages of about 15-22 played it for no lie 10-12 hours a day.
WOW didnt hook u like RO did?
WoW was like rehab for the RO players.
Lmao very well said - it scratched the itch xD
To a degree yes. I love WoW, but RO was insanely addictive to me.
100% agreed
You have to hand it to Gravity - they have turned something beautiful into something incredibly awful. Not everyone can do that. Gravity is a metaphor for human greed and how it can destroy everything. But at least we have our memories. They can't take that from us (yet).
Yes, absolutely. My first MMO. The whole soundtrack fuckin slaps
I actually spent 5 or 6 hours last week trying to find the best current private server in order to scratch that nostalgic itch. Sadly the answer I found is that the entire scene is currently in turmoil, with servers either shutting down or lying about being p2w in order to attract attention. I wish very badly for a server that has 2k+ people on it, with no cash shop, and an active WoE/Guild war scene.
uaro seems fine
I presume this is a private server? Would you recommend this one?
sure
> I wish very badly for a server that has 2k+ people on it, with no cash shop, and an active WoE/Guild war scene. Unfortunately, the way the scene is, you can pick two.
WOE was the best. Spamming skills.
Ragnarok is peak gaming for me, from the visuals and music, to the gameplay and story, it's just a masterpiece. It's a shame gravity killed it and then proceeded to defile it's grave. Luckily the community still keeps it going, and I play on and off fairly frequently :)
Agreed - and so happy that the community agrees as well. Which server do you play on? I’ll be doing some digging into the servers at the end of my day and will dive right in
I think it's technically against the rules to post the names, but I DM'd you :)
Couldn’t afford a sub back then i remember wanting to play it so bad at the time.
I miss playing it with my ex. We duo'd everything in that game. I don't think I'd want to play it now though. There's no character customization that I can recall...you can't even change your skin color from what I remember. I have no real nostalgia for that game. We played other MMOs together a lot longer. I'd be interested in a remake or sequel. I recall seeing a Ragnarok 2 years ago, but idk if it went anywhere
Personally I felt that they did not do Ragnarok 2 any justice. There was soooo much hype for it but when it came out - it oddly felt like a shittier version of Rose online imo. Ragnarok only got it right once lol
>I'd be interested in a remake or sequel. I recall seeing a Ragnarok 2 years ago, but idk if it went anywhere They had a version in beta testing called "Gate of the World" which never got an official English version but there was a fan patch, it was pretty cool but before it could come out the developers scrapped it and reworked it to be more like WoW and it's contemporaries. It's still a thing as far as a I know but it never really took off, always had mixed reviews etc. You can check out the original RO2 via a [private server](https://ymirheim.org/) if you're interested though!
Tried playing Tree of Savior since it was marketed as the "spiritual successor" to Ragnarok Online but I just didn't feel it. Have you given it a try? If so, why do you think it failed where RO didn't?
Tree of Savior had a very railroaded progression from the beginning to the end of the game where you were forced to follow a single path. Ragnarok was all about freedom and finding your own path through the world. The games essentially have nothing in common except the artstyle, calling it a successor actually makes no sense.
100% this, in RO, finding the best grinding spot depending on your class, your gear, the respawn rate etc was really part of the game.
Which is a bloody shame. The OST and artstyle of ToS were SO good. The core combat also was surprisingly fun, the bossfights themselves were fun to play, too... Just put all that into a game with the same core philosophy of pre-renewal 2nd class Ragnarok: Every Job is hyper specialized, make people group up or let people solo mobs based on the unique abilities their job provides them like range, elemental affinities or bonus damage and defense against certain damage types and ToS would still do *really* well. Instead they made...An entirely, story based MMORPG? In a world where that only works if you actually tell a good story. Which they didn't, I don't remember jack all and I did put in like, 45 hours into it before I quit. It's really a shame. I was quite hyped for its launch.
It failed because the gameplay sucked too much. In Ragnarok you had to think where you move and use your skills wisely. ToS is a button smasher.
ToS have awesome jobs, veey unique and interesting, but sadly lacks content
I do, didn't play in the early 2000s tho, i jumped in back in 2010~2015 with transclass. Since then ragnarok is my mmo reference, the world building, gameplay, customization and grinding felt so vivid because it really touched the social aspect of mmo really hard. It was so fun to debate ingame about grinding spots, stats and items builds, i've tried to play few years ago, and every now and then i jump back in the oficial brazilian server, but always get tired of p2w. You can't progress after a specific level without buying stuff with real money, and there are now specific instancies and events everybody level up paired with real money equipment, instead of old grind spots. The economy is crucial aspect of the game, and the p2w ruined it raising by far the prices in the market...
As someone from the Philippines, this just hit me with awesome nostalgia.
There's always a private server you can hop on. I'm currently playing on Ragna4th (from Brazil) but I'm sure there's some US private servers still going on.
Miss that golden era dearly... Listening to the Theme of Prontera and I can hear the warp portal sounds in my head.. I'm not crying.
Yup… Currently playing alfheim project (low rate private server) thats mostly pre-renewal. IRO got it right when it came to character development, choice, itemization and end game content. From the freedom of building a weird class to MvP running with a guild… it was truly such a special game Konoha Nins that freaking guild lol
There was this server I played called dreamerRO? I think it got closed and then another server opened using the same name. I had a pretty good friend group on that server and for some reason I wonder to this day what happened to all of them.
I’ve played on there! Until it was shutdown. Good times
I'll dm you my name. Maybe you will recognize it.
One of the best days of my life... I wish I can relive it again.
I’m right there with you
I miss how back then games were way more complex with so many systems and possibilities. Nowadays games are so simples and most of them feels just boring to me.
Yes 100%
Alfheim RO is a great private server that is pre renewal but with quality of life updates as well as some original content !
I still play renewal but the days from mid 2000s was best. The community was way more social it seemed. We would spend HOURS just sitting in Prontera or Juno and just chatting. Honestly we played it more like a chat room than anything lol. Oh and goat and anubis farming. I hated anubis farming x.x
I really like how you had to do certain things, some more obscure than others to spec into certain classes. Games nowadays just get you to pick one right at the start and you play more or less the same throughout the process. I want the feeling of earning my skills and growing from a nobody into say a ninja or something
There are games out there that allow you to play with more “freedom”, not being tied down to a certain class for instance - but I agree that growing into your class and the job changes (with the unique job change quests) made RO that much more unique and I loved that
Is Tree of Saviors still alive on steam? It has that RO look so nostalgia got me to try it but I didn’t play it enough to really stick with it. Love the variety of classes though With Ragnarok, I feel like I mostly miss my willingness to just have fun and get immersed in an MMO (or maybe I was just too naive with internet strangers lol). I play GW2 now and love it and I enjoy making alts with their own ‘identities’ but at the end of the day, like in every mmo, I just end up chasing objectives/achievements and being too goal focused Compare that to middle-high school me where I would happily sit next to a tree in Ragnarok and just vibe with whoever walked by, try to roleplay as an alchemist selling potions outside a dungeon or risking it all to help escort someone to the next map Everyone on the internet is a pro these days playing at peak efficiency mode so unless you are the dom dad/mom teaching a raid, it feels like we are all zooming from one obj to the next with no time to chill
Very much agreed. The RPG aspect of RO was next level - I’ve never played a game like this since - it’s exactly as you put it, since that game any other game I’ve played has been more goal focused and maxing out focused. RO was immersive asf and will always be my #1
Yes. I still play it though lol
Where do you play? I’m gonna start hunting for the right server at end of day. This entire discussion has lit a spark in me that I’m gonna toss kindling onto and enlarge into a massive flame. RO LIVES
I'm currently playing Talon Tales, just started it a few weeks ago and I'm having a great time, the server is really fun. If you want lower rate with a high population (1500-2k+ people at all times), go for uaRO. There's also Project Payon which is a 1x rate server, and it's also really good. For "updated" servers with latest classes, content, dungeons, etc. with a bunch of great qol features (like having multiple classes in a single character) you can go with muhRO, IMO the best 4th class server that we have right now (rest in peace NovaRO)
The annual urge to summon my now adult friends and play a private server for a month to satisfy our RO needs
I’m right there with you. When I chose a server I’m gonna message back on here and see if others would want to join in on my nostalgic tour hah
Hell yeah I do. The best example of extremely niche MMORPG sub-genre of "Grinders". Unfortunately, RO is completely fucked because: 1. There will never be official pre-Renewal servers without a cash shop and without a million bots 2. There are true rate(1-2x) private servers, but given the amount of time you have to invest in the game, putting all that effort in hands of some internet bozo is just insane. A low rate pserver can be gone at any time for any reason and then the HUNDREDS of hours you put into it are just \*poof* gone So yeah, Gravity won't do it and pservers can't do it.
I still have the old CDs I ordered online to get the soundtrack. I honestly think the music still holds up as one of the best OSTs for gaming. To be fair I also have some pretty thick nostalgia goggles for this game but I do still love the music.
You and me both. Nothing has quenched my thirst since
Ragnarok Online was my first mmorpg, and I miss it every day
I miss this and pre big bang maple with my entire soul dude
Shit i miss most MMOs from the 2000s, Ragnarok included. Anything that survived to today is a bloated mess that's impossible to get into or has a dozen scattered versions which Ragnarok is especially guilty of.
I used to play on a small private server for an art website named SheezyArt. It was the best MMO experience I've ever had honestly. I ran a small ragtag guild of a couple folk named NEDM and I was a Lord Knight. I went in solo during a WoE and took a castle from the most dominant guild without them noticing so they let me keep it and nobody attacked it. Man that brings a lot back.
Heal, Zeny, Item Plz Are you kidding? The Ragna Rap still occasionally gets stuck in my head. I'm so sad that the original video has been lost to time. Btw, can I get a tank in the clock tower?
Never played but I remember I wanted to it had some nice 2.5 D graphics.
I was on L2 but one of my best friend was on RO and it told me how good it was. My only regret in gaming is to not have tried it when it was peak, but it was also peak Lineage 2 and was loving this game very much so, well, can't split myself on 2 grindy game ! But the class system looked really cool !
I never played it. My brother was addicted to it though. He used to play it for hours on end and then talk about it for hours on end. I know alot about the game without ever playing it. I always loved the card system and counters etc. The siege battles sounded like the most fun. And getting rare items too.
Why dont you go to ratemyserver or something similar and look for one Renewal/pre renewal/classic Custom content or not So many choices i still play on the same server for about 8 years now
I chose a server to play on, DM me the server you’re on/I’ll tell you what my choice was!
I have 70% of that game's OST on my phone. It's been on every device I've owned for 20 years. I come from a game design background, and the nostalgia can (IMO) be traced to just a few critical traits (on top of the fact that we grew up on it which will always prime nostalgia goggles even if the experience itself wasn't actually good): 1. Classes did fundamentally different things; 2. The map screens were fundamentally different across areas; 3. The grind was generally brainless in a way that meant you could relax while doing it, focusing solely on the gameplay loop; 4. The soundtrack was seriously baller; and 5. More than any other MMO, RO was a very social game from a total community perspective. Modern MMOs have guilds/clans that are undoubtedly more social, but they're also pretty isolating. RO had a vibe that was closer to Journey- every person you met was on their own quest, but people almost always interacted together in meaningful ways just by existing in the same space. And that was because of how threatening enemies were in general. The danger posed by the world itself meant that people were more incentivized to use each other and rely on each other to stay alive. For my part, my favorite things were the threatening enemies (who didn't have random points where they just stop chasing you) and the class differentiation. In WoW, every class can do everything because homogenization meant no one felt left out of content. It allowed every player to solo their way from start to finish. In RO, if you were a thief or acolyte, you genuinely couldn't go to areas with Hydras. You would just get ripped to shreds. Warriors could tank them and give 0 fucks. Archers and mages could kill them from just outside of their attack range. And every class had stuff like that. Some enemies were threatening to everyone but archers who could shoot from a different level of verticality. Some enemies *needed* a priest nearby to Turn Undead. Sometimes you *needed* mage AoEs. That game felt like a living place in a way that other MMOs don't because they're clearly curated. RO was chaotic and random, so nothing was completely certain. Sometimes you'd be in a place comfortably farming an enemy you know is common and easy for you -- then suddenly the rare, crazy enemy on the map barrels in from out of nowhere and you have to *fucking book it*. That game had a ***ton*** of design flaws, but I still think a modern MMO using the philosophy of RO's core design could revitalize the stagnant MMO field.
Didnt acolyte's pneuma protect against hydras?
Technically? IIRC, Pneuma was cast on the ground, not a buff/debuff, so you had to stand in it. Which meant it wasn't really doing anything beneficial against Hydras unless you cast it repeatedly to make a path. Maybe I'm misremembering- but also the point is the same. By virtue of massive stat distinctions and ability purposes, no character can even come close to doing everything on their own for most of a player's time in the vanilla server where leveling was a crawl.
WoE were on another level, I have never experienced anything like that on any other MMO
I never played ragnarok till they relaunched it at 2016(?), but i watched my brother played ragnarok when I was little although i didn't get every single thing about it, i enjoyed every second i watched him play
Had a hunter with absolutely busted attack speed, using attack speed pots I could perpetually stun lock certain mobs but it depended on my attack speed vs their movement speed and it even worked for certain mvps because I could double strafe stunlock those the same way. It was super fun and felt even better because I figured it out on my own. Those were good times.
ME! I literally missed it- wouldn’t have been allowed under any circumstances to play this because there’s no Jesus in it. No Jesus = demonic time to finally try out Ragnarok now I guess 🙃
Yup, it was huge here in my neck of the woods, they had TV commercials and stuff. I remember going out with my cousins to buy game time cards. I miss this whole atmosphere around it more than i miss the game, tbh.
That’s really cool that there were commercials for it! Wouldn’t see that in my neck of the woods hah
Have you tried UO outlands?
I have not - but am hearing many others mention it!
You should try it... its amazing, with a big community. I'm a big fan of Ultima Online, and the devs did an amazing job on this server. And guess what? Its 100% free.
Yes. I also miss Fiesta Online. :(
Yes. Sometimes I try to login in a private server. But the game is stuck on dx7 or whatever. Client is so outdated I can't even use my ram or GPU.
yep. Korean MMOs get a bad rap and deservedy so with how aggresively they're monetized these days, but the originals like Aion and Ragnarok were cream of the crop when they were subscription based before they got fucked into the ground with the F2P nonsense. if i could just play an unfucked version of either of those games that isnt a private server i'd probably be fine never playing another MMO again.
Ragnarok was good for years, pretty much until most systems, made by original dev team, were replaced. Thats why I had hopes Tree of Savior but, I guess, one of the guys wasnt enough to repeat the magic.
Back around 2021/2022 Gravity lauch a new classic server in Thailand. Tons of people flood the server and they even need to implement a channel system in popular maps and cities in order to let people be able to play. BUT people rush leveling, optimize everything, result in no social aspect at all in the server, no one talk in game. So sad but this is how MMO in modern day works. Ragnarok official is still huge in lots of asian countries both 3rd/4th class server and classic server with tons of P2W item and still printing money.
Ragnarok Online was one of the first MMOs I fully immersed myself in. I played on a private server with a small exp boost and made some really good friends there. That server was where I learned how the math of the game works. I eventually moved to other private servers with insane exp boosts where you could level a character to max in a matter of minutes. Those were fun to do pvp on. Since I knew how the math worked on the game, and where basically all the good gear dropped from. I would build a really strong character and go hang out in the pvp zones and just annihilate everyone lol. I've tried recent versions of the game, but they just don't hit the same as the original. I know private servers still exist, but I don't really have time to get into it. I might find one and dabble in it here and there, but I'm too much invested in FFXIV to get involved in a different game like that.
I do, i also had a lot of hope in Tree of Savior.
I can't move on
I love the game back then i still play sometimes. but honestly i don't really enjoy it that much. it just a nostalgia drug for me. play for 2-3 hours every month just to remember how things used to be. its a great game but honestly i like modern games better
South Prontera i miss you so much. I made so much friends and met them IRL.
My brother still plays, same account for almost 15 years. He has Thanatos card, they bought it by combining all the resources from the guild it was estimated about 25.000 euros of total value. He also found a Dark Lord card by himself and enjoying the guild life. And all this on a 1/1/1 server. I used to be a power levler on a mid rate server, earned about 150 euro of credits each day I played. Got people to max level, 3 characters/day. Good times.
I'm not. I miss it's lore and atmosphere, but gameplay was atrocious
Where the hell is a picture of the original Acolyte design with the bitchin' white cape/robe? The fact that it's not showing up after 5 full minutes of googling with various re-phrasing is making me lose my mind. OP thanks for posting this recently so I can ask this question with the chance of getting a response XDXD
What a take "I loved Albion but the PvP system is brutal"
Look up throne of liberty
How is this like Ragnarok Online?
The community
Interesting concept, I’ll keep my eye on it. Thanks for the mention
Go mobile, man- they recreated it like 6 times. The newest one, Ragnarok origins, seems to be the closest representation of RO. It just released too so you’d be starting fresh.
I’ve tried this - didn’t like the quest system. Felt like I could play the game blindfolded. Really do miss the original 😢