Age of Wushu - Sandbox martial arts mmo

[Ordegar]

( Wǔshù literally means "martial art". It is formed from the two words 武術: 武 (wǔ), meaning "martial" or "military" and 術 (shù), which translates into "discipline", "skill" or "method." )

When I saw news about Age of Wushu a while ago (like a year ago?) I shrugged it off as yet another asian grinder with flashy combat but little substance. The other day, however, I read this article about it on Massively:

First impressions from the Age of Wushu beta | Massively

That piqued my interest. Thus I went to youtube for enlightenment (aka looking for gameplay videos). I must say this game looks to be much much much more than I originally thought.

• Immersive game world
• Sandbox elements such as guild territory with player built village
• Skill based leveling (skills level, character does not)
• Player based economy and extensive crafting and other "life skills" such as musician, painter, divinor, or beggar.
• PvP system with penalties such as bounties, prison, fines. Criminal activities such as kidnapping and murder. Players can have jobs such as Constable and get extra rewards for catching player criminals. Player criminals caught will go to prison, or even be beheaded (respawn with reduced stats for quite a long time). Criminal players can try to escape from prison, or bribe their way out.

These are the sorts of things I want in an mmo; I want a world to live in as my character, not just a game to race to the "end-game" raids. The fact that it's not a traditional fantasy game is a plus in my book.

First, here's the link to the official site where you can check out details or even try the game (limited trial) or actually buy the game even though it's technically still in beta with a release date of March 3, 2013.

Age of Wushu Closed Beta : Free To Play MMORPG

Here's some videos:

This is a pretty long "first impressions" video that tells quite a bit about the game.


Here are some videos showcasing combat moves learned in the various schools. They start out showing some of the normal attacks then blocks to build up rage to do the big attack.

I want the school that has a "Get Off My Lawn" attack .

Righteous Schools

The Emei school is the female only sisterhood akin to the Shaolin





Wudang school




Shaolin school ( male only school )




Beggars school (you actually have to have the beggar profession to join this school)




Neutral Schools

Scholar school (you have to have a scholarly profession to join)




Tangmen school




Evil Schools

Royal Guards




Wanderer's Valley




That's all so far!

[Ordegar]

Age of Wushu is the US version of Age of Wulin (being released in Asia by Snail Game CN, and by gPotato in EU). Age of Wushu is an international version meaning it has no region limits. It is published by Snail Game US.

Age of Wushu is in BETA. Currently it is Closed Beta 2; which is the first beta that will not have character wipes, so if you play now you can keep that character after the game officially releases.

It will be a "free to play" game. You can download the game for free now, and there will not be a cost to play. There will be a cash shop with accelerator type items and cosmetic items. Nothing in the cash shop will make you superior to what you can be without it; it just might help you get there faster.

There is a VIP status, which requires a subscription of about $10 per month. Buying the Deluxe package will give you 60 days of VIP after which you will need to subscribe to continue the VIP status. VIP status gives you benefits such as faster xp to skill rate; offline skill progression; offline merchant capability.

You can only have one character per account. Your character can only join one School, but it is possible to learn skills from other Schools. You can only cultivate (level) one skill at a time; there is no queue so you need to go online to change which skill you wish to cultivate or to continue a skill that has reached a new level. VIP status lets you cultivate skills while offline.

Even if you are not VIP your character will continue in the world as an NPC doing jobs. The job he or she does depends on where your character is when you log off. He may work in a shop sweeping floors, or work for a farmer, etc.

Guilds can claim territory which crafters can then build on and make a guild village. There are limited spots, so there will be wars over territory.

Know what you want your character to be BEFORE YOU BUY.

If you try the game and want to buy the Deluxe package to be able to play the beta unlimited, there's some things that you should know first.

This is from the official forums warning about deleting your character:

Age of Wushu • View topic - Deleting Characters - Elite & Deluxe Edition Rewards

Greetings,

There has been some confusion regarding the consequences for deleting a character that we want to clear up. Let me start by saying that Age of Wushu is an unconventional MMO in many ways. The focus isn't on leveling as quickly as possible to reach an endgame, but instead participating in a persistent and living world. There are many features that encourage this, from characters remaining in game while offline to the emphasis on a player-driven economy. Age of Wushu encourages a connection with a single character, and the journey from newcomer to master.

Simply put, the game was not made to support "alts." Each account is only allowed a single character for this reason. The choices you make are intended to have consequences.

Elite and Deluxe Edition Rewards will not be sent to characters created after a character is deleted and a new one is created.

It's important to be absolutely sure before making any lasting decisions. If you need help or information on which school you should join, there are many resources available, including our very own Schools forum as well as the School Spotlights posted on our official site.

Additionally, you are free to use other Snail Accounts to create free trials and use the allotted 10 hours to evaluate a school before choosing on your main account.

We understand that this is a new way of looking at character management and we appreciate your flexibility and open-mindedness as we work to offer new experiences in the MMO design space.

What this means is that you need to make sure you know what school, what gender, what story, and what look your character will have BEFORE you buy the Deluxe package. The way the game gives the in-game rewards after you buy the game is by mailing it to your character when you log in; so you better have the character the way you want when you do that.

You can delete and remake your character as many times as you want as long as you do it before you upgrade the account by buying the Deluxe pack. You cannot claim the in-game rewards again.

So what I plan on doing is researching the game enough to decide how I want my character. I tend to be one of those players who wants to do everything so I end up with a bunch of alts; but since this game limits us to one character per account, I will only have one character.

The main thing to decide on is the School, as they are all very different -- it's almost like choosing a class. Each class has 3 different skill sets, which you can see by the three videos of each School that I posted above. A good place to look about the Schools is on the wiki: Schools - Age of Wushu Wiki -- click on the picture representing the school to go to the details page for that school; some of them have explanations about each of the three skill sets to give you an idea of what the strengths and weaknesses are for that school.

[Ordegar]

Some vocabulary to help with understanding story and the game:

• Auntie: apparently in Chinese culture, like in many Germanic and Scandinavian cultures it is customary to call an older woman "auntie" as a respectful term, even if she is not related to you. Your character will do this when talking to NPCs.
• Uncle: same as above but for older males. You character will call NPCs this title even when they are not his/her actual uncle.
• Elder Brother, Eldest Brother: like Auntie and Uncle, these are titles of respect given to those who may be close in age but of higher social rank, such as more experienced disciples in your character's School. Eldest Brother in the Shaolin School is the second in order from the Abbot.
• Shifu: this means master or teacher; like the Japanese "Sensei". Also spelled Sifu.
• Chi: this is the life essence, energy within a person or any living thing. Also spelled Qi or Ki. This is what inspired "The Force" in George Lucas' Star Wars movies.
• Shaolin: the name is one of the most known names in the west due to the t.v. show "Kung Fu" in the 80s. Shaolin are followers of Bhudism. It is said that the Shaolin is what inspired the Jedi in the Star Wars movies. Many people think that Star Wars lore is based on Hitler's empire, but it's actually based more on the Chinese Empire during this time period, though George Lucas has said that it's not based on any one thing.
• Wudang: though the name Shaolin is more familiar in the west, most of what we know about Chinese culture and Kung Fu is actually from Wudang, such as the Yin and Yang, and Tai Chi. Wudang are Taoism followers.
• Cultivation: this has nothing to do with growing plants, but is a term used in the game to describe the process of using your xp to increase the level of your skills. Unlike most other mmos, you don't have levels but your individual skills do, and they upgrade slowly one skill at a time. This process has been compared to how skills are improved in the game EVE. You must have VIP status (subscriber) in order to cultivate a skill while off-line.
• Life Skills: this is the term used in the game for gathering and crafting skills or other non-combat skills such as Musician or Painter.
• Meridian: this is the term for a stat advancement system that is not implemented in the game yet; it uses chi instead of xp. You gain chi in the same ways you gain xp, though combat is a minor contributor to this.
• Flying Skills: these are skills you learn that let you do fantastic "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" type things like run on water or up walls, and seemingly fly through the air. These moves can be used during combat, giving a more 3D approach to combat.

[Ordegar]

• Wushu: Chinese word that literally means martial arts, or martial discipline, or martial method.
• Kung fu: or gung fu actually doesn't mean martial arts; rather it refers to a person's accomplishments or achievements gained from long effort or had work. A novelist's finished and published book could be called his kung fu.
• Wuxia: Chinese hero stories, akin to Hollywood westerns. Most "kung fu" movies that we see are made from these traditional stories, usually involving a martial arts school, a master, and his students involved in some sort of conflict.
• Wulin: this is the community of martial artists in Wuxia stories, part of what is called Jianghu.
• Jianghu: this is the setting, environment, or world of the Wuxia stories. This would be similar to the "wild west" of American westerns; a pseudo-historical setting that didn't really happen quite that way. Jianghu is the setting of the game.

[solarbear88]

Sounds kinda cool. @ the age of 40, not sure I can master a game like that though.

[Thymos]

is this in it:

[Ordegar]

No, the stuns in Age of Wushu are not just mental fake outs by a scam artist banking on suckers. :P

[Ordegar]

Originally Posted by solarbear88

Sounds kinda cool. @ the age of 40, not sure I can master a game like that though.

I'm 47.
/shrug

Keep in mind this is not a wii game, so YOU don't actually have to do the moves, your character does them with a simple button push.

On a serious note, this IS an open pvp game, but it's not a fps shooter by any means. Also, it's a sandbox world, not a pvp arena game, so there's a lot more to it than just fighting other players. You could play as a crafter and only make stuff for guild-mates if that's what you wanted to do.

I'm not really a pvp oriented player myself, though I did play Warhammer Online exclusively on the pvp side; and I do enjoy some Planetside 2 with TOG occasionally, but I'm happy with my 1/3 k/d ratio PlanetSide 2 Character Stats Ordegar - PlanetSide Universe

In a sandbox mmo, with rules and consequences to pvp, it's more about living in the world and developing your character in many aspects. In Age of Wushu, they even took character development beyond combat and crafting and went into your characters social development. You can get achievements for making friends, for example, or enemies. Guilds are more than just a chat channel; there is territory to take and hold; things to build.

It is a sandbox though, not a themepark. You do get an introductory set of quests at the beginning that chain together, but once that's done you're on your own. There are quests and events, but they don't chain together like in a themepark mmo. Some people don't like having to decide on their own where and what to do, so a game like this is not for them.

Sorry, I'm raving I know; I'm just excited about an mmo that is not just the same old thing.

[Dolnor]

I bought the Deluxe package to get extra time to beta test the game. I created Elondra and ran through the game about 25% to get a feeling of what to concentrate on for bug reports.

I deleted Elondra and created Olondra so I can repeat the same class line. Then I found out that the Deluxe & Elite packages are tied to the CHARACTER and not the account. So by deleting Elondra, I lost the privilage to test long hours. I am currently stuck at only 1 hour a day to test the game but I could try again if I spend more $$$ to pay-to-test.

And Snail Games USA said they are looking for great employees in the Los Angeles site in an email reply to my concern.

So I may pass on testing the game now. I've recently received an Alpha invite to an upcoming MMO and testing there has taken up much of my time.

TQQdles™

[Elyzion]

Bought the deluxe edition for this game, and I am really liking it a lot.

Do we have any plans for a guild or something?

By the way, it is worth mentioning that after the beta is done, the 1 hour per day time restriction on free players will be lifted. (According to a GM post: Age of Wushu • View topic - Free Player Access Time During Closed Beta))