MMOs are going through a renaissance. For a while the genre looked like it might get displaced by the snappier action of MOBAs and battle royales, but its finest games have held on not only to survive, but flourish.
Archeage was one of those MMOs, rising up in 2013 and building momentum over the years to get to where it is today. ArcheAge: Unchained, launched in late 2019, is the latest iteration of the hit MMO, and we have a whole bunch of good reasons why now is a better time than ever to jump into one of gaming’s biggest online sandboxes.
Be who you want to be
A lot of MMOs and RPGs like to throw around the promise of endless possibilities, then still force you to spend 80% of your time fighting the beasts and ghouls of the world. That’s a fun thing to do, obviously, and you’ll see later how ArcheAge lets you play out those fantasies.
But you can also embrace a slower pace of life.
Heroism in battle isn’t the only way to make a living. You can instead become a renowned Blacksmith who tends to their rose garden in their downtime, a trader crossing dangerous lands and waters to deliver valuable cargo, or a fisherman or farmer living the rustic life away from the big cities.
Make new friends and reunite with old ones
At a time when many of us are locked away in our homes, we need to get creative in how to keep enjoying the company of friends and family. Being an MMO, ArcheAge is a great social space (assuming you’re not on opposite sides in the serverwide wars!), and there are many ways you can use it.
You can, of course, join up with friends in guilds, parties or raids to go hunting or plundering out in the world - whether it’s exploring dungeons in search of loot or ambushing player-controlled traders in No Man’s Land.
But there’s also a ‘Family’ system, which lets you share property rights and buffs with up to 12 people. It runs parallel to the Guild system and is a great way to keep contact with your closest-knit friends.
Make your mark in battle
We’ve shown you some of the non-violent ways to make a living in ArcheAge, but there’s no getting around the fact that its world is shaped by war. On the one side, you have the Nuia Alliance of Elves, Dwarves and the human Nuian peoples. On the other, you have the Haranya Alliance of the feline Firrans, Harani, and the demonic Warborn.
Many lands in the game are PvP, faction-vs-faction, as the two sides engage in huge-scale battles and sieges over Archeum Crystals hidden behind player-built castle walls.
You can even go full renegade and turn on members of your own faction for personal gain, but beware the firm fist of justice for your bloodletting. Each murder of a fellow faction member leaves behind bloodstains that incriminate you, and you may find yourself facing a jury of fellow players who will decide your fate.
Become a pirate!
Maybe you’re a nautical sort, who prefers the endless horizons of open seas and the crisp spray of ocean waters over trudging on the mainland. In ArcheAge Unchained, nothing is stopping you from hitting the waters and joining the Pirate faction.
Unaligned to either of the warring factions, becoming a pirate lets you mingle with peoples from all over ArcheAge’s huge game world, and co-operate with your fellow pirates to plunder those who foolishly thought it safe to cross the open-world waters. You can also go diving for treasure in ArcheAge’s seas, where there’s a whole aquatic world to explore.
Lord over castles and land
But your ambitions may extend beyond rubbing shoulders with and picking lice from the chest-hair of scurvy-riddled seadogs. If you seek power, prestige and land, then with enough dedication you’ll find it in ArcheAge Unchained.
With enough manpower and Purified Archeum, powerful players can declare a castle on the continent of Auroria as their own, taking control of it for their faction. If a castle is occupied, then you can organise a siege to try and take it from the other side.
Once you declare a castle you can build it up from scratch, take control over surrounding lands and even collect taxes from those who build their homes there. But be warned, if you don’t defend your fiefdom properly, then you can lose it all to armies from the enemy faction.
Additionally, to celebrate Gamigos partnership with the Eden Reforestation project they will be running a charity event across their entire gaming portfolio, where players can help plant trees to make a positive impact on the environment and its inhabitants. To find out more following this link: http://charity.gamigo.com/en/index.html
You can grab the game on Steam, or go through the official website. Lose yourself, discover yourself. Be who you want to be in ArcheAge Unchained.
