The hardcore MMORPG Mortal Online 2 recently launched on Steam, and the developers seemingly underestimated the interest in this online role-playing game. More players than expected joined, and due to some questionable design decisions, players were sometimes stuck in queues for 24 hours or longer. Read the full story here on MeinMMO!
What is Mortal Online 2? Mortal Online 2 is a hardcore MMORPG on Steam developed by the Swedish company Star Vault. In Mortal Online 2, you fight actively from the first-person perspective. You need to aim and time your attacks well to hit anything.
There is full, always-active PvP, where you can lose everything if you die. Additionally, you should be able to learn about 600 skills. As mentioned, the game targets hardcore MMORPG PvP players.
The predecessor, Mortal Online, peaked with just over 1,100 players (via SteamDB). However, Mortal Online 2 exceeded all expectations of the developers.
Mortal Online 2 more successful than developers thought
What happened after the launch? On January 25, 2022, Mortal Online 2 launched on Steam and was apparently more successful than the developers thought. According to PCGamer, the game was sold over 110,000 times. At the peak, there were just under 10,000 players online at the same time. On average, there have been around 3,000 players in the days since release (via Steamcharts).
This, in turn, led to massive login issues. Players reported queues that lasted 24 hours or longer. One player even claimed that he had to wait 36 hours straight before he could finally get back into the game.
But what are the reasons for these enormous wait times? One cause seems to be that a “feature” of the game is that all players from a continent are playing on a single server. Its capacity was likely reached faster than the developers anticipated.
Additionally, an important feature common in many MMORPGs is missing. In Mortal Online 2, you are not automatically kicked from the server if you are AFK for too long. Instead, once you are in the game, you can stay online indefinitely, blocking your slot on the server.
Players are angry about queues from hell
How are players reacting? Players are flooding the game with negative reviews on Steam. As of February 7, 2022, only about 50% of the currently 3,896 reviews are positive. And this is despite many players appreciating the game and enjoying it very much – if only they could.
However, the queues from hell frustrate players, and some players make things worse by clinging to their slot in the game and never logging out, as they are sure they would have to queue for a long time again afterwards.
A really great game that looks good and finally picks up the old values of an MMORPG like Ultima Online.
It is really fun, and the combat system is challenging and not as monotonous as in all the others.
But now comes the big BUT:
By the time you finally get into the game, a normal person runs out of their free time.
Spent 3 hours in the queue yesterday, with no success. Frustrated, I went to bed. I’ve had the game for a week now, and out of my playtime, I was in the queue for 2/3 just to get on the server.
Once you are in, it’s top, no question. But as I said, getting in [is] a disaster.
And as long as they don’t get this under control, I can only advise everyone to wait with the purchase.
Steam user Elron in his review on Steam
Developers change the concept, moving away from “one single server”
What do the developers plan to do? On February 6, the developers finally addressed the issues via Steam and stated with heavy hearts that they will indeed implement additional servers and instances into the game. While this contradicts the original concept of the game, where everyone should be on the same server, there is no other way to cope with the influx of players.
However, there have already been some minor patches and adjustments that should slightly increase the player count. Additionally, the developers advise players to roam only in the tutorial area at first and not to venture into the vast world immediately. They are also temporarily suspending subscription fees while players have such difficulty getting into the game.
So much for the current problems and planned solutions for Mortal Online 2. If you want to know if the game is still good, then read the review from our MMORPG expert Alexander Leitsch:
I have been playing MMORPGs for 15 years: I have died more often in none than in Mortal Online 2.
