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My review
oneeyedking
Member Posts: 6
I've played shaiya for almost a month now, levelled a normal mode char to lvl 50 and levelled a bunch of hard mode chars up to lvl 20-30...
The good :
* Nice balance between classes : Some might be better in pvp or pve, but overall each class has its weaknesses/advantages
* Good UI and controls : the interface is nice enough, you can drag everything where you want (skill bar/ hp bar/ mini map/etc...), most of the controls can be reassigned and movement is by default wasd or click.
* Low grind : levelling is fast, at least in normal mode, you can easily hit lvl 50 and unlock better modes in 2-3 weeks. A lot of quests help getting xp/gold, even if they become rare at higher lvls (you get like 1 quest each lvl after 40)
* Graphics/sounds are ok : probably not the best but the theme is consistent.
* No/low lag : I've rarely experience lag in this game, but it does happen sometimes when you enter areas with lots of players (mainly pvp).
* Nice community : You can always ask for help in trade chat (they haven't implemented a global chat but trade chat has become the unofficial one) and get a quick answer.
* Good support : There's always a GM/GS around if you have problems. I haven't seen any spammmer/ botter in this game. I've seen a speedhacker once in PvP but he was quickly reported and banned.
* Fun PvP : RvR in this game is nicely implemented and can be a lot of fun. PvP is restricted to certain areas so you don't usually have to fear PK. PvP areas are usually dominated by Alliance of Fury (it depends on time/blessing) so the fights can be sometimes boring when one side is badly outnumbered (problems of camping) but overall it's nice.
The bad
* No originality : Apart from the blessing system (each side gets a global buff to stats depending on PvP performance), this game is very classic.
* Poor character customization : the starting customization is nice (you can choose gender/size/hair/face). But all the armors/clothes look the same. You get 3 new sets of armor around every 7 lvls (1 for caster types/ 1 for melee/ 1 for stealth, ranged types), but they can't be customized and apart from the face (the helmet can be hidden in options) you'll look the same as another player from the same class/lvl.
* Low PvE content : The world seemed too small. There are 4 pve maps + 3 pvp/ve maps and dungeons (not instanced). The 1st pve map is usually crowded, as are most of the dungeons which often leads to KS. The mobs in each map/dungeon are just copies of the ones in the low lvls areas but with different names.
* No variety : Skills/Classes are too few. 6 classes. Each class can max most of its available skills even in normal mode. You can play around somewhat with your stats but it's very limited, say 2 builds at most per class.
* Cash Shop Items used and abused in PvP : I didn't resent it much, but a lot of players especially new ones complain about it. Some of the cash shop items can make some players just too strong/tough especially in the low lvl pvp area (1..15). It is somewhat balanced by the fact you can trade most of them with ingame gold but new players trying pvp at low lvls rarely have enough to afford them.
* Translations still need work : Most of the quests are badly translated, still understandable mind you but it can be annoying. For example, most of the newbies asking for help in chat are looking for mobs that have different names in quest and in game (like rough tail wolf in the quest but rough hair wolf in the game). Skill descriptions are the same : you can understand them but grammar/and words are poorly chosen.
Conclusion :
Overall a game worth a try, especially if you enjoy PvP. Balanced and classic.
But if you are looking for something with more depth, originality and good pve content then you probably won't have fun with shaiya, at least not for long.
Comments
A couple weeks ago aeriagames said that the Episode 3 game update would be comming within a few weeks. This would be sometime this month
This is a major update. It is said to be adding 2 new maps, crafting (crafting said in many places, but in 1 place someone said it would come in Episode 4, so not sure yet about crafting), mobs, guild vs guilds, guild warehouse, and more...
While we are about to get Episode 3, in Korea they are already on Episode 4. It's nice to see that the game is being actively worked on
This games' graphics and gameplay feeling is like Lineage 2, but with less grind and more quests (quests stories are nicely written). Also pvp is different as the 2 sides on the server (Dark & Light) are fighting against each other. I don't know how the new guild vs guild pvp will work out.
I'm now about to hit lvl30, and untill now this is great alternative to L2. Keeping in mind that the game started open beta 4 months ago, so everything isn't there yet but it's coming along nicely.
To me this is one of the best f2p with PW. Better than many p2p games. Great fighting system (button pushing skill system, you like it or not). Like L2 fighting alone is fun (compared to the poor fighting effects in games like VG or lotro for example. The combat feeling is what made such games not fun to play for me).
I currently can't think of anything I don't like in this game (knowing that it's new and actively updated with things like crafting and more coming).
The things I like:
- the 2 severs sides pvp system
- graphics : great desing à la Lineage 2 (not cartoony like Wow or PW for example).
- awesome fighting effects. Especially mage classes and assassins get powerfull skill effects early. Other classes are great too,
- great pvp and fighting system, with tactics and skill combos (you have to use several skill combos one after the other depending on the adversary, this is great in pvp). IT makes the fights much more interesting than the common "press button 1 and 2 repetedly" as you find it in many other games. Rangers and assassins can also get invisible, lay traps and disguise as the enemy, to make the enemy think he is one of their own (-> useful to gather information and intelligence
)
- nice things like goddess blessings, temprorarily increases the whole server player stats for the side winning in pvp.
- normal, hard, and ultimate mode play (once you reach lvl 50 you can reroll in hard mode, at lvl 60 you can reroll in ultimate mode. These advanced modes get less xp, but more stat points (->stronger chars).
- you get xp in pvp, so if you don't like pve you can also level in pvp (and get gold and drops).
- I feel no grind with nice quests including many boss fights ( till now quest bosses are often soloable, sometimes not)
- grinding is fun thanks to the nice combat effects.
- crafting is coming ? looking forward to it
Edit: as for the cash shop, only pleople who have never played a p2p pvp game, dreamers, and naives don't like it. Everyone knows the problem of p2p pvp games : gold ebayers, bots, etc... As soon as there is pvp people will purchase gold, weapons, armor and chars; the naive who think's the problem doesn't exist in p2p pvp games is just dreaming. At least the cash shop is a fair system for everyone, and it makes the game free to play for all those who don't need to be "The PVP king".
As I said in my review... the guild pvp is already implemented in shaya, and has been for weeks. It is consensual, like duels, meaning the guild leaders have to agree to the fight. And just like duels, it's not really interesting (at least for me).
And about the many boss fights... that reminds me another bad thing about shaya : quest bosses are usually farmed by high levels because they drop rare gear. Since the kill is given to the player giving more dmg, and quest bosses respawn very slowly (at least 1 hour for the fastest ones), a lot of ppl have to wait for hours or just quit the quest.
Erm and about the ppl complaining about cash shop being naive, or whatever... I was specifically referring to the use of some items in the low lvl pvp area. I guess it's fun to bash other people opinions but at least read them completely. Most complaints from shaya players (just visit their forums if you don't trust me) aren't about the cash shop in general, just some items that are clearly overpowered in the lowest pvp zone (like ko nostrums giving almost 100% crit rate). No need to be naive or a dreamer to understand that an archer being tougher than the tanker class and 1-hitting almost everyone is clearly unfair. I didn't mind it so much since both sides have their nossers (cash shop users) but the main point of 1..15 pvp is to introduce newbies of shaya to RvR pvp, and as such should be as fair as possible.
Currently, the only bosses I have seen taking 1 hour to respawn are in the dungeons. All of the bosses I have seen out of the dungeons respawn after 3-4 minutes. I am only lvl 30 though, so maybe this can change ?
I didn't bash anyone's opinion. Especially not yours as, even if I don't agree with everything, you made a good review of the game.
I agree about the lvl 1-15 pvp, nostrum should be taken out of it. Strangely nostrum didn't exist in the original game, this is something that was added in the western version.
But then, as I said, the situation is in no way better in the p2p pvp games; there is no way you can compete in a pvp game if you don't ebay. Take L2 as an example, this is one the rare pvp reference games and 90% of the server ebays, bots and cheats. People who don't do it can't go far in the game, or they just play to enjoy the ride.
The problem with the cash shop complaints is not only about the nostrum. Just look all over the forums, people are complaining about all of the f2p games' cash shops. And there is no nostrum in those games.
So yes, those opinions are from pve people who have never played a p2p pvp games, are dreaming, or ar just plain naive.
As I see it with Shaiya, thanks to the people who pay I can play for free. So for this, do they have a right to have an advantage over me ? I don't care. But what I know, is that as everyone I am free and I have the choice to pay or not.