Greetings, all!
I'm not sure wether this will be a rant, review, or advertisement, but I felt it necessary to post my thoughts concerning
Winter's Roar, since it certainly deserves more attention then it currently recieves, and it's always nice to see a few new faces in the world. I must also note, that I am by no means a professional author, so bear with me on my poor writing skills.
If you don't wish to read a semi-lengthy post, then this
flash movie pretty much sums up a lot of what Winter's Roar has to offer, but in no way gives it justice, as you really need to experience it for yourself.
Winter's Roar takes place on a world called Dalaya, similar to Norrath in it's features, yet completely different in every other way. This is not your "normal" EverQuest, and right from the get go, you notice things aren't quite the same.
The NPCs you knew so well, no longer exist, the equipment you once craved, gone, the very ground you walk on, has been rearranged to make this world completely custom. You now have the chance to re-experience that which many of us lost, so long ago, a world unknown to us, just waiting to be discovered, and shaped as we choose.
Do not be intimidated by this, however, as Winter's Roar is quite easy to fall into, even to those ignorant of it's elaborate lore, and features.
Players of generally good alignment, will start in the last safe haven of the free peoples of Dalaya, Erudin, though certainly not the Erudin you remember. Souls of evil and often savage ways, will find their home in the frozen halls of Thurgadin, and their first hunting grounds, the Great Divide.
Now, you begin with the basics, as are food, a weapon, and a shield, or some spells should your proffesion find use of them. The first few levels go by very quickly, as experience is accelerated on WR, though slow enough so that any further you get in life, is not without feeling well earned.
Quests are everywhere to be had, whether you're good, or evil, and it is not unheard of, to go through many levels of pure questing.
You will never lose a level on Winter's Roar, as there is instead, a much less punishing debt system, which you must pay off to gain more experience, after death. Even then, this system does not take effect until the level of 10 has been achieved, so you have plenty of time to explore and make mischief, without worrying about any consequences.
Corpses only leave the money that the fallen adventurer was carrying, so another possibly frustrating situation has been avoided, without the need for desperate corpse retrievals, yet you can imagine that ressurections are still quite useful.
With the basics out of the way, I think it is worthy to note that, raids are important to WR, as are events, and roleplaying, yes that's right, roleplaying.
Taking a direct hint from EverQuest Live, raids make the game VERY fun, and just as rewarding. As a matter of fact, the very acceleration in which you level, early on, is to get you to this point, so that you may take part in raids, and events, much more effectively.
You will find raids and raid mobs similar to that of EverQuest Live, but that is only becuase things that weren't broken, weren't fixed. Even then, these creatures are still different, playing a different role in the world, and being often times, much smarter then their counterpart in other realms.
Not a day goes by without a raid of some sort, and not half a week passes without an event.
Events happen often, so long as the server isn't experiencing any dire health problems, and are more often then not, fun and rewarding experiences, as they should be!
These events range from Storyline effecting, which are strictly in character and everything you do, could have a direct effect on the world as you know it, to random out of character server wide Scavenger Hunts. Everyone should find something enjoyable.
Some GMs will even pick out a certain person or group, and personalize a few adventures for them, that would span over the course of a week or more. These are however quite rare, but should you exhibit the constant roleplaying desire, you may find yourself part of one.
I'll leave my last noted feature of Winter's Roar, to that of the undying support of the Devs and GMs. If you have a problem, it will be looked into, and very often fixed by the next patch, if not immediately. The GMs are not as strict as those on EQlive, and enjoy having as much fun as you do, so they understand when you have encountered a frustrating issue, making for a great server.
So, those are the things I felt most worth mentioning, and if you got this far, I hope you will give Winter's Roar a try. If you're still unsure, take a look at this
flash movie, a get a little better feel for it.
I hope to see you in the lands of Dalaya, and just so you know, I'm not a dev, or GM, just a regular player, that thought the server could use a little more attention on these forums, as I know MANY others, will enjoy it just as much as the lucky ones who are already there.
Links:
Join Winter's Roar
Winter's Roar Flash Movie
Winter's Roar Website
Winter's Roar Forums
Winter's Roar Lore
Winter's Roar - Carve Your Own Path!
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