The eagerly awaited Asia MMORPG Echo of Soul will enter closed beta next week. We had the opportunity to take an early look at the localized version.
Over a hundred developers have been working on Echo of Soul for more than four years. A large part of this hundred has previously worked on perhaps the largest MMO franchise in Korea: Lineage. For those who are not familiar with the series: it holds a similar status in Korea as World of Warcraft does here. The conditions for success are theoretically in place.
Thus, the developers at Nvius also claim in a video that Echo of Soul is the best MMORPG in a long time. This could be inferred from player feedback.
However, whether Echo of Soul is really the next big MMORPG that many have been waiting for years, we reveal in our first impression of the spiritual successor to Lineage 2.
The “next big thing”? The beginning doesn’t necessarily suggest that
As an MMO veteran, the beginning feels familiar: some will say “run-of-the-mill,” while others shout, “Let’s rush through this; I’m not interested in tutorials anyway.”
At the start, one has the choice between 5 classes. You can choose a rogue, mage, warrior, guardian, or ranger – there’s something for every playstyle. The selection screen already hints that each class can rely on specializations over the course of the game. For instance, the rogue can become a duelist focusing on damage-over-time attacks, or choose the path of an assassin: which is characterized by chain attacks and high mobility.
The talent trees thus bring more individualization options to the game, which is also necessary with only 5 classes. By the way, there is a gender lock. While that may be normal in Asia, the enthusiasm for it is limited in the West.
The character creation in Echo of Soul, while not bad, does not blow one away. Compared to the competitor Aion, known for its endless, sometimes exotic character variations, the significantly younger EoS looks old. Nevertheless, you can certainly create an alter ego that didn’t come from a clone army. EoS exceeds the MMO minimum standard when you can choose between several accessories or determine body and facial proportions. A few additional hairstyles would have been nice, but it’s definitely enough for a grade of “satisfactory to good.” It has certainly more to offer than World of Warcraft.
Tutorial – You can quickly rush through the standard fare
The first levels of EoS are unremarkable, if you are familiar with the whole MMO circus. Basic systems are explained while you slaughter wolves and other monsters. The story is also introduced to you during this phase of the game. Interestingly, the lore sometimes connects with Norse mythology. A good insight into the story is offered by the following video.
The first 10 levels, and thus the tutorial, pass faster than the shadow of your soul guardian. As an MMO veteran, one may sigh “thank goodness” to oneself, but one has to think of the new players too. At least it’s not very grindy. You don’t have to kill creatures 20 times, but a few times, yes. At Level 10, there comes the first small challenge, especially for ranged fighters. A “brutally difficult” boss is waiting to be defeated.
Before the young soul guardian leaves the nest, a decision must still be made: With which specialization do you want to face new challenges? But there’s no need to fear a hard decision: starting at level 20, it’s also possible to fill another talent tree to try out the other path.
First glimmers appear
The first points may sound harsh, as there is basically a good game behind it, which one gradually becomes aware of – if one is allowed to say such a thing after a first impression.
I liked the interface from the start. I didn’t waste a second thinking about whether an addon might not be useful here. It looks tidy, is appealingly designed, and even features an integrated DPS meter that represents combat statistics. I know, a controversial topic: I find such information helpful to optimize my character. For others, it’s a horror.
Overall, I increasingly appreciate the graphics as the game progresses, leveling goes fast, and with the added skills, you slowly recognize the core of Echo of Soul: the combat system, which presumably has a lot of development time invested in it.
Wow, the combat really packs a punch
The combat impressed me the most in Echo of Soul. All classes have a high replay value and feel completely different. You can feel the force with which a warrior berserker shreds opponents. I can’t remember an MMO where the combat convinced me right off the bat so much. However, I must note that I quickly slipped into endgame characters, so it can’t be compared to a normal first impression.
The combat system is action-oriented. Like other modern MMOs, there is an active dodge skill that is particularly useful against hostile void zones (red areas from enemies that deal damage). However, the attacks resemble a semi-turn-based combat system, where opponents are targeted either by pressing the Tab key or by clicking.
The skill system
Each skill has its own impressive animation with consistently smooth transitions. The fights feel direct and fun, the “flow” is right. Chain attacks add extra spice: skills that must be executed in a specific order to unleash an even stronger effect.
The skills are assembled from a talent tree, where in several stages, you can choose one skill from three possible ones – until it comes to the choice of the ultimates at the end, a powerful ability. Each class has two completely different talent trees that significantly change the playstyle.
No classic Holy Trinity
Speaking of roles: Echo of Soul does not rely on the classic Holy Trinity consisting of tank, damage dealer, and healer. It’s more akin to Guild Wars 2: every class can heal itself. But it is a bit different. The tank and support roles that can be chosen have a greater impact in demanding dungeons than is the case in GW2. You definitely don’t want to miss a warrior who becomes a tank with the “protector specialization” and can pull more aggro as a result. Fans of healers at least have the option with the bard, a talent tree of the ranger, to effectively support their group with melodic sounds and support skills.
By the way: most ranged skills must be performed from a standing position. This balances the gameplay better between melee and ranged fighters, but it can also reduce the dynamics and enjoyment of the game, depending on preferences.
This place is nice!
There is hardly anything to complain about regarding the graphics and atmosphere. Players who have played Archlord II, Runes of Magic, Aion, or TERA and liked the Asian style will feel at home here. The quality is somewhere between Aion and TERA, the textures are relatively high quality, and the effects are impressive – also measured by today’s MMO standards, Echo of Soul does not need to hide.
The areas, of which there are more than 60, are designed to be diverse, with great attention to detail. The same goes for characters, equipment, and mounts, whose animations are convincing. Everything has been extracted from Unreal Engine 2.5. It is also positive that I did not notice any recycling of locations and monsters during my numerous excursions.
The only criticism is the sometimes static NPCs, who resemble bouncers more than free adventurers. The world itself is lively, with flying airships and more.
Here we go again: The standard quests
As indicated in the tutorial, the tasks in Asia-MMO are mostly characterized by genre-typical kill quests. Occasionally, more interesting quests arise, where, for example, you save a burning village, but overall the quest system is rather sobering.
EoS cannot distinguish itself from other genre representatives and may have to grapple with the dubious label of “Asia grinder” – even if the story sounds interesting in principle, occasional cutscenes appear, and leveling proceeds quite quickly.
Others who are not bothered by kill quests will have fun here because of the combat and some motivational game elements. It is also worth mentioning that you can level up alternatively with PvP.
What do I do in the endgame of Echo of Soul at level 60?
- In PvP, there are guild wars, 5vs5 arenas, 15vs15 battlegrounds
- GvGvG in Valhalla: A large PvPvE map that can accommodate up to 1000 players and fight for their guilds. Here, bosses must be defeated and valuable resources collected. This mode is expected to open twice a day at specific times. Sounds like a camping paradise, right?
- In PvE, there are mainly solo and group dungeons in several difficulty levels. Later, 10- and 20-man raids will be added.
- Infinity dungeon: constantly changing, areas and monsters are randomly generated
- A hunt daily (in other words: grinding for rewards)
- Crafting: 5 professions (gatherer, jeweler, alchemist, soul crafting, and cooking)
- In both PvP and PvE: the classic hunt for better equipment. You can also upgrade your gear with runes and with gems up to +10.
The endgame looks solid on paper. Other AAA MMOs had less at release. However, what will be crucial is how the content plays. A few more side activities, like housing features, might have been nice. It remains questionable whether achievements, companions, and mounts, as well as PvE and PvP leaderboards, can compensate for that. There is anticipation for the infinity dungeon and Valhalla.
Core topic of the community: Is Echo of Soul Pay2Win?
During conversations with the people responsible at Aeria Games, I already felt that they want Echo of Soul to allow players to finally say: Yes, this is a fair free-to-play model.
They are aware of the issues in the community and, especially with the latest addition in the fire, Echo of Soul, are particularly willing to engage with the players. Regular events are also planned, during which players will receive shop items. Jérôme Van Long, the producer of EoS, provided us with the following statement:
Free-to-play games are often accused of pursuing a pay-to-win strategy and differentiating between paying and non-paying players. Our aim is for players who choose to use the item shop to make that decision out of fun for the game, not because they see it as a necessity. For this reason, items in the EoS shop are mainly available for convenience, a faster progression in the game, or cosmetic improvements. For example, our players can purchase costumes or mounts, from which we have deliberately removed power boosts. Alternatively, consumables can be bought that provide costumes with an experience boost.
On the way to the maximum level, players will have the opportunity to earn most paid items for free, for example as a reward for successfully completed quests or while leveling. So it is up to them to decide how useful they consider these items.
In most MMOs, players can additionally acquire available items via the auction house or directly from other players. In doing so, they must, of course, decide to spend the in-game currency either on items or other activities. For this reason, we decided to implement a completely new system in EoS, which does not even exist in the Asian version. Players can find magical eggs that can be exchanged for paid items.
In the end, we want to provide both paying and non-paying players with a balanced, fair, and the best possible gaming experience.
– Jérôme Van Long, Producer Echo of Soul
That all sounds believable. Ultimately, actions must follow. If the game is enjoyable and the shop is fair, players might reward it with purchases of cosmetic items and similar. Otherwise, it will also be difficult for the operators to maintain a fair system. After all, they won’t be able to please everyone.
Some expressed concerns about the dungeon tickets. Aeria Games wants to look into the situation. You can only run a certain number of group dungeons in a week, as you would expect from other MMOs. However, with dungeon tickets, high-frequency players can go in more often and thus possibly obtain their PvE gear faster, similar to TERA.
Few innovations, but there is the soul system…
If one can speak of “innovations” in the rather conventional Echo of Soul, it is most likely the “soul system,” which gives combat a turbo boost and, due to its design, could provide long-term motivation. Essentially the second cornerstone of progression alongside the traditional item hunt.
It’s actually quite simple: by killing monsters, the character gains unclean souls. These can be “purified” by other players or an NPC and transformed into useful powers of courage, innocence, peace, or hopes. These appear twice: once as general, very powerful buffs and then as enhancements to the ultimate skills. The kicker is that the four powers can each also be leveled and improved further. This will take a long time but promises motivation to get the most out of the character: the journey is the goal, right?
The new buzzword after WildStar: Accessibility – we want all MMO players
Aeria Games stated that they paid particular attention in development to appeal to a wider player base compared to Lineage 2. The goal was to create an MMO that is less cumbersome. With this statement, they are likely correct, as that was my impression as well. Everything seemed so accessible and intuitive that it gave the impression of being able to quickly find one’s way even in a Korean version…
Conclusion: Echo of Soul does not want to be any different, this quickly becomes clear. They do not aim to impress MMO players with revolutionary features, but rather want to score with proven content.
Players who favor a classic theme park MMO in the Asian style can probably be advised: Echo of Soul is among the most promising titles in 2015. The advantage is that the game has been on the market in Asia for 1-2 years and has thus matured; all game systems consequently seem polished, mature, and work well together. Since Blade & Soul is taking an eternity to arrive, this is probably the best alternative for fans of Asia MMOs seeking a new adventure.
Those who demand sandbox features or expect a game that revolutionizes the genre will find no savior in EoS and certainly not the best MMORPG in a long time.
There are still a few open questions: How good is the endgame, and does Echo of Soul engage players long-term? How much fun is the MMO with and against other players? The closed beta begins on May 4, then you might be able to answer some questions yourself. If you’re interested in participating in the closed beta of EoS, you can sign up here on the official website. There is currently no release date for the German version. We will take a closer look at the game as well.
Tip: If you want to get off to a good start, you should check out these talent build recommendations for the classes of EoS.
What do you think? Echo of Soul may have its strengths and be among the top MMOs in Asia, but does the classic, if not outdated implementation suffice for success in Europe and North America?
