In July 2021, the MMORPG Swords of Legends Online was released on Steam and in the Gameforge client. Previously, it had to be purchased once before you could play it. However, that has changed since today, March 3rd. At the same time, a major expansion with three new classes and a new level cap has been released.
What kind of game is it? Swords of Legends is an Asia MMORPG that places great importance on a traditional Chinese story. You experience a classic battle of “Good versus Evil.” You will level up one of 9 different classes.
Once you reach the max level, you have the choice of content such as:
- Dungeons and raids in multiple difficulty levels
- various life skills
- housing
- PvP in arenas or large battles on a special PvP map
We from MeinMMO have played Swords of Legends for 80 hours in the beta and were very satisfied with the game. However, the MMORPG did not achieve a major breakthrough.
Where were the issues? Criticism was mainly directed at the monotonous leveling phase and the fact that you had to reach max level first for the interesting content. Just a month after release player numbers on Steam dropped rapidly.
However, the switch to Free2Play and the new expansion are now supposed to give the MMORPG another push.
[15:10] Anna Alberg (guest)
New expansion brings 5 new areas, new classes, dungeons, and raids
What’s included in the new update? The expansion will bring several new contents, including:
- The new classes Fox Mage and two Warrior classes: one male and one adapted female version
- A new max level, for which you can climb another 37 levels, up to level “Wise 1”
- 3 additional and free character slots
- 5 new areas – Changfu Garden, Langquan Bridge, and Sword Peak of Taihua Mountain, as well as the two areas “Paradise of Snowing Blossoms” and “Changhe Mountains,” where the new classes level up
- The new story chapters 11 and 12
- 5 new dungeons and 2 raids
- New maps for 3v3 and 10v10 arena PvP
- A race with flying mounts
What makes the new classes special? The Fox Mage relies on the power of thorns and blossoms and can either deal damage to enemies or take on the role of a healer. The Fox Mage also comes with a new body type, which Gameforge refers to as “girl.” This introduces a class in SOLO that appears more childish.
The two Warrior classes, Crystal Warrior and Spirit Warrior, focus on powerful sword attacks, both against single enemies and in AoE. They come, like the Spear Master and the Berserker before, with the 2 specializations Tank and Damage Dealer.
- Male Warriors will continue to be played as large men and play the class Crystal Warrior.
- In the female version, the Warriors only have access to the body type “girl” and are referred to as Spirit Warrior.
- The Crystal Warrior is significantly harder to play than its girl-like counterpart.
What does the expansion cost? Nothing. The update has been applied for free. With the switch to Free2Play, you don’t have to pay anything else either.
Moreover, the shop is extremely fair. There is no Pay2Win and not even Pay2Convenience like boosters or additional bank slots. However, some nice costumes and mounts are behind the paywall.
SOLO targets fans of Asia games and good dungeons
What makes SOLO special? Swords of Legends is an MMORPG with a strong Asia flair. The world, the story, and the characters are heavily influenced by Chinese culture, and you must enjoy that if you want to delve deep into SOLO.
In the endgame, the MMORPG focuses strongly on instances. In dungeons and raids, you grind your gear upwards and constantly face new challenges and difficulty levels. At the highest difficulty, it can take a few days before the instances are completed for the first time. This will appeal especially to fans of FFXIV.
However, SOLO has a more active combat system than Final Fantasy XIV, and you need to aim and skillfully dodge boss attacks. If you’re craving more dynamics, you’ll find it here.
With the new expansion, Swords of Legends also addresses the boring leveling phase. Overall, everything goes much faster, and the two new classes also start in their own areas with new story content and some variety. With the new classes, it takes only about 5 to 10 hours to reach max level.
Who is it worth joining now? If you are looking for a new MMORPG, have no problem with an Asia setting and a somewhat tedious story, you should check out Swords of Legends. There is plenty to do, many different classes to choose from, and you can delve deep into dungeons and raids.
However, one must have a certain fondness for grinding and should not be discouraged by the boring start.
If you can’t get into a strong Asia setting and a lot of grinding, you should rather focus on one of the other MMORPGs, such as Guild Wars 2, which just recently received a strong new expansion:
