“10 Things I Love/Hate About...” is a new feature at MMO Life. Each week, one of our writers will pick one of their favorite MMOs and MMORPGs, and come up with ten things they love – and ten things they hate – about their chosen game.

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10 Things I Love About: "Runes of Magic"

I started playing the free-to-play MMORPG "Runes of Magic" in March during Phase 3 of the Closed Beta. Shortly after, the game went into Open Beta and I’ve been playing ever since. The MMORPG captured my attention because of its very unique style of play that’s closer to its subscription-based cousins than its "free-to-play MMORPG" brothers and sisters.

Here are 10 things I love about Frogster's hit MMORPG.

(To see 10 Things I Hate About "Runes of Magic," be sure to read the companion feature here!)

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1. The MMORPG is quest driven

• I enjoy many free-to-play MMORPGs, but I tire of them quickly resulting in me jumping back and forth for the other, more unique, elements each MMORPG offers. At their core they are all grinders, requiring you to kill over and over for hours. "Runes of Magic" offers world quests and daily quests similar to beefier subscriber based cousins "World of Warcraft" or "EverQuest 2" to break up the monotony.

2. A balanced (and fair) Item Mall

• "RoM’s" Item Mall seems very well balanced, offering items that only speed up progression of gameplay. You won’t find any weapons or equipment (with stats) that could easily overpower paying players. Everything in the MMORPG is obtainable by anyone regardless of whether you use the Item Mall or not.

3. The Dual-Class System

• The dual-class system is unique and gives special “elite skills” at certain levels based on the combination of classes you choose. I love the ability in this MMORPG to take any class and add Priest as a second class so I’ll always be able to heal.

4. Free player housing

• I can finally have a home to decorate as I see fit, and call my own. On top of that, housing is free and provided to everyone playing the MMORPG at level 5. I can decorate with furniture, and even usable crafting stations. House numbers are given out so you can invite people in or visit other’s houses.

5. Mounts available at level one

• You get a temporary horse practically the moment you set foot in the world of Taborea. I can rent a horse in-game with gold or buy permanent mounts of different shapes and sizes in the Item Mall. No more wasting time hoofing it on foot until I reach a level requirement to ride, like certain other MMORPGs.

6. Customizable weapons and armor

• "RoM" has an item called the Aggregator that allows players to take the stats of one item and transfer them onto another item's mesh. No more clones! Now if you have the best of the best current armor but hate how it looks, just transfer those stats onto a prettier piece. It provides a deep system letting you hunt down the pieces you like to create the exact look -- and stats -- you want.

7. World Search

• A pop-up window where I can search or browse for NPCs, locations, or quests with a built in tracker removes a major annoyance that I always experienced in "World of Warcraft" and other MMORPGs. You can still get “lost,” but it makes things a lot less annoying.

8. Factionless PvP

• I was skeptical at first, but quickly fell in love with "RoM’s" PvP and PK set up. I love the tingling sense of danger that is ever-present where any player could attack anyone else at any moment.

9. More accessible player amenities

• In every zone you’ll find smaller towns, in addition to 2 major world-cities, that offer places for people of the same level to congregate. Each small town or “hub” has a mailbox, crafting stations, auction house, and more. I love how less likely you are to find ghost towns, instead finding groups of people milling about which gives me a strong sense that this is a living world.

10. Nice graphics

• For a free-to-play MMORPG, the graphics are very well done and very scalable to reach a wider range of machines that can run it. I’ve had lots of fun scaling mountains, or searching regularly accessible areas to take screenshots of the scenery. I especially love the zone Dragonfang Ridge with its spectacular crystal clear blue water and wide range of geographical differences.

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Be sure to check out "10 Things I Hate About 'Runes of Magic,'" also written by Jeremy!

Posted by Jeremy Stratton
July 8, 2009

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