I found the answer: I was grumpy or in some weird state when I first fired up Runes of Magic. The game is actually quite good. It’s not original in any sense of the word, but it is good.
My original thoughts regarding UI and graphics remain, i.e. those are a direct rip-off of WoW and they could have done better. But, if you put everything else “into the pot” and just play, then you come out with a pretty good experience. Right now, my character is a level 10 Scout, level 6 Mage….which means I rain death from a distance. Quests focus on the trilogy of “kill 10 rats”, “go deliver that to there” and “go find that over there”. Crafting is really nothing special that I can see so far, except that you can be any and all crafting professions. I have not participated in the RMT yet, but I plan to in order to see how they’ve done it and how what the value is.
The most unique part of the game up to now has been the dual class system. With my Mage class up to level 6, I now have access to some spells as a Scout…like Fireball. So, I usually throw down a vampire arrow (DoT), then a Fireball and maybe another arrow shot if the thing is still alive. Usually, most mobs don’t even get to me before they drop. You can change your class in your house. Simply talk to your house maid and select which class you want to be your Primary and which one you want to be the secondary….and off you go.
PvP. I did do a 1 v 1 PvP match as well and I kind of dominated the whole thing 
. It was against a Rogue and he was a very good sport about me shoving my arrows up his ass for the better part of 15 minutes. Again, same as in WoW, you get Honor points for winning PvP matches. Up to now, I have no idea what you use them for…probably for equipment.
Here’s the thing. Runes of Magic is just different enough from WoW for bored WoW players who tire of that world. It doesn’t shock the system and pretend to be something its not. It is a WoW clone on the surface with some tweaks in gameplay that make it fresh enough to stay. I played almost all day yesterday and I plan to keep playing.
…shame on me for being grumpy.
D out.
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June 30th, 2009 at 9:01 am
I played ROM untill lvl 30. Then, one day, i saw lvl 32, same class. He had 7,2 times my HP. Never loged again. PvP server and RMT…
June 30th, 2009 at 9:25 am
@ Bojan, i had the same. I was lvl 20/16 mage priest and came across someone off the same class’es and about 4 lvls lower and he one shotted me with a fireball, so i asked him how he did it and he told me he just bought loads of rune bags in the shop and said it was quite expensive though. That in conjunction with the quests stopped me playing anymore.
June 30th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
I gave Runes of Magic a brief try. Was actually fairly impressed. I like that you can theoretically learn every craft (though I can’t imagine getting that serious about the crafting in the game). I also like that every two class combo gets spells unique to that combo. Although the options don’t seem very well balanced (at least on paper, never made it up high enough to unlock any of those abilities).
Oh yeah, and to the above posters…you picked a PvP server in a RMT game. I remember at server selection I was a bit horrified that they even have open PvP servers. How could it possibly be fair if cash spent = power? A great way to get random rich crazies to spend obscene amounts of money on your game I guess.
June 30th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
I have to echo Yeebo’s thoughts here: RMT and PVP are anathema. Being ganked by some guy that grinded out the gear and levels is one thing. Being ganked by someone with Dad’s credit card is insane.
June 30th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Everyone will be back. It’s the no. 1 F2P game in the world and climbing faster than any other as well. That’s not me saying that either. Of course, some won’t like it. I’m not the biggest fan of WoW, even though it’s the biggest in the world.
The game is totally unique. There’s nothing ripped off of any other MMO. Actually unlike any other MMO, RoM let’s you have unparalleled control over how you design the look, placement, and design of your UI, with most of those customizable features being built in. They start you off with a generic default UI.
No one shouts “FF clone” when they see new console RPG’s come out, even though most RPG’s all share the same funcionality. Indeed, once you play an RPG or two, you usually can jump right on into any other RPG and “know” how it functions, but that doesn’t make them any less unique. They all have different worlds and stories and there own little unique features.
RoM has an awesome Arcane Transmuter that let’s you mix-match and re-mix and match dozens of different runes to get new and more powerful runes you can use in slots in your armor.
The developers have planned to release 80 different zones within the next year and a half(slightly smaller than WoW’s entire world is now)
RoM also has the Aggregator which lets you transfer the stats of one item to another item. No more clones. Even if you have all the same high level gear, your entire outfit can look different. Include that with the ability to color your armor and change your characters features, and you have a robust character customization.
Most players find themselves underpowered because they don’t explore the Arcane Transmuter and just use gear with the base drops.
On top of that, there is nothing in the Item Mall, that you can’t get in-game. The only things you can get in the Item Mall are items to help you speed up progression of gameplay. Things like buying extra production runes(that are drops in game), exp potions, tp potions, and the like.
You can also learn all the craft professions, and they aren’t “tied” to character level, so a level 10 player, with enough work, could max a profession to level 80.
And of course, RoM has a duel-class system.
Unique world and lore
Duel-class
Aggregator
Arcane Transmuter
Unique instances and dungeons
Plus everything that MMORPG players love about MMO’s
Raids
drops
Elites
World bosses
Unique factionless PvP with reputation based bonuses(+30 rep gets you bluename and bonus health points, etc…)
Unique Guild Wars.
“Being ganked by some guy that grinded out the gear and levels is one thing. Being ganked by someone with Dad’s credit card is insane.”
And how would you ever know which was which? it doesn’t matter see best post about this in the world–>http://howtoloseyourlifetoanmmorpg.wordpress.com/2009/06/30/the-anti-anti-rmt-movement/
June 30th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Jeremy you seem very knowledgeable about the game. But it is a WoW clone. That isn’t a slight against the game, but it looks very similar to wow in the Gold Shire area. Now that being said, it may change later in the game, but most of us won’t play past that area because it looks just like wow. You have explained some of the features that make the game worth playing, which is good. I’ll have to give it another shot.
July 2nd, 2009 at 5:16 am
Downloaded it last night… because of this post… lets say goodbye to daylight.
July 2nd, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Yes, i admit, foolish of me that played on PvP server in RMT game. I tried arena though…what a disaster and disgrace. Everyone played “draw”. Jeremy, please explain to them what that is…
July 3rd, 2009 at 12:15 pm
[...] entertainment. Tags: RMT, Runes of Magic trackback Darren has gone back to give Runes of Magic another try and seems to be more disposed to like it than he was the first time [...]
July 10th, 2009 at 10:33 pm
“I played ROM untill lvl 30. Then, one day, i saw lvl 32, same class. He had 7,2 times my HP. Never loged again. PvP server and RMT…”
He haz something I don’t haz guyz!!!1 itsz UNFAIR
September 28th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Hi,
I am playing RoM, and so far have 19rogue/19scout because I want a sniper who can stealth. On a PvP server other day I came across a 19Knight/(not sure other) and thought I would try PK him. I did so and we had a good duel, he almost won even though I got the drop on him, but I know how to kite and play my character and I won. Then he dropped a pair of purple level trousers, bound so I could not give them back to him even though I tried, because all he did on the /zone was bitch and bitch about how I PKed him, and how he had just spent like $US100 on diamonds and gold for his gear. This prooves a few things.
1. If you pick a PvP server know your character and how to play it PvP. Go to arenas and practise, there are 1v1, 3v3 and 6v6 which can be uneven but at least you know how you will fair when put to the test. This will also tell you what works and where to put your skill points when you level. I pretty much only have 6/7 basic skills I level from over 20, and this is at level 19.
2. Expect to be attacked, when in the open be wary of other characters, and if they have red rep be very wary(red name from bad rep from attacking other players)
3. The fact that I as an experienced dueler pretty much ganked a kitted out noob of the same level shows the games is not that uneven.
4. And yes I have been totally owned by similar level characters with much better gear, mainly in arenas, but I have the choice to do that too, but I think you are an idiot if you spend a lot of money on expensive kit before the end game (50+)
Just some thoughts. And I have played DAOC, WoW and Warhammer, and I like RoM so far as it reminds me of my ranger in Daoc, but Goa fked Daoc with their stupidity and nobody plays anymore,
Laters
January 29th, 2010 at 1:49 am
Nice website man, picked up a few nuggets here…just can’t wait for Cataclysm, I saw a rumor that it is being released Nov 2010, however with Blizzard you can never tell :/
February 5th, 2010 at 3:52 pm
Here’s the thing…I keep seeing…”i guess if you have lots of real cash you just pwn everyone else”….you ever played WoW??? Same deal if you have cash, you can buy your Tier 9 raid set through guilds running the content. You can buy your arena points by uber leet peeps carrying you. You can buy the best crafted gear, best enchants, best whatever via real life money. Hell you can even buy someone to power level you to 80 before your fingers even touch the keyboard. The item mall balance in RoM is fine…no subscription fee and a mount is only $15, and you get it at lvl 1 if you choose…hell if you don’t like that..I signed up for Gamefly for 1 month…$8.95 and you get 600 diamonds…thats almost $40 worth. I quit WoW due to the elitest min/max a-holes…don’t like paying $15 a month in a mad scramble to get the best gear I can, to still not be good enough…F2P I don’t feel obligated to play my $15 a month worth…