Rappelz Epic 4 Free Massive Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game

Massive Multiplayer Online Role Player Games (MMORPGS) used to be for the "nerd" crowd. I know, because I was part of them. If you've never heard of one but have heard such names like "World of Warcraft" or "Maple Story" thrown around, MMORPGs are basically online versions of Lord of the Rings, except roles are played by you.

The most popular ones for pay now are Everquest and World of Warcraft. Guild Wars is free, but you still have to buy the software at a store near you. So if you ever wanted to try one out but didn't want to pop down money or get overrun by the professional players, where should you go next? Honestly, a lot of "free" games online in the MMORPG world are either too complex or too simple. Where can a person with reasonable computer skills jump into the MMORPG world without sacrificing too much time learning the ropes or money?

Enter Rappelz. Rappelz (located at rappelz.com) is a free MMORPG created by nFlavor. They offer several online games centered on various themes to include golf. Rappelz is becoming their most popular MMORPG. In Rappelz, there is a very comfortable balance between user-friendliness, graphics, and community support, three of the most important features in an MMORPG.

The Rappelz world more closely resembles the World of Warcraft and Everquest type of worlds than other MMORPGs like Maple Story or Flyff. Rappelz is based on three different races: Gaia, Asura, and Deva. Deva and Asura races were created to balance the light and dark, while Gaia was the Earth race that held them together. Each race is basically human-looking and has the same basic classes (warriors, priests, summoners) but each has different sets of skills according to the races. For instance, the Deva's fighting class is called Holy Warriors and have special attacks that have name types like "Divine Intervention" and "Holy Cross", where you strike your opponent in a cross-like fashion.

And within each class are a multitude of skills you can develop to truly tailor your character. A Gaia Fighter can take a path down specializing in using axes, or he can specialize in bows and high-damaging arrows. Gaia Holy warriors can eventually choose between becoming forward-charging soldiers or defensive knights. As complicated as it can get, Rappelz has a very simple layout for you to choose your own destiny.

Leveling and advancing in Rappelz is like most games: easy at first, a little more difficult as you get better. For every monster you defeat or quest you accomplish, you gain experience points and skill points. Those skill points can be applied to whatever skill set you have, which goes back to whatever path you decide to choose for your character. For example, say you chose a Gaia Fighter and you want him to be a bows-and-arrows kinda guy. Save up your skill points and put them all on the bow-related skills. Pretty soon he's shooting flaming arrows from waaaaay out.

If you aren't a questing kind of person and just like to run amok, Rappelz has plenty of detailed and well-mapped worlds for you to explore and lots of characters to interact with. I am constantly amazed at how much attention is paid to every leaf on a tree in a Rappelz world. Bunnies actually look like bunnies and not some anime version with giant eyes and "Hello Kitty" blankness. It can be a distraction just marveling at the architectural design of the buildings. And this game is free!

There are always other users from around the real world, doing the same as you: finding their enemies and conquering them. They are mostly here to help, unless you are on a player vs. player sever. Within two hours of playing I had found two inviduals, (Araya and Casarosa) that saw the same light-heartedness and humor I did of playing on an MMORPG. I tend to play as if I were watching "Army of Darkness", beating goblins and joking in the same breath. But if you prefer a silent partner, Rappelz has a "pet" system where you can summon certain breeds of animals with skills to help you. Anywhere from a wildcat to a tortoise to a chicken-yes, a chicken-can assist you on your adventure. I personally enjoy watching poultry peck to death a crude orc.

Defeat isn't a bloody affair on Rappelz. You just fade away and end up back at home base with mostly your pride wounded. You just go back to town and shop around for better weapons, armor or jewelry (there are thousands at your disposal). I recommend personalizing your look to your character so you aren't just another block of walking statistics. One of my characters looks like a boy band reject with purple hair; another, for some reason, ended up looking like an early 90s George Michael with longer hair. And yes, he's the one that shoots flaming arrows. If you decided that you want to upgrade faster and get even more personalized characters, you can spend real money at www.gpotato.com to do so.

The only downside to Rappelz is the navigation system. It can be difficult to double-click your mouse to set a way point and then hold down the right mouse button and angle your view. The view is important because some monsters out there are aggressive and if you aren't considerate of your 360 degree environment, you will find yourself on the ground in a hurry. Sometimes the game forces a zoom on your character at inexplicable times. One minute you are toe-to-toe with a giant warthog in the Harvest Forest. The next minute you are behind a hundred little leaves, unable to see your enemy. I have a feeling that the next update will fix this error. If you have a decent graphics card (256 with hot clock speed), you can manage it a little easier. If you don't, practice around on the trainee island before heading off into the real world.

Rappelz is a thoroughly enjoyable online experience. You don't feel too nerded out by playing, and you don't feel obligated to spend money on the extras just to stay competitive. You can solo just fine, stopping the game at any moment and picking up right where you left off without fear of losing anything. This is one of the best free MMORPGs out there. Before buying World of Warcraft or Everquest, try Rappelz!