Currently, a community event is taking place in the MMORPG Chronicles of Elyria. Here, players without a founder package become plague spreaders. However, the MMORPG has not even started yet.
Event without game: Chronicles of Elyria is currently not permanently playable. Although the indie MMORPG is constantly being developed, it is not fully operational yet. Fans are still waiting for Alpha 1.
However, the intention is to involve the community more. Therefore, a 6-week event is being held: the “Searing Plague”.
Plague as a Browser Game
What kind of event is this? In the world of “Chronicles of Elyria,” this “Searing Plague” was a plague that lasted three years and spread across the land.
The plague caused eyes and throats to swell, skin to peel, and a high fever was also present – and certainly the worst part – the mouth became dry.
Additionally, the infected fell into a delirium that clouded their vision, making them unaware of how terrible they looked; with bulging eyes and all.
Scourge vs. Healing: Fans of Chronicles of Elyria are now reliving this historical event in a “community” event. It functions like a sort of browser game.
There are two bars: one symbolizes the plague, the other the healing. Depending on which bar is ahead at the end, it will affect the world.
How exactly does it impact?
- If “Healing” wins, players can turn one of their characters into a “Plagueborn.” This character will be resistant to the plague and will pass this ability on to their children.
- If the “Plague” wins, the individual servers will show signs of the plague. There will be a “Plagueland” biome, and the plague will occur more frequently.
Who Pays is Pure – Who Doesn’t, Has the Plague
Complicated Mini-Game: The game is relatively complex. Players are first divided into two groups:
- Those who possess a founder package are considered “pure”
- Those who do not have a founder package, but are registered as players, spread the plague
Players can then exchange “Plague” or “Purity” seals with each other using links, spend them on actions, or perform role actions.
Items that were sold earlier have certain effects, or items can be purchased anew.
Here is the event on the Chronicles of Elyria page.
Incentive for “Free2Play” Players: If a player without a founder package manages to find 180 of the “Pure” seals through community links, they are considered healed and also receive a founder package. With that, they can then play Chronicles of Elyria at launch, which is still far away.
Apparently, No One Has a Problem with It
Isn’t that somewhat tricky? Even though the cash shop and the benefits there play a role in the event, it seems that hardly anyone in the community has a problem with it. Because it is unclear whether it is really that bad if the “plague” wins.
Some even seem to prefer this outcome and work towards it. Thus, the event is not perceived as “disreputable” by the community.
However, for outsiders, the event seems a bit strange, as the “healing” appears to be linked to shop elements. Such themes are always delicate in crowdfunding games. And indeed, there are also individual voices on Facebook that criticize this.
On YouTube and Facebook (via Soulbound Studios Facebook), the question is asked somewhat puzzled as to how a game can have an event that is not yet released.
However, Chronicles of Elyria is currently still a “relatively” small game and far from such harsh reactions as those triggered by Star Citizen.
