Asheron's Call 2
Encyclopedia
Asheron's Call 2: Fallen Kings was a fantasy
MMORPG
(massively multiplayer online role-playing game) for Microsoft Windows
-based PCs
that was released on November 22, 2002 and shut down on December 30, 2005. It was a sequel to 1999's Asheron's Call
, although content, graphics and gameplay dynamics differ greatly from its predecessor.
Both games were developed by Turbine Entertainment Software and originally published by Microsoft
, until Turbine purchased the Asheron's Call franchise in December 2003. The Microsoft to Turbine transition was completed in spring 2005. In 2004 and 2005, Turbine entered business arrangements with Jolt Online Gaming
to operate AC2 in Europe and with Sony Online Entertainment
to distribute the game's first expansion, Asheron's Call 2: Legions, under the Station Publishing label.
A major expansion pack
for Asheron's Call 2 titled Asheron's Call 2: Legions was announced in October 2004 and was released on May 4, 2005. It included a new playable character race — the mythical Empyreans
, and a major new landmass, Knorr. Players who pre-ordered the expansion were granted access to a second new character race, the Drudge
at the time of the Legions launch. High-level gameplay
was also revisited with the Hero 2.0 system and plentiful new content. The subsequent (and final) content update was one of the largest ever, featuring two new types of monsters, dozens of additional quests, as well as other content additions.
content. Players that purchased the Legions expansion pack gained access to two additional races, Empyreans and Drudges.
One's race was the only limiting factor on the "class" or "profession" that could be played by your character. The following chart shows the classes available to each race. Each class was quite distinct from the others within AC2, and each class was also quite distinct from those available in other fantasy MMORPGs. In general terms, character classes were considered "damage dealers", "tanks", or "healers".
Characters could choose one of the above specializations when they reached the 15th level. Characters also had the opportunity to choose to proceed un-specialized, though eventually the difficulty level of the content in the world made it important to specialize to continue advancement. For each level between 1 and 50, characters gained a credit that could be used to train skills used in combat. After reaching the 45th level, players could begin the "Hero Initiation" quest to become a Hero of Dereth and unlock character advancement beyond level 50. The level cap for Heroes of Dereth was 150. The character development system for Heroes was one of the major updates to the game released with the Legions expansion pack, but was open to all players, regardless of whether they purchased the expansion pack. More information on the post-Legions Hero system, Hero 2.0, is available here.
Levels were gained by completing activities that gave your character "experience points", or "XP". XP was also used to increase the skill rating, or power, of each skill trained. Characters gained XP in a wide variety of ways: hunting monsters on a solo basis or with groups of other players, completing quests, or even just turning in items that can be traded for. Most quests (but not all) could be repeated for multiple rewards after the passage of time. There was significant variety in the quests offered in AC2: some were centered on simply combating an overpopulation of a certain type of monster, some involved entering a dungeon or cave to destroy a powerful "boss" monster, some involved running errands for NPCs, or escorting NPCs to safety, in addition to the epic style quests that involved the major NPCs in the current or past story arcs. Quest rewards also ran the gamut: some offered temporary buffs or summonable pets to increase the character's power, some offered simply an XP reward, some offered gold, some offered weapons, armor, or trinkets, still others unlocked movie "vignettes" offering insight into the game's backstory.
AC2 also had an extensive crafting system that operated almost completely independently of the level-based advancement system. In contrast to the XP system, the craft system placed no hard-set limitation on the number of skills one could master, but each skill was fairly narrow (for example, Tumerok Martial Weapons was one vocation, while Empyrean Armor was another). There were no level requirements to unlock craft skills: the craft skill alone was what mattered. For all but the most single-minded of crafters, players generally strove to master a single vocation, or to become adept enough in several to create items for a wide range of low- to mid-level characters. Players could craft weapons and armor up to level 100 (as of July 2005) that were highly sought after, and highly customizable. Enchantment effects could be extracted from weapons and armor generated by the treasure system.
AC2 did not have a "faction" system by which the player improved (or worsened) his character's rapport with various NPC factions. The initial intent was to have Player Vs. Player (PvP) confined to certain areas of the game. This concept, however, was prone to exploits as many portals passed through these PvP assigned areas thus exposing players to ganking. This led developers to come up with a KvK (Kingdom Vs. Kingdom) system where players can instead chose to join one of three "kingdoms" (Order, Shadow, and Dominion) and could then participate in player-vs-player conflict, and gain access to some quest content that was centered on competition between the kingdoms — broadly referred to as "kingdom-vs-kingdom" content. As the player completed KvK quests and/or successfully defeated characters of other kingdoms, he gained "kingdom points" which allowed him to train additional skills granted by his chosen Kingdom. These skills were unlocked in a strict hierarchy; players were not able to pick and choose which kingdom skills they could train. In addition, there were certain quests that could be completed to strengthen each Kingdom's fort (which had to be defended against predation by members of the opposing kingdom).
Player vs player combat in AC2 was always consensual, and was not considered necessary for advancement of your character. For most servers, regions of the landscape were identified as "peaceful" or "conflict" zones, and PvP fighting was only allowed in conflict zones between members of opposing kingdoms. For Darktide, the "conflict server", PvP combat was possible in all regions of the world, and was not limited to conflict between different kingdoms. Quests that were not in some way related to increasing the power of one kingdom over the others generally avoided conflict regions on the map, thus allowing players who chose to avoid PvP combat to do so without limiting their activities significantly. Some of the main portals, though, passed through PVP areas forcing players to either go around them, or risk being ganked.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
MMORPG
MMORPG
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
(massively multiplayer online role-playing game) for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
-based PCs
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
that was released on November 22, 2002 and shut down on December 30, 2005. It was a sequel to 1999's Asheron's Call
Asheron's Call
Asheron's Call is a fantasy MMORPG for Microsoft Windows-based PCs developed and published by Turbine Entertainment. It was published by Microsoft until 2004. Asheron's Call is set on the continent of Dereth and its surrounding islands on the fictional planet of Auberean...
, although content, graphics and gameplay dynamics differ greatly from its predecessor.
Both games were developed by Turbine Entertainment Software and originally published by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, until Turbine purchased the Asheron's Call franchise in December 2003. The Microsoft to Turbine transition was completed in spring 2005. In 2004 and 2005, Turbine entered business arrangements with Jolt Online Gaming
Jolt Online Gaming
Jolt Online Gaming is an online gaming company hosted in the UK. Its main site provides news, reviews, and interviews concerning upcoming games on consoles and computers, while its gaming network Jolt Online Gaming Network hosts and publishes free-to-play browser based games...
to operate AC2 in Europe and with Sony Online Entertainment
Sony Online Entertainment
Sony Online Entertainment is a game development and game publishing division of Sony that is best known for creating massively multiplayer online games, including EverQuest, EverQuest II, The Matrix Online, PlanetSide, Star Wars Galaxies, Free Realms, and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, DC Universe...
to distribute the game's first expansion, Asheron's Call 2: Legions, under the Station Publishing label.
Updates
As with most other MMORPGs of the era, Asheron's Call 2 was a subscription-based game, cost $12.95 USD/EUR per month to play. The Asheron's Call franchise was unique in providing complimentary monthly content updates or "Events" that added new quests, skills, landmasses, monsters, gameplay dynamics and bug fixes to all subscribers. Epic storylines linked multiple episodes to form distinct "story arcs".A major expansion pack
Expansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
for Asheron's Call 2 titled Asheron's Call 2: Legions was announced in October 2004 and was released on May 4, 2005. It included a new playable character race — the mythical Empyreans
Empyrean (disambiguation)
Empyrean can mean several things :*Empyrean , the name of the highest heaven in Christian theology**The Empyrean, the abode of God in Paradiso, the final book of The Divine Comedy...
, and a major new landmass, Knorr. Players who pre-ordered the expansion were granted access to a second new character race, the Drudge
Drudge
A drudge is a person who does tedious, menial, or unpleasant work; it can also refer to the work itself, known as drudgery.Drudge can also refer to:* Matt Drudge, an American Internet journalist.** Drudge Report, Matt Drudge's website....
at the time of the Legions launch. High-level gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
was also revisited with the Hero 2.0 system and plentiful new content. The subsequent (and final) content update was one of the largest ever, featuring two new types of monsters, dozens of additional quests, as well as other content additions.
Game setting
Both Asheron's Call and Asheron's Call 2 were set on the (fictional) planet of Auberean. The "Call" of Asheron's Call refers to the urge followed by people on several different "home worlds" to enter portals to Auberean, created by the Empyrean mage, Asheron. Asheron's Call 2 took place following a major cataclysmic event on the planet, resulting in massive changes to the topography of one continent on the planet (Dereth). The three races inhabiting the continent at the time of the cataclysm high-tailed it into the safety of shelters hidden in portal space until it was safe to emerge. The basic premise of Asheron's Call 2 was that the players represented people emerging from the shelters to reclaim the world their ancestors left behind. The three warring factions that brought about the original cataclysm were still present, and still fighting for power. In addition to these three warring factions, there were other, older and perhaps more powerful forces also fighting for control of Auberean's fate.Game play
Players chose a character that was one of three races: Isparians were humans from Ispar, one of the first races to answer Asheron's Call. Lugians came to Dereth in the same fashion as Isparians from a different home world, Tuu, and were (in the original game) quite hostile to Isparians. Tumeroks, or Tonks, also came to Dereth through Asheron's portals from their home world on Hazahtu, and were also originally treated as monsters by Isparians. These hostilities were worked out between the first game and the sequel, and in AC2 the three races co-existed with conflict limited to those choosing player versus playerPlayer versus player
Player versus player, or PvP, is a type of multiplayer interactive conflict within a game between two or more live participants. This is in contrast to games where players compete against computer controlled opponents, which is correspondingly referred to as player versus environment...
content. Players that purchased the Legions expansion pack gained access to two additional races, Empyreans and Drudges.
One's race was the only limiting factor on the "class" or "profession" that could be played by your character. The following chart shows the classes available to each race. Each class was quite distinct from the others within AC2, and each class was also quite distinct from those available in other fantasy MMORPGs. In general terms, character classes were considered "damage dealers", "tanks", or "healers".
| Race | Magic | Missile | Melee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Human | Sorcerer, Enchanter | Alchemist, Ranger | Bounty Hunter , Defender |
| Lugian | Elementalist, Sage | Raider, Tactician | Berserker, Juggernaut |
| Tumerok | Healer, Invoker | Claw Bearer, Hive Keeper | Feral Intendant, Zealot |
| Empyrean | Hieromancer | Mentalist | Templar |
| Drudge | n/a | n/a | Drudge |
Characters could choose one of the above specializations when they reached the 15th level. Characters also had the opportunity to choose to proceed un-specialized, though eventually the difficulty level of the content in the world made it important to specialize to continue advancement. For each level between 1 and 50, characters gained a credit that could be used to train skills used in combat. After reaching the 45th level, players could begin the "Hero Initiation" quest to become a Hero of Dereth and unlock character advancement beyond level 50. The level cap for Heroes of Dereth was 150. The character development system for Heroes was one of the major updates to the game released with the Legions expansion pack, but was open to all players, regardless of whether they purchased the expansion pack. More information on the post-Legions Hero system, Hero 2.0, is available here.
Levels were gained by completing activities that gave your character "experience points", or "XP". XP was also used to increase the skill rating, or power, of each skill trained. Characters gained XP in a wide variety of ways: hunting monsters on a solo basis or with groups of other players, completing quests, or even just turning in items that can be traded for. Most quests (but not all) could be repeated for multiple rewards after the passage of time. There was significant variety in the quests offered in AC2: some were centered on simply combating an overpopulation of a certain type of monster, some involved entering a dungeon or cave to destroy a powerful "boss" monster, some involved running errands for NPCs, or escorting NPCs to safety, in addition to the epic style quests that involved the major NPCs in the current or past story arcs. Quest rewards also ran the gamut: some offered temporary buffs or summonable pets to increase the character's power, some offered simply an XP reward, some offered gold, some offered weapons, armor, or trinkets, still others unlocked movie "vignettes" offering insight into the game's backstory.
AC2 also had an extensive crafting system that operated almost completely independently of the level-based advancement system. In contrast to the XP system, the craft system placed no hard-set limitation on the number of skills one could master, but each skill was fairly narrow (for example, Tumerok Martial Weapons was one vocation, while Empyrean Armor was another). There were no level requirements to unlock craft skills: the craft skill alone was what mattered. For all but the most single-minded of crafters, players generally strove to master a single vocation, or to become adept enough in several to create items for a wide range of low- to mid-level characters. Players could craft weapons and armor up to level 100 (as of July 2005) that were highly sought after, and highly customizable. Enchantment effects could be extracted from weapons and armor generated by the treasure system.
AC2 did not have a "faction" system by which the player improved (or worsened) his character's rapport with various NPC factions. The initial intent was to have Player Vs. Player (PvP) confined to certain areas of the game. This concept, however, was prone to exploits as many portals passed through these PvP assigned areas thus exposing players to ganking. This led developers to come up with a KvK (Kingdom Vs. Kingdom) system where players can instead chose to join one of three "kingdoms" (Order, Shadow, and Dominion) and could then participate in player-vs-player conflict, and gain access to some quest content that was centered on competition between the kingdoms — broadly referred to as "kingdom-vs-kingdom" content. As the player completed KvK quests and/or successfully defeated characters of other kingdoms, he gained "kingdom points" which allowed him to train additional skills granted by his chosen Kingdom. These skills were unlocked in a strict hierarchy; players were not able to pick and choose which kingdom skills they could train. In addition, there were certain quests that could be completed to strengthen each Kingdom's fort (which had to be defended against predation by members of the opposing kingdom).
Player vs player combat in AC2 was always consensual, and was not considered necessary for advancement of your character. For most servers, regions of the landscape were identified as "peaceful" or "conflict" zones, and PvP fighting was only allowed in conflict zones between members of opposing kingdoms. For Darktide, the "conflict server", PvP combat was possible in all regions of the world, and was not limited to conflict between different kingdoms. Quests that were not in some way related to increasing the power of one kingdom over the others generally avoided conflict regions on the map, thus allowing players who chose to avoid PvP combat to do so without limiting their activities significantly. Some of the main portals, though, passed through PVP areas forcing players to either go around them, or risk being ganked.
External links
- Turbine Games homepage - developer of the Asheron's Call franchise