Online game "Will to Live Online"

As you know, Russia and the former Soviet Union are particularly fond of the game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Therefore, those projects that use the same themes and stylistics receive increased attention. The free-to-play MMO Will to Live Online was no exception. The game came out in 2018 and quickly managed to gain popularity. We tell you more about it in our review.

Naturally, Will to Live Online is made in a post-apocalyptic setting, but the authors have moved away from the usual themes of nuclear war, and came up with their own story. It all began with the fact that on Earth began to find radioactive artifacts that had bad effects on animals, but on people, on the contrary, worked wonders - instantly healed wounds and diseases. Scientists began to study this phenomenon and discovered that these sources of radiation could and should be used for good in other spheres as well - a rapid growth of new technologies began.

Naturally, one not-so-great day something went wrong, things got out of hand, strange objects appeared in the sky, and disaster ensued - many major cities were destroyed. And then the survivors were attacked by mutated animals. The situation was more or less brought under control only in some cities and with the help of the military, who learned how to resist the creatures, and then with the help of scientists protected the surviving settlements with domes. Many of them merged into the Confederacy, the largest faction. Although other factions were active as well.

We play as a man who comes to his senses in Sunny, a city that is part of the Confederation. According to the law of the genre, our protagonist doesn't remember anything at all, so the task of "remembering everything" is the main driving force of the story, especially in its early stages. The characters we meet reveal some details and burden us with numerous errands - remember or not remember, but we have to live somehow, so our protagonist willingly takes on the job.

Naturally, most of the quests are standard quests of the genre from the "seek-kill-kill" series: kill 10 rats/dogs/fetch their tails/find 10 mushrooms and stuff like that. But first, besides them we have more interesting missions, when we need, for example, to find a hidden entrance to a secret bomb shelter, to escort someone or rescue, to get to the target, not knowing its exact coordinates, and so on. Secondly, all of these seemingly standard quests still lead us, one way or another, through the main plot and reveal new details about what happened.

And finally, somewhere from level 15-16 there is an opportunity to join one of the two factions - the Confederacy or the Black Sunset - after which the plot opens a second breath, there are factional quests, and in general it becomes even more interesting. At the same time a lot of things are built on the fact that to get into camps and cities of the opposite faction is impossible. Although no one forbids to stay neutral - it imposes certain restrictions, there will be some quests unavailable, but neutrals will be free to visit the faction camps of both factions, if they are allowed to. So you'll have to think it over and make a well-considered decision, which you can't cancel.

In any case, you want to play, because, first and foremost, the atmosphere and entourage is appealing. Characters whose names are simply "Mikhalych", "Valera", or, for example, "Kuzmich", sit in bars or by the fire, telling stories, some asking for vodka. Around them are familiar high-rise buildings, the remains of Rafiks and Zhigulis, posters. It often rains, and on the whole, everything around is some kind of gray-muddy-green. Some may say that it is depressing, but in fact it is exactly the same post-Soviet and simultaneously post-apocalyptic atmosphere and stylistics, for which S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is so beloved. In Will to Live Online it is also well felt from the first steps in the game - it immediately puts you in the right mood and helps to overcome the first hours, when we are chased by all those rat tails and flyswatter.

Besides, we're not just picking up those ponytails and chasing dogs or missing batches of vodka - most importantly, in the process, we explore the post-apocalyptic wasteland, which in itself is quite a fascinating process. You can stumble upon some ruins, train stations, gas stations, mines, dungeons and other interesting places where you don't know what to expect - you can find valuable resources and items or stumble upon aggressive monsters. Mutants in the wastelands are many, including huge spiders, hornets or "watchers" who can become invisible. And also come across more or less dangerous anomalies that can also be almost invisible - some of them, for example, teleport the player to an arbitrary place.

And in the wastelands you can find various caches of valuable things - there are even separate guides on how to find them online. And you need to look for them all the more because in Will to Live Online you're constantly short of something, either ammunition or food. After all, it's a game about survival, too - constantly need to monitor the level of hunger and thirst, cook and purify water on the fire (by the way, to make it, too, need appropriate resources). And you also have to monitor the level of endurance, which is quickly consumed by running, as well as the weight of the inventory - overloading also affects the speed of movement. By the way, the level of hunger affects the weight you can carry, and the rate of stamina recovery depends on the thirst.

Meanwhile, at first, even an encounter with the very rats and dogs can turn badly - there is a fair and difficult ballistics, the game does not help in shooting and does not facilitate it, and the ammunition (as well as first-aid kits) is not always enough. After death you will be revived in a safe zone, but you will lose some of your resources and belongings. In general, everything is not easy, but, you must agree, it's more interesting.

To survive, players must carefully prepare for forays into the wasteland. Do not run to fulfill all the quests - some may be too difficult at this point, it is better to do everything consistently, gradually getting stronger, saving money to buy supplies, first aid kits, ammo, weapons and armor. In general, equipment in Will to Live Online a lot - even one type of weapon has different types of ammo. Some guns give out as the story progresses, others have to buy - here and pistols, and assault/sniper rifles, and assault rifles, and assault rifles, and shotguns. Presented as a real-life and author's samples.

Almost all weapons can be upgraded and modified by installing various attachments like sights and silencers. And the armor is allowed to have armor plates inserted into it. There is also a system of crafting, which implies the possibility of making items according to recipes - if only there were enough resources for this. Often you have to ferry found metal into ingots to do this. It is also very useful to make picklocks.

Weapons are also gradually pumped up as we use them - not the specific weapon, but its type. And, of course, the character gradually gets experience and is pumped up. This unlocks new types of equipment, and also allows every 5 levels to increase one of the characteristics - strength, dexterity, endurance, intelligence or luck. In addition, we get skill points, which are divided into general and class points.

The point is that at the beginning of the game you need to choose one of four classes. Mercenary is considered a kind of universal soldier, which is characterized by endurance and survivability, less than others lose things when dying, quickly enough to get a powerful weapon and relies on assault rifles. Prospector (miner), as it should be, is sharpened to extract resources from mines, so he can carry more cargo and is less tired than others. It's true that he's the slowest, but he can also hit the enemy at short range if necessary.

The hunter is a classic scout and sniper, preferring long-range combat. He can run fast, shoot accurately and kill, get more prey from animals, but he is poorly armored and weak in close combat. Finally, there is the Engineer, who can make and install useful devices, such as a mobile revival point. His primary weapon of choice is submachine guns. The Engineer is a fairly fast and hardy class, but at first he carries the least amount of weight.

That is, all classes are different, with their own pros and cons, and each has its own class skills. So, the hunter has them sharpened on sniper rifles, accuracy shooting and hunting. So you need to think carefully which specialization to choose, and then use its advantages, correctly pump class skills and characteristics to get access to profile equipment and use it more effectively.

It is important to choose the right class also because they are differently effective in PvP, that is, in battles between players. We shouldn't forget that Will to Live Online, as its name implies, is a massively multiplayer game. And in principle, here initially users can attack each other - unless, of course, you have not turned off mode PK (Player Killer) or play on the PvE-server, where it is turned off by default. However, in any case, once you choose one of the two factions (if you don't stay neutral), players of the opposite faction will be free to attack you. But attacking members of your own faction will be disadvantageous to them - for that the reputation is reduced.

After joining one of the factions opens up the possibility not only to get there quests, ranks and special unique equipment (as well as discounts from local merchants), but also to participate in factional wars, as well as in the Arena battles. Well, and in principle you can unite with other players in clans and groups to, for example, go on raids in dungeons together to hunt bosses.

Many people say that the MMO component in the game is now underdeveloped, but here it's important to understand that Will to Live Online is still in early access, that is, in the development process. And in the final version the authors promise more features, which are mainly just aimed at the development of the social component to increase the role of interaction between the players - this concerns the in-game economy and trade, crafting, faction and clan system, raid monsters. Well, in addition, the size of the world will grow, there will be more interesting unique locations, quests, weapons, equipment and gear. Increased opportunities to customize the characters - although now you are free to buy different skins for your character, and for weapons, which, by the way, are allowed to repaint.

Skins are sold in the in-game store for cash - there for their blood money you can buy different sets of equipment and materials, as well as premium status, which among other things allows you to get a personal warehouse in the safe zone and create on your account more than one character. But in general, according to general reviews, the notorious "donat" in Will to Live Online is quite sparing, and the system pay to win ("pay to win") here almost does not work. And it is very desirable that it remains so in the final version. Survive and win here is possible if you play intelligently, learn and follow the advice of seasoned veterans. For example, many of them advise newcomers to turn off PK mode, choose Mercenary as a starting class (but Hunter from this point of view is the most difficult), which, again, is considered the most balanced, and do not try to enter high-level locations before time.

Will to Live Online is certainly a popular and interesting game. But it's not just that the authors artlessly decided "Let's make our own S.T.A.L.K.E.R." - no, they did everything quite competently and already in the early version implemented a large world that wants to explore, invented an original story, added two unique factions and introduced many features that make hundreds of players come here daily. Not everything is perfect yet, but you can fully play and have fun now - and further, if we believe the developers' promises, it will only get better and better.

July 2022