When ArcheAge was released in Europe in 2014, MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch was extremely excited. Especially the many freedoms, the housing, and the combat system created high expectations. Today, however, ArcheAge is just a niche game. A new trailer now raises a lot of eyebrows.
With ArcheAge, I associate two incredibly beautiful memories related to housing and sailing:
- A private house in the open world that everyone could visit, the many decorations, and my own little farm in the garden. I had a place of peace, relaxation, and it belonged entirely to me. For me, it is – aside from WildStar – the best housing system.
- On the other hand was the sailing. Building my own ship, sailing around the world, and defying the dangers at sea. That awakened a true sense of freedom that few other MMORPGs have ever offered me.
- Added to this was an interesting class system that allowed me to combine 3 skill trees at will without being bound to a playstyle.
Today, I only associate ArcheAge with mindless grinding, overly powerful opponents in PvP, and constantly new servers that are meant to entice players to spend money.
However, what hurt me most was the trailer released on January 5. It ridicules what is, for me, a truly special MMORPG and shows a sad reality:
Colorful characters, ridiculous music, and not a single player in sight
Even the first few seconds of the video leave me perplexed. A weird teddy flies on a laughing worm, and this bizarre music plays. Then, suddenly, this worm is also perched at the front of the ship. After a minute, I need to collect myself.
With the help of Google, I find out that the larva crossover is a well-known Korean children’s series. But what exactly does that have to do with my game?
I find the crossovers in Fortnite quite fun because the game is very entertaining and funds itself through quirky skins. However, MMORPGs offer a vast world with a story in which I want to immerse myself. For me, such a world must also be somewhat coherent.
However, the larva and this crazy music bother me immensely. I certainly don’t want to see SpongeBob in WoW or Digimon in ESO. That just doesn’t fit.
But the trailer shows another sad picture. In the video, there isn’t a single player visible. This also reflects reality on some servers. I logged in over the weekend and didn’t encounter a single player in the starting areas.
That really hurts me. Because ArcheAge had some unique features with the open class system, the combat system, the caravans, and the mentioned aspects of housing and sailing.
With the right monetization, the right updates, and some comfort adjustments for beginners, ArcheAge could have been a really strong MMORPG. In 2019, I briefly had hope with ArcheAge Unchained, which they have also messed up by now. Here too, the desire to earn a lot of money with few players was greater than to establish the game widely and healthily.
In 2023, it is a niche MMORPG that has now also received a ridiculous crossover. It is hardly recommendable to me anymore.
However, there is reason for hope in 2023 if you are an MMORPG fan. With Throne and Liberty and Blue Protocol, two really good games are coming:
