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Thursday, June 04, 2009

E3 news Chapter II of Runes of Magic out September 2009

Chapter II of Runes of MagicSecond chapter with new regions, a new playable people, new classes, new instances, updated graphic engine and a new soundtrack to arrive in September

Under the name of ‘The Elven Prophecy’, Frogster is to turn over a new leaf with Chapter II of Runes of Magic scheduled for launch in September 2009. The publisher has announced this today at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) currently being held in Los Angeles. At the exhibition, Frogster is already showing some new content from Chapter II like the new game region “Weeping Coast”.

As the name already suggests, the core element of ‘Chapter II – The Elven Prophecy’ is the integration of the elven folk as a playable race. A widely branching background story entwines about the elves with lots of new challenges with the new pieces of lore being told by means of a multitude of new quests and epic quest series. Continuing ‘Chapter I – Rise of the Demon Lord’ the second chapter leads players into new game regions, steeped in elven history. It’s the eponymous elves who stand by mankind in their epic conflict against the demon’s menace.

According to the legends, demons of human origin – having degenerated into underworld beings under the influence of the runes – forged an alliance with the nagas in ancient times. Together, these evil forces brought war and devastation to the world of Taborea. An alliance of elves and humans succeeded in banishing the demons into the void and drove back the nagas behind a magical wall. However, when elven prince Sig’aylas removed the holy sword ‘Arclight’ from the wall to defend his human truelove, the wall perished and the naga threat flared up once again.

Together with the elves, ‘Chapter II – The Elven Prophecy’ introduces two new character classes into the world of Runes of Magic. They complement the palette of selection possibilities within the tactically interesting dual class system, creating further combinations to choose from. Advanced players will look forward to new challenges in the form of new demanding dungeons, raid instances and new PvP modes. As a consequence of the copious new game content, ‘Chapter II – the Elven Prophecy’ raises the level cap for all characters in Runes of Magic to 55.

Along with the expansion Frogster is also integrating a new pet system in the Taborea game world. Players will then have the opportunity to actively train their companions, so that they can mature and fulfil valuable supporting roles in combat situations. On top of all this, the game atmosphere in Runes of Magic will receive a thorough general overhaul. The new game regions will really shine, thanks to improved graphics with new effects and hand-drawn textures. Moreover, the renowned sound-studio Dynamedion is recording a completely new soundtrack for the launch of Chapter II. Just as with the base version of Runes of Magic and all of the subsequent updates, Frogster will offer ‘Chapter II – The Elven Prophecy’ as a free download.

Already in August, Frogster is going to integrate first content packages of ‘The Elven Prophecy’ like the new region “Weeping Coast” and raise the level cap to 52. The climax of Chapter II will follow with the official launch in September. “With the comprehensive Chapter II we will seamlessly linking in with our previous policy of regular content expansions for the Runes of Magic game world. And we will still be implementing regular content updates right up until we launch The Elven Prophecy,” Daniel Ullrich, Frogster’s Director Product Management, commented discussing the expansion plans.

Runes of Magic – a world full of wizardry and adventure
Runes of Magic was commercially released on 19 March 2009. All interested fantasy fans can continue to download the online role playing game for free at www.runesofmagic.com and can plunge into the game world after a short registration process.

With an extensive range of features Runes of Magic prepares to redefine the standard of free to play massively online role playing games. Runes of Magic conveys an absorbing story through more than 1.600 quests embedded in an atmospheric fantasy world. Players can choose between six main classes and combined with a secondary class they present 30 individual combinations of character classes over all. All characters possess unique skills with impressive combo attacks and can use mounts like war horses and more. A particularly attractive feature for guilds and players is the possibility to arrange their own virtual homes with individual furnishing. Thanks to an extensive crafting and reputation system, thrilling PvP, as well as demanding dungeons and boss-monsters, no wishes remain unsatisfied. The Taiwanese developer Runewaker has developed Runes of Magic according to western MMO standards within a time frame of three years. The studio will provide new challenges for players every four to five months with free add-ons and updates. MMO fans can find more information, pictures and videos on the official website www.runesofmagic.com.

Features
• Free to play: no monthly fees, free download
• Extensive dual class system (six primary and secondary classes)
• Versatile spell- and attack-combinations
• Enthralling background story
• More than 1.600 quests and quest series
• No zone boundaries thanks to seamless architecture
• Dungeons: Instanced and tile based as well as persistent
• Individually developable skills and spells
• Armour sets with special bonuses
• Dynamic item system with hundreds of runes for upgrading
• Optional PvP system with arena battles
• Ranking system with player-ranking lists
• Multitude of unique mounts
• Epic crafting system with the chance to improve existing items
• Personalization of player houses through individual furnishing
• Reputation system
• Customisable user interface with the option to use Add-Ons
• Map and radar system to find dealers, resources and quests easily
• In-game auction houses for trading items
• Teleport-Runes for instant travel
• Mouse and keyboard controls for movement
• Regular updates with new content
• Guild castles in special zones
• Cross-server fights in three-server-battle and guild wars in development

Facts
Title: Runes of Magic
Genre: Fantasy-MMORPG
Platform: Windows-PC
Publisher: Frogster Online Gaming
Developer: Runewaker Entertainment Ltd.
Release: 19 March 2009
PEGI: 12+