A little late, don’t you think? Yes, I realize this bit of news comes late, but to be totally honest, I’m not too keen on posting news about Rohan: Blood Feud in the Philippines—at least, until I get rid of this bitterness I feel as a result of my failure to join closed beta.

Wait! Before you cast that stone, hear me out (or read about it if you can spare a peek). I got discouraged, plain and simple. I didn’t continue playing Rohan: Blood Feud in the Philippines after the first day of closed beta because of sheer frustration with latency. I watched my character die dozens of times, and that was just inside the training area. She never even got past Level 10.

Now that Rohan Philippines is in open beta, I expect things to run a little more smoothly. Of course, I haven’t tried logging in. I’d hate to end up pulling my hair out in frustration again.

Anyway, for those who missed it, here’s the Rohan Online Philippines open beta announcement:

To celebrate the launch of OBT, we will be launching a new server: Syrephis!

Now you can forge your own legends and conquer the lands of Rohan for as long as you like because OBT will have NO MORE server wipeouts. Accounts and characters created in OBT will continue on until Rohan’s commercial launch.

OBT also includes the much-awaited Item Mall feature of Rohan Online as well as other web services and account linking to My Level Up.

Players may now register new accounts or use existing CBT accounts. Upon linking these accounts to MyLU, they may now use the web services such as change/forget password utilities. Linking accounts to MyLU also allows players to top-up their accounts and assign credits to acquire Rohan Points.

Image downloaded from Rohan Philippines official site. This online game, developed by YNK, is operated in the Philippines by Level Up! Games.

Yes, that word, anticlimactic, just about sums up how I felt after finishing the low-level quest, Toren’s Request, in the hit Gravity online game Requiem: Bloodymare.

No, it’s not Gravity’s fault; the fault is actually mine. I level so slow that it takes me ages to finish a quest, and by the time I get around to finish a quest, my character’s already a few levels higher than the recommended level.

Requiem: Bloodymare’s Toren’s Request is one such quest. Part One of Toren’s Request becomes available when your character reaches Level 10 (yes, once the avatar, called a Temperion in Requiem: Bloodymare-speak, changes to the first job).

Here’s a summary of Toren’s Request:

Part 1
Required Level: 10
Rewards: Around 6817 experience points and 116 Lant
Target NPC: Heyra

Talk to the smuggler Heyra at the Caput Sawmill.

Part 2
Required Level: 16
Rewards: Around 787 EXP and 116 Lant
Target NPC: Toren

Talk to the peddler Toren at the South Bivouac.

Part 3
Required Level: 16
Rewards: Around 967 EXP and 149 Lant
Target NPC: Toren

Collect Wild Small Gropie Claws and Ziebalt Molar Teeth at the Elba Gorge located northwest of the South Bivouac. Regardless of what’s written on the quest dialogue, the first quest item you need is Wild Small Gropie Claws and not Mini Golem Claws. The quest item name is apparently bugged. After collecting the items, talk to Toren.

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Whew! What a year! Indeed, it’s been one hell of a ride for me and, hopefully, for MMOtaku’s loyal followers. What started out as a mote of light in fellow b5media Technology Channel blogger Jayvee Fernandez’s brilliant mind is now a good—not yet great (that has yet to come)—source of news for massively multiplayer online games in Asia and those made in Asia.

First off, I’d like to thank MMOtaku’s avid readers, those who visit the blog every day, those who come and go for a dose of MMORPG news, reviews and what-have-yous, and those who have dropped in just to take a gander at what we have to offer. Without your constant support, MMOtaku would have floundered a long time ago.

Second, I’d like the acknowledge the inputs and help of several key people in the life of MMOtaku. To Mike Leaño, former b5media Video Games Channel editor, for putting trust in my abilities to bring the blog to life; to PJ Punla, pioneer blogger and player of Granado Espada Southeast Asia, for showing me that love for video games extends beyond playing them; to Siege Malvar and Alcarcalimo, for keeping me on my toes, a constant reminder that MMOtaku does have readers who crave insights on MMOs available in the market today; and to Joyce, my wife, for being the rigid wall off of which I throw my ideas to see if they stick.

Third and last, I salute the growing online games industry in Asia for giving us topnotch games (yes, despite Mike Leaño’s opinion that MMOGs developed in Asia are, ehem, excrement. These games are getting better, and they’re grabbing the attention of MMOG players in different parts of the globe.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, I give you the best of MMOtaku:

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Requiem: Bloodymare, Gravity’s adult-oriented massively multiplayer online role-playing game, has just received a new patch today, dubbed simply as Requiem Update 4.0.

Here’s the official announcement from Gravity:

On Thursday, November 20, at 11 p.m. PST, all Requiem servers will have 4.0 Update go live! Areas of Ethergia long thought abandoned or inaccessible are now open to any Temperion brave enough to enter.

New Instance Dungeons:

Dark Sanctum: A Testing facility established in Media’nos, where some of the nightmare monsters were gathered and forced to venture to Ethergia. It is mostly devoid of monsters, thanks to the guards now protecting Nach’s Eye from the inside. However, it’s believed that Lord Werinuman and his generals still dwell inside this dungeon.

Robina Mines: Once a major source of precious metals for the people of Numara has been taken over by Blackhands. Alban is recruiting every able-bodied Temperion in an effort to take back what is rightfully theirs.

Wrecked Ship of Ru Buran:: Many secrets of a lost ancient civilization can be found in the wreckage. However, you will have to brave enough through hordes of lost spirits of the ship’s crew.

Doom Cheras Lair: An entry was found near the Ion Tree of Fire in North Hammerine, into the lair of a fire-breathing dragon believed to be even more violent than Ruinhorn. He is rumored to never leave his lair. However, many are too fearful to even get close enough to check.

Oh, yeah, about the new baddies. Lord Werinuman and his generals are mentioned above. Who are they and what are Nach Lords?

Well, Werinuman is the most aggressive and active monster among the Nach Lords. He has volunteered to reside in Nach’s Eye (yes, it’s a place of perpetual darkness … to be more precise, it’s sort of a doom machine that generates darkness) when the eye was completed. With strong psychic ability, he commands monsters to go through the Nach’s Eye and stir up trouble in Ethergia, expanding the influence of the Nach. To prevent the imminent attack on Ethergia from the monsters being sent through the Dark Sanctum, the Xenon are making an effort to oppose Werinuman’s actions and fight back.

Ksiphon and Roundelroot, meanwhile, are the generals of Lord Werinuman. Nach, at first, were able to gain physical bodies by defeating the monsters in Media’nos and possess their bodies in order to come into the world of Ethergia. Residing in the Dark Sanctum that they have created, they are preparing for an attack on Ethergia.

Want to know more about the update? Go check out Requiem: Bloodymare on MySpace.

Image taken from Requiem: Bloodymare’s official website. The game is owned and operated by Gravity.

Okay. Right after this I’m gonna stop writing about Level Up! Live because it’s making me a bit sick. Find out why here.

Anyway, overall, it’s been an amazing event, what with all the powerpacked competitions that occurred. Let’s count ‘em: Ragnarok World Championships, RF Online Novus Elite Squad, Perfect World Phoenix Council Wars, Fly For Fun Heroes of the Dragon Emblem, and Freestyle All Stars ‘08.

That’s five online games and five competitions, with the Ragnarok World Champions topping the list because it’s on a global scale, with a dozen teams from 20 different countries. Whew!

Sigh. To wrap up, I’m here to announce the winners in some of the competitions I’ve managed to catch on Level Up! Games’ live streaming of LU! Live 2008:

In the Ragnarok World Championships, Team Thailand took home the crown—again—after beating South Korea in an epic battle of heart, determination and strategy. Team Indonesia, on the other hand, bagged third place after defeating last year’s third placer, Team Philippines (known locally as The Bozanian Beast Fighters).

Here’s a better overview from Ragnarok Online Philippines overlord Carlo “Wauks” Ople:

Thailand pulled off a historic win over South Korea, making them back-to-back world champions for two years in a row. The defending champions literally bulldozed all of their opponents and showcased how good they were by constantly changing their tactics depending on their opponent. The finals between Thailand and Korea really proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were strong contenders deserving of slots in the finals. I don’t know if I’m calling this right but I think the main difference for the fight was when Thailand used the Gypsy. Apparently, Korea had low VIT characters and they almost often found key players stunned, which disrupted the overall flow of their teamwork.

Other Ragnarok World Championships participants include the United States, Russia, Japan, Brazil, France and Germany … at least, that’s all I can remember. For more information about Ragnarok Online, click here.

Ragnarok World Championships match: The Philippines versus Thailand

More Level Up! Live 2008 news and views after the jump.

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One of the best skills a rogue in any massively multiplayer online role-playing game has is the ability to sneak past monsters (and some times, other players) undetected, and often unmolested. The Kruxena Rogue in the wonderfully gory world of Requiem: Bloodymare is, in my humble opinion, one of the best out there.

With the skill Shadow Runner, a Kruxena Rogue can avoid detection from monsters for a set duration. There are drawbacks, of course, including the cancellation of the skill once your Requiem: Bloodymare Kruxena Rogue engages any enemy in combat. Also, the rogue’s movement, for the duration of the skill, is halved.

Shadow Runner is pretty useful in some stages of the game, particularly quests that force your character to adventure in areas where aggressive monsters spawn. One such area is the Forgotten Port on the northeastern part of Crescent Island, where hostile bandits thrive and some important NPCs, very unfortunately, can be found.

In my character’s last visit to the Forgotten Port, I had fun tempting the fates by parading my Kruxena Rogue through the bandit-infested streets. Of course, I couldn’t have done this without activating the Shadow Runner skill, which is only available to Kruxena Rogues at Level 14. Here’s a screenshot:

Screenshot taken by Joel from the online game Requiem: Bloodymare, the latest MMORPG epic from Gravity.

Don’t you just hate it when monster drops or loot fill up your character’s inventory, forcing you eventually to decide which items to throw and to keep? What’s worse is having to hike back to the nearest town just to sell these useless stuff. Useless, you ask? They’re the primary source of income in most MMORPGs, you say. Yes, I get you. But why not have the monsters drop gold or the in-game currency instead of loot that will just clog a character’s inventory and leave open precious space for, uhmm, more meaningful items (armor and weapons with special attributes come to mind)?

Apparently, someone else, someone belonging to the online games development industry, thought about this, too. Gravity has found a way around this little debacle by actually imbuing once-useless monster drops with properties that can help characters in their adventures.

It took me a while to discover this. Fortunately, I found time to revisit my character in Requiem: Bloodymare, Gravity’s latest baby. When my avatar first set foot in the world of Requiem: Bloodymare’s Ethergia, I sold most of the loot I got from monsters to the non-player characters. This wanton disregard for what I thought were useless monster drops continued until my Kruxena Temperion changed into a Rogue.

A few days ago, while “cleaning” my Kruxena Rogue’s inventory, I noticed that most—if not all—items I got from monsters, from hides to broken teeth to tufts of feather, could imbue any character with special bonuses—from raising attributes to increasing evasion, damage and defense.

Now, I keep one bag full of these amazing monster drops, another bag for equipment drops, and the last bag for all other loot.

I mean that in a good way, though. Here’s a screenshot that shows just how, uhmm, mature Requiem Bloodymare is:

Yes, those are bodies hanging from a tree branch.

Or so I thought. I thought that with a new pair of claws, my stagnant Requiem Bloodymare Kruxena rogue would be imbued with new life and vigor. Oh, yes, I was excited to try out those claws, which I bought from the auction house. It had all these wonderful stats. When I equipped the new reinforced dull claws, however, I discovered to my dismay that they’d be bound to my character … forever.

You see, bound items can’t be dropped, much less traded. It can be sold to an NPC (non-player character), though. Fortunately, bound items can still be removed from the “equipped” slots and placed in the inventory, otherwise, my Kruxena rogue, who some times favors a pair of swords, is fu … uhmmm, shocked.

Well, it’s time to put those shiny new claws to good use. Excuse me while I put them on and trash the golems at the nearby Fridha Mine.

Ha, told you I’d get in! Now, my problem isn’t trying to get in, it’s doing my best to stay in the game. Let me explain.

As you may have noticed, my wife also plays MMORPGs, and it’s been quite a while since she has taken a liking to any of the new games I’ve been laying my hands on these past four or five months.

First, we rekindled our passion for our first MMORPG, Ragnarok Online. It was shortlived. My wife decided to keep playing Perfect World, leaving me saddled with the responsibility of leveling our twin Tika Waylans on Ragnarok Online Philippines’ free-to-play server, Valkyrie.

Then I dipped my grubby hands in Rising Force Online. She hated it. Oh, yeah, my wife used to play the game with me back in 2006, but she didn’t like the gameplay this second time ’round. Fortunately, when RF Online came out with a patch, Crimson Dawn, the update bogged down, prompting me to seek an installer. I haven’t found a working installer. Sigh.

Next, I went for the internationally hosted MMORPG Requiem Bloodymare. She found it too bloody and gory. Scratch three for Joel and his MMORPGs. I still play Requiem, though. Leveling is tough.

Fly For Fun? Nah. The wife didn’t even lift a finger when I showed her old characters in all their glory. Dekaron and Granado Espada? Mere distractions, not enough to spark her interest.

When she saw me playing Florensia, however, her attitude changed … dramatically. Now, she couldn’t let go of the computer on which Florensia is installed. Double sigh.

Three days into the game, she’s still at it, while my character, Ginebra, named after a popular brand of gin in this little tropical paradise, is stuck at Level 10. Her character, Cesky, is now Level 14. Gawd!

Lost and confused

Screenshots taken by Joel from the online game Florensia, developed by NetTimeSoft and published by Burda:ic GmbH.