The Legend of Ares

Gameplay

The game contains two nations which a player can choose to join: the Holy Empire and Religious Alliance. Players can also choose from four separate classes: (Knight, Spearman, Archer and Sorcerer), each with their own skills that are unique to their class. As with most MMORPGs, the more you play, the stronger you become; players must kill monsters for experience points (EXP) to level up. As a player advances in levels, trouble is bound to occur, not only with stronger monsters, but with players of either country. The main problem expressed in LOA is the relationship between hackers and non-hackers. Many hackers have found various ways to play the game illegitimately, causing much turmoil and grief for those who worked hard for their places. Despite GM intervention or lack thereof, the game is leaning toward becoming a hacker haven, where many people have found ways to make them selves more powerful with techniques such, but not limited to, speeding, duping, and bugging, which has forced many players, seeking a less tumultuous game, to go on a permanent hiatus where they can enjoy less troublesome and less stressful games. The community is split up into three servers: Posieden, Demeter, Phoenix.

Storyline - Dramatis Personae

Ares' domain, Olympus

Even in the lofty heights of Mount Olympus, nothing was deeper than Ares' anger and spite towards his godly colleagues. Always scheming and manipulating against him, how else should he feel towards his oppressors? If only he had more power, he could show those arrogant fools the extent of his rage and vengeance! But how? As it stands, all the Greek city-states are already at war, and all avenues of worship are at their maximum. Nothing save creating new nations to go into war would increase his power; but if he were to even attempt that, the other gods would, of course, rally together to thwart him. There is also the option of expanding his influence to other nations, but the problem of encountering and fighting other gods still exists, which could be troublesome. The ideal situation to increase his power would be to infiltrate a land where the gods are weak, and the people are strong. But where would such a place exist?

Imperial Chamber, The Holy Empire of Arabic

With eyebrows furrowed, and fist to his face, the young emperor, Damion, darkly brooded on his imperial throne. The people of the empire expected great things from the son of the Drakor the Great, but what was there to give them? The borders of the empire are set due to tentative peace treaties with the Alliance, and the soldiers are well equipped to contain the monster threat. The treasury coffers are full, and all roads are well-kept. Times are at their best, but the people are still getting restless. Will his reign be one of complacency and peace? No, something must be done soon, but beyond killing a few nefarious beasts, what avenue of glory could there be?

Chamber of the Council, The Religious Alliance of Arabic

Emanating strength of spirit and will, Abner looked at the other members of The Council. It is he who first proposed peace with the Empire five years ago, and it is he who upholds it to this day. Nothing is more important than the safety and security of his people, especially Aleria, and he'll be damned if anyone, be it Empire or Alliance, jeopardizes it. It's rumored that this young emperor, Damion, is eager to make a name for himself, which is fine by Abner as long as he keeps to his own borders. But if this Damion character steps out of line or rather over the line even once, he better be prepared for a fight! He'll take that boy of an emperor by the throat and gut him like every other nefarious beast he's defeated. Even if it means taking over the entire continent, nothing will endanger the future of his people. nothing!

Somewhere in the heavens above Arabic

Things are getting out of hand amongst the Arabic nations. Shaking his head, Kulam paced back and forth, occasionally peering into the minds of his waning worshippers. More and more the people of Arabic were forsaking their gods for more "modern" paganistic views. Where is the gratitude for their prosperity and safety? Why is it that they turn so quickly away from the beliefs of their forefathers, whom he has nurtured generation by generation? What will the future hold for the people of Arabic as his power wanes?

Prologue

Chapter I

Sitting upon his throne with a resolute thud, Damion peered over the heads of his courtiers out the window. Would his fate as an Emperor of the Holy Empire be confined to mundane matters of state? If only the gods would send a calamity, or perhaps even war, to stir up the blood of his people; then he'd be able to show his people how great an emperor he really is.

In the midst of his ruminations, Damion noticed a black raven from afar fly and perch on his window. Oddly, the raven neither crowed nor moved on the window, to the point where Damion began to wonder if the bird was alive. The raven continued to remain immobile while his courtiers droned on about their concerns. Even after their departure, the raven continued to stare at Damion until at last it hopped into the room.

"Your duties as a ruler are quite dull, emperor."

Shocked, Damion drew closer to the bird, "How is it that you can speak, bird? Are you a messenger from the gods relaying that they've heard my prayers?"

Transforming himself from the form of a bird Ares replied, "I am no messenger, boy, and I am no god you've heard of. Yet I have heard your pathetic prayers. I have the power to grant you the fame, glory, and immortality that you desire, but you must first obey and follow my demands. Your people must worship me, but not in the ways of your former gods. Worship me through the blood, battle, and strife of war! Gather your people and prepare for conquest, so that you may be the first emperor of Arabic. As unifier of the people of this land, your name will be remembered for all eternity!"

Overwhelmed and excited by Ares' words, Damion rushed to his council chamber to call on his generals and priests. Preparations for war must be made! Weapons must be sharpened, armor burnished, and soldiers equipped. But first, a nation-wide religious conversion must be organized! Ares, the mysterious foreign god, must be worshipped and honored; for it he who will bring our people honor and victory.

Chapter II

"Wake up, godling! Your people are being snatched from under you, and here I find you slumbering. The time for your intervention is at hand."

Drowsily, Kulam, the native god of providence lifted his head to peer at the intruder, "And who might you be, to treat a god with such disregard? Leave now, and I will forget your intrusion" "My apologies godling, my name is Athena, Greek God of Wisdom, and your people are being snatched from under your nose. My brother Ares, Greek God of war, is, even now, planning to plunge the continent of Arabic into war by influencing the people of the Holy Empire towards continental conquest. You must thwart him, lest he succeed and further augment his power."

Fully aroused, Kulam scrutinized the Greek goddess. "Why are Greek gods involving themselves in the affairs of Arabic? And whatever the reason may be, what am I supposed to do against the power of the Olympian gods? As it stands, my power wanes as people become godless. And if what you're saying is true, Ares' action only act to weaken me further. What would you have me do goddess?"

Moved by Kulam's despair, Athena embraced him, "Worry not, god of providence. As you provide your people with sustenance and prosperity, I will provide you with wisdom."

"There is a legend that tells of how Ares was entrapped by giants for over a year. According to this legend, Ares was so distraught with his confinement that he was willing to acquiesce to any of the giant's demands including relinquishing his position as god of war. Unfortunately, Ares was rescued by another Olympian before any vows could be made. The legend also speaks of the item that the giants used to confine Ares, the Circle of Confinement. Any immortal who touches this item will be forever bound unless released by its owner. I have arranged for this item to be placed in the tower of your holy land. Find a worthy candidate to retrieve this item and entrap Ares so that you may stop his nefarious scheme."

Bolstered by Athena's advice, Kulam rushed to the council chambers of the Religious Alliance. There, he approached the ruler, Abner, with all that Athena had revealed. While it was Kulam's intention to send Abner and his men on a quest for the Circle of Confinement, Abner had other plans.

"God of providence, I do not doubt your words nor the words of the foreign goddess. But if what you say is true, I have much work to do with regards to the defense of my nation. This mystical item will only be useful to my people if Ares presents himself on the battlefield. Until then, we must hold our defense and prevail. For this reason, I can neither go nor send my best men. Go and find a devout zealot to complete your quest, and we will use the item when the time is ripe."

Furious and distraught with Abner's denial, Kulam searched the Alliance for any who would heed his call. As fate would have it, Abner's daughter, Aleria, was praying in the nation's high temple, and heard Kulam's summons. After hearing Kulam's plea, Aleria agreed to the quest and ventured to retrieve The Circle of Confinement.

Classes

Knights

After extensive training in various weapon proficiencies and close combat, Knights have become known as the masters of melee. They are the easiest class to start with, but the most difficult to truly master.

Initially, Knights do not possess any special attacking skills so they must depend on their normal melee attacks and combos. It is strongly recommended that you stock up on HP potions (ex: Sage Potion) before going out to level or fight. If HP potions are too expensive, there are alternative items such as Quickening potions to aid you in your battles.

While commonly seen with a shield in one hand and a weapon in the other, a Knight's attack speed is significantly increased when equipped with only a one-handed club. Consequently, this is the best weapon for raising Knights during their lower levels.

Keep in mind that, as a Knight, your equipment will be your most important tool. If you have the optimal equipment set for your level, then not only will you be able to deal and receive more damage, the need for other items such as potions will decrease significantly. Obtaining the best items, however, will require lots of hard work and/or good fortune.

Once Knights reach a certain level, they will also be able to acquire 2 types of skills: skills that increase the character's basic ability, and skills that activate special techniques. While some might prefer to focus on the ability or technique skill, learning which skill matches each situation will be the key to mastering the class.

Spearman

From first glance, Spearmen have many similarities with Knights. They are both masters of physical combat and have almost all of the same weapon proficiencies. But upon further inspection, the differences between the two classes are enough to vastly distinguish the two.

Spearmen, in addition to having all the weapon proficiencies of Knights, also have the exclusive ability to wield class-specific weapons (such as the two-handed spear). The attack power of two-handed weapons is typically higher than the other weapons, consequently meaning faster enemy kills. In this way, Spearmen have a greater advantage than Knights with regard to weapon selection and damage dealing. However, when a character is equipped with a two-handed weapon, their defensive ability will be considerably reduced since they cannot hold a shield. To counter-balance this loss, it is recommended that they learn skills that increase defense.

Due to the trade off between attack power and defense, Spearmen must be able to quickly calculate the rate of damage dealt versus the rate of damage taken effectively to kill efficiently and stay alive. In addition, as he progresses in levels, the Spearman will have unique skills only available to him, which will further distinguish the Spearman class. Choosing Spearmen is recommended for those players looking for a challenge or for those with familiarity of the game.

Archer

As the name implies, the Archer's primary means of attack is the bow, which allows for long ranged physical attacks. Unlike Sorcerers, who also use ranged attacks, however, Archers do not consume MP for their attack; but instead, require arrows. As a result, hunting, for Archers, will cost more than the warrior classes (Knights and Spearmen), but not as much as the Sorcerers (since arrows are considerably more affordable than MP potions). In the same way, controlling the Archer will be noticeably more difficult than the warrior classes but easier than the Sorcerers. Beyond that limitation, however, the Archers are the easiest and cheapest character to raise during low levels.

In addition to a limited choice of weapons, Archers are also limited to wearing only light armor, significantly decreasing their ability to take damage. Because of this, they must rely on short-term battles using hit-and-run tactics. As a result, the most unique and essential skills of an Archer are that which increase their moving and attacking speed.

While the warrior's (Knights and Spearmen) attack power stems from attack speed and weapon proficiency, Archers' power is primarily derived from overall speed and ranged accuracy.

Sorcerer

Sorcerers are magic-casters, who, like the Archers, deal damage primarily from a distance. Because of this, quick battles of hit-and-run attacks with potions and/or skills that increase movement speed will be essential. As a Sorcerer, you will typically be moving a lot during battles. Subsequently, Sorcerers are the most difficult class in the game to play because it requires a high level of strategy and character control, but is also the class that levels the quickest.

When Sorcerers cast offensive spells (or any other spell for that matter), they use their Mental Points (MP). When they run out of MP, they can either wait for it to regenerate or use items, such as potions, to replenish it. Typically, since Sorcerers are long-ranged attackers, they will more likely need MP potions over HP potions.

Since Sorcerers use their mental abilities as their primary source of attack, it is recommended to equip armor and weapons that increase their mental power over their physical attributes. Unfortunately, this causes Sorcerers to have low defense and physical attack power, which leads to a quick death if an enemy gets close. To avoid this, Sorcerers should learn to use the following strategies:

Short-term Battle Strategy: Knock down the monster with powerful magic attacks before they reach you. If it's a passive monster (non-aggressive), then find a safe position and cast your spells from there. Keep in mind that this strategy will not be as effective for strong monsters with high HP.

Hit-and-Run Strategy: Keep your distance from the monster by constantly moving around. In order to do this successfully, you must plan the locations that you will move to while predicting the monsters movement. Skillful control of your character is absolutely necessary for this type of strategy.

Proper skill point distribution: The skill points that you distribute for your character stats cannot be canceled once it's distributed. For that reason, some people choose to keep their skill points undistributed until they are sure about which skill they want to learn. However, you must remember that not distributing your skill points to learn new skills will limit the Sorcerer's ability. Using your skill points at the right time for the right magic skill will be crucial for properly and quickly leveling your character.

Guilds

Players can form guilds or clans which allow for more social interaction, other people to quest with and the addition of a cape and guild tag. They can also engage in guild wars, involving two guilds fighting each other. When a guild war is declared, the names of the guilds involved are announced.

Player vs. Player

Honor System

When a player kills another player from a rival nation or guild, they will receive one honor point. When a player is defeated by another player from the rival nation, one honor point is taken away. When a player accumulates a certain number of honor points, he/she will receive a rank within their nation's standing. The general rule of rank is: the higher rank a player achieves the greater the bonus that player will get towards his attack and defense power (see Ranking System on website).

National War

Fight players from your rival nation to increase your ability through rank and honor points! While players will begin their journey in "safe" zones, there will be areas of the map later in the game where both nations must venture. Players should be on their guard when in these areas!

Guild War

Player-created guilds will help players to level, hunt, and quest; but that's not all. Guilds will be able to wage war against each other regardless of nation-association, and can even band together to form alliances against their enemies. Alliance vs. Alliance and/or Guild vs. Guild warfare will be another way for players to achieve rank and honor points.

Territorial War

There will be organized Nation vs. Nation events where players of each nation will fight for control of areas of the map. Each area will have their respective bonuses to bestow on the winning side in addition to increasing the size of the player's nation. In this way, players will have a direct impact on their nation's prosperity as well as an impact in the progression of the story. Needless to say, Territorial War will be a great way for players to gain rank through honor points.

System Requirements

Intel Pentium III 700MHz CPU
128MB RAM
1.5GB HD
Video 1024*768 32 bit color
Graphic card Geforce2MX or higher
Windows 98/ME/2000/XP

Source: [1] [2]