Elyon launched its first Closed Beta in the West on May 7. It has received some harsh criticism. MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch has spent over 20 hours in the new MMORPG. Although he sees no hit potential in the MMORPG, Elyon serves a particular niche well.
What is my first impression of Elyon? Quite mixed:
- Especially at the beginning, I felt like I was playing a rather soulless Asia-MMORPG, primarily due to the generic visuals. This feeling was even reinforced by the quests starting at level 22, as grinding becomes the main focus from then on.
- However, after switching classes and reaching level 30, I suddenly experienced a change in Elyon, which I will explain in the article. So don’t write it off too early!
In addition to my experiences with Elyon, I will take a look at Korea and provide an assessment at the end of how the MMORPG could develop here and whether it could end up being a flop like Bless Online, which was shut down after only a year.
Where does the comparison with Bless come from? Bless Online was a Korean MMORPG that came to the West in 2018. The game featured an action-packed combat system and PvP battles in an open world. Additionally, it aimed to impress with a special system for taming animals.
However, at launch, there were technical issues, some promises were not kept, and many players felt that the world was too empty and generic. All points that could also affect Elyon.
What is behind Elyon? The Buy2Play MMORPG Elyon comes from Korea and was developed by the creators of TERA. You can choose from 5 or later 6 different classes, which quest in an open world and experience a story.
As you progress through the game, you unlock various dungeons, housing, and PvP content. Starting around level 30, open-world PvP is also added, which is not optional. Right from character creation, you join one of two factions and can then be killed while playing and questing starting at level 30.
For anyone who hasn’t informed themselves about Elyon yet, you can find here the most important content of the game summarized. Additionally, you can watch my first 30 minutes as a Gunner in this YouTube video:
Elyon has a really good midgame
What does Elyon do well? After nearly 20 hours of playtime, I am particularly impressed by 4 things in the game:
- The general combat system
- The dungeons
- The PvP arenas
- The character progression
What makes the fights so good? Even in the first seconds of the game, I noticed the combat system positively. You have to aim your attacks dynamically, there is a dodge roll, and an automatic stun break included, so you can escape crowd control effects like being knocked down or held with just a key press. Plus, I have to stay on the ball constantly. Many enemies have heavy attacks that are well represented by animations and telegraphs.
A highlight for me is the abilities for which I first need to mark targets. Once I have selected the targets accordingly, projectiles are sent towards them that are guaranteed to hit. I have only seen such a mechanic in TERA before.
However, the dynamic feel is somewhat dampened by the long animations and sometimes clunky animations. Personally, I prefer the combat system of Black Desert over that of Elyon, simply because it is overall more dynamic and offers more action. Nevertheless, fighting in Elyon has been a lot of fun so far.
What is behind the dungeons? With level 28 (about 2-3 hours of playtime), the first solo dungeon is unlocked. In this dungeon, I fight in a mine against a gang of goblins and at the end against a giant troll.
It’s particularly fun to fight here because while the troll has powerful attacks, they can be recognized and dodged easily when the giant swings its paw slowly and tries to slam me into the ground.
By the way, Elyon automatically provides an integrated DPS meter when you are in the dungeon.
With higher levels, more dungeons become available, with the next two designed only for solo players again. Only at level 36 is the first dungeon for 3 players available. Elyon also offers an automatic group finder or a tool where you can specifically make a request for groups.
My group for the 3 player dungeon was found in no time. The objective of the dungeon is to defend a portal against hordes of enemies. After about 8 waves, a big boss appears, who summons waves regularly, so we mainly focus on the boss. However, the difficulty level is rather manageable, and we don’t lose a single life, but gain plenty of loot.
Additionally, there are specific leaderboards for each dungeon. You can become immortalized if you are fast enough. Besides the useful loot, it gives another incentive to revisit the dungeons later.
What were my first adventures in PvP like? Elyon offers 3 interesting PvP contents:
- Arenas in 1v1, 3v3, and 5v5
- Realm battles, where the two factions fight against each other on different maps
- Open-world PvP
My first touches with PvP were when I reached level 32 in the open world. And it’s quite frustrating because sometimes I get taken down out of nowhere by players who are well above my level.
The arena PvP, on the other hand, was really fun. Here, I automatically face other players in a small arena. My first match only lasts 11 seconds, and then an Elementalist, who is 6 levels above me, has already defeated me.
In the following matches, however, I have fairly balanced fights, and Elyon can shine through its dynamics. As a Mystic, I can often CC opponents and hold them in my AoE effects or keep melee fighters at a distance. This gives me a significant advantage. On the other hand, I have little defense, so just a few attacks are enough to take me down.
I defeat an Assassin who is 2 levels below me in just under 30 seconds. Against another Mystic, I experience a fight that lasts nearly 3 minutes.
The dynamics and the fights remind me a lot of Blade & Soul in the arenas. And again, there are leaderboards, through which you can compare yourself with other players. A definite plus for me.
How does character development work? Elyon relies on 4 things for character development:
- An artifact system that allows me to modify abilities
- Runestones that provide bonus attributes and special effects
- Skill trees that are unlocked at later levels
- An equipment system that works with upgrades, which can also fail
How these various systems work has already been explained in this article: How you can improve and strengthen your character in Elyon.
It is noticeable that in the midgame, the development has a very significant influence and is a lot of fun. In the endgame, however, it tends to lean towards pay2win if the shop remains as it is in Korea.
What else did I enjoy? During gameplay, I experienced two things that happened rather randomly.
On one hand, there are world events that appear randomly. Then you have 60 seconds to accept a fight invitation, and you are then teleported into an instance with other players. There, various world bosses are fought.
On the other hand, there are smaller riddle dungeons when you get a corresponding treasure map. I mostly dropped this treasure map by chance. This treasure map teleports me to different dungeons where I have to collect treasures:
- One dungeon reminded me of Smaug’s cave from The Hobbit. A dragon lies on the treasure, and I must stealthily steal chests around him.
- In another dungeon, the chests disappear again if you’re not quick enough. Additionally, I am attacked by giant soap bubbles that lift me into the air temporarily if they catch me.
- The third riddle dungeon consists of coins that I need to collect. However, giant rolling stones continually come toward me that knock me down. Here, skillful dodging plays an important role, and I feel almost like in Indiana Jones.
Another small highlight is the housing system, which I could only test briefly. Here, I will be teleported into my own instance that I can freely decorate. At the beginning, a house with furniture is already there, but I can make any changes.
There is also a farm system through which I can cultivate vegetables and other things. However, I can’t yet say how it works. If desired, players can also visit friends and strangers through the interface.
Elyon also offers plenty of other familiar MMORPG content, including:
- Fishing
- Daily quests
- A collection system with sets similar to ESO
- An auction house
- Titles and achievements
The scope of Elyon is already impressive at launch.
Problems with onboarding, open PvP, pay2win, and the lack of soul
What does Elyon do poorly? I see the 5 major problems with Elyon as:
- The general “lack of soul”
- The weak onboarding
- The open PvP
- Daily limitations
- Pay2win
What do I mean by “lack of soul”? Good MMORPGs have something that makes them special and gives them a certain recognizability. In WoW, it’s the special graphics and the extensive lore. Black Desert excels with graphics, the action combat system, and the economic system.
Elyon, on the other hand, looks optically uninspired and monotonous. It also offers few unique characteristics that could be specifically highlighted. The onboarding feels incredibly generic.
You run through random areas, kill random mobs, listen to a completely uninteresting story, and in the end, even many things in the game look the same.
Additionally, it becomes evident right away that there wasn’t even an attempt to be creative regarding the quests. There’s an NPC who immediately assigns 7 tasks, and then you move on. The story quests are minimally more varied but are constantly tied to new level-ups. And for that, you first have to grind.
This sets it apart starkly from Swords of Legends Online, which, although also an Asia-MMORPG, specifically aims to tell an Asian story and has a clear structure in the game world. That may not be for everyone, but you immediately know what you are dealing with.
This also makes the onboarding in Elyon so slow. Cool content like housing, PvP, Realm vs Realm, or dungeons only become available starting at level 28, with some even only starting at level 36. For that, you have to invest several hours into the game that are hardly enjoyable.
The right class to start: Those who start with the wrong class also have extreme problems in Elyon. Because while the Assassin and the Gunner were a lot of fun for me, the Warlord was an absolute disaster and played out somewhat slowly and uninspired. As an Elementalist and Mystic, I each had a mixed start.
It’s important to remember that the Holy Trinity plays a role, and especially Warlords (tanks) and Mystics (healers) will have a more important role there. This makes them more attractive again in the endgame.
What is difficult about PvP? Both in open-world fights and in Realm vs Realm, I face a clear problem: I lose 5% of my collected XP if I die. And there is hardly anything worse for me.
This XP loss completely destroys my Realm vs Realm experience. Here, 100 players from both factions battle against each other on different maps. With my level, I could enter an arena where there were dozens of dragon pups attacking both factions and providing them with loot.
It thus combines PvE and PvP. But in the midst of a huge storm of effects, you sometimes die out of nowhere. And losing 5% XP for that simply wasn’t worth it to me.
As I try to reach level 35 for the PvP arenas with my second character, I am immediately taken down multiple times by players from the opposing faction.
As if dying weren’t frustrating enough, this XP loss becomes a real problem for me. By the way, there’s no XP loss in arena PvP. I would have liked that for Realm vs Realm and PvP deaths in the open world as well.
What can you do daily? To get good equipment, you can complete daily quests and dungeons. Both are limited. You can only complete 4 dungeons per day and only 20 daily quests. This can reduce the fun of the game if you want to grind for a whole day on weekends rather than just regularly for a few hours.
The remaining time can then be spent in PvP or grinding in the open world.
What about pay2win? This is still hard to assess. In Korea, there are some pay2win elements in the shop, including:
- Materials for upgrading equipment
- Items that can prevent equipment destruction
- Pets that help with looting and provide small buffs
- Premium buffs like more loot and more XP
- Storage/inventory expansions
However, it is not yet clear whether the shop will come over 1:1 to the West. In the first beta, the shop was even completely disabled, so we can’t make a definite statement about it yet.
How is Elyon doing in Korea? Currently, Elyon is still among the top 30 most played online games in Korea (via Gamemeca). However, it ranks behind MMORPGs like Lost Ark, Black Desert, and Blade & Soul.
Elyon actually started strong with high player numbers, but some bugs and the mix of content seem to have not kept many players engaged in the long term. However, there have already been some major updates, including seasons for PvP and the new Slayer class.
Elyon has been out in Korea for nearly 6 months, and the initial hype has faded. We will definitely keep an eye on how player numbers develop.
Elyon works for solo players but only up to a certain point
Can Elyon be enjoyed as a solo player? Yes, and at least up to a certain level, it’s actually more fun to be alone, as Elyon works with various instances within quests. This can lead to situations where you suddenly can’t see each other when you’re with several players.
Additionally, there are solo dungeons unlocked starting at level 28 that can only be completed alone and the 1v1 arena.
However, with a higher level, you will increasingly encounter players from the other faction, making solo questing a risk. Solo players are easy prey for enemies who want to take you down in PvP.
For later dungeons, arena PvP, and Realm vs Realm, it will almost be necessary to join a guild.
Elyon will not be a huge flop, but also not a hit
This is what Elyon could best be: An MMORPG that finds a surprisingly large niche for itself. Because especially the leaderboards in dungeons, the arena PvP, and the housing can convince. If you enjoy mass PvP, you can have fun in Realm vs Realm.
However, for Elyon to be successful, Kakao Games as the publisher needs to make several changes, including adjustments to the shop and also removing the XP loss from other players. Ideally, they will even tweak the grind for equipment.
This is what Elyon could worst be: A total flop. And that is not necessarily because the MMORPG is so bad, but because it is arriving in the wrong year. Because 2019 and 2020 saw a dry spell, and many would have welcomed a game like Elyon back then.
But in this year, exciting MMORPGs like Swords of Legends Online, New World, Lost Ark, and several other titles are on the horizon. And since Elyon is not set to launch until Q4 2021, it could simply be forgotten by then. Especially if one of the other MMORPGs hits it big.
This is what I believe Elyon will be: I believe the game will find a niche, especially for players who have previously played TERA and Black Desert and are simply looking for a new MMORPG. This target audience is precisely what the game caters to – action-packed fights, grind, dungeons, and PvP.
Anyone who has not previously enjoyed Asia-MMORPGs with grind will likely not develop a taste for it in the future either. But there is a niche that could eagerly embrace a new game and keep it running for several years.
From this niche, however, I believe Elyon will not emerge. It does not have the potential to become the next big blockbuster like WoW, ESO, or FFXIV. But I am equally sure that it will not be shut down like Bless Online after only a year. The sheer amount of content, the combat system, and the technical optimization in the first beta were simply too good.
How do you see Elyon? Have you written it off already, or are you looking forward to the release? And which MMORPG are you looking forward to the most in 2021? Let us know in the comments, but also in this poll: Which new MMORPGs are you most looking forward to in 2021?
