The medieval survival sandbox game Life is Feudal is getting an MMO mode, which has been in Early Access since January 11. What to expect there can be read in our experience report.
The title “Life is Feudal” has been floating around Steam for quite some time and has been playable for a long time, albeit in the version “Life is Feudal: Your Own”. Here, players had to set up their own servers to be able to play.
With the new alternate version “Life is Feudal: MMO”, players can now play on dedicated servers run by the developers, where there are uniform settings. The gameplay remains the same.
| Title | Life is Feudal: MMO |
| Genre | Medieval Sandbox MMO |
| Release | January 11, 2018 (Early Access) |
| Developer | Bitbox |
| Publisher | Bitbox |
| Link to the Steam page | Life is Feudal: MMO on Steam |
What is Life is Feudal?
Life is Feudal is a sandbox survival game set in a fictional medieval world. In Life is Feudal, you take on the role of a simple peasant, which you can shape as you wish.
In doing so, you determine what you will become by doing it. Want to become a blacksmith? Start mining iron and learn the basics of blacksmithing. Want to become a hunter? Start small and fish until you’re ready to hunt the first rabbit.
You can’t just learn everything. Life is Feudal relies heavily on realism. You have a limited number of skill points available, which your character uses when leveling up their abilities. If there are no more, skills must be forgotten in favor of others.
Crafting items and building structures takes a lot of time and teamwork. Everyone must contribute when large projects are planned. Gathering materials takes time.
Life is Feudal is a game that requires a lot of time and dedication and rewards small progress with great successes.
The differences between Life is Feudal: Your Own and the MMO
The MMO differs in many ways from the server-based version.
Besides the size of the map, the MMO features significantly more players than the servers, which had a maximum player count of 64. The dedicated servers of the game should also run more stable and generally have no wipes that can be carried out at any time by the server administrator. So in Life is Feudal MMO, everyone has the same rights – no one is the boss.
There are also significantly more contents in the MMO. The guild system is fully implemented and allows groups of players to claim land, which could still be controlled by the administrator in “Your Own”. This also brings politics and war, trade and sieges will become important parts of Life is Feudal.
Life is Feudal in test: How does the MMO work and how does it fare?
In the following section, you will read what our author Benedict experienced in his approximately 40 hours in Life is Feudal: MMO. He already has over 100 hours of experience in “Your Own” and tested joining both a guild and looking at the endgame.
Character creation
Like most MMOs, Life is Feudal begins with the creation of your own character. This is slightly more complex than in many MMOs, and preparation is more important.
In addition to basic decisions like gender and ethnicity, I can choose from various cosmetic adjustments. However, these are less interesting and also quickly completed.
More important are the sliders in the lower part of the creation. Here, I can choose and set attributes, crafting and combat skills. Since the number of our skill points is limited, you really have to consider what you actually want to play.
I decided to play a craftsman who can also defend himself well with a sword if necessary:
- I put my points into strength, vitality, and willpower.
- For crafting skills, I chose crafting and carpentry.
- I focused combat on militia and footman.
I found it convenient that I already knew most archetypes from “Life is Feudal: Your Own”. I knew roughly what I needed and how I wanted my character to look later.
For those who are unsure of what they want to play, they should do their research beforehand. Deciding later costs time and nerves.
The newbie island – first steps
The character is created, now into the game world! Unlike “Your Own”, however, I do not land on the shore of a small island that I can explore. Instead, I start in a ship graveyard, surrounded by wrecks and hanged men.
After a brief orientation and the tutorial on how I can move, I set off. Two points serve as my orientation: the road right next to me and a huge white light pillar shooting up into the sky.
So I follow the road leading to the pillar. There, I meet the first NPC. A new feature that was not present in “Your Own”. A person sitting by their fire whom I can talk to. He suggests that I go to the village and look around.
The village – introduction to quests
Upon arriving in the village, no one wants to talk to me until I have spoken to the chief there. In the unmistakable longhouse, he sits alone on his throne and asks me to bind myself to the longhouse – to my respawn point.
To do so, he gives me the corresponding quest, which is displayed in my quest window. Now I can finally talk to the people in the village, half in English, half in German. The localization is still rough, but it brings some laughs with the direct translation: No one would say goodbye with “Good, then I will proceed”.
The villagers now give me almost all quests that introduce me to the mechanics of the game: agriculture, mining, blacksmithing, digging, carpentry, fishing, building. Playing through the entire introduction takes several hours, as some quests require skills that are learned late and consume a lot of work and time.
However, for newcomers, this is a good way to look around undisturbed and get familiar with the game. The island is small (corresponding to the map of “Your Own”), the quests are almost all nearby, and there are only a few players present who pose a danger.
Fighting in Life is Feudal
An important aspect of the game is combat. The combat system works quite differently from what one is used to in MMOs. Targets are not selected but hit if they are in the way. This also applies to allies at all times!
Ranged combat is still relatively easy to understand. Bow into the string or stone into the sling, wind-up, aim, and fire the projectile. With a little practice, you quickly find the right height for the distance and get a feel for where to aim.
Close combat is a bit more complicated. Depending on the equipped weapon, direction of attack, and distance to the opponent, you deal damage and consume stamina. Additionally, blunt and sharp weapons are distinguished.
Blunt weapons like clubs attack the “soft HP”, rendering the opponent unconscious. Sharp weapons like arrows and swords damage the “hard HP” and kill the opponent. Additionally, armor protects differently against certain damage types. Leather is more vulnerable to pointed weapons than plate.
I determine the direction from which I hit with a movement of the mouse. I have to ensure that I always strike from the correct distance. If I hit with the edge of my axe, I deal more damage; if I hit with the shaft, less. It requires practice and experience in combat, giving the system a good dose of realism.
Avalon or Epleland? – Off to the “real world”
Since I already know most of the mechanics and did some research beforehand, I only pursue the quest of the cook. This sends me to find her children, who in turn let me build a house. This makes the tutorial only take about 1-2 hours.
As a reward, I receive Baromsag. No idea what exactly that is, but I can use it to pay the ferryman. He then sends me to one of two worlds that represent the two realms: Epleland (RP) and Avalon (PvE/PvP).
Attention! Once you use the ticket to another world, you lose all items but keep your skill points! So you can already learn skills here, but you cannot take any equipment with you!
The system itself is poorly implemented. In addition to Baromsag, the ferryman also wants a “ticket”. The first is free, the second I currently have to buy in the shop for 10,000 “divine favor” (equivalent to about €7). Simply playing a second character is not yet possible.
The land of apples is very large!
I choose Avalon. Epleland has strict rules regarding role-playing that are not suitable for a playtest. A small insight will show why:
- I am not allowed to run without reason (getting from A to B faster is apparently not a reason according to my protests).
- I am not allowed to jump constantly.
- I need an RP-compliant name and must speak RP-compliantly (elevated, ‘older’ English).
- Knowledge that my character has not acquired cannot be used.
Upon arriving at Avalon, I immediately notice a significant difference from “Your Own”: the size. The realm is a proud 49 times larger than the beginner island and is said by the developers to potentially grow even larger, theoretically infinitely large.
To survive here, I need help, especially since many areas are already occupied by guilds. The community “United Gamer Empire” eventually offers to help me get started and take me in.
Work in the guild: Everyone pitches in
However, the journey to my new comrades turns out to be rather laborious. Even if they offer to pick me up, the journey across the map takes about half an hour. If I want to march the entire map from north to south, it will take 8 hours!
Using the trick of constantly killing myself until I land nearby, I finally manage to get close enough to be there in about an hour. I am immediately greeted warmly and see peasants in the fields, although not many, since it is winter.
Inside the castle, I find smelters at the furnaces and builders at the walls – and my guild leader, who takes me in.
Life in the guild is feudal. Everyone has their duties; work is divided, orders and commands are usually coordinated by the guild council. Since I want to see something of the world and most other professions are already well-staffed, I won’t be a craftsman after all, but a hunter!
The professions in Life is Feudal: Becoming a master takes time!
This sounds more exciting than it is in the first hours. I spend a lot of time at the lake, where I increase my hunting skill by fishing before I can start tracking peaceful animals. A lengthy process.
Additionally, I need other skills: natural sciences and archery. The former is easy to level up, I just constantly gather grass from the ground. It takes a long time.
For the art of archery, I need to learn how to use a sling first. Here, I must start at zero, as I have not learned it before. My chief kindly helps me again and joins me on the training ground as a sparring partner. For the next few hours, I do nothing but throw stones at his shield with a sling …
To finally be able to use bows and hunt effectively, many hours and days pass. I still haven’t reached that today, and even then, I would still only be able to do little besides taking down rabbits and chickens. It will take a while before I have my first deer or wolf before my arrow – but that’s just how life is! If you want to be good, you have to learn.
Politics in the guild: War and peace
Life is Feudal is heavily PvP-oriented, whether players like it or not. At any time, anyone can attack anyone; only city and government areas provide protection. Our guild already has several vassals in the vicinity, whose guilds were not strong enough to resist us – so they joined us.
Similarly, politics works across the entire map. Those who cannot stand against the powerful either join them or wait until someone even more powerful destroys them. Constant growth is important for the survival of a guild.
Wars in Life is Feudal also last a long time. A guild’s territory can only be reduced by a certain value per day until a siege can be carried out – which again consumes a lot of time and resources. Once again, I realize how much effort players can put into Life is Feudal.
Besides war, I also learn a bit about peace. Trade caravans, contracts with other guilds, outposts for further resources. Having an overview of all this and planning can take a whole day. That’s why many guilds have positions for such things. EVE Online can take notes!
The endgame – characters at full strength
For the test, I was provided a character with many skills already developed: an endgame character. What I immediately noticed is: Not much actually changes.
The goals of the game remain the same. Get stronger, help your guild – and do not die in the process. It remains important to share the work. Many items needed at the beginning are still important here (plant fibers!).
Here, I face fewer dangers. I can defend myself better, and a wolf does not tear me apart so easily anymore. However, other players are more frequently eager for my equipment.
Thus, the incentive of the game remains intact from start to finish: stay alive, defy dangers, and grow as a community.
Life is Feudal: MMO – Not a game for everyone, but some love it
You can spend a lot of time in Life is Feudal, which becomes even more important with the MMO aspect. Circumstances can change constantly, and you need to stay on top of things to avoid sinking.
- Thumbs up for long-term motivation, fun, and variety. A particularly big plus goes to the musical accompaniment. A wide selection of authentically sounding medieval music and even a cover of the well-known song “Greensleeves” bring the world to life.
- Thumbs down for technical deficiencies like translation and minor bugs, which are likely still due to the early access stage. I am unsure about the ticket system. On one hand, the implementation is questionable; on the other hand, it covers ongoing costs and simultaneously offers a “trial version”.
Life is Feudal is a great game if you like semi-realistic survival simulations. The combat system is interesting and innovative; the world is beautifully designed and even features seasons that influence everything.
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