Eden Eternal is a new 3D MMO from online game publishing company Aeria (Megaten Online, Kitsu Saga, Grand Fantasia), featuring an impressive multi-classing system, cute graphics and a deep crafting mechanic. Is this return to innocence enough to compete with the industry’s MMO giants? Grab some coffee, hit the jump, and read my closed beta test impressions.
Me playing Eden Eternal was a serendipitous occasion: for lack of a good MMO to play, I was coaxed by a friend to try it out. My initial impression was dismal: the game was a cute anime-inspired MMO, with no PK (player kill) system, and chibi (short) avatars as characters. Nevertheless, I gave the game a shot, and I was not disappointed.
Eden Eternal is a straight-up MMO with a common “quest and grind for experience” system. You basically start out by creating an avatar via a simple customization screen, and you start off by choosing from two different classes: Warrior or Magician. From the onset, you are launched forth on tasks to kill X number of creatures, gather X number of items, and return to X number of NPCs to gain levels.
The game is customized for the casual player: an auto route system is available in the game, and by right-clicking on each quest your character will automatically proceed to the respective NPC or location designated by the quest details. Money is earned by killing monsters, completing quests or selling loot to the various merchants in the game, and items are gained from drops or as quest rewards.
The equipment system is reminiscent of World of Warcraft’s soulbinding mechanic: when an item is first acquired as a drop, the item may be sold to NPCs or to other players. Once equipped, items are bound and can no longer be traded, but can still be sold to NPCs.
…and now for the good part. Eden Eternal has fifteen character classes. Yes. FIFTEEN.
Perhaps its most impressive feature is its multi-classing system, a versatile system that allows each player to change jobs on the fly. You can be an agile thief one day then a rocking bard the next, and then turn into a powerhouse warrior or a bone breaking martial artist any time you wish. The customization in this game is so deep, it would be hard to master all of the character classes (unless you’re a night owl like I am).
Dungeons are instance based, with a limit of either three or five players being able to enter each instance. If you die inside the dungeon, you may restart and re-enter the dungeon again to rejoin your comrades, provided that they’re still alive.
Upon hitting level 30, the game will provide the player their very own mount after a very short quest: a cute and very serious alpaca which you can ride from town to town. Believe me, you will need that alpaca to get from town to town, since the world of Eden Eternal is vast.
Guilds in the game who manage to level their guild to 3 may opt to purchase an impressive feature for their pleasure: an entire town dedicated to them. This headquarters feature the guild’s own merchants, soldiers and even statues of their guildmaster and sub-commanders. High level equipment may only be developed in guild towns, and each member of the guild are given benefits when using the town’s amenities.
The game is vast, and there’s so many other topics I haven’t touched base on: it’s worth the experience, I guarantee it. Eden Eternal begins their open beta today at 10 AM: we look forward to seeing you there!
You can visit the Eden Eternal website by clicking on the image below:
Happy gaming!
~ Shin / Deniva