On January 25, the new Free2Play MMORPG Broken Ranks (PC) was launched. MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch has played it for several hours since then and is thrilled. In this article, he explains what makes the game so good, but also where the weaknesses lie.
Broken Ranks is a new MMORPG from the Polish indie studio Whitemoon. In the game, I take on a character who has lost his family and home to the evil Utor. I am one of the few survivors and have received a message that I must deliver to a person on a continent completely foreign to me.
The world features a 2.5D look with beautiful graphics reminiscent of paintings. I control my character in an isometric perspective with mouse clicks.
What is truly special about Broken Ranks is the combat system. In most other MMORPGs, I run through the world and attack enemies either in an action or a tab-targeting system. But everything happens in real-time. Broken Ranks, however, uses a turn-based combat system. Whenever I attack an enemy, I am taken to an external battlefield to take out the enemy or enemies.
This combat system and the type of story, which harks back to the old Gothic games, ensure that I’m currently having a lot of fun with Broken Ranks. A first glimpse into my adventures can be seen in this video, in which I play for about 60 minutes:
Soft Introduction, Especially for Players Who Don’t Play Role-Playing Games
Right after the installation of Broken Ranks, I experience the first pleasant surprise. Although it’s an indie MMORPG, it has been translated into many languages, including German. Also positive is the purely German server, although most players will probably gather on the EU server.
In character creation, I have the choice of 7 different classes, including classic melee and ranged fighters, fire mages, and druids for healing. The voodoo class also sounds interesting, which according to the official description can take “the will and life force” from enemies.
After choosing the class and gender, there follows a very rudimentary character editor. There are 4 different skin tones, six faces, and a few minor details like pupil or nose size. In terms of level, the editor is slightly better than that of New World, but it is far less detailed than in ESO or Black Desert.
After character creation, I’m thrown directly into the beautiful game world and learn about the brutality inflicted on my continent Taern. The admittedly very long tutorial (about 30 to 45 minutes) explains every detail of the MMORPG in detail.
For those who have had no experience with role-playing or even video games before, this tutorial guides them thoroughly.
This can also be somewhat annoying regarding the combat system, as I quickly understand how the action points are distributed exactly, but cannot reallocate them because the game hasn’t yet explained the specifics to me.
What’s cool, however, is that even in the tutorial, you can discover things. There is a hidden quest and several hidden chests from which you can loot gold. My spirit of discovery is therefore awakened.
A Brilliant and Deep Combat System That May Not Please Everyone
Broken Ranks relies on a turn-based combat system. In this, I, as the player, stand on the left side of the screen, and the enemies are on the right. At the beginning of each round, I can decide which attacks and defenses I want to perform:
- I have 12 action points available. I can distribute them freely at the beginning of each round.
- There are five abilities and three defense options (melee, ranged, mental), to which I distribute the points. Each attack can receive up to 5 points, and each point increases the chance of a hit.
- I must constantly decide how many points to allocate to attack and defense. I only have 10 seconds each round.
- Attacks are executed in the order of magic, ranged, melee, which also determines which side and which players initiate the combat. However, there is no special feature that refers to my position. Throughout the entire fight, I remain fixed in one spot.
Since attacks consume mana and/or stamina, I must weigh risks at all times. It can indeed make sense to use all five abilities directly, even if the chance is high that one or another action will fail. But if my stamina or mana values drop too low, I may only be able to perform one attack or even none at all in a round. Then it’s wiser to invest all points in a single ability.
It is also possible to invest all points solely into attack. However, there is the risk that I won’t kill the enemy and then will be vulnerable to their attacks.
Defense plays an important role, and you also need to learn to read your opponents. Enemies with a crossbow, for example, attack from a distance, while shamans or mages usually attack mentally. However, they have different weaknesses. Some are better hit in melee combat, others better from a distance.
These constant trade-offs and also the time pressure make the combat system really interesting.
Before a fight, I can also set two basic tactics (four tactics as a premium player) so that I do not have to build a set from scratch every time. It’s also important that I constantly sit down to rest so that life and stamina can regenerate. This does not happen automatically outside of battles.
I am also repeatedly supported in battles, whether by companions in the story or by a pet that is unlocked from level 7 onward.
Each class has access to the same basic skills, such as hitting, throwing stones, or freeing oneself from entanglements. Each class also has nine unique abilities, which are unlocked at higher levels and can be improved by up to seven levels with skill points.
Strategy eventually plays a role here too, as you always gain more abilities but only have limited points for them. You must first decide which abilities you want to enhance and whether an enhancement might even be more useful than unlocking a new ability.
With each level, I also receive four points to invest in attributes such as health, mana, and stamina or accuracy and damage.
Overall, the combat system is very easy to learn, but offers much depth and is hard to master, also because you are forced to read the abilities and behavior of your opponents. Since it is turn-based, the system will likely not appeal to everyone, but I am thrilled.
Grim Story and Many Details That Remind Me of Gothic
Broken Ranks is a game driven heavily by a story. However, I do not take on the role of a hero; rather, I am mostly a rogue and errand boy. There is often very coarse language and even coarse humor.
Terms like son of a dog or even worse come up regularly. Additionally, the first city is virtually just a huge web of intrigues. Corrupt guards, various underworld gangsters, and a brothel where shady deals are made from time to time.
I perform smaller jobs to make ends meet, and I also have a lot of influence over how the minor tasks and stories end. For example, in an election for the head of a village, I discover that all three candidates are corrupt. One candidate bribes me to help her. Another doubles my contribution if I support him.
In the end, I am significantly involved in which candidate wins or whether I even manage to expose all three as corrupt.
I decide to go for the guy who offered me double the gold – naturally!
Not every task ends favorably. For instance, I was supposed to give a healing potion to the farmer Anton, but it turned out to be poison. The other villagers criticized me directly for just trusting a stranger on the street, simply because she offered me gold.
They are right, but hey, I didn’t care about that guy anyway.
A small highlight is that I can also engage in a little number at the brothel around the corner, just like I did in Gothic.
So far, I am absolutely thrilled by the story and the overall game world.
A Curious Group System
In my first battles in Broken Ranks, I had an occasion where suddenly another player showed up. This happens very easily because whenever you start a fight, another player can simply join the battle with a right-click.
Up to five players can thus participate in a fight together. If I don’t want this, I can simply lock my group, and no one will suddenly appear.
However, I never locked my group and therefore made three nice acquaintances. With one player, for instance, I grinded mobs for about an hour and had a pleasant conversation.
By joining the fight, you automatically form a group, which in Broken Ranks is quite curious. Only the group leader is visible in the world outside of battle and essentially controls the entire group. As the leader, I decide where we go, who we fight, or whether we rest. The other players have no influence on this and can only leave the group if they disagree with my decisions.
However, the system gets a bit strange when you die. You get resurrected at a respawn point but automatically leave the group. You have to find the group again if you wish to continue questing together.
However, starting from level 25, you can create a guild and then won’t lose sight of each other. There is also a group finder for adventures in the open world and for dungeons.
A crafting system is also present in the game, including gathering spices, plants, and other resources in the open world. However, this occurs without special animations.
Complex Battles, But a Long Way to Go to MMO
After the first hours, I am absolutely excited about the combat system and the beautiful graphics of the game. Both already create anticipation for the next hours of play.
However, I have also noticed some things that somewhat dampen the high feeling. For though Broken Ranks plays more like a single-player game in the first levels than a classic MMORPG. And this will still drag on for quite a while.
While I can already form a group with other players directly in the first city, as mentioned above, real group content takes a long time to become available. The first dungeons are supposed to be unlocked only at level 40.
Until then, I will certainly have to invest 25 hours or more of gameplay. Additionally, you often reach points in the main quest where you first have to level through side quests or grinding. This is not a dealbreaker, as the side stories are also well-written, but it’s still a shame.
Despite this, leveling in Broken Ranks can take quite a while. The maximum level is 140, and currently, it feels like it might take me months to reach it. Although it’s an interesting carrot in front of me, it can also be a dealbreaker for those who don’t have much time for an MMORPG.
Also, the path to max level is further complicated by penalties for dying. Whenever I die, I lose a few experience points and some gold. Generally, I can recover this after two or three fights, but it can also be frustrating.
In a level 7 quest, for example, I have to defeat an enemy who can take me out in round 1 or 2. While his health points do not reset after the fight, I die four times to defeat him, which costs me some experience points.
Another criticism of the game I have not yet experienced myself, but later in the game, equipment can be enhanced with additional levels. Theoretically, upgrades go from +1 to +n, so infinitely high. However, the chance of success decreases more and more. If an upgrade fails, the equipment loses durability. With too little durability, it may even downgrade.
The final bizarre design choice lies in the friends list. It only has space for 7 people. For 5 platinum, you can purchase an additional slot. Platinum is the real-money currency. 50 platinum cost 1.69 Euro, so a slot on the friends list costs about 17 cents.
This is not a dealbreaker, but it is counterproductive for an MMORPG.
Shop Offers Premium Buff and Expensive Skins
As Broken Ranks is a Free2Play MMORPG, it relies on a real-money shop for funding. There you can get a premium buff for 30 days, costing 350 platinum, which is around 8.50 Euros. This is comparable to ESO+ and provides you with:
- 26% more experience
- 26% more gold
- 300 carry weight
- Faster recovery
- 2 new tactics
- 30% less penalty upon death
- A random item every day, including healing potions or teleport scrolls
In the shop, you can also purchase increases to your friends list, healing potions, teleport scrolls, and resets for attributes.
Additionally, there are individual skins that cost between 500 (12 Euros) and 3,500 platinum (almost 50 Euros). However, these skins only offer cosmetic adjustments. Better stats are not available in the shop.
A peculiarity of Broken Ranks is that you can trade or gift platinum to other players. Thus, it is theoretically possible to exchange the buff or store items for in-game currency, provided you can find other players willing to trade.
Conclusion: A Really Great Indie MMORPG with Some Drawbacks
After the first 8 hours of Broken Ranks, I am absolutely thrilled. The game offers a lot of depth and a very entertaining story, which has pleasantly surprised me. Particularly, the Gothic vibes resonate very well with me.
Right from the start, the difficulty level is challenging, and I have to devise strategies. I like that. Unfortunately, there are already noticeable penalties for dying, which I consider a very unreasonable mechanic.
Moreover, some decisions have been made that I do not fully understand, such as the late dungeons or the costs for additional slots on the friends list. A potential dealbreaker in the endgame could be the enhancement system for equipment, but I cannot draw a conclusion on that yet.
Overall, however, Broken Ranks is an absolute MMORPG hidden gem. Hardly any major gaming website or larger YouTuber has noticed the game yet, even though it has many strengths. Since you can play it completely for free, I can only recommend downloading it. Unfortunately, you can only access the game through the official website. There is no version on Steam.
Alexander Leitsch
MMORPG expert at MeinMMO
Alongside Broken Ranks, the new MMORPG Mortal Online 2 was also released on January 25. It focuses on sandbox content and PvP. We’ll tell you how the game is received after its release on Steam:
New hardcore MMORPG launched on Steam – Achieves good player numbers and reviews
