A Mabinogi Review - The Most Unique MMO You will Ever Come Across

[leoandthelamb]

I strongly urge you to consider giving this game a try; you may just find it worth your time, and if not I won't stop you from turning away. If you don't care for some sections I made in this review, scroll past them but please trust me that CHARACTER, COMBAT, and CONTENT are worth the read. Subsequently, I will try to the best of my ability to summarize different aspects of the game I have categorized this review into, in an effort to pique your interest in trying out my favorite game I have ever played.

CONTENTS

1. INTRO

2. FLAWS

3. CHARACTER

4. COMBAT

5. COMMUNITY

6. CONTENT

7. EVENTS

8. PETS

9. PvE

10. PvP

11. STORY

12. VISUALS

13. CONCLUSION

1. INTRO: I am making this review in an attempt to convice you to play. I shamefully can't find any reviews or even videos that are close to enticing enough for Mabinogi. So, moving on: If you are a person who judges a game on its graphic quality or similarity to WoW, you can turn around now. This is an MMO game different from any you've ever played. If you plan to read on, throw out all you know about not just old-school tab-targeting hotkey-mashing MMOs, but every MMO you have ever tried, because this game is just that different.

2. FLAWS: I will get flaws out of the way first so they don't scare you away after you spend all the time reading my review. Better to drive you away now before you waste your time.

This game is run by Nexon America, the same publishers of Combat Arms and Maplestory. Some users have had bad experiences with Nexon Support.
The game will go down for maintenance subjectedly, sometimes up to thrice a month, but Nexon will give a 10-minute warning for the scheduled ones which usually only last hours.
Crashes are rare but not unheard of. Items are not lost in crashes other than maybe twice in the entire 6 years the game has been running.
Bugs are rampant in this engine like an infestation of Bethesda Games' code's bugs with a mutation of gun-powered butts that just spray poop everywhere and spit in your face to top it off. None are game-breaking, but some annoying bugs are seen in aspects like user interface.
Players can experience NA server lag because they are not timezone-based. From the East Coast, my latency in Tarlach is generally smooth.
Still reading? I hope you are finding tolerance in these errors and will consider giving this game a chance. Read on.

3. CHARACTER: Your characters are classless, cloneless, and 100% customizable. Choose from Human, Elf, or Giant. You will never find another person exactly like you. From different colored eyes and hairstyles, to age (you can be 3ft. tall at age 10!), gender, specializations, and even weight, you can shape your character however you like - your first one even has access to ANY premium facial feature. (Note: make a human as a first character to be able to get a free elf and giant character. I will not stop you from making a first Elf or Giant if you REALLY want it to be pretty, but you will not be given any more free characters if you do so.)

There is ZERO class selection; even with the talent assignments you are completely free to assign Ability Points to WHATEVER you wish along the way. Your skills train by actively using them and meeting requirements rather than by level. Spend AP gained each level to upgrade to the next rank for increased capability. Skills have up to 15 ranks, along with master titles at the last rank.

Different combat types can be focused or, if you choose, not focused: Bows, 3 kinds of Alchemy (quite similar to Fullmetal Alchemist itself), Magic, or even Bard, Puppetry, Gunner, and martial-arts-like Fighter. Three elemental types in the game add to the dynamic fighting system - Fire, Ice, and Lightning.

A rebirth system allows you to reset to a current Level of 1 every few weeks, giving free, consistent access to more Ability Points. It eases ranking skills while keeping EVERYTHING about your character - skills, Total Level, stats, inventory. You only don't keep age and "current" level.

4. COMBAT: I've never seen combat remotely similar to Mabinogi's strategy system. Similar to a kind of Rock, Paper, Scissors, it requires a degree of timing, positioning, and reaction-based approach. Skills are loaded, then executed. The melee, for example, has a weakness toward a certain type of combat and strength toward another.

For example: the Defense skill is loaded to reduce damage from oncoming "Normal" Melee Combos, attacks where the player would flourish their weapon for multiple swings instead of loading a skill to execute. Defense, once loaded, executes when it is hit by a normal attack, stunning the attacker and giving a chance to return a melee combo. However, if your opponent loads then executes a "Smash" skill Attack on you, they will drive through your loaded Defense with their weapon and knock you back.

In return, the Smash skill has a longer execution time than a Normal melee combo, so in head-to-head combat Normal beats Smash.

Let's review:

Defense coaxes Normal

Normal screws up Smash

Smash date-rapes Defense

Pretty cool, right? Now experiment with over 80 unique combat skills, 30 different weapon types, 520 weapons, and a dozen interchangeable fighting styles.

5. COMMUNITY: Social interaction is a HUGE part of the experience of Mabinogi. There are guilds to give you a family to play with. Almost anyone anywhere will talk or give you tips, given they are not AFK or the few who are arrogant and unsocial. In my years playing, I have made friends I spent countless hours idling and chatting with. Level differences between any two characters can mean nothing at all, since players can still aid in quests and party together in dungeons with 100% randomly-generated instances every time. A friend window allows notes and messengers like a Skype program, as you can even sort friends into groups. Gestures and typable facial expressions, like emoticons, allow you to animate characters to match your mood. There are four servers that the game hosts players on. Nothing at all can be transferred across these servers, save friends and IM messages.

6. CONTENT: You will find that you will never run out of ways to play Mabinogi. You can fashion yourself with a HUGE selection of clothing items and dyes. Lack of classes allows for free switching and hybrid builds fit to your own playstyle. You can have a bow and arrow on your back while duel-wielding wand and sword. You don't have to find a single monster to bash the entire game if you don't want to - hone a life skill instead and sell your quality work on the game's player-driven economy. You even own a free Homestead to chillax in the countryside and use your own Production tools. Inventory items go by a grid-like spacing, so you fit items according to the space they take up. Most potions are only 1 square, while clothing items can be 2x3 = 6 squares. Your initial inventory is 6x10 squares. The game have over 1,300 physical inventory items, even more quests, and over 30 locations with 500 NPCs, each with their own 2D hand-painted anime portrait.

7. EVENTS: I felt I needed to make a seperate section for Events just because there are many that Nexon constantly adds, and they really just make the game sometimes. Nexon will add user-friendly (though oftentimes, very cheesy) events almost weekly, lasting up to months at a time, where players participate in certain objectives to win rewards. Many are limited-edition so players rush to get the full treasure that they can from them, and some also require teamwork or dedication, or just merely logging on to receive daily rewards - but none ever require pay-to-win or high-level advantages.

8, PETS: Pets are a great thing about Mabinogi. An even greater thing is that though most are bought with real money, the game grants you two free permanent mounts as you complete the beginner quests - a powerful horse and giant eagle. One is the third fastest land mount in the game; the other, the third fastest flying mount. All pets fight for you, are shared among ALL characters, and have inventories (with exception of your free ones). You can even assign custom-written or pre-set AIs for them to fit your combat style. Some pets while summoned allow player benefits, and others are mobile raw resource sites. Some pets damage and knock back enemies upon summon - which is insanely strong for mob control.

9. PvE: Enemies are found all across the maps of Erinn, a huge open land whose overworld spans at least 5 square kilometers, more than enough to explore. Almost every type of enemy's AI differs from the next. Enemies do use all of the same types of combats players can use, but most only use one or two types and are quite simple, while others are more something you have to get familiar with in order to stand victorious.

Grinding is nonexistent in Mabinogi; it is never a requirement nor an obligation in order to advance. In fact, the game penalizes your experience-gain for fighting in overworld fields for extended periods.

Raids are in the form of field bosses which appear at certain times throughout a real-life week. Some, like dragons, are very strong (and huge) and will require upwards of 40 skilled Mabinogians to defeat. Others may only require one to fight and would have much less threat, but also have rare drops.

10. PvP: Fighting other players is another very open-ended aspect of Mabinogi. One method is dueling a friend 1v1 anywhere, with rules being able to be set by both opponents - you can agree on reduced damage by percentage, pets or none, boundaries, and more. The other are arenas. Guilds and parties can join and charge each other in huge team fights. PvP rewards do little with the game.

11. STORY: The story is in installments called Generations. An interactive anime-based storyline that is regularly updated will always leave players raring for the next Generation release. The mainstream story quests are completely optional, as are most (if not all) things in the game, but they do delve your character deep into an enticing and dramatic plot, complete with player-driven character development, conflict, and climaxes, for your character and for NPCs.

12. VISUALS: Mabinogi with its cell-shaded graphics has not the best-looking visuals, with even a jagged effect to its 3D models. However, all 2D NPC portraits and other anime-based illustrations, as well as all textures, are completely hand-drawn which gives the game a sentimental and captivating fantasy atmosphere. Vibrant colors and sometimes cartoony illustrations give room for silly faces and other events that could not fit in any other game. The soundtrack ranges from Japanese folk to fast-paced electric guitar solos to all kinds of piano, and almost every single NPC has its own theme music. Accompanied by beautiful ambient noises are soundtracks for many maps that fit very well and make for a sense of nostalgia.

13. CONCLUSION: There is just so much content in Mabinogi that I will never be able to sum it up in a review. Use wiki.mabinogiworld.com, the most complete community wiki you will find for the game - it will answer mostly all of your questions as you learn to play.

If you are liking the game, I'm on Tarlach server and my main character is Aznborne. Others are Leo172 and Leonnes. I'd love to play Mabinogi with anyone. I found this game during its closed beta in 2008, and it's been my hands-down favorite game ever since. Mabinogi is not just a game - it is your very own Fantasy Life.

[Adoration]

tl;dr - *exaggeratedcoughing* Here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63AwIM97MuI

[Fluffy]

Cynical původně napsal:

tl;dr - *exaggeratedcoughing* Here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63AwIM97MuI

AHHAA-no.

This is easily the best summary of mabinogi I've read so far. I'll actually be using this from now on as my Go-To Explination of mabi. and Cynni, MyBoy, you should read the review sometimes, because unlike popular beleif, Not EVERY MMO's the same.

(Although, a lot of them can be, granted, I won't deny that. but srs, this one isn't.)

[leoandthelamb]

Herostar~Corrupt původně napsal:

Cynical původně napsal:

tl;dr - *exaggeratedcoughing* Here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63AwIM97MuI

AHHAA-no.

This is easily the best summary of mabinogi I've read so far. I'll actually be using this from now on as my Go-To Explination of mabi. and Cynni, MyBoy, you should read the review sometimes, because unlike popular beleif, Not EVERY MMO's the same.

(Although, a lot of them can be, granted, I won't deny that. but srs, this one isn't.)

Thanks for that compliment, Herostar. Yeah, I seriously couldn't find any review on Mabinogi that satisfied me on the entire interwebs so I had to write one myself, and I hate my voice too much to do a video review (of which none satisy me either). Regardless of accuracy, Cynical's video link is pretty funny.

[Alessondria]

Mabi is very different then MMOs out there. One of the major things that seperates it is that its not combat based. There are tons of skills to do that have nothing to do with combat such as winemaking... with that skill you harvest grapes from a vinyard and tend to your wine once a RL day seperating impurities in a mini-game. When you wanna finish the wine you can use it in some cooking recipies, sell it to other players, or give it to an NPC wine enthuist. The more its aged and the less impurities it has the more xp you will get. There are many other skills like that. Some of them have little UI mini-games to do. Based on your perforance it can shape the outcome of the product.

Crafting isn't like minecraft or typical 'theme park' MMOs. Most skills rely on one another. A great example would be cooking. Cooking some good foods requires a cooking potion. Cooking potions are made with the potion making skill which requires you to use the herb gathering skill to gather a rare herb from a few select loocations. Also, making items requires tools and sometimes immovable staions, such as a windmill to grind up wheat and make flour.

Tools, weapons, armor - pretty much anything you equip and make use of gains proficiency. New items are 0.00% and old items that are worn in and the best are 100.0% which you can purchase upgrades for and spend the %. So you can customize that black smith's hammer making it a better tool for you. Or make that sword you love so much more balanced.

And weapons. There's a lot of weapons. Not just types (sword, axe, bow) but the subtypes. There's like 100 different swords. Each weapon has a min/ max damage value, balance, stun level, strike speed, number of strike-combo... And most of these weapons anyone can get from their respective smiths.

In Mabi you don't get loot from quests. You get gold which gives you the freedom to begin to customize your character with the right weapons, armor, tools and things. Then your skills directly influence how good [inset skill] is. Then your item's upgrades and such help with other bonuses. But largely, a new character's combat skills in game is reflected by the skill, style, and experience of the player. So a veteran can make a new character and go toe-to-toe with a giant golem IF they know what they are doing. So its not all about the items either.

Lots of stuff under the hood too: eatting some foods will add stats if you eat them often to simulate your body growing, eggs are fragile and can break if you get knocked back, weather effects the world, real life day of the week gives certain bonuses and effects (like Saturday you get 1 year older and food is more potent because you are growing), a body weight system...

Mabi is NOT like other MMOs. I have played dozens. This one is unique and the best if you like more RPG feel in your MMO. But its seriously a 'do what you like and ignore the rest' sandbox game. Or a 'do everything' sandbox game.


------

Cons: Nexon. I wish Nexon gave a crap about their products customer base/ listened/ hired more people. Its 100% free but if you wanna play long term you will wanna buy some pets. Pets = on the go inventory space and can help fight. They can also be accessed by any character on your account. Might wanna buy a character slot or three because you get 1 bank tab for every character you own. All bank is shared by all characters. So the con I am getting at is limited inventory.

------

IMPORTANT

If this the OP sold you and my comment helped please make a HUMAN as your first character. You only get 1 character for free. BUT as a human you can get 1 free giant character and 1 free elf character. Thank means 3 times the bank space + you can have 2 alts to use. Look online for how to aquire these 2 free cards.

---
Thank you OP for the guide! I'll be showing my friends that are intrested in Mabi your post :)

[leoandthelamb]

{DhM} Gargamel původně napsal:

Thank you OP for the guide! I'll be showing my friends that are intrested in Mabi your post :)

And thanks for the additional info. Everything you put in your guide is very important information to know about Mabinogi.

[A Old Man]

If only ESO learned from mabinogi...

[Vancepants]

Somethign else I'd like to add is that the community for most MMOs is just...horrendous. I've spent enough time on the forums of other games to see people whine and complain for days, never satisfied. Idk why Mabinogi is different but ever since I've started playing it seems everyone wants to help! It's quite honestly the friendliest group of players I've ever seen in an MMO.

Someone in game will start a friendly conversation along the road to a town, or help me clear a difficult dungeon and/or give me a stronger weapon to use... It's honestly just astonishing how helpful and non-toxic the community is compared to other MMOs.

[iirosponsible]

Your review of mabinogi is extremely accurate (in my eyes) and I must say one thing that I feel I must add.

Nexon Support. I haven't had an issue with the Nexon Support and every Ticket I have ever sent in has been replied to, in a timely fashion. I keep reading that they have a horrird support but I've never expereinced it at all, I actually have to say they have been one of the best supports that I have ever dealt with.

I feel that saying that "You will almost never get a response." is more of a personal experince that doesn't completely apply to everyone. Well, doesn't completely apply to myself...

S-So I wanted to point that out because that one the only thing that bothered me. Everything else is on the mark.

Thank you for hearing me out if you read this.

[leoandthelamb]

Erastos původně napsal:

Nexon Support. I haven't had an issue with the Nexon Support and every Ticket I have ever sent in has been replied to, in a timely fashion. I keep reading that they have a horrird support but I've never expereinced it at all, I actually have to say they have been one of the best supports that I have ever dealt with.

I feel that saying that "You will almost never get a response." is more of a personal experince that doesn't completely apply to everyone. Well, doesn't completely apply to myself...

Thanks for sharing! I will change that in my post to "Some people have had bad experiences with Nexon Support" and other information accordingly.

[Mucus Man]

What I want to know is this: I'm assuming there are microtransactions, how do they work? What can you buy?

[Adoration]

stove top mango původně napsal:

Herostar~Corrupt původně napsal:

Actually, ignore the first video. It doesn't explain Mabinogi properly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnzafqZqFf0
This explains Mabi best.

[leoandthelamb]

Cynical původně napsal:

stove top mango původně napsal:

This explains Mabi best.

I'd actually say this fits better for Vindictus or Scarlet Blade

...freaking Scarlet Blade.

[Red]

You're on the Tarlach server? Same as me... check my screenshots, heheh.
This review is amazing, if I want to get friends into the game, I'll refer them to this review.

[thekey147]

ScrawnyPaleMan původně napsal:

What I want to know is this: I'm assuming there are microtransactions, how do they work? What can you buy?

They work by turning money into their NX cash, 1 dollar for 1000 of their currency.
The things you can buy are cards to make new characters, pets, and a buncha helpful and/or cosmetics like dyes for clothing, or stones to make you get revived at the spot with less of a penalty.
Most of the stuff you can get in game with just slightly more work, like a full recovery potion heals you completely (life, mana, stamina, and wounds) instead of just drinking potions. It helps a lot to get some of the stuff, but really the only thing I would recommend someone buy is just a pet with a large inventory.

You can do a lot of stuff in Mabinogi, from Cooking to Mining/Blacksmithing to Tailoring, but one bad thing is that you are unable to hold all of it..

[Wesker Frank]

Mabinogi is indeed a very unique MMo that no other can compare to.
I have been playing this game for 6 years and only recently quited it for good.
And In all honesty its only on Nexon's fault.


The game turned to be very pay to win in the long way. As more and more updates added contents that was never balance for the stuff releashed near when the game releashed.

Nexon's server were always a mess, Constant lag, very often crash.
Plus if you traded somes items with someone and the server crashed right after, you lost those items forever ( Both person). And since this is a very social and close comunity where everyone talk and trade it happen often that people were to lose very rare items.


The game isint only bad though.
It ruined every mmo I ever player after this one. No mmo felt as good, as addictive as mabinogi.
Only Vindictus ( Wich use alot of Mabi's content; Skills lvling, story, character etc.) Could stand to it.