Rend (PC) is a new survival MMO currently in early access. We let our survival veteran Benedict take a look. Here are his impressions of Rend.
Rend is a project developed by former developers from gaming giants like World of Warcraft and League of Legends. My expectations for Rend were accordingly high, even though it is an early access title.
Originally, Rend was planned as a cross between survival, MOBA, and MMORPG. However, the first impression leaves the feeling that the RPG aspect makes up a large part of the game. A class system and three factions, from which one must be chosen, are a refreshingly different approach to the survival genre.
Currently, Rend is in the early access phase, in which the whole game is available. Due to the short duration of the test and the constant changes, this is only a first impression of the game.
Rend is different from other survival games
I have now played Rend for 17 hours and feel as if the tutorial isn’t even over yet. I’ve seen many of the features, most of which I have only superficially understood.
Rend is incredibly extensive. As someone who has spent 200 hours alone in Conan Exiles and has played many survival games before, I consider myself a player who understands survival games.
But Rend is different. In Rend, I am not thrown into a world and left to fend for myself. Even while creating my character, I choose a faction that I belong to and with which I can survive and progress together. And yet I am helpless for a long time.
A colorful, breathtaking world
What stands out at first login is the beautiful world. Rend is colorful, the plants luminesce, the sky is picturesque, even my tattoos and tools glow in the colors of my clan.
In the middle of the map stands a huge, golden glowing tree that represents the world ash Yggdrasil. For Rend takes place in a scenario inspired by Norse mythology.
The soundtrack highlights all of this even more. Almost shamanistic chants remind me of skalds from longhouses and enhance the immersion. It is simply fun to log in and play.
The idea of Rend is grand
Rend is not just a survival game but also an MMORPG. There are three factions, Order, Revenant, and Conclave, that fight in the world to “ascend” and become gods.
The factions are like guilds in MMORPGs, and members gather reputation through their actions to rank up and gain access to faction resources. They gather resources and build at the bases together, research, and fight together.
In Rend, I do not play alone. As part of the faction, I always have bases I can return to, which offer protection. But this also comes with a responsibility: if an attack occurs, you should defend the bases together. After all, they are shared.
Reckoning – PvE meets PvP
This defense and the system of ascension is played out through the “Reckoning”. On our server, the “Reckoning” occurs three days a week.
Usually, bases and strongholds are surrounded by shields that repel an attack. However, during the Reckoning, these shields drop, and waves of NPC opponents attack, tearing down the forts.
Once these are repelled, PvP begins. The shields are still down, and players now have the opportunity to raid and loot the strongholds of other factions. The winners receive “Ascension” points, which give them advantages for the next Reckoning.
A class system in a survival game?
Rend also brings a pronounced role-playing aspect. I can choose two of four archetypes in which I can invest points and thus learn abilities:
- Pathfinder: Survival specialists who excel in the wilderness and have abilities that make survival easier for them
- Assassin: Assassins who can sneak and attack from ambush to eliminate opponents quickly and effectively
- Warlord: Leaders who overwhelm their enemies with raw power and serve as role models for their allies
- Shaman: Mystical mages who use the world of the living and the spirits to harm enemies and support allies
Instead of investing my points in recipes after leveling up like in other survival games, I invest them in class abilities. This makes exploration, combat, and survival easier and adds depth to the game.
Crafting is very complicated
Partly due to this distribution of points into skills instead of recipes, crafting in Rend is much more complicated than in other survival games. Recipes are not directly learned but researched and then mastered.
By gathering resources and crafting items, I collect “Sparks”. These can be used in the base to advance community research for new recipes.
The recipes are then available to the entire faction. However, to craft them myself, I must meet all requirements. This means mastering all prior recipes. For the next better bow, many lesser bows must be crafted until the ability has increased sufficiently.
Survival is challenging, but a secondary matter
Amid all these features that can overwhelm even a survival veteran, the main feature of every survival game remains: survival. I must always ensure that I have enough water and food and also consume them.
The particularly difficult part is that food spoils quickly, and water leaks from the water bags, making me constantly search for new sources.
However, hunger and thirst are simply “there.” Water and simple food like fruits are often found and easy to obtain, so that even in the wilderness, dying of thirst or hunger is more due to carelessness than lack.
No real solo game
Due to the factions, Rend cannot really be played alone. While you can certainly just run away and build your own base somewhere, if something attacks, you will not last long against it alone.
Playing together also makes Rend more fun. Even when I played with Lucas, who started after me, everything was easier and simply more enjoyable. We were able to explore caves that we would have failed at alone.
Rend is definitely a group game. However, that doesn’t mean you have to bring friends. The factions provide enough players to explore the world together and who are willing to help. After all, you can only win together.
Veteran’s conclusion: A great game that I wish I had more time for
Benedict says: Rend is a time sink, even more so than most other survival games I know. Since I am still at the beginning after over 17 hours, I can only estimate that with over 100 hours I might be approaching “endgame”.
So far, I have not seen much more than the starting area, although I have received much help from my faction. I am eager to see what awaits me deeper inland and in the swampy areas.
Rend also offers two worlds in one. Through portals, potions, or abilities, one can switch to the “Spirit Realm” where mythical beings like Draugr and the souls of defeated creatures roam. However, this realm is harmful to humans.
The Reckoning particularly excited me because这里 Draugr come into the real world and attack. It’s a thrill to collectively fend off the attack, survive, and then go looting.
What I like most is the class system: It is delightful to play a survival game in which I can also embody an MMORPG class. This is something I have missed in many other games of the genre.
I wish for improvements in the overview: The crafting system is complex and that is good, but it is opaque. It is not immediately clear what skills I need to create better armor and weapons.
Beginner’s conclusion: Rend overwhelms me, but presents itself well
Alongside Benedict, survival newcomer Lucas also tried out the new Rend.
Lucas says: My first experiences with survival games were not very positive. I tried both ARK and Conan Exiles. The poor performance of the games at release did not allow for smooth gameplay, and constantly babysitting my character annoyed me.
Rend has what I missed in Conan Exiles and Ark: The game looks beautiful. The world is breathtaking, and the game runs very smoothly for an early access title. The animations are still a bit jerky, but overall, Rend does not feel like the typical “early access” games I am used to.
At first, I was overwhelmed by the extensive crafting tree: I didn’t know what to do, and my first character quickly became the victim of a wolf pack. In my second attempt, I focused on the class system of the game and learned which resources I could find at which points on the map.
Overall, I had more fun in Rend than in all the other survival games I’ve played over the years. The Nordic setting, the atmospheric music, and the pretty comic look have simply captivated me.
However, there remain parts of survival games that annoy me even in Rend: Hunger and thirst. Fortunately, there are servers that change these systems through different settings and modifications.
The tutorial in the game was helpful, but it must definitely be expanded, as many game systems cannot be understood at first glance.
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