The upcoming Free2Play MMO Skyforge presents the distortions, such as an artifact instanced boss fight sequence. A logical progression of the recent “Less Trash, More Bosses” approach or a bland substitute for classic raids?
The image of Skyforge is becoming more and more solid, and it seems to be a very portioned game. While in classic MMORPGs you roam zones and explore the world, in Skyforge you usually teleport directly to the beginning of a linear instance and slay through groups of enemies.
A similar philosophy seems to be pursued for the endgame as well. While classic raids often require exploring a confusing space, which often takes several hours, it seems that in Skyforge they also rely on bite-sized portions here.
In a lore piece, “distortions” are introduced. It is not yet entirely clear how exactly they function. Guilds presumably have to earn access to these instances through a corresponding apparatus. It is unclear whether players outside of the guilds, the “pantheons”, will have access to the game content.
Once inside, there will be no fight against “trash” mobs, but rather boss encounters. Overall, players will have to overcome 4 in a distortion before loot is given and the gate to even harder distortions opens.
Epic rewards are promised, including special weapons. A time limit is likely as well: 15 minutes are provided. The distortions are designed for 10 players.
My MMO thinks: It looks more and more like Skyforge will be the nightmare of MMORPG purists, moving away from a confusing, also surprising adventure with pen-and-paper flair, towards mechanics and right to the heart of the monster. However, this could also be viewed as a consistent evolution of the path that successful MMORPGs like WoW have been following for years.
It will be interesting to see how the target audience will accept the game. Team Allods surely has a younger audience in mind, one that has grown up with MOBAs, and does not focus, as many other MMORPGs do, on genre veterans who are used to Everquest, Ultima Online, or games in that tradition.
Skyforge does not name everything from MOBA to action hack-and-slash by chance, but none of the classic MMORPGs.
The distortions are not the only activity for players at the upper end of the divine food chain. Alternatives to them have already been presented. We reported on this in this article: The developers set an endgame before divinity
