ArcheAge: Unchained arrives to liberate players

ArcheAge has always been an MMORPG with a lot of potential, ruined by a pay-to-be-powerful mechanic. With the launch of ArcheAge: Unchained today, that’s about to change. Developer XL Games is unshackling players from their wallets and allowing you to power-up through your skill and abilities alone.

They’ve dubbed ArcheAge: Unchained ‘buy-to-play’, which describes every game ever made that isn’t free to play. It seems like an odd aspect of the game to focus on, but their goal is to emphasize the new direction the game has taken. After a bit of digging, we found a much better description: Buy once, play everything.

A new age

You will have to make an initial purchase if you want to play ArcheAge: Unchained. You have a choice of three tiers: Silver for $25.99, Gold for $49.99, or Archeum for $79.99. The higher tier purchases come with some stylish cosmetics. Once you’ve made your purchase, you will have access to all the content in the game. That includes the five years of content from before the release of ArcheAge: Unchained. Once you’ve purchased the game, you don’t have to spend another cent on progression.

The game will now feature ArchePasses, which are essentially battle passes. These passes are solely for cosmetic rewards. They will provide no way for players to power up their characters. The ArchePasses will last three months and each one will also have a free track. Obviously, the fancier looking cosmetics will only be in the paid tracks.

With the launch of ArcheAge: Unchained also comes the ‘Shadows Revealed’ update, which provides a host of graphical enhancements to rejuvenate the game. Things like upgraded combat effects and improvements to the visuals of the elven race.

Classes unchained

ArcheAge: Unchained is just one of many MMORPGs out there. It’s taken steps to make it much more consumer-friendly, but you may be wondering what about the game itself sets it apart from all the others. The answer is very simple: the class system. Or skillsets as they’re called.

There are 12 skillsets to choose from and you will combine three to form your ‘class’. The launch trailer boasts that there are 220 total classes you can play. You will pick your first skillset at the start of the game, your second at level five and your third at level ten.

Skillsets cover every fantasy class you can imagine: Archers, mages, thieves, assassins, warriors, bards, clerics. The list goes on. To give you a little bit of perspective, there are 36 different healer classes. So, if you want to heal, there are 36 different playstyles for you to do it. That’s a lot of freedom to play with. Plus, your skillsets can be changed at any time by visiting the correct NPC. So, you don’t need to play multiple characters, but rather you can just focus on making one all-powerful.

On top of that, ArcheAge: Unchained has a ton of things to keep you entertained. You can sail the seas like a pirate, role play a real estate agent and dip your toes into the housing market, lay siege to castles, or just ride out into the wild and slay everything you see.

Currently ArcheAge: Unchained is only available through the game’s official site.