Everyone that’s into MMORPGs has at least heard of International Ragnarok Online (iRO). It was one of the first MMORPGs of its time to serve up 2D and 3D visuals giving itself an old school J-RPG feel to it. has been around since 2002 and many things have changed in order to keep up with the times and competition. Does iRO have what it takes to stay alive in this ever expanding MMO market or is this age old classic past its prime? Before I continue with the review, there is something I must point out: since commercial launch, has been a Pay-to-Play service. As of September 2008, Gravity introduced a Free-to-Play server named "Valkyrie" in an attempt to win back some of their player base who left due to "Private servers". The shots and events in this review are all taken from the Valkyrie server.
Starting out
When creating your character, you’ll pick from a set number of hairstyles and colors, then pick your starting stats for your character’s Strength, Agility, Vitality, Intelligence, Dexterity and Luck which all must add up to 30. You’ll get plopped right into the training center which brings you up to speed. You can skip the training session if you wish, but it is a good idea to complete it as you’ll receive lots of goodies that will come in handy for later.
Selecting your class
You’ll have lots of choices to make when deciding what class to play. Players can become Swordsmen, Archers, Mages, and more. New to ragnarok zeny are the inclusion of "alternative" 1st classes" which are Taekwon fighters that use no weapons and fight with their bare hands, Gunslingers that use lots of modern ranged weaponry like pistols, and Ninjas that can do... well... ninja stuff. With the exception of Taekwon fighters, Gunslingers and Ninjas are very high maintenance classes to play as and cannot be supported on their own. It’s best that you should get some money and experience playing as other job classes before rolling a Gunslinger or Ninja.
