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Cinidil
Member Posts: 63
This is pretty much the only MMO I have never tried before, and I'm not sure why I never did. I heard that a new company took it over, so I figure that it will still be around for a while. I'm downloading the client right now, and I'd like to ask a very general question...what it the overall state of the game? Will it be possible for me to do anything at all? Can I find anybody else playing it? Should I give it the time of day?
Comments
Well, what will realy influence whether or not you will like Horizons really depends on what you are looking to get out of your gaming experience.
The current state of the game is that it is a very mature world populated by folks who have mostly had some hand in making the world what it is. This ranges from creating player-run towns to the bridges between islands or even freeing some of the playable races.
Most, if not all, of these people are more than happy to help you out, so just ask for assistance... Horizons is an older game and as such isn't as big on holding a player's hand as the more modern crop of MMOs - the game expects you to adventure and figure things out a bit. Fortunately 'figuring out' can include asking for help.
There is a lot to do in Horizons. The game has a multi-class system for bipeds which means you can mix and match any class you like... Want a mage who's good with a sword? How about a druid who prefers a longbow? Oh, I know, a warrior priest mage druid who is good with swords and bows! ... Anything is possible really.
There are also playable Dragons in Horizons which grow up and eventually become flying leviathans, and are practically a different game from the biped races. Now, the Dragons can't multi-class, but being able to breathe flame, fly, and get about the size of a house does have certain perks.
There is also the crafting system in Horizons. The crafting system is where nearly every item, weapon, armor, piece of jewelry, house, lair, or other such thing comes from and the attention to detail in crafting is really kinda neat... The down side to this is the crafting system is also very realistic in that to make things you require raw materials, which you have to go get - this leads to a lot of time "in the field" if you want to take on the mantle of a crafter.
Don't let that put you off though, many people find the gathering and crafting aspects of Horizons to be 'game enough' and they prefer that aspect of the game over the more traditional 'hunting and killing' aspects.
Ultimately you can get to where you build your own home on a plot of land you pick out - complete with gardens, your own vendors, and other such things. I don't know much about this aspect of the game, but judging by the number of player-built structures there are in the world I'll guess it's pretty fun.
Currently of an evening I see a few new faces and many, many familiar ones. In the starting area of New Trismus you'll find people everywhere doing all sorts of things... The population thins out conciderably though once you start heading out into the wilds of Istaria. I'm not going to pull your leg here - the world was designed for many, many more people than currently play so there are some pretty desolate areas.
Fortunately it's pretty easy to talk people into grouping up to go to these places with you. And on the rare occasion you can't find someone, the chat channels are always buzzing and it doesn't seem so bad out in the wilds.
As for trying Horizons out, why not? It's free, it's a 'ground floor' opportunity, and hey, you might actually get to make your mark on a game world that not only been around for over four years now - but has weathered things that would have shut other virtual worlds down a long time ago.
All in all Horizons appears to be something that will always be around in one form or another, so even if you try it out and find it's not your liking, the chances are pretty darn good you can try it again the next time they offer a free trial and see if it is more your 'cup-o-tea' then - that's what I did and I'm pretty happy with the game now.