Asheron's Call 1 & 2 - AC2, shut down in 2005, is back online

(I am no longer active in AC, haven't been for quite some time - but I'm on the forum nearly every day, so if you ARE active and want this updated, just PM me what you want it to say...or, start a new one. Some of the information and/or links in this OP are likely outdated or unavailable.)

UPDATE 12-14-2012

Active subscribers to AC1 have now been granted access, FOR FREE, to Asheron's Call 2. A new AC2 server is up and running.



So I'm making a new thread as I can't edit the title of the old one; the old thread is pretty old anyway. The information is old, the posts are old, it's just OLD.

Then again, so is AC. Ten years, to be exact.

That's right, Asheron's Call is ten years old. Most of us probably didn't expect it to last this long, especially after the fall of AC2. Most of us have long since moved on to other things, but Dereth is still there, for better or worse.

I do not currently play AC, though from 1999 to 2004 it was my MMO of choice. On occasion I'll get nostalgic and either resub my old account for a month, or fire up a 14 day trial just to play around. While most of the magic...and the population...is gone, there's still something about AC that no other game will match.

To that end, I'm rebooting the thread in honor of AC's ten year anniversary.





Why should I play Asheron's Call?

Given the age of the game and the dwindling population, that's a legit question and a hard one to answer. The only thing I can tell you is that AC did a lot of things differently from other MMO's, so even if you just sign up for a 14 day trial to test things out, it's worth it just to see how they did it. Here are just a few examples:

• Original Gameworld - Nowhere will you find an elf, an orc, or a dwarf. The creatures and characters scattered across Dereth are largely unique to the series.
• No Character Classes - You build the character YOU want to play from a list of available skills.
• PVP - Considered by many to be one of the best MMO's for PvP mechanics. Play as a PK either on the regular PVE servers or go full time on Darktide, where you can be attacked by anyone, anywhere, anytime.
• Content - An evolving storyline and a changing world through Turbine's regular updates. Since its release in 1999, AC has seen no less than 100 free updates.
• Open World - 500 square miles of open terrain to explore with no zones and no instances; the only possible exception being dungeons, which are accessed via portals rather than running into them from the open ground. But again, these are not instanced - everyone shares the same dungeon.
• Rich Lore - A very deep, involving history waiting to be uncovered...explore places packed with history and discovered lost, ancient texts for yourself
• Randomly Generated Loot - You won't have a ton of people running around with the same epic sword that dropped off some boss somewhere; Quest loot is available but far and away the best loot to be had is randomly generated and dropped by everyday mobs, making everyone's equipment unique.

Assuming I want to try this, how would I go about it?

You can download the game and pick up a 14-day free trial here.

If you decide to stay it's just $12.95 a month afterward.


So what do you mean by no character classes?

It's really just that simple, no character classes. You can, when creating a character, choose from some preconfigured templates if you like. Or, you can delve into the custom creation screens and make your own unique build.

All characters have six "base" characteristics:

Strength - Determines how much you can carry, as well as influencing melee skills
Coordination - Primary stat for archers, but also influences your ability to dodge attacks. Also critical for alchemists and other craftsmen.
Endurance - Determines how much health & stamina you have
Quickness - Determines run speed as well as influencing ability to dodge attacks
Focus - Your mental clarity; a major stat for mages as well as those who wish to use magic items
Self - Strength of spirit; primarily determines the size of your mana pool

All stats start at a minimum of 10 and can go to a max (on creation) of 100. You get 270 attribute points to assign to a new character, meaning you can focus three of them or spread them around. A mage might put focus/self at 100/100 to maximize spellcasting abilities and spread the rest around as needed, while an axeman might give Str/Coord that 100/100 instead.


After assigning base stats, you then choose the starting skills that will define your character. There are a number of different melee weapons (sword, axe, mace, dagger, spear, etc) to choose from, three ranged abilities (bow, crossbow, thrown weapons), and four schools of magic (life, war, creature, item). There are also trade skills (alchemy, fletching, cooking) as well as tinkering skills that can be used to imbue your items with more powerful attributes. There are also support skills like lockpicking, or mana conversion (critical for any spellcaster as it reduces the mana cost of spells), and defensive skills (melee, missile, magic defense to either evade attacks or resist spells).

Want to be a thundering, raging axe warrior? You can.

Want to be a master of the arcane arts? You can.

Want to be the greatest arrow-slinging chef that ever baked a pie? You can.



Even if you create a total wimp of a character, it's okay. Thanks to the Temples of Enlightenment & Forgetfulness, you can change your stats & skills around later in the game if you really need to.

But what is there to do?

Quests, and lots of them. From simple to epic in scale, it's really hard to say there's "nothing to do" in AC.

If you're not into questing, you can roam the lands, hunting the wilderness to earn your keep. Or you can plop yourself into one of the many dungeons packed with dangerous creatures and slaughter them to level your way to the top.

Man, I'm not used to this old stuff. This game is tough to play.

Well, there are many useful (and often controversial) third party applications that run in AC to make things easier for you. Some of them are downright awesome and others are...well, they're bot programs to be blunt. But there's a lot that's been done and outside of unattended macro'ing, Turbine allows it.



One thing I will say: Throwing yourself into a pit swarming with giant acid-spitting bugs determined to tear you to pieces never, ever got any less fun.

Useful Links

Everything you ever wanted to know about the history of Asheron's Call can be found here:

Encyclopedia of Lore at Warcry

The official AC Timeline is here:

Timeline of Asheron's Call Updates


Screenshots


Video

eelektrik wrote: »

Came across some great videos on YouTube detailing AC and what it does that other MMOs don't even touch upon. They are a good watch for those that are interested in the game at all, or simply wonder about game mechanics that set it apart from other MMOs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WQCpzY8Yis&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97oea9eR_TM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHx2Lk8b0b8&feature=related