The relaunch of Ragnarok Online Philippines (ROPH) is set to start on June 20, 2017. A lot of newbies (those who are too young to play when it was first launched in 2003) are asking for tips on how to survive in Rune-Midgard.
There is no Juno map yet once the server is up on June 20, 2017. It will just be Rune-Midgard Kingdom and some maps accessible from Alberta dock.
Well, there are a lot of tricks and tips posted already on iRO Wiki, iRO Forums and Rate My Server regarding stats, skills and equipment. I highly suggest that you begin reading those guide if you want to level up fast in the game.
Now, if you truly want to enjoy the game (like me), here are some tips that I can share:
- Start with a good name – catchy, with no special characters, like Pritong Kandule, Tiger Lily, Maldita, etc. This will make it easy for your newfound friends to message you in-game. If ever RODEX (mail system in-game) is implemented, it will make it a lot easier for your friends, party mates and guild mates to send you items and supplies.
If you wanted to have that good, catchy, simple name that you have in mind now, then you have to be online on June 20, 2017 to grab it. If you have 2 different accounts and if it has 3 slots each, then think of 6 good names already, even if you don’t know what job they’ll be in the future.
- Finish the in-game tutorial – and don’t leave the training ground until you’re Job Level 10 (9 skill points). It’s easier to reach that level in the training grounds because the map is smaller and the spawn rate is high. You’ll also be given extra experience (XP) points by talking to the Non-Playable Characters (NPC) in the training ground. They will also give you Novice Red Pots which is very helpful in your Novice days. Not to mention that the Training Grounds is flooded with Porings, Drops, Fabres and Chon-Chon.
The Personality Test that is available after you reach Job Level 10 is also fun to answer and it will suggest the best job for you to take (if you select the closest answers to the question and not what you think is the best answer).
- Loot everything – including the drop from Porings called Jellopies. Sell these only if you need zennies (in-game currency) to warp to other towns or to buy red potions (pots). Keep these loots (items being drop from monsters) in your Kafra storage. Once you have an Overprice-Discount (OC-DC) Merchant, then you could sell these loots for a higher price.
- Statistics (Stats) – There are 6 stats: STR (strength), AGI (agility), VIT (vitality), DEX (dexterity), INT (intelligence) and LUK (luck). Melee characters like swordsman, thieves, merchants needs STR for damage, DEX to hit the monster and either AGI for fast attack and dodging the enemies; or VIT to reduce the amount of damage that they receive from monsters.
The damage of archers depend on DEX, while the damage of magicians (mage) depends on INT. Acolytes’ heal depends on INT and they can use heal (and pressing the shift key) against Undead monsters. LUK is used by Critical Assassins, Forgers and Falconers/Blitzers (Hunters).
- First Character and Build – I suggest having a merchant to avail of their discount and overcharge skill. If you got a lot of red potions from the training ground and you wanted to start on a main character, then a thief will be fine. Thieves have Double Damage and Dodge skills to evade the monsters attack. The higher your Dodge skills (combine with AGI), then the less red pots you’ll be using.
If you decide on a swordsman, an AGI swordie will use less red pots than a VIT swordie.
Archers are popular 1st character but they’ll be spending additional zennies for arrows. Advantage is, they are nuker (or range attack) so they can snipe Mandragoras from afar. Magicians (mages) have the same range advantage but they’ll need a lot of Skill Points (SP) pots – like strawberries – to keep on casting spells. Otherwise, you’ll be sitting a lot of times to regain your SP, similar to acolytes.
Some characters and build might be faster at first, but other builds can catch up pretty well once they turn into 2nd jobs (Knights, Assassin, Hunter, Priests, Blacksmiths and Wizards). There are no 2-2 jobs yet so you’ll be holding on to your Sage, Monk, Crusader, Rogue, Bard and Dancer, Alchemist build for a little while (after 6 months).
- Avoid all sorts of scams – including those asking for zennies so that you’ll be invited in a guild. Guild Masters will invite you at no extra fee or so, once you attain their required level or you’ve proven to be tough (high HP or skillful). There are also the trade scams – those that intentionally cancel a trade (pretending that it was accidentally cancelled) and replacing the card that you’re buying with a common card. Imaging trading for a Whisper Card. He cancels it. Re-do the trade, but putting a Poring Card instead.
Rune-Midgard is a smaller version of the real world: there are a lot of scammers. Be alert and protect yourself.
- Tanking – is when a high level player hit a monster once (that doesn’t change target) and then let a low-level character kill it (by having enough DEX to hit the monster). The game will feature “ignore player differences between player and monster”.
If you’re lucky, one of those novices you meet on the first few days of the Closed Beta Testing (CBT) turns out to be an old timer and levels up way faster than everyone else. He remembers you and decides to spend an hour or two tanking your character. So be nice to everyone you meet online. You never knew what his others characters are.
- Ragnarok Online (RO) requires A LOT of your time – You can’t expect a decent character overnight. Even if you reach level 99 in a few weeks, hunting/farming for equipment, ores (for upgrading) and cards will eat up a lot of your time. Since the server setting is 1x (100% experience), then it will definitely be a grinding-game.
Don’t worry, I’m sure there are items that will be available in the Cash Shop to make you level-up a bit faster but I suggest you use it once the Commercial Launch of Ragnarok is announced. Closed Beta Testing (CBT) stage is mostly for testing the server settings, finding bugs, getting familiar with the navigation of the game, creating different builds, etc.
- Zenny-Wise – avoid Player vs Player (PVP) matches in your early levels since each much have fees. Avoid using Kafra services for Warping to different towns very often. It will be advisable if you can walk from town to town to save zennies and to get familiar with the maps. Besides, some of the maps are adjacent to each other like Prontera to Izlude (1 map South of Prontera then East map). Payon is near Alberta (1 map East, 2 maps South and then 1 map East again).
- Join guilds – especially those in your real world location. If you’re around Metro Manila, look for a Manila-based guild. If you’re in Baguio, Cavite, Iloilo, General Santos, Davao, etc. It will make the eyeballs (EB) easier in the future.
If you’re in a Guild, you will know when your guildmate is online. If the guild owns a Castle (Agit) after the War of Emperium (the best feature of the game), then the Guild Master can share some of the loots. A lot of guilds are already advertising as early as now on Facebook. All you have to do is level your character first and then join them.
- Elements – similar to The Last Airbender (the anime), there are 4 basic elements in-game: Fire, Wind, Water, Earth. Like the anime, Fire is strongest against Earth-type monsters. Earth is strongest against Wind; Wind is strongest against Water; and Water is strongest against Fire.
If you’re going to buy an elemental weapon from a Forger (a blacksmith that specializes in creating weapons with elemental attributes), I suggest you obtain a Very Very Strong Wind Weapon. Wind element is very useful in Bayalan Dungeon – 5 levels (floors) full of monsters with different difficulty and it’s all weak against a Wind weapon.
There are additional elements like Holy, Dark, Ghost, Poison and you’ll learn those as you level up. Holy is strong against Dark (Undead, Demon races).
- Monster Races – are Undead, Demon, Insects, Brute, Angel (mostly Holy property), Formless, Demi-Humans and the MVP a.k.a. Boss Monsters. Acolytes have advantages over Undead monsters because they can use their Heal to “Heal Bomb” the Undeads. Archers have advantages over Brute monsters because of your skill. Swordsman have a skill called Magnum Break (which is a Fire Property attack) and will also be useful against Undead monsters. If you happen to be a mage, make sure you invest a skill point on the Sense – a skill that will let you gain all the information needed against a monster.
- Quests – Make sure that you finish the Skill Quests (like Finding Stone, Arrow Repel, Cart Revolution, etc). This will give your character extra skills. There is also a lot of Headgear Quests in-game (like Sakkat, Pretend Murder). Ragnarok’s trade mark is the headgears. There are tons of headgears you can have in-game and a lot of it can be obtain via in-game quests or events quests (like Christmas events, Valentine’s events, Easter events).
- Maps – around a town are normally safe for low-level characters. Since the new ROPH will start from Episode 1, the maps included include Rune Midgard – Prontera, Izlude, Payon, Alberta, Geffen, Morroc and Aldebaran. The further away you go from these major cities, the harder the monsters will be.
Navigation is usually given by the number of maps you have to go to your destination like if you’re in Payon; the dungeon is 1 map north. If you’re going to the Culvert, it’s 1 map West of Prontera. Spinx is 1 map West of Morroc and the Pyramids is 1 map North-West of Morroc. Glast Heim, a popular leveling spot for Acolytes and Archers, is 2 maps West of Geffen, then 1 map North and 1 map West again.
- No sharing of username and password – even to the Game Masters (GM) or your Guild Masters. Username and PW is like toothbrush – you don’t share it with anyone, ever.
- Ragnarok is a Role-Playing Game – you can create a unique character based on the stats, skills and equipment. There are common builds like Agi-Dex archer, Vit-Int acolytes, Dex-Int mages, Agi-Str swordsman, Agi-Str thieves, etc. There are also the unconventional or uncommon builds which can be fun builds like battle acolytes (Agi-Str), trapper hunters (Vit-Int), falconers (Agi-Int-Luk), bow thieves (Agi-Dex), Vit swordies (usually using 1 hand sword or 1 hand spears), etc. The possibilities are endless.
- Skills, Stats, Damage – The numbers you see on yourself when someone uses a skill on you, or the numbers you see on monsters when you apply a skill denotes either the damage, a double damage or an attack on you. A Red number on yourself means the damage that was inflicted on you. A green font number is the heal or restoration that a potion did to you. A blue font number is for your Skill Points (SP). A yellow font number on the monster you’re attacking means a double-damage. A number with a maroon pointed animation is a critical hit.
- Cards – are being dropped by certain monsters in-game. A card can enhance your Statistics (like a Poring Card to add +1 to your Luck or an Elder Willow Card to add +1 to your INT) or give you a skill (like Sidewinder that grants level 5 Double Attack) or a Vitata Card that gives you Heal Level 1.
Some cards will reduce the damage you receive from Demi-Human monsters (and players) like Raydric Card and Thara Frog cards. Some cards can increase your damage to certain type/race of monsters (like Hydra Cards for Demi-Human monsters).
If you happen to get a card, keep it for now. Study if it’s going to be beneficial to your current (or future) character and check whether it’s best to insert it to your current slotted gear. Don’t eagerly put a Pupa Card on your Cotton Shirt[1]. Try to at least get a Coat[1] from Fur Seals.
- Read the Patch Notes – All the changes in the game and all the new features (usually introduced after the weekly maintenance) are written in the Patch Notes. Don’t click on the Play button as soon as the patch is complete. Take time to read the Patch Notes.
- Always bring basic items with you – like Fly Wing (randomly teleports your character in the map), Butterfly Wing (a.k.a. Bwing, to teleport you to your save point), Magnifier (to identify items that are dropped from monsters), Concentration and Awakening Potions (for added attack speed), Blue Gemstone (Gems) if you’re an acolyte, Silver Arrows if you’re an archer, and Potions (Pots) like Red, Yellow, White pots depending on your Hit Points (HP) a.k.a. Life Bar.
If you’re a Merchant, invest a skill point on Item Appraisal. It will let you save on Magnifiers.
- Use Social Media to your advantage – Either you join a Facebook messenger for your Guild and online friends to ask questions. Or to ask when are they going to be online again. Make sure that you’re subscribed to the Official Facebook page of Ragnarok Online Philippines (ROPH) for in-game and real-life events.
Join the Official Forum as well once it’s up to post questions and get guides on quests and other things. Visit other Official Forums as well like the Warp Portal Forums. While sitting in-game to gain much needed SP or HP, alt+tab, read the threads on these forums. Please post questions too and participate in the Ragnarok Community. The game is not all about hack and slash – it’s leveling your character the smartest way – and gaining real life friends along the way.
I can give you a bunch more tips about playing Ragnarok Online but these can all be summarize in one line – participate/play in the Closed Beta Testing. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes about your stats or skills. CBT is the best place to get to know the maps, the monsters, the items, the cards. While learning all of these, make sure you make new friends and enjoy every bit of time that you’re online. Have loads of fun!
Ragnarok Online goes beyond being in-game and being on-line. We even have a t-shirt for our Fear Ascendant guild in Thor-Valhalla. We attend Ozine Fest and even swimming.
This is not mine. But this is the oldest screenshot I can find of the old Philippine Ragnarok Online (pRO) way back in 2003. I’m not expecting the new ROPH server to be jampacked as this one (outside of Payon Cave) but at least I’m expecting a server population of about 2,000+ each for Thor and Loki.
I admire Ragnarok players because they do stuff beyond the game – like having blacksmith toys and other merchandize.
