Tag: Archlord

Archlord II Global Server Coming This Summer


archlords

Webzen has revealed that Archlord II will launch its global service this summer. The service will launch under gPotato and while there is no date set, a teaser website is already up. Archlord II has struggled in its native home of Korea where the servers have already undergone mergers following a lack of population. Players have criticized the game for launching with a heavy cash shop and pay to win aspects.

Archlord II has received several updates since then to lighten the cash shop.

(Source: MMO Culture)

Archlord: Shutdowns and Mergers


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As Archlord continues its shuttering, the sequel doesn’t seem to be faring any better. Last month, we reported that Archlord would be shutting down its global servers on January 1st, and MMO Culture is reporting that the Korean server will also be closing. Citing an inability to “provide players with a stable environment,” Webzen announced that Archlord’s final territory will be shutting down on February 13th. According to MMO Culture, Archlord II hasn’t been seeing a great response. Currently in open beta, Archlord II has been heavily criticized for latency issues, poor game design, and heavy pay to win features.

The MMO reportedly merged down to two servers, with players still having trouble finding parties. Archlord II is set to head westward at some point in 2014.

(Source: MMO Culture)

Archlord Shutting Down In January


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Archlord is one of those games whose history I have found difficult to track. This MMO began under Codemasters way back in 2005, launching to pretty low reviews before it went free to play and ultimately shut down in 2009. Webzen, who published Archlord in other territories, took on the role of global publisher. At one point, Webzen started talking about something called Archlord X, which according to this rather poorly translated Facebook notice from September 2012, has ceased development.

Thank you for waiting for release of Archlord X. We notice that all Archlord X contents containing various quest, enhanced battle system and efficient user interface will be applied to Archlord’s major expansion on September. We believe that qualified contents from Archlord X, which was used to enhance Archlord contents, will offer you exciting game environment. Please come to Archlord to enjoy Archlord X contents.

Sadly, Archlord itself will be shutting down January 1st, likely in preparation for the launch of Archlord 2. Compensation packages have not been finalized, and Webzen has promised more details in the coming weeks.

On August of 2009, Webzen.com was thrilled to release Archlord globally. Since official launch, we have been working hard to build a strong community and gaming environment through new content updates and various events. Unfortunately, we have come to a difficult decision to end this long journey we have enjoyed and cherished together. We understand that this will disappoint many of our players.

(Source: Archlord)

Archlord is Coming Back To America


Yep...

I have not paid nearly enough attention to Archlord and, to be honest, I apologize for it. Not only do I have to start this out by bringing you back into the loop, but I had to do enough research into the Archlord archives just to bring myself up to speed. Last we left Archlord, back in January, I announced that Webzen, who had taken over hosting from Codemasters last year, was opening up a new server: Deribelle, which would play host to increased experience and drops, where players could transfer from the shutdown North American servers.

I am still not 100% back up to speed on Archlord, so if any players are viewing this I would love some information. Deribelle is still there, but American/Australian players are still without a server in their area to play on. There are currently four European servers and one Asian, and from my research of over 70 pages of Archlord threads, most of these servers shut down on a regular basis due to stress and server load.

Much of this might be attributable to the number of players attempting to reach the servers from America and Australia, who will be happy to know that Webzen has just announced the upcoming opening of Gracia, a server for American players. How for American servers is it exactly? So for American players that only American players, of the North and South variety, can transfer their characters over to this server when it opens for beta May 27th, for a live launch June 3rd.

As is usual for new servers on Archlord, the new server will play host to events as well as upped experience and drops. Hopefully I will have something to talk about by the time this update hits, but by Archlord’s way of getting into the news, that might not be until October.

Archlord Says Hello 2010: Good, Bad, and Ugly


Archlord is one of those titles I don’t get to talk about much, because it falls into the category of games that are small enough that any announcement made is heard within the radius of your average MMOs local chat. So when the companies give status updates on the title, I jump on it like, well, myself on status updates.

Last we heard from Archlord, back in early October, the game had shifted from Codemasters to Webzen, not only offering to transfer characters and their currencies, but bringing in a new swashbuckling class. Webzen has been busy for the past few months, and 2010 is when we will see the fruits of their work:

On the good side, Webzen is starting out the year with a new server. Deribelle, as it is named, will play host to increased experience, better loot drops, and item giveaways to welcome the new players. Later next month will see the release of a multi-language client, bringing German, Portugese, Spanish, and French into the game. The Chaotic Frontier, a new dungeon, features level scaling, allowing players of any level to jump right in and experience the wonders it has to offer, with loot scaled of course.

Sadly, there is no good without evil, and the new Deribelle realm comes on the heels of two of the four European servers shutting down.

Despite the setback of two lost servers, there is no doubt (at least in my mind) that Webzen wants to make Archlord work for those who are still loyal to the title. For those of you who have not given the title a try, now is as good of a time as any. It is free to play, after all.

More on Archlord if I get to talk about it this year.

2009: Surprise Sequels and Drama Aplenty


2009 in a nutshell...

2009 has come to a close, and has brought us plenty in terms of surprise sequels and drama. Here is a comprehensive list of the surprise sequels and drama that hit this past year.

Continue reading “2009: Surprise Sequels and Drama Aplenty”

Archlord Is Back!


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Ok, you caught me. I have to admit, however, that for a title that was as widely panned as Archlord (As I mentioned in my previous news bit, Archlord was panned for being “dull and repetitive” among other issues) Archlord is quite resilient. Last September we learned that the free to play title was to be shut down after Codemasters lost the rights to run the title in North America and Europe. Ever since the title launched, it was wrought with controversy, as I mentioned coming across quite a large number of claims of corruption within Codemasters, and convenient bans for people who purchased large amounts of in-game currency (The game runs on a micro-transaction  format, shop currency is specifically what I am referring to).

Archlord shut down on the first of this month, for two days when the newest host, Webzen, officially launched the new North American and European servers. Webzen is offering a transfer service to players coming over from Codemasters, that is expected to complete on the 14th. In order to sweeten the deal, Webzen updated the game offering transfer players some microtransaction currency, and the new Archlord now features a female-only swashbuckling class.

A change of pace should be just what the doctor ordered for Archlord, but it may be too little too late. I foresee the next news story you see here on MMO Fallout related to Archlord will be its shutdown notice.

Codemasters Loses Archlord Rights


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Just as I’m talking about the battle over the future of Dungeons and Dragons online, here comes news from another sector of the internet: Codemasters has lost their rights to operate the MMO Archlord in the United States and Europe. Instead, the servers will shut down on October 1st, only to be reopened a couple days later by the new host, Webzen.

As far as MMOs go, Archlord in the west was the MMO that never was, isn’t, and never will be. The game by itself received unfavorable reviews, with Gamespot summing it up in two words: Dull and repetitive. The title was smashed for its countless hours of dull grind, with little reward, in a world that often seemed to be populated only by yourself. It isn’t any surprise that it took only ten months after release for Archlord to ditch the subscription rate, and go completely free to play, ala Guild Wars. Nowadays Archlord is described as “empty and full of bots.”

What caught my attention was, in every location I found discussion on Archlord, the discussion regularly turned to one factor: Corruption from Codemasters. Shady bans and a response along the lines you would expect from your local Wal Mart or Mcdonalds. Players being conveniently banned after spending large sums of cash on the in-game currency (Archlord kept its microtransaction service), and more. According to some of my sources, this activity is almost a mirror image of RF Online, another MMO published by Codemasters in the west.

This may not be the end for Codemasters driving MMOs into the ground. According to several of my sources, Turbine is looking to bring their MMOs home, meaning Codemasters may lose its European publishing rights to Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online.

If you have any dealings with Codemasters on LOTRO, DDO, RF Online, or the soon to be murdered and then resurrected Archlord, please drop us a comment.