Although I played Ragnarok almost always like a solo game, it was fundamentally always an MMORPG for me. I could interact with players when I met them. In Ragnarok Zero, that’s not possible.
Ragnarok Zero is, despite all its flaws, the game of my childhood
What may sound like a rant is actually not, but rather my desperate attempt to somehow categorize my own feelings about Ragnarok Zero. Does it have terrible new mechanics? Yes, definitely. Does it still feel like before? Well, yes… in a way.
I started with a thief for my test, as I have – besides my beloved bard – mostly played assassins later:
- The gameplay is the same as back then. I felt directly transported back to my childhood. Just the music and the look of the world, I could spend hours in Rune Midgard.
- At the same time, challenges are missing. I simply choose jobs, that is the classes, in the tutorial area instead of earning them through a (more or less) tricky quest.
Ragnarok Zero is more accessible than before, and I welcome that for new players, even if veterans like me miss out a bit on some experience. For me, that’s an acceptable trade-off because Ragnarok Zero even brings content that I didn’t expect at all.
Quests in Ragnarok – And they even have a story!
Over the years, Ragnarok has had various approaches regarding quests and leveling:
- At the very beginning, leveling was only through grinding. There were quests, but they were poorly developed and usually only intended for dungeon attunement or special items.
- Later, there was the Eden group and the Criatura Academy, which offered a guide through the world with simple hunt quests and a livelier tutorial.
- Ragnarok Zero, on the other hand, comes with a whole new questline and a story that I didn’t expect in Ragnarok – and it even captivates me!
As the name suggests, Ragnarok Online is about Norse mythology… for the most part at least, as everything naturally has an Asian touch. In the new version, the legendary Valkyrie queen Sigrun is my companion, and we are searching for a magical necklace.
Although I am not very far yet, it can only be Brisingamen, Freyja’s enchanted necklace. All of this makes me feel mischievous and excited, and yet…
Even with a good player experience, it’s a clear “no”
As much as I enjoy my current time in Ragnarok Zero, I cannot and will not recommend the game in this form to anyone. The MMORPG lacks soul, everything is geared toward automation, which contradicts the new story that I actually want to experience.
However, I cannot take an epic story seriously when the world is populated by lifeless bots, as “normal” NPCs in the game have no significant interactions and don’t feel like parts of the game world. Some even break the fourth wall, and the German translation – which surprised me by the way – is AI-generated. That would be okay, but being addressed in a fantasy game with “you” completely breaks the immersion.
On top of that, Ragnarok is simply an old game. Pixelated sprites in ISO perspective might appeal to retro fans, but otherwise rely on nostalgia that doesn’t hit home for me and emphasizes one thing even more: the monetization.
Without a subscription, I would play immediately
As a Free2Play MMORPG, I would start Ragnarok Zero immediately, even despite the flaws and with the Pay2Win shop, which didn’t bother me before. Just the possibility of playing my classes again or trying out new ones while following the (hopefully epic) quest entices me.
However, paying 10 euros a month for this, especially when the game is in a virtually unchanged form from 2002, seems unreasonable to me. Yes, WoW also has a subscription, but WoW has also evolved. Ragnarok has only gotten more of the same.
It’s a shame that Ragnarok Online hasn’t been playable in Europe for ages, unless you go through the trouble of using VPNs or looking for private servers with the risk of losing everything when it closes. Although there is a successor, Gravity has explicitly asked EU citizens not to play the new Ragnarok Online 3. Ragnarok Zero would have been a great opportunity that, however, doesn’t work in this form.
If you see it differently, and I know some of you will directly hiss at me for my attitude toward the shop, feel free to write me a comment. Perhaps you even know better alternatives to Ragnarok Zero.
I am not alone in my love for Ragnarok Online when I look at the number of characters in the beta – even if most of them are standing AFK in the city after their death. I even found a German guild called KuhMuhNisten
. Don’t ask … A fan was even quite desperate: A fan misses the feeling of an ancient MMORPG, simply creates his own on Steam in the same style.
Although I am not very far yet, it can only be Brisingamen, Freyja’s enchanted necklace. All of this makes me feel mischievous and excited, and yet…
Even with a good player experience, it’s a clear “no”
As much as I enjoy my current time in Ragnarok Zero, I cannot and will not recommend the game in this form to anyone. The MMORPG lacks soul, everything is geared toward automation, which contradicts the new story that I actually want to experience.
However, I cannot take an epic story seriously when the world is populated by lifeless bots, as “normal” NPCs in the game have no significant interactions and don’t feel like parts of the game world. Some even break the fourth wall, and the German translation – which surprised me by the way – is AI-generated. That would be okay, but being addressed in a fantasy game with “you” completely breaks the immersion.
On top of that, Ragnarok is simply an old game. Pixelated sprites in ISO perspective might appeal to retro fans, but otherwise rely on nostalgia that doesn’t hit home for me and emphasizes one thing even more: the monetization.
Without a subscription, I would play immediately
As a Free2Play MMORPG, I would start Ragnarok Zero immediately, even despite the flaws and with the Pay2Win shop, which didn’t bother me before. Just the possibility of playing my classes again or trying out new ones while following the (hopefully epic) quest entices me.
However, paying 10 euros a month for this, especially when the game is in a virtually unchanged form from 2002, seems unreasonable to me. Yes, WoW also has a subscription, but WoW has also evolved. Ragnarok has only gotten more of the same.
It’s a shame that Ragnarok Online hasn’t been playable in Europe for ages, unless you go through the trouble of using VPNs or looking for private servers with the risk of losing everything when it closes. Although there is a successor, Gravity has explicitly asked EU citizens not to play the new Ragnarok Online 3. Ragnarok Zero would have been a great opportunity that, however, doesn’t work in this form.
If you see it differently, and I know some of you will directly hiss at me for my attitude toward the shop, feel free to write me a comment. Perhaps you even know better alternatives to Ragnarok Zero.
I am not alone in my love for Ragnarok Online when I look at the number of characters in the beta – even if most of them are standing AFK in the city after their death. I even found a German guild called KuhMuhNisten
. Don’t ask … A fan was even quite desperate: A fan misses the feeling of an ancient MMORPG, simply creates his own on Steam in the same style.
Although I played Ragnarok almost always like a solo game, it was fundamentally always an MMORPG for me. I could interact with players when I met them. In Ragnarok Zero, that’s not possible.
Ragnarok Zero is, despite all its flaws, the game of my childhood
What may sound like a rant is actually not, but rather my desperate attempt to somehow categorize my own feelings about Ragnarok Zero. Does it have terrible new mechanics? Yes, definitely. Does it still feel like before? Well, yes… in a way.
I started with a thief for my test, as I have – besides my beloved bard – mostly played assassins later:
- The gameplay is the same as back then. I felt directly transported back to my childhood. Just the music and the look of the world, I could spend hours in Rune Midgard.
- At the same time, challenges are missing. I simply choose jobs, that is the classes, in the tutorial area instead of earning them through a (more or less) tricky quest.
Ragnarok Zero is more accessible than before, and I welcome that for new players, even if veterans like me miss out a bit on some experience. For me, that’s an acceptable trade-off because Ragnarok Zero even brings content that I didn’t expect at all.
Quests in Ragnarok – And they even have a story!
Over the years, Ragnarok has had various approaches regarding quests and leveling:
- At the very beginning, leveling was only through grinding. There were quests, but they were poorly developed and usually only intended for dungeon attunement or special items.
- Later, there was the Eden group and the Criatura Academy, which offered a guide through the world with simple hunt quests and a livelier tutorial.
- Ragnarok Zero, on the other hand, comes with a whole new questline and a story that I didn’t expect in Ragnarok – and it even captivates me!
As the name suggests, Ragnarok Online is about Norse mythology… for the most part at least, as everything naturally has an Asian touch. In the new version, the legendary Valkyrie queen Sigrun is my companion, and we are searching for a magical necklace.
Although I am not very far yet, it can only be Brisingamen, Freyja’s enchanted necklace. All of this makes me feel mischievous and excited, and yet…
Even with a good player experience, it’s a clear “no”
As much as I enjoy my current time in Ragnarok Zero, I cannot and will not recommend the game in this form to anyone. The MMORPG lacks soul, everything is geared toward automation, which contradicts the new story that I actually want to experience.
However, I cannot take an epic story seriously when the world is populated by lifeless bots, as “normal” NPCs in the game have no significant interactions and don’t feel like parts of the game world. Some even break the fourth wall, and the German translation – which surprised me by the way – is AI-generated. That would be okay, but being addressed in a fantasy game with “you” completely breaks the immersion.
On top of that, Ragnarok is simply an old game. Pixelated sprites in ISO perspective might appeal to retro fans, but otherwise rely on nostalgia that doesn’t hit home for me and emphasizes one thing even more: the monetization.
Without a subscription, I would play immediately
As a Free2Play MMORPG, I would start Ragnarok Zero immediately, even despite the flaws and with the Pay2Win shop, which didn’t bother me before. Just the possibility of playing my classes again or trying out new ones while following the (hopefully epic) quest entices me.
However, paying 10 euros a month for this, especially when the game is in a virtually unchanged form from 2002, seems unreasonable to me. Yes, WoW also has a subscription, but WoW has also evolved. Ragnarok has only gotten more of the same.
It’s a shame that Ragnarok Online hasn’t been playable in Europe for ages, unless you go through the trouble of using VPNs or looking for private servers with the risk of losing everything when it closes. Although there is a successor, Gravity has explicitly asked EU citizens not to play the new Ragnarok Online 3. Ragnarok Zero would have been a great opportunity that, however, doesn’t work in this form.
If you see it differently, and I know some of you will directly hiss at me for my attitude toward the shop, feel free to write me a comment. Perhaps you even know better alternatives to Ragnarok Zero.
I am not alone in my love for Ragnarok Online when I look at the number of characters in the beta – even if most of them are standing AFK in the city after their death. I even found a German guild called KuhMuhNisten
. Don’t ask … A fan was even quite desperate: A fan misses the feeling of an ancient MMORPG, simply creates his own on Steam in the same style.
Ragnarok Zero revives the ancient MMORPG from the early 2000s, and MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus looked at the open beta – with mixed feelings. Despite his love for the game, he cannot recommend it. At least not so much.
The only game I’ve played more than Ragnarok Online is World of Warcraft. No game has such a good class system as Ragnarok and since I got to know the MMORPG, I have been desperately searching for something comparable.
I still remember that my mother was skeptical back then. After all, I played Ragnarok Online almost my entire childhood, and most of my pocket money went towards the subscription. From around my 10th to 13th year of life, this MMORPG was my game. Without Ragnarok, I probably wouldn’t be an editor at MeinMMO today.
Now Ragnarok is back and is testing the reboot Ragnarok Zero with a beta. After the European servers no longer exist for years and the international ones have a geoblock here, I had to take a look.
Ragnarok Zero instantly brought back old memories and even offers some improvements to the version I remember from back then. And although I already knew what to expect – also in terms of monetization – the spark didn’t ignite. Yet, the gameplay is really good.
A significant step back in terms of service
Actually, Ragnarok Zero should manage without Pay2Win, like the shop that the Gravity version of the game has had for years: paying real money for bonuses like more XP, better loot, or even direct items.
To be honest, the shop doesn’t bother me, it didn’t back then either. The base game was free, I played solo anyway and not competitively. If I wanted to treat myself, I spent a few euros.
Ragnarok Zero, however, also requires a subscription at around 10 euros per month. For a game that apparently was developed from the mobile version, I find that cheeky – and yes, it was, even if they claim it’s different.
Not a mobile game, but definitely mobile features
It’s difficult to point out what bothered me while playing. Or maybe it bothered me less, but … it weakened the gaming experience. You surely know that feeling: something is off, but you can’t say what.
Eventually, a “detail” caught my attention that led me to the right track: a small sign on the right side of the screen, two crossed swords. The “Auto-Hunt.” And no, it’s not about getting better cars in Forza, but about automation.
Yes, Ragnarok Zero offers the possibility for the game to play for you, with settings like when to drink which potions, which monsters to hunt, and which loot to pick up. While other MMORPGs fight against bots, Ragnarok Zero makes them a feature.
And that’s precisely what irked me so much. The game world is full of players, but none of them are active. They are all on autopilot. Even the sparsely populated private servers on which I have played over the years felt more alive.
Although I am not very far yet, it can only be Brisingamen, Freyja’s enchanted necklace. All of this makes me feel mischievous and excited, and yet…
Even with a good player experience, it’s a clear “no”
As much as I enjoy my current time in Ragnarok Zero, I cannot and will not recommend the game in this form to anyone. The MMORPG lacks soul, everything is geared toward automation, which contradicts the new story that I actually want to experience.
However, I cannot take an epic story seriously when the world is populated by lifeless bots, as “normal” NPCs in the game have no significant interactions and don’t feel like parts of the game world. Some even break the fourth wall, and the German translation – which surprised me by the way – is AI-generated. That would be okay, but being addressed in a fantasy game with “you” completely breaks the immersion.
On top of that, Ragnarok is simply an old game. Pixelated sprites in ISO perspective might appeal to retro fans, but otherwise rely on nostalgia that doesn’t hit home for me and emphasizes one thing even more: the monetization.
Without a subscription, I would play immediately
As a Free2Play MMORPG, I would start Ragnarok Zero immediately, even despite the flaws and with the Pay2Win shop, which didn’t bother me before. Just the possibility of playing my classes again or trying out new ones while following the (hopefully epic) quest entices me.
However, paying 10 euros a month for this, especially when the game is in a virtually unchanged form from 2002, seems unreasonable to me. Yes, WoW also has a subscription, but WoW has also evolved. Ragnarok has only gotten more of the same.
It’s a shame that Ragnarok Online hasn’t been playable in Europe for ages, unless you go through the trouble of using VPNs or looking for private servers with the risk of losing everything when it closes. Although there is a successor, Gravity has explicitly asked EU citizens not to play the new Ragnarok Online 3. Ragnarok Zero would have been a great opportunity that, however, doesn’t work in this form.
If you see it differently, and I know some of you will directly hiss at me for my attitude toward the shop, feel free to write me a comment. Perhaps you even know better alternatives to Ragnarok Zero.
I am not alone in my love for Ragnarok Online when I look at the number of characters in the beta – even if most of them are standing AFK in the city after their death. I even found a German guild called KuhMuhNisten
. Don’t ask … A fan was even quite desperate: A fan misses the feeling of an ancient MMORPG, simply creates his own on Steam in the same style.
Although I am not very far yet, it can only be Brisingamen, Freyja’s enchanted necklace. All of this makes me feel mischievous and excited, and yet…
Even with a good player experience, it’s a clear “no”
As much as I enjoy my current time in Ragnarok Zero, I cannot and will not recommend the game in this form to anyone. The MMORPG lacks soul, everything is geared toward automation, which contradicts the new story that I actually want to experience.
However, I cannot take an epic story seriously when the world is populated by lifeless bots, as “normal” NPCs in the game have no significant interactions and don’t feel like parts of the game world. Some even break the fourth wall, and the German translation – which surprised me by the way – is AI-generated. That would be okay, but being addressed in a fantasy game with “you” completely breaks the immersion.
On top of that, Ragnarok is simply an old game. Pixelated sprites in ISO perspective might appeal to retro fans, but otherwise rely on nostalgia that doesn’t hit home for me and emphasizes one thing even more: the monetization.
Without a subscription, I would play immediately
As a Free2Play MMORPG, I would start Ragnarok Zero immediately, even despite the flaws and with the Pay2Win shop, which didn’t bother me before. Just the possibility of playing my classes again or trying out new ones while following the (hopefully epic) quest entices me.
However, paying 10 euros a month for this, especially when the game is in a virtually unchanged form from 2002, seems unreasonable to me. Yes, WoW also has a subscription, but WoW has also evolved. Ragnarok has only gotten more of the same.
It’s a shame that Ragnarok Online hasn’t been playable in Europe for ages, unless you go through the trouble of using VPNs or looking for private servers with the risk of losing everything when it closes. Although there is a successor, Gravity has explicitly asked EU citizens not to play the new Ragnarok Online 3. Ragnarok Zero would have been a great opportunity that, however, doesn’t work in this form.
If you see it differently, and I know some of you will directly hiss at me for my attitude toward the shop, feel free to write me a comment. Perhaps you even know better alternatives to Ragnarok Zero.
I am not alone in my love for Ragnarok Online when I look at the number of characters in the beta – even if most of them are standing AFK in the city after their death. I even found a German guild called KuhMuhNisten
. Don’t ask … A fan was even quite desperate: A fan misses the feeling of an ancient MMORPG, simply creates his own on Steam in the same style.
Although I played Ragnarok almost always like a solo game, it was fundamentally always an MMORPG for me. I could interact with players when I met them. In Ragnarok Zero, that’s not possible.
Ragnarok Zero is, despite all its flaws, the game of my childhood
What may sound like a rant is actually not, but rather my desperate attempt to somehow categorize my own feelings about Ragnarok Zero. Does it have terrible new mechanics? Yes, definitely. Does it still feel like before? Well, yes… in a way.
I started with a thief for my test, as I have – besides my beloved bard – mostly played assassins later:
- The gameplay is the same as back then. I felt directly transported back to my childhood. Just the music and the look of the world, I could spend hours in Rune Midgard.
- At the same time, challenges are missing. I simply choose jobs, that is the classes, in the tutorial area instead of earning them through a (more or less) tricky quest.
Ragnarok Zero is more accessible than before, and I welcome that for new players, even if veterans like me miss out a bit on some experience. For me, that’s an acceptable trade-off because Ragnarok Zero even brings content that I didn’t expect at all.
Quests in Ragnarok – And they even have a story!
Over the years, Ragnarok has had various approaches regarding quests and leveling:
- At the very beginning, leveling was only through grinding. There were quests, but they were poorly developed and usually only intended for dungeon attunement or special items.
- Later, there was the Eden group and the Criatura Academy, which offered a guide through the world with simple hunt quests and a livelier tutorial.
- Ragnarok Zero, on the other hand, comes with a whole new questline and a story that I didn’t expect in Ragnarok – and it even captivates me!
As the name suggests, Ragnarok Online is about Norse mythology… for the most part at least, as everything naturally has an Asian touch. In the new version, the legendary Valkyrie queen Sigrun is my companion, and we are searching for a magical necklace.
Although I am not very far yet, it can only be Brisingamen, Freyja’s enchanted necklace. All of this makes me feel mischievous and excited, and yet…
Even with a good player experience, it’s a clear “no”
As much as I enjoy my current time in Ragnarok Zero, I cannot and will not recommend the game in this form to anyone. The MMORPG lacks soul, everything is geared toward automation, which contradicts the new story that I actually want to experience.
However, I cannot take an epic story seriously when the world is populated by lifeless bots, as “normal” NPCs in the game have no significant interactions and don’t feel like parts of the game world. Some even break the fourth wall, and the German translation – which surprised me by the way – is AI-generated. That would be okay, but being addressed in a fantasy game with “you” completely breaks the immersion.
On top of that, Ragnarok is simply an old game. Pixelated sprites in ISO perspective might appeal to retro fans, but otherwise rely on nostalgia that doesn’t hit home for me and emphasizes one thing even more: the monetization.
Without a subscription, I would play immediately
As a Free2Play MMORPG, I would start Ragnarok Zero immediately, even despite the flaws and with the Pay2Win shop, which didn’t bother me before. Just the possibility of playing my classes again or trying out new ones while following the (hopefully epic) quest entices me.
However, paying 10 euros a month for this, especially when the game is in a virtually unchanged form from 2002, seems unreasonable to me. Yes, WoW also has a subscription, but WoW has also evolved. Ragnarok has only gotten more of the same.
It’s a shame that Ragnarok Online hasn’t been playable in Europe for ages, unless you go through the trouble of using VPNs or looking for private servers with the risk of losing everything when it closes. Although there is a successor, Gravity has explicitly asked EU citizens not to play the new Ragnarok Online 3. Ragnarok Zero would have been a great opportunity that, however, doesn’t work in this form.
If you see it differently, and I know some of you will directly hiss at me for my attitude toward the shop, feel free to write me a comment. Perhaps you even know better alternatives to Ragnarok Zero.
I am not alone in my love for Ragnarok Online when I look at the number of characters in the beta – even if most of them are standing AFK in the city after their death. I even found a German guild called KuhMuhNisten
. Don’t ask … A fan was even quite desperate: A fan misses the feeling of an ancient MMORPG, simply creates his own on Steam in the same style.
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