Lately I’ve had an itch. Not a bug bite or an allergy, but an itching for a good, new MMO game. It’s been awhile since I’ve sunk my teeth into something epic that puts me into a large world with others, and gives me reasons to come back over and over. I think I may just have found it in the form of Black Gold from Snail Games.
Black Gold is a huge open world MMORPG that pits two warring factions against each other for control of their planet’s resources in huge open battles and individual conflicts. Like any other MMO, before you can dive into the world, you need to create and tailor a character to your liking. First you will have two very different factions to choose from. One – the Erlandir – have society and skills based around sorcery, while the other – the Isenhorst – wield a steam-punk style of technolgy which I personally like. Any class that starts you off with a cyborg-like wolf to ride is okay in my books!
Next you will have several races to choose from, ranging from Dwarfs, Nomads, Mystical, and even a vampire-like race. Each race has a nice back story which adds some extra weight to the storytelling. After choosing the race of your character, you then select a class for them, and there is a good variety to choose from. Each faction currently has six classes to choose from to fit your playing style.
Depending on what side you choose you will have an assortment of melee and ranged attack classes to select from. Since I went with the Isenhorst faction, I chose the “gunslinger” class, outfitting me with a nice set of ranged gun-based weaponry. Combat is very action-oriented, where you will want to keep moving and dodging the enemies attacks. which is always nice to see in a MMO. I’ve played too many where the outcome of a battle came down simply to who had the bigger stick. Your character will have a basic attack that has no cool-down period, but the extra abilities you gain as you level up normally do.
As you’re out roaming the world there’s no shortage of things to do. Once you hit level thirteen, after going through the full tutorial of the game, you will be introduced to adventures to participate in. You find them around the world map given out by NPCs and such. Most are adventures and are unique to the player. Some adventures are available all day or just at specific times. The payout for these are incredible, with some awesome loot and plenty of experience.
If you want to do some treasure hunting, you might be lucky enough to find hidden areas spread out around the world called “Chambers of Greed”. These hold great and sometimes rare items, but also are filled with a random arrangement of monsters that want your head. The monsters are not the only thing to worry about – other players who stumble across the entrance can explore and attack you with no penalty. Some true PvP action here and if you die, the attacker gets some of the player’s loot. Did I mention also you cannot see where you are going at first until you start exploring, and there are hidden boobie traps? The map reveals itself as you move throughout the area so tread carefully.
Lets move on now, and talk about the overall world of Black Gold. First, you need to understand what makes it tick. For starters, around the world lay nine different Energy wells, ranging in size. These wells are points in the world that factions try to control for power and influence. Some other benefits of controlling the wells is access to stores and merchants that were not available to players of the other side. Controlling factions also receive buffs when in the area of the well they have. The way a well is captured is players who are level thirty and higher can battle it out in battles that happen at a certain time and day of the week. The winner gets control of the well for the week.
When it comes to guilds within a faction, they can also battle for even more control of the wells and land so long as their faction rules it. Guilds that control the wells get exclusive quests which have a huge payout in materials for crafting and mounts to ride. Guild members have the option to donate their rewards for Guild Contribution Points which can be exchanged for equipment, mounts and other special items. Guild battles can take place daily, normally in the evening (North America).
If you’re looking for something a bit smaller in scale, then heading to the Battlefields may be more your style. These battles see two teams of four pitted against each other in PvP combat. Each battlefield has its own set of rules and winning conditions. As is the norm for MMO’s, if you are on the winning team, you can expect experience, money and valor points to come your way.
On the other end of the spectrum – and one of my favorite battle modes in the game – are the Military Battlefields. Here you will fight for the world in large-scale, capture-the-flag style combat using your personal carrier/mount or on foot. You can access these battles at any time once you are level ten, by accessing the icon on the right hand side of the screen. Battles happen every hour and last around thirty minutes. Players can come and go as they please, but you need to stay until the end to get rewarded. The more you participate, the more ranks you will gain and have a wider variety of choice as to what carrier/mount you can use in battle.
To make things a bit more random in the world there are also events called Outbreaks. These events are completely random and can pop up anywhere. You could suddenly have a mob of monsters, NPCs or even huge bosses attacking. This will force random players to fight together – or run off with their tails between their legs. If you manage to take out the enemies you can be rewarded with high-level equipment, pets and/or mounts.
For a more personal area to test out your muscle, Arena battles might be just up your alley. There are a couple different modes for your liking. First is Balance Arena where players who are level fifteen and above can be pitted against other players who are the same level, both equipped with the same gear, to be put on the same level playing field. You will only have your skills at your disposal. The other mode, named Might Arena, is for players level forty and higher. Here you can go crazy with you own weapons, equipment, items and buffs to beat the hell out of each other for even more rewards.
While roaming the world you will build quite a collection of material from loot drops and quests. You can put these to good use once you choose a profession after you hit level eighteen. You can only have one profession at a time, so choose wisely. Professions range from Weapon forging, tailoring, alchemy, to jewelry crafting. A great way to make money and craft new items for yourself. I always seemed to have plenty of materials from all the in-game quests and adventures I was in.
I have to admit I was rather impressed with the sheer amount to do in Black Gold. I must also point out that the more you play, the more the game rewards you with items, bonuses and achievements. There is real incentive to keep coming back, which in my mind show that the developers really had the gamer in mind when building the game.
When it comes to the overall look of the game Black Gold does not skimp on the graphics. The sprawling lands, ranging from lush fields, to industrial districts, to dense jungle areas, are very pleasing to the eyes. Character designs are really well done, and fall in somewhere between a more mature style and cartoony. I guess you can call it anime inspired which works very nicely. Everything is well animated, from the mounts/carriers you ride, to your attacks and spell casting. Even the menus are put together and laid out well.
While adventuring you will be treated to some very nicely arranged music. The composers really seemed to care about the audio, making sure it all fits for every situation you’re in. At times I found it rather relaxing to simply listen to the background audio while sorting my inventory of loot and materials.
In the end, Black Gold – which is continually being worked and updated – is definitely worth checking out. It is a free-to-play game, offering some payment options to get a small edge in the game, but you don’t seem to be constantly barraged with requests to buy things, which I am very happy to see. So if you have that MMORPG itch and want to try something new this summer, give it a try!
