Customer Reviews

Asheron's Call: Throne of Destiny

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have been an Asheron's Call player for 5 years, and having witnessed the deterioration of the game I love from a thriving community into a desolate world, I had few expectations for the expansion pack, Throne of Destiny.

For those players who have spent any time in AC and are thinking of returning, the Throne of Destiny content is simply more (extremely) high level content. There is a new land mass, and some new XP rich dungeons, and a couple new quests, etc. In my opinion, there is very little value in what is provided. Yes, Turbine released a new land mass, but they had over 5 months without providing their customer base with monthly updates to do so.

And the new graphics update? It's ok. The textures are improved, but the feel of AC remains the same. The graphics aren't going to suck any new players into the game, and won't cause returning players to be so *in awe* that any large quantity of them will stay and play for 6 months.

The game, and the devs, is still the same. Player vs. Player is actually on life support now due to the new augmentation gems. It is even harder for a melee to kill a mage. And with high level mages having melee defense, forget about it!

If you have never played Asheron's Call I would urge you to reconsider purchasing this product. There are very few under level 100 (yes, you read that right) players to explore the vast amount of dungeons and quests available to you. Towns are empty, and most allegiances are sparse. There is little online community. I would wager half the server population at any given time is bots...macro bots, trade bots, buff bots, portal bots.

Asheron's Call is a game that got away from the developers. Early on, the dev team began providing content and altering game play for the betterment of uber players in the form of XP farming dungeons are mega-loot. The more this occurred, the faster the game, and its social aspects died.

All that remains of Asheron's Call now are the elite players who live online. There is little to no community in game. Throne of Destiny will not alter this reality, it merely adds more fuel to the already raging fire that killed AC.

Don't spend your money. It will be bargain bin in a month. The game is dead. And one more note...this game is being kept alive by a 3rd party application: Decal. That will give you a hint about the development team's feeling towards exploits and cheats.

I've been playing AC for going on 5 years now. I have many friends in the game, and am a member of a very active clan.

Seems like nobody plays AC without having passionate feelings about it. Even the nay-sayers act like they've had their favorite toy trifled with, and are bitterly disappointed.

The game is very well balanced with tons of content for all levels. It has exciting, heart pounding quests, and hunting for solo or group play. And there are a lot of people that play the game for the purely social aspect. Camaraderie abounds in my and other clans.

Asheron's Call, my one true love. This game, in its almost 8 years of wonder, now has over 80 monthly content updates. Every month, the Turbine team provides us with brand new content and a developing story line which can involve people of all levels. Sure, the graphics aren't great but what this game lacks in Poly's it definaely makes up for textures. Sunrises and sunsets, cathedrals, mysterious dungeons, seasons, unknown monsters...all things that make this game unique.

When you start character creation, you are immersed into a customization that you have never before seen. Your level 1 mage doesn't look like everyone else's level 1 mage, your clothing color choice has varying options, your race has very specific skills alotted to it. It is the most in-depth customization that I have ever experienced and I have played more MMOs than I can count on both hands. You can put points into 7 sttributes, and from there spend credits on figuring out what skills you want.

You enter into a training ground, which takes you step by step through some of the major AC interactions. You leave the training hall at level 5 with the ability to immediately obtain armor and quests from nearby NPCs. You can also join in global chat channels right away and start looking for help from this extremely friendly and close-knit community.

There ARE faults with Asheron's Call, I won't lie. The server populations are low, there are some serious jerks around sometimes, and thrid party applications seem to run rampant. What this game NEEDS is new players who are willing to take the time to get into it and enjoy it with people who can show them the ropes.

I am an AC player of 7 years. I have never ever found a better game, or made better friends in an online game. There is so much to offer than I can't begin to type it all here. One thing I can say though: Just try it. Turbine now has a 14-day free trial and if you dont like it, you don't have to keep playing! You are not commited. But if you do the trial, they only charge you $12.95 and thats for the game and the first months subscription!! You will be immersing yourself into a world like you have NEVER seen. Ignore the nay-sayers. If you love thinking outside the box, things that are out of the norm, try AC.

--Ruhelos Seele, Thistledown.

Asheron's Call was published in 1999 and been going ever since. Never a "market leader" such as Everquest or World of Warcraft, but still has a loyal fan base.

This expansion, the second for the series, focuses on improving the graphical user interface (GUI), improving the graphics in general, adding new land masses and content for all levels, a new playable race, and new content aimed for the people higher up in levels such as augmentation gems.

Overall the expansion pack meets all of these goals. The new content is challenging and some very fun quests added. The addition of rares and augmentation gems are two nice bonuses. If you like AC then get this pack. New players interested should give it a go too.

Loved this game. Wish I still had time to play it! Great character building, great adventures and great game content. It takes time to do things with it so if you have a life, you will be challenged to play this. Other games have come onto the market that are probably better than this now but it really did set a standard for this type of game for about 5 years in the PC world.

I've played Asheron's Call (AC) since before it was released (beta) in 1999, taking short breaks here and there as life sometimes necessitates--and to try out other MMOs, including playing WoW and AC simultaneously for almost 3 years--but have always returned to AC full time.

AC is a GAMER'S game. Rather than waste time and manpower on constantly upgrading and maintaining a hi-tech graphic engine (and it's important to note that, at the time of its release, its graphics WERE top of the line), Turbine--a small but very skilled development team--has maintained a simple, effective and utterly beautiful graphical environment for years now - choosing to devote its time and energy to creating GAME content in such detail as you've never experienced in any other MMO.

From the moment you create your character, it's details, details, details! Choose from one of currently 6 races (with that number soon to nearly double), each visually distinct and with their own VERY comprehensive heritage lore and quest arcs in-game; at this point however, unlike nearly all other MMOs before or since, you aren't limited to choosing between "classes" or character "kits". Your race only determines which bonus (free) skills you get at character creation, ranging from basic weapon skills to crafting abilities and more.

You can choose from one of several pre-made character configurations at this point, or choose an "Adventurer" type, and completely customize EVERY aspect of your character from the ground up! Choose how to invest your starting points in your 6 attributes as you see fit, then choose from a huge variety of skills which you can "purchase" with skill points. Select one, two, or even a few of those skills to specialize (you can specialize as many as you have the points for, up to a very reasonable maximum), which will net you a handy bonus to those skills as well as allowing you to increase them more quickly - and then choose which additional skills you want your character to start off with.

You could be a war mage - who's also a dead shot with a crossbow; a swordsman with advanced magical buffing/debuffing abilities; train Alchemy to create and throw powerful alchemical vials which make your enemies more vulnerable to your attacks. Take up Cooking, Fletching, or one of the various Tinkering skills to modify, improve and even change the statistics and color of loot-generated weapons and armor to fit your functional AND aesthetic needs and desires, craft ammunition and restorative potions, and even brew beers which grant powerful buffs! Certain trade skills are essential to completing some quests, and a skilled craftsperson is always in demand. Want to roleplay as a pacifist? You can even do that! High-XP quests are available which can be easily completed with only defensive skills, or with the help of a friend skilled in combat.

As your character advances in level, you will earn more skill points which you can then use to purchase additional skills at will, or even specialize already-known abilities to differentiate your character even further. Invest your earned XP directly into your skills and attributes (from which the base values of your skills are derived) to increase their effectiveness immediately - there's no waiting for the next level or "tier" of development.

Don't like your choices? There are simple, repeatable quests which allow you to untrain/unspecialize skills, redistribute your base attribute points, and effectively completely remake your character anew.

Hit level 275 and ran out of skill points? That's just the beginning! Dozens of Augmentations are available which can be purchased with XP (which you still continue to earn for quite awhile after capping), with effects ranging from allowing you to cast spells without the need for cumbersome focal equipment, to increasing your carrying capacity (looters and pack-rats rejoice!), to increasing your effective skill with your weapon(s) of choice, to reducing the damage you take from those attacks you can't avoid, and many, many more. The potential for character customization is nearly infinite, and with new content added EVERY month, you'll *never* tire of playing your old characters.

Singularly immersive character and gameplay is definitely one of the best things this game has to offer - and is something no other MMO to date has come close to reproducing - but in truth, perhaps truly the best quality of Asheron's Call is the community. Though every MMO has its unruly members, the close-knit community is unique in the care and attention it awards those who conduct themselves with basic manners.

This is largely achieved through the simple and very intuitive "Allegiance" system, whereby an inexperienced/new player/character may "pledge" allegiance to another character; if you do so, you will generate *extra* XP which is passed directly to your "patron," acting as the best possible incentive to motivate them to HELP YOU OUT! And if they fail to do the job... you can find somebody who will. There is no shortage of friendly, helpful, extremely knowledgeable folks on every server who are more than willing to take you under their wing and help you learn the fundamentals of the game. Once you find and swear allegiance to a patron whose schedule and personality suits you, you will become part of your patron's entire "Allegiance" structure - essentially a chain of characters, all of whom bear the name of the "Monarch" who is at the top of that chain (the person who created the Allegiance in the first place). Most monarchs have purchased special housing for their allegiance members to utilize, and have furnished it with useful items and trinkets with effects ranging from buffing you to portaling you to common destinations. As you gain in knowledge and power, you can even take on your own vassals as you see fit, granting them access to these valuable benefits and further expanding your community of allegiance-mates!

Anything is achievable in Asheron's Call, and there is truly no "right" way to play. Easily 95% of even the highest-level content can be soloed by a skilled player using special rare gems, which can boost your skills and defenses to incredible levels for a short time. And the best items in the game are and always will be the loot you find on a day-to-day basis; there's no need to wait around for groups, farm "bosses" and hope for your choice item to drop. Just go on out and start hunting; if you're killing monsters that challenge your abilities at least slightly, you will soon find upgrades to your equipment.

There's never a shortage of world-spanning quests and adventures to undertake, weapons to find and upgrade, suits of armor to customize in function and appearance, or friendly folk to welcome you into their in-game families.

This game truly is an experience completely unlike that of any other; there's a free 14-day trial available on Turbine's official website at [...] - do yourself a favor and try it out! Remember: ASK for help when you get in game! The world is vast and it is easy to be overwhelmed at first... but it's very simple to find your groove and get moving along quickly with just a little nudge in the right direction!

Hope to see you in game soon! If you run into me, don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions. =)

- "Recondite" of Frostfell

I played AC for about two years and I LOVED it. I quit shortly before Turbine took complete control. I do miss the game, but not $29.99 miss it. Maybe at $10 I'd give it another shot. Cheats and exploits destroyed the soul of AC years ago and this expansion comes too little too late to save it. When I quit in 2004, servers were already down to 1/2 the population they were at Dark Magesty's release, and I'd be willing to bet that close to half of them were an unattended macro bot of one kind or another.
From reading the other reviews here, I get the impression that Throne of Destiny is below expectations. Can you blame Turbine? They were working on Dungeons & Dragons Online, Middle Earth Online, and expansions for both AC and AC2 simutaneously. Wouldn't you put more effort into a possible blockbuster like DDO, or into beating dead horses like AC and AC2?

I have played Asheron's Call since it was a beta and sad to say, I have moved on after this poor attempt to save the game on Turbines part. Other than the graphics update, they have done nothing more than fluff the game like any other normal monthly event, paying $29.** for this is insulting to say the least. Time to move on and I might suggest World of Warcraft, awsome fun and great content!

This is an amazing game i mean wow its very adicting also people on here are very very VERY nice unlink most online games when people treat you like trash like higher lvls on this game give you meony and help you start up trust me this game is very fun!!! Theres monsters you can be a mage archer and a warroior and some other people but its so much fun buy this game and test it out theres some people who have been playing since 1996! (the frist one) TRUST ME THIS GAME ROCKS!!!!!BUY IT TODAY!

It's funny to me people are comparing a game that came out in 1999 and a game that came out in 2003. Of course the graphics of WoW and newer MMORPG's are going to better, that's a given. But for those that want some unique or orginality to a game Asherons Call is it. I played Asheron's Call since 2000 and quit in 2005. It wasn't due to the game being bad or anything, but rather of my work and school. And I love the fact that they didn't dumb down the quests or anything like WoW or newer MMORPG's. If you die, you drop your items unless you have death items to cover it. Some people this concept doesn't make sense, but to me it does. When you die you should lose vitae or items, but you can go get the items back by running to your body. Seriously that really isn't hard to do. I know I should rude, mean or whatever. But it's the fact that people are always looking for a easier and the best graphics out game. I rather play a game that has story and reasoning behind it. If you feel like WoW is too boring or easy or whatever, try Asheron's Call. Warning not for the simple minded. Oh, btw WoW has more bots then Asheron's Call ever did and til this day there are many bots running in WoW.