With Astellia a new MMORPG will soon be released in the West. We present you with five things you should definitely know before buying.
The following information is meant to give you an overview of the upcoming MMORPG Astellia. It will be released on September 28 in the West, with the head start for pre-orders beginning 7 days earlier.
1. This is Astellia
What is Astellia? The theme park MMO Astellia was released in December 2018 as a free-to-play game in Korea and was developed by Studio 8 and BarunsOn E&A.
In the first months, the game performed very well in Korea and ranked in the top 30 of the most played games. However, in June it fell out of the top 50.
Astellia has made it their goal to appeal to the classic MMORPG fan and design a fair payment system.
We notice at MeinMMO that the interest in the game is quite large. Players are thirsty for a new theme park MMORPG.
What does Astellia cost? Astellia will be released as a buy-to-play title in the West. The cheapest pre-order package costs 40 euros.
However, there is also the subscription option for 10 euros per month, which allows unrestricted MMO play. The subscription is especially suitable for testing if you are still unsure or if you just want to play through for the story.
2. Astellia is oriented towards traditional values
How is Astellia structured? In the MMORPG, you start with character creation and are then released into a world full of dangers. There are five classes to choose from, which can be classically assigned to the Holy Trinity:
- Warriors are the tanks
- Scholars take care of healing
- Mages deal damage and can create shields
- Assassins cause damage in melee
- Archers for damage at range
The combat system is somewhat rigid but is supposed to become a bit more dynamic with minor adjustments before release. After all, you can use many abilities while moving, and there is a small dodge roll that adds a bit of momentum.
Even outside the combat system, Astellia holds few surprises. The quest system is traditionally built and somewhat monotonous with a lot of running around, comparable to WoW Classic.
There are also no major surprises in the 4-player dungeons and crafting. Only the Astels, your companions in battle, deviate somewhat from the usual features.
3. The peculiarity: Astels
What is special about Astellia? The Astels are small companions that support you in battle and use an additional resource of energy.
Astels are intended to assist you in combat. They can also take on the roles of tank, healer, or damage dealer. In a trading card system, you can collect up to 33 Astels and use exactly the ones that can help you the most in each situation.
There are even specific combo attacks that Astels can perform with you.
4. The endgame consists of dungeons and PvP
What can you expect in Astellia’s endgame? Your character has 50 levels ahead in Astellia until it reaches the maximum level. After that, you can look forward to the following content:
- Legendary dungeons (which will be unlocked later)
- PvP
- Avalon
- Legendary equipment
Avalon is a PvP area where three factions play against each other for a week. The system can be compared to the WvW from Guild Wars 2.
Legendary equipment can be earned through dungeons but also through crafting.
5. Astellia is specifically adapted for the West
What makes the western version different? In order for Astellia not to flop in the West, the developers have taken some precautions. The game has become buy-to-play instead of free-to-play, while many items and content that would be considered pay-to-win have been removed from the shop.
However, the MMORPG has also undergone adaptations in other areas:
- Some former shop contents like dungeon tickets can be actively earned.
- The gender lock has been relaxed for the first two classes and is expected to be removed for others as well.
- The game will also have German and French text, as well as English voice acting.
In the first beta, our author Alexander Leitsch has already seen the MMO and written a conclusion:
