Sevencore presents alternative to traditional MMORPG conventions

Saddle up your giant riding spider because Sevencore entered its open beta test phase last week.  I thought this would be a fine time to take a look at the game and how it’s shaping up. Since I covered the basics of what it’s about in my look at the closed beta test, this is more about my thoughts and whether or not Sevencore is worth investing time and effort into. If you like guns, wizardry, swords, and collecting mounts to show off in a game, then Noria and gPotato have a treat for you.

What makes this different?

Sevencore is ideal for the solo and casual player. Since there’s no healing class or even healing abilities, group dynamic for difficult content isn’t nearly as important as it is in other MMORPGs. The basic class tropes are missing here (warriors don’t even have a taunt) and that means that any combination of characters can group quickly and efficiently. Using the first dungeon, Trial of Heroes as an example, two warriors could charge in and complete the content as easily as a gunner and magician. So the answer to “which class is best” would be determined entirely by your own play style.

Neck length? Really?

For the person that likes a lot of customization options, Sevencore does not disappoint. Customization options border on the completely ludicrous. Why I would ever need to have a slider for hand size or neck length, I don’t know. Still, there’s virtually no chance that you won’t have a very unique character if you really want to make one.

Then, of course, there’s the pet and mount system. After completing the starting island area, you’ll be transported to the beginning of the larger world where you receive your first pet after a relatively easy quest. Pets are useless until they reach level 10 by being at your side as you fight. Thankfully, this doesn’t take very long. After that they can be ridden as a mount either in combat or out, though they’re far more useful as pets in combat. Each has a set of abilities that can be learned when you have the money, but the abilities must be activated via hotkey during combat. Only aggression can be set to automatic at this time to determine whether you pet boldly fights by your side or cowers behind you. More pets can be acquired from certain quests or as drops from rare and difficult monsters.

The problem is what to do with pets that you are not currently using. Sadly, the only options are to allow them to continue to occupy your limited bag space or store them in your warehouse back in a town. Well, that or destroy them outright, but I’m guessing most people will collect pets until the end of time in this game.

Is this MMO right for you?

While they’re calling this an open beta test, it really isn’t much of a “test” since it was announced that the game is now open to all and that characters will be carried over (i.e. not wiped) to the live launch. So now is a good time to get in and grab that name you covet in your MMO experience. Just be careful with what words you want to use, the language filter is a little over-zealous in this game. Partial swear words set it off like “classes” (displays as cl*****) and even “staff” set it off. Yeah, you can’t even talk about half of the weapons for magicians in chat. So that could use a little fine tuning.

Is it really worth your time to play? That will depend on what you’re looking to get out of an MMO experience right now. Sevencore doesn’t have all the fancy bells and whistles that a giant retail game like WoW does. You’ll not find an ounce of phased content where you and your group get separated because you walked into two different versions of the same area. The action can also get a tad “grindy” at times, but that’s part and parcel with most any RPG. However, if you’re looking for a game that’s easy to get the hang of and that can be played casually for short periods of time either alone or in small groups, this might be your game. Hardcore players looking for huge raids and dynamic content might want to go somewhere else.

Beyond the play style concerns, it’s also worth noting that the art style is an anime-like hybrid of fantasy and sci-fi where transforming robot mounts exist alongside dragons. You literally have to make an emergency landing of your personal flying motorcycle machine on an island where you then go fight raptors. Some people have been put off by that, so I recommend checking out some screen shots before downloading the client.