Online game "Skyforge"

Skyforge is certainly one of the most unusual and high-quality online RPGs created with the participation of Russian developers. In this case, they are the people who gave us Allods Online. Assisted them venerable foreign colleagues from the studio Obsidian Entertainment, which, incidentally, is responsible for such well-known hits like Fallout: New Vegas and Neverwinter Nights 2. As a result, their joint efforts gave birth to the game, which immediately became quite noticeable not only in Russia, but also, as they say, in world markets. Comparing its quality with the best representatives of the genre, many also note the originality and identity Skyforge. What does it consist of? And in general, what is the result of such an unusual Russian-American cooperation?

On the one hand, the storyline here is quite familiar. There's the planet Elyon, named after its first patron, the great god Eli (every planet in the Skyforge world has its own patron). And there are numerous alien armies that periodically try to take over Elion. Because when Eli disappeared, the invaders decided that a planet deprived of its powerful protector would now be easy to conquer.

On the other hand, all this at the same time allows the project to be original. First, in Skyforge, alien invasions are played as special large-scale events, when for 8 weeks all the players must work together to resist the invaders, performing various tasks to destroy them, sabotage, liberate territories and so on.

Secondly, to defend Elyon during these events should... gods, which are gradually transformed into the characters of users. Moreover, the gods are divided by level of toughness, and only the strongest of them are able to defeat the final boss of each "invasion", receiving a reward artifacts that will help them develop further.

It's around the protection of the planet from aliens and twisted the main plot of Skyforge. And, it should be said, twisted very skillfully. The story here has a lot of attention, and it is presented quite effectively, which is to be expected from such an experienced developer. Unlike most similar games, the story is told not by the usual series of quests that keep the user running around one location - say, go there, do this, come back to me, I'll tell you something - and the independent, perfectly placed adventures in certain areas.

To this end, a global map of the region is implemented, where we see the different provinces of the planet and see what story adventures are available and where.

We might be sent to help stranded scouts or be asked to free captured civilians. Or, for example, we arrive at the largest robot factory (yes, the world in Skyforge is futuristic, at the crossroads of magic and technology), and there suddenly begins a natural uprising of machines and demon invasion - because of the treachery of one of the workers.

That is, for all the seemingly ordinary quests, they are, again, always interestingly set, there is something constantly happening, new characters appear, periodically entering into conversations with the protagonist and participating in certain scenes. And here it must be said that the game, despite being released 5 years ago, looks great - there are great character models, bright, juicy colors, and spectacular engine cutscenes.

In addition, all the dialogues are voiced. And quite professionally and expressively voiced, which makes the characters seem more alive. The official site even had a section devoted to the voice actors, where you could learn about how they got into their roles.

All players in Skyforge progress from "ordinary" immortals (they are, understandably, considered chosen and different from the rest of the inhabitants of Elyon) to gods. But first we determine gender and appearance in a fairly advanced character editor, where there are a lot of settings.

And then we get into the training simulator, where we choose one of the three classes available at the beginning. This can be a paladin, a cryomancer or a guardian of light. It's the cryomancer who does the most damage; he can also freeze your enemies and smash through the square, covering whole squads of enemies at once. Paladin is a weaker hitter, but he has more armor and health. And the keeper of light is a support fighter and therefore most in demand in group adventures.

Then you can open up another 15 classes one way or another. There are archers, archers, berserkers, kineticists, necromancers, witches, alchemists, druids and even acoustics, such local futuristic bards who wield their electric guitars. And here it should be mentioned about another unique feature of Skyforge - here you can change the class on the fly, choosing from those that are already available to you. The only restriction is that you can't do this directly in battle. So you can change your roles, depending on the situation, on what group you belong to, for example, and on what mission.

But classes must be developed, of course - it's not too profitable to change a level 20 cryomancer for a level 5 paladin. And we develop each class, using the services of their temples, where we take the appropriate tasks - as a rule, to kill the enemies of this character. Then you can at any time in another temple to take a quest to pump another profession. So we gradually increase the overall rank of the hero and learn new skills of his specializations. And the skills are divided into those that are needed in normal adventures, and those that are needed for battles against living players.

By completing quests in special adventures, we open up the map of the region access to the nearby buildings, among them there are temples of the originally inaccessible to us classes. For example, the temple of Fury adds the ability to retrain as a berserker, and the temple of Harmony - as a fighting monk.

In addition, in order to develop your character and class it is important to increase your power (which affects damage and health), to learn symbols (they give various useful effects such as reducing the enemy's movement speed when attacking), talents and passive bonuses. And all of this must be done by completing Bastion quests. It's available in every region of the planet, and is accessible after completing all normal and story missions in the province to which it belongs.

You can also increase your power, especially in the initial stages, by entering the Tower of Knowledge located on the map and investing resources earned in battles to study various technologies.

As you can see, there is no time to be bored - there are a lot of tasks and options for class development. In the process of pumping, as well as in the course of the story, we get access to one of the divine ultimates, which are unique for each group of classes - and they are divided into mages, shooters, fighters, support and "tanks" (that is, those who take the main blow in close combat).

For example, classes in the mage group will be able to use the "God's Power" - a rapidly expanding vortex, in the center of which lightning strikes. And fighters use "God's Power" to unleash a deadly wave of flame.

At the same time there is an opportunity to take divine form. And those who well mastered several classes at once can change their appearance right in the middle of the battle and, accordingly, use the "divine ultimatum skills" of different class groups. And in this form you really look different and grow in size, soar above the ground (not running, but levitating), your health is strengthened by eight times, your attack radius and damage inflicted increase. True, you have to pay for everything - gods heal slower, and in case of defeat they return to their usual form. But to defeat the deities can either similar in power gods among other users, or divine avatars of the enemy - that is, the strongest bosses in the game.

Naturally, the almighty also has its own specializations. For example, for single quests the "god of wandering" is the right choice. And for participation in mass battles and in rallies against other players - "god of war". All such specializations and the corresponding skills are studied and improved in the Temple of deeds, located on the planet's map, where we get special tasks for this. You will also need avatar trophies and the right amount of divine deeds points.

Another important resource for the local celestials is the belief points, which are exactly what you need to activate your superpowers. So, followers, missionaries and adepts are very useful to get them - after all, every player who becomes a god has his own cult, which you need to manage.

In terms of gameplay, this means that you can send special computer-controlled characters on journeys and wanderings to mine credits and faith, attract new followers, and search for special relics to help them overcome difficulties during their adventures.

Adepts differ in characteristics, they can be pumped up, promoted, or dismissed by being promoted to the rank of missionary - the one will give some bonus once and disappear, going somewhere behind the scenes to carry your faith to the masses.

You can also become an Elder God by defeating the strongest bosses in the game and obtaining six avatar trophies in battles with them. One of the benefits of such advanced celestials is access to three aspects (fortitude, rage, and mercy), which will allow you to take on a special appearance and use unique abilities. In fact, this is a kind of specialization, only advanced, and they are studied strictly one after another.

As you have already realized, Skyforge has a huge number of adventures and quests - story, for class progression, for the development of the divine form. Plus, of course, there are group raids in particularly dangerous locations (such as anomalous zones) and battles with even more dangerous bosses. Periodically, Operations become available, with additional rewards for successfully completing missions. The individual maps are so large and new missions are added there so often that soon the diary and head start to puff up from the amount of everything that needs to be done.

And the cherry on the cake is the Invasions, which we already told you about in detail at the beginning of the material. But as in almost any online role-playing game, special attention is paid to the battles between players, which can be combined into the so-called "pantheons" - an analogue of the guilds of other MMORPGs.

Accordingly, periodically arranged confrontations pantheons, which are divided into seasons - each includes 8 consecutive battles that determine the owners of the majestic temples of heaven. And, of course, to win any guild you need players who show themselves in battles with other users.

Beat your own kind is not easy also because Skyforge has a very dynamic, console-style action combat system, forcing the right targets, move quickly, time to use the right skills and dodge.

Besides it is in PvP-mode Skyforge bets on a fair fight, allowing immortals to fight each other only in special zones. Plus there is a special system of equalization, thanks to which even beginners, if they want, can successfully resist veterans.

But anyway if you want to succeed you need to spend some time to master your skills and learn the ins and outs of your preferred roles and classes. In addition, in some modes and locations you will have to join a group. Although even if you came alone, that's alright - the game will find a squad for you.

In addition to opposing pantheons, players can measure their strength in ranked matches, in small and large battles with different conditions and rewards. There is also a special tactical and skill demanding mode "Battle of the Golems", where you not only have to fight each other, but also try to destroy special objects - Repeaters, located at different ends of the map. The approaches to them are protected by four towers, and from the main enemy building, squads of battle golems periodically appear. That is, in many ways, reminiscent of extremely popular MOBA games. Finally, in a separate location, you can attack any user and take some of their loot if you win. Although the best thing, of course, is to communicate and be added as a friend..

Equipment that can be improved, riding animals and even gliders that allow you to move faster (they also need to develop), trade, market, a variety of costumes for every taste, daily entrance awards, a variety of currencies, the ability to play without investing a penny, or buy premium subscriptions and special resources for money - all this, of course, Skyforge also has. But the uniqueness of the game and its fascination determine the above aspects - the great emphasis on the story, "invasion", the ability to change classes on the fly and become a local god, controlling the cult of his followers. Plus a gorgeous audio-visual presentation and a dynamic combat system.

Of course, the project over the years has evolved and changed, and after the update "New Era" some veterans, always hostile to everything new, grumbled that Skyforge is no longer the same. But in fact, if you look objectively, it just got rid of the unnecessary, too overloading the gameplay mechanics and skills, making it more convenient and accessible. And the battles with the appearance of jerks added to the dynamics.

So newcomers today is easier to get used to Skyforge than a few years ago. It's harder to reach the top and gain the power of an elder god, but that's why it's more fun, isn't it?

December 2020