Anarchy Online
Review & Impressions from an RP explorer, froob experience (2018–2020)
Anarchy Online is a 3D, science-fiction MMORPG developed by Norweigian company Funcom, also known for The Longest Journey and it’s sequels, Age of Conan, The Secret World, Conan Exiles, and numerous other titles developed over the years. Anarchy Online was their first foray into the MMORPG genre with most of their prior experience focused on console games. Anarchy Online was released June 27, 2001 with a starting population of approximately 50 thousand. Numerous bugs and other issues hampered it’s launch, with subsequent patches fixing many of the issues. Despite it’s rough launch, botched Steam launch, and numerous patches over the years that have upset portions of the playerbase, it continues to be a fairly well-populated MMORPG and sits among only a few other MMORPGs in the length of it’s run.
My personal experience with Anarchy Online prior to my first serious attempt at playing this game was in 2003. I was at a friend’s house with his bandmates who kept asking him to come down for band practice. When he would often reply that he had guild meetings or other activities to do in Anarchy Online, he would be harshly mocked. I joined in a bit, despite understanding where he was coming from as an Asheron’s Call player.
In 2018, I started downloading lots of MMORPGs trying to find an Asheron’s Call replacement as I was starting to get into gaming again. After playing through the Elder Scrolls and Fallout games, I figured that either ESO or Fallout 76 would scratch that AC itch. Neither did. After downloading every MMORPG I could find, I hopped into Anarchy Online — after discovering it was now under a freemium model — and spent about 45 minutes in game before setting it aside. The camera, controls, and content of the starter area weren’t sufficient for me to take notice. I uploaded my first video in the Anarchy Online series and moved on to other games. Then, someone commented saying to give it a chance with lots of pointers. Given I base a portion of my recorded playthroughs on user comments and feedback, I hopped back in. This review will be on the base game experience as a froob in 2019–2020.
Character customization is rather basic, with most appearance options looking rather atrocious. Some abominations can be selected for the Atrox especially. You get four species to choose from, each with their own bonuses that make them generally more useful for certain professions over others; these species are the Solitus, Opifex, Atrox, and Nanomage. Fourteen professions are available, with almost all of them being available for a free-to-play player. Professions aren’t locked to specific breeds. However, some breeds will have difficulty equipping gear for certain professions or will have issues as a result of base stats that will make them not optimal choices. Each profession has unique benefits and disadvantages, as well as profession-specific nanos (buffs), helping to promote teamwork and cooperation in game.
The graphics of Anarchy Online are definitely dated and while a new engine exists that have “upgraded” graphics, the frequent crashes of the new engine, some features not working correctly or at all, and barely noticeable improvement in graphical quality, it is highly recommended to just stick with the standard engine. If you want a game that looks hyper-realistic and modern, Anarchy Online is not it, but if you want a game that despite looking dated, has an aesthetic that is fitting for the game world and some special effects that are quite colorful and pretty, this game definitely meets that criteria. It is obvious that many buildings and environmental textures are copy and pasted and some models are buggy, but the overall aesthetic works for getting immersed into the setting. Just be careful where you jump because it is not uncommon to jump outside of the map if not careful.
The sound effects, while dated, fit the setting and graphical style quite well, with well-composed soundtrack to tie it all together, making the general presentation of Anarchy Online quite good given it’s age. The seasoned veteran can tell you where you are in game based on sound and music alone. The sound effects become a bit repetitive after awhile but personally — I never find the soundtrack itself to get old.
The controls for Anarchy Online do take a bit to get used to. If you are used to modern MMORPGs or even classic WoW and EverQuest, you will likely spend the first hour wrestling with the camera and the next 10 minutes getting yourself nearly killed as a result of bumbling with the camera trying to escape situations. However, once you’ve mastered the camera, it’s precise control is immensely useful in combat and exploration. Just skip the first person view unless there is a specific use case where you require it. AO relies on a tab-targetting and hotbar style of attack system, with a few unique features — like an aggression / defense slider bar — to help make it more complex than a typical tab-targetting game. If you’ve played an MMORPG from this era before, it’s pretty standard with your default weak attack and a series of specials with varying cooldown timers, as well as potions and health kits, that must be strategically managed during difficult encounters. If you are playing this game mostly solo and as a froob as I did, it is essential to have a good grasp of the cooldown timers, what each special ability does, and to venture out into the world with adequate supplies.
This game has a death penalty. Insurance can be purchased to offset it. XP that is lost upon death is saved into a pool that can be earned back through completing missions and fighting mobs. While it might be frustrating to see your XP bar back at the bottom after a death close to the level up point, the XP is not lost for good. Even amassing multiple millions of XP in stored XP doesn’t take all that long to win back. It’s a balanced way to appease both those seeking meaningful risk in death while also not making it overly frustrating for a casual player. If the PvP component of this game has you worried: it should be noted that most areas of the game utilize “suppression gas” to prevent players from attacking each other, with large cities and newcomer zones being safe and only higher level zones allowing open / semi-open PvP.
Overall, Anarchy Online is game whose outer appearance and gameplay mechanics show their age but mostly in a positive, or at least neutral, way. For those seeking an old school MMORPG experience in an immersive and interesting world with unique and complimentary character builds, Anarchy Online is unlikely to disappoint. While some of the recent changes and lackluster customer support from Funcom have been catalysts to increasing the decline of an already declining playerbase, the playerbase that remains is generally helpful when asked questions and typically doesn’t interfere with your own gameplay. There are a few elitists common to all MMORPGs — especially older ones — in the crowd yet for every one of these types, more than a dozen generally decent individuals were around. The froob experience can be frustrating if you play in off hours, given some missions require tradeskills that you are unlikely to be able to train to complete or require a team at lower levels. Also, watching paid users plow through mobs at a lower level than you while you slowly struggle through content can be frustrating as well.
WHY PLAY?
- Large world filled with interesting lore and sites.
- 56 different combinations of breed and profession with differing gameplay. Large variety of skills and ability to freely distribute skill points further increases replayability.
- Content variety for both PvE and PvP, for both the solo player and large guild.
- Beautiful soundtrack and the overall aesthetic of the game is quite well-done, despite the age of the graphics.
WHY PASS?
- Leveling often becomes a process of completing the same or very similar daily missions over and over.
- Slow-paced combat, while appealing for some, feels quite dated compared to newer MMORPGs.
- Dwindling playerbase can make it difficult to find groups for certain missions at off-peak hours.
EGG’S BIASED OPINION:
This game has become my second favorite MMORPG of all-time — second to only Asheron’s Call. While your specific mileage may vary, there’s a reason why this game has remained on the market for so long with an active playerbase despite Funcom making objectionable decisions.
Meg only played through the Condemned Subway content but enjoyed the gameplay and aesthetics of the game. Her experience with the playerbase was a net positive, finding many people willing to help and engage in RP shenanigans with her.
EGG’S FINAL VERDICT: TOP TIER (HIGHLY RECOMMEND)
MEG’S FINAL VERDICT: RECOMMEND
