Finally, an MMO that doesn’t remind me of World of Warcraft. It reminds me of an old school, 1 player console RPG more than anything and amidst all the other MMOs, it’s a breath of sweet, fresh air.
As a sequel to the wildly popular Dofus, Ankama has really put out a gem with their release of Wakfu in February of this year. Set approximately 1,000 years after the events of its predecessor, the Great Deluge threatens to destroy the World of Twelve and you are charged with defeating the source of it, Ogrest, along with your friends.
Characters
The game includes 12 different classes: Sacriers, Iops, Cras, Eniripsas, Pandawas, Enutrofs, Sadidas, Rogues, Fecas, Srams, Ecaflips, Xelors, and Osamodas. Each has their own special abilities and draw backs, but no matter which class you choose, they all have access to the same professions, including: farming, herbalism, lumberjack, trapping, mining, fishing, baking, cooking, weapons, armorer, jeweler, tailor, leather dealer, and handyman. So, needless to say, you have plenty of options to make a living in the world of Wakfu and item prices can fluctuate depending on how many people are practicing a particular profession at a time.
Combat
Combat is turn-based, similar to the type featured in the Final Fantasy Tactics game series. Fans of those games will enjoy it very much, especially considering the fact that other players can be attacked at will in PvP. Beware, though! Attack an innocent person and you risk losing citizenship points and being classified as an outlaw; attack an outlaw and you’ll gain citizenship points. Die in battle and you’ll be returned to the last Phoenix totem you tied yourself to.
Economy
As described by Wakfu’s website:
“In WAKFU, all exchanges, sales, and purchases take place between players…”
In order to take part in gameplay, you must speak with other players. There are NO standard “shops” in Wakfu, unlike in other MMORPGs that make it easy to play solo a game that was obviously intended to be multiplayer.
Other MMOs limit your character to being able to practice only a couple of professions at a time; in Wakfu, you can practice all 16 any time you wish, as long as you can pass the corresponding Clan Member’s entrance exam for each one. The professions are divided into two types: harvesting and crafting. Harvesting professions are used for procuring items and ingredients from the world environment; crafting professions allow you to turn those same things into new items that you can sell to your fellow inhabitants.
Ecosystem
The ecosystem is delicately (or sometimes, not-so-delicately) managed by the people of the World of Twelve.
“Except for fish and ores, there are no resources or monsters which reappear automatically after being harvested or killed.”
This means exactly what it says: if you kill all the Gobballs, then they’re just gone. It’s the responsibility of the community to manage the population of all monsters and plants, because once a species is gone, it’s gone forever.
Alignment
Every action that you take towards the environment in the game affects your character’s alignment toward either the productive, creative, loving influences of Wakfu or the stale, destructive yearnings of Stasis and you will be awarded points for either. When you create something, such as animals or plants, you earn Wakfu points; as you kill animals or plants, you will be awarded points for Stasis.
How well you manage resources, territory, and people will end up having a big effect on whether you’ll be chosen in the next election.
Politics
There are 4 different nations in Wakfu: Bonta, Brakmar, Amakna, Sufokia. After studying on each nation’s ideology and once you decide you’re ready to leave Astrub, you must choose your citizenship. This may sound like your average MMO faction side-picking fodder, but it’s not; as you earn citizenship points, you may become eligible to run for Governor.
The highest government official in Wakfu is the governor, who is able to write laws and levy taxes on the people as he or she sees fit. If you vote in the election, you can also vote “no confidence” depending on how satisfied you are with the actions of your new monarch. If the governor becomes unpopular enough, the rascal is impeached and removed from office. Seats of government available only by appointment are: Vice-Governor, Head Guard, Head Soldier, Weather Engineer, Treasurer, Challenger, & Ecologist.
While this isn’t an exhaustive list of the features of Wakfu, there are more than enough good reasons here to go ahead and give it a shot. These days you can’t get a decent burger for $6, much less 30 days of entertainment, so the price tag on Wakfu is definitely recession-friendly for the gamer who’s trying to cut back on subscriptions and still have a good time. Now, if they could just invent $6/mo cable…
