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Silkroad-R

Silkroad-R is an updated version of the original Silkroad Online MMORPG with faster leveling, class balance, and more. Silkroad-R takes place during the 7th century on the renowned Silk Road trading route that connected the East to the West. Play as either Chinese or Europeans and become a hunter, thief, or merchant in this unique MMORPG.

Publisher: Joymax
Playerbase: Medum
Type: MMORPG
Release Date: Jan 18, 2012 (NA/EU)
PvP: Duels / Open World / Guild Wars / Arena
Pros: +Good variety of classes. +Faster XP rate than original game. +Unique PvP system. +Improved interface.
Cons: -Pervasive botting. -Smaller community than original game.

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Overview

Silkroad-R Overview

Travel the ancient Silk Road once again, in search of adventure, fame, and fortune in Silkroad-R, an updated version of the immensely popular Silkroad Online. Silkroad-R has the same features and content as the original game, including the unique PvP system that old players have come to love and new players will undoubtedly enjoy. While the game may look the same, the new version features a re-balanced class system, improved experience and item drops, as well as new anti-botting measures. Joymax intends to run both versions of Silkroad concurrently.

Unlike other MMORPGs, players of both Silkroad Online and Silkroad-R choose their weapon preference instead of their classes. In addition, players are also given the choice to fill the role of hunters or thieves, each with unique quests and goals in the game.

Silkroad-R Key Features:

  • Class Variety – extensive choice of weapons, which determines a player's class.
  • Unique Game Concept – participate in the historic journey of the Silkroad by choosing protect merchants or steal from them.
  • Free Promotions – class promotions are not limited to your starting weapon-choice, and acquiring skills of particular skill trees are not limited by class.
  • Exciting Action-Oriented Fighting – master chain attacks and quick reflexes to conquer enemies.

Silkroad-R Screenshots

Silkroad-R Featured Video

Silkroad-R - East and West Unite Trailer

Classes

Silkroad-R Classes

European:

This faction features six playable classes depending on the weapon type chosen at character creation. Armor choices are limited by the type of weapon.

  • Rogue – a versatile class skilled in using either daggers or crossbows. Can equip light armor.
    • Dagger – melee attacks with fast attack speed and a high chance of landing critical hits.
    • Crossbow – has the longest range of all the European weapons.
  • Warrior – a melee class that can wear heavy armor and has the highest defense in the game. Can also wear light armor.
    • One-handed Sword – can equip shields for additional defense.
    • Two-handed Sword – strong attacks but slow attack speed.
    • Dual Axe – has balanced attack and defense.
  • Warlock – weapon of choice for the Warlock is the warlock rod. Limited to wearing robes. Can cast Damage Over Time curses on single enemies, which can be useful in taking down unique or giant monsters.
  • Wizard – equips staffs and also limited to robes for their armor. This class has one of the highest attack powers in the game. They cast Area of Effect elemental skills that can inflict damage to multiple enemies at once.
  • Bard – can use harps and can only equip robes. They support allies on the battlefield with their party buffs which increase damage, defense, regeneration, and movement speed.
  • Cleric – equipped with clerical rods and can wear either robes or light armor. They are essential to any party as the only class with healing skills. They can also provide support during battles with defensive buffs, as well as revive fallen party members.

Chinese:

The Chinese can use armor (heavy armor), protectors (light armor), and garments (robes) in combination with any weapon type. There are no set classes for this faction.

  • Sword – a weapon which focuses on accuracy over damage. This weapon is suited for magic-users because of its high magic attack stats and can be equipped along with a shield for added defense.
  • Blade – a weapon that deals high physical damage at the cost of accuracy. Can also be equipped with a shield and is the recommended weapon for players who want to fill the tank-role in the party.
  • Spear – a weapon with high magic stats. This weapon is recommended for magic-users and healers.
  • Glaive – a spear-type weapon focused on physical damage and can inflict high damage to multiple enemies.
  • Bow – a weapon with balanced magical and physical stats that can take out enemies from long distances.

Full Review

Silkroad-R Review

By Marc Marasigan

Silkroad-R (the “R” stands for Rebirth) is an updated version of the widely popular free-to-play 3D MMORPG Silkroad Online. Silkroad-R was released on January 18, 2012 under Joymax, the company that published and developed the original game. The new version is also free-to-play and features a re-balanced class system, improved experience and drop rates, an overhauled cash shop, and new anti-botting measures to cut down on the number of botters that plagued the original Silkroad game.

Apart from the new features, Silkroad-R is basically the same game as Silkroad Online. The game is set in ancient China and Europe and has players travelling through the Silk Road, the vital trade route that connected the two ancient civilizations. Players can choose to travel as Traders selling goods, as Hunters protecting the Traders, or as Thieves looking for the ultimate score.

Choose Your Weapon

Upon logging-in, players are given the choice to play as European or Chinese. Each faction features different sets of weapons, classes, and playing styles. In Silkroad-R, a player’s class depends on the type of weapon chosen instead of the weapons being determined by the class like most MMORPGs. After choosing their faction, players are taken to the character creation screen where they can customize their characters appearance, weapon, and armor.

Silkroad-R doesn’t offer much in terms of character customization. Players choose from a handful of pre-made character designs which, apart from the body type and height, can’t be customized further. Players are also given a choice of weapons and armor in the same screen. Players from the European faction can choose from a variety of weapons that determine the character’s class. The type of armor that players can choose is dependent on the weapon selected. Players from the Chinese faction have a shorter list of weapons to choose from but are able to equip any type of armor regardless of the weapon selected.

Following the Yellow Bri-errr… Silk Road

Silkroad-R players start their journey in different starting cities depending on the faction selected: Jangan for the Chinese, and Constantinople for the Europeans. Like most MMORPGs, the game features a linear quest system that rewards players with money and experience points while guiding them from one area to the next. Quests are the typical "kill X mobs" and "collect X items from mobs," which may sound easy, but Silkroad Online is infamous for its quests that have players killing a ridiculous number of mobs. Sadly, Silkroad-R is no different and quests only get more tedious as players progress through the game.

As an anti-botting measure and to deter gold farmers, Silkroad-R developers have completely removed gold drops until Level 70. Instead, players are given tokens to exchange for potions and equipment. The tokens become useless after Level 70, though. Players are also rewarded with a complete set of weapons and gear once they reach certain levels. The experience points required to level up were also reduced as part of the update. This makes leveling just a bit easier, but still requires a lot of effort and play time, much like the original game. Party experience was also improved, giving players more bonus experience when part of a party.

Mastering the Art of Combat

In Silkroad-R, like most MMORPGs, players are rewarded with skill points every time they level up. Players can use these skill points to increase their mastery level in any of the available skill trees. Reaching certain mastery levels unlocks the ability to learn skills. Skills, in turn, can be learned by allotting additional skill points.

Silkroad-R gives players the freedom to learn skills in all the skill trees as long as they have available skill points. This means that a warrior can also learn warlock or cleric skills if they choose to do so. The same is true for the Chinese faction, which allows players to learn skills in any of the Swordsman, Spearman, or Bowman skill trees. This allows players to create character builds that they can tweak to match their own particular playstyle. Mastery levels, however, are limited to twice the player’s level. For example, a Level 25 warrior can only reach a total of 50 mastery levels in all the skill trees combined, regardless of the skill points he has remaining.

It’s a Crazy World Out There

Unlike other MMORPGs, where PvP is fought between factions, Silkroad-R players are given the option to play as thieves or hunters after creating their characters. Unfortunately, the choice is account-wide and players will either have to pay 10 million gold or create a new account if they want to try another job. Players can start job quests from their respective NPCs found in both Jangan and Constantinople. Players must wear their respective job outfits to earn job experience points when killing mobs. Players can earn job and normal experience points while on regular quests as long as they wear their job outfits hunting mobs. Reaching certain job levels awards players with skills, items, and mounts which they can use to complete succeeding jobs quests faster. Players above job Level 40 can be attacked by players of the opposing faction when going on job quests.

Checking Out the View

Silkroad-R features the same graphics, animation, and sound as the original game. It’s basically the same game with a few minor updates. For a game that’s almost a decade old, the graphics are pretty decent and even rivals some of the free-to-play MMORPGs recently released. The character models and animations, while not really amazing, are pretty solid. The background music is forgettable but Silkroad-R’s sound effects can still be comparable to most modern MMORPGs since they haven’t really changed much in the past few years.

Money Matters

Like most free-to-play MMORPGs, Silkroad-R also allows players to purchase premium weapons, equipment, and character boosts, as well as a variety of cosmetic gear from a cash shop. Premium gear purchased from the cash shop gives players willing to shell out cash an advantage over free players, but not enough to break the game. Players can also purchase costumes for their characters through the avatar mall. These costumes, however, are purely cosmetic.

Final Verdict – Good

Silkroad-R is ultimately the same game as Silkroad Online with a few minor improvements. Why the devs decided to release a whole new game instead of a patch is beyond me. Even with the experience changes, it still takes forever to reach the level cap, which can be quite frustrating. The game’s quests involve a whole lot of grinding, which makes leveling a monotonous and arduous affair. While the game is still plagued by botters, the removal of gold drops in the early stages has drastically improved the in-game economy. Over-all, Silkroad-R is a pretty solid game with a sizable player-base and will probably still appeal to fans of the original game. New players, however, would probably be better off investing their time in the more modern MMORPGs out there.

Screenshots

Silkroad-R Screenshots

Videos

Silkroad-R Videos

Playlist: Silkroad-R

System Requirements

Silkroad-R System Requirements

Minimum Requirements:

Operating System: Windows XP / 2000 / Vista / 7 / 8
CPU: Pentium 3 800 MHz or better
Video Card: GeForce 2 / ATI Radeon 9000
RAM: 256 MB
Hard Disk Space: 4 GB

Recommended Requirements:

Operating System: Windows XP / 2000 / Vista / 7 / 8
CPU: Pentium 4 2.4 GHz or better
Video Card: GeForce FX 5600 / ATI Radeon 9500
RAM: 512 MB
Hard Disk Space: 4 GB

The official System Requirements for Silkroad-R should be identical to the system requirements for Silkroad Online, as the two run on the exact same engine.

Music

Silkroad-R Music & Soundtrack


Additional Info

Silkroad-R Additional Information

Developer: Joymax
Composer: SoundTeMP

Closed Beta Date: December 6, 2011
Open Beta Date: December 15, 2011

Development Background

Silkroad-R, aka Silkroad Rebirth, began development in mid-2010 as an alternative version of the incredibly popular Silkroad Online game. Prior to being named Silkroad-R, the game went by the name "Silkroad F.G.T.," which stood for Silkroad Focus Group Test. Silkroad-R was released on January 18, 2012, but the original Silkroad Online game launched in 2006. The game runs on the exact same engine as the first Silkroad Online game with the only difference between the two being minor gameplay differences. The two games run concurrently and Joymax has promised to support both, with a third version of the game - Silkroad-W (Browser-based Silkroad Online) coming soon. Each of these three variants of the original Silkroad Online game will be updated and run separately. Silkroad Online and Silkroad-R are published globally through Korean-based developer Joymax. There are no IP restrictions for the game.