Age Of Wushu is a f2p sandbox PvP-oriented Martial Arts MMORPG developed by Snail Games, hugely successful in China and currently in beta for the western world. It takes place in ancient China during the Ming dynasty, and players must master techniques from various schools of martial arts to protect themselves and forge their destiny in the....
No really, what is AoW?
Star Wars Galaxies + EVE Online, set in China, with Kung-Fu styles/schools instead of Jedi/Bounty Hunter/etc. You can PK anybody, kidnap players and sell them to the black market + Show Spoiler +
When you log out, your character wanders around the world like an NPC doing various jobs. Offline players can be kidnapped and sold for in-game currency to shady dealers
Schools:
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You can choose from one of eight schools, but you have the ability to eventually learn every skill in the game regardless of your starting class.
Shaolin
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Shaolin are warrior monks who have given up their life posessions in order to become spiritually at balance with themselves and to learn the arts of shaolin kung fu. They specialize in Palm and Staff style combats, consisting of huge damage output and an impressive toolkit of AoEs, stuns, knockdowns and knockbacks.
Long Style Boxing: This is their primary PvP set, a Palm style that consists of AoE stuns, knockdowns and a very powerful charged knockback. It has strong combo capabilities and is easily capable of shutting down small groups for short periods of time.
Bhodidharma's Stick: This Staff style specializes in doing AoE damage and being the most annoying Shaolin set, juggling enemies in the air with short-cooldown knockbacks.
Weutuo Stick Skill: The most damaging set, this Staff style focuses on a single target with amazing charge capabilities, but gives up a lot of versatility for pure output.
Long Style Boxing: This is their primary PvP set, a Palm style that consists of AoE stuns, knockdowns and a very powerful charged knockback. It has strong combo capabilities and is easily capable of shutting down small groups for short periods of time.
Bhodidharma's Stick: This Staff style specializes in doing AoE damage and being the most annoying Shaolin set, juggling enemies in the air with short-cooldown knockbacks.
Weutuo Stick Skill: The most damaging set, this Staff style focuses on a single target with amazing charge capabilities, but gives up a lot of versatility for pure output.
Wudang
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Residing in the Wudang Mountain range, members of this sect ascribe to the tenets of internal balance. Using Single Sword and Double Sword styles, Wudang incorporate buddhist and taoist teachings to form a defensively dominating style that can drain opponents and make themselves impossible to kill.
Taiji Sword: This Single Sword style is the Wudang's most defensive, focusing on single-target damage and large Rage attacks while being nearly impossible to kill. They are capable of trading out their health and internal force, as well as regenerating internal force at will.
Yin Yang Sword:
Breeze Sword:
Taiji Sword: This Single Sword style is the Wudang's most defensive, focusing on single-target damage and large Rage attacks while being nearly impossible to kill. They are capable of trading out their health and internal force, as well as regenerating internal force at will.
Yin Yang Sword:
Breeze Sword:
Emei
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Considered one of the 'Three Large Doors' of Wushu, the Emei is a sect that only accepts female practicioners. Through the use of Dagger, Palm and Double Dagger style, Emei are masters of retaliation, punishing enemies by draining them, knocking them down and finishing them off with a single lethal blow.
Rosy Cloud Stab: This Dagger style is their defensive "turtle" style, punishing opponents by draining away their internal power, leaving them useless in combat.
Golden Diamond Soft Palm: Focusing on ranged, this Palm style slows opponents and knocks them down, while giving the Emei crazy amounts of damage reduction.
Departing Sting Manual: The most popular style, this Double Dagger "berserker" style builds stacks of buffs to unleash damage that can kill players in a single slash.
Rosy Cloud Stab: This Dagger style is their defensive "turtle" style, punishing opponents by draining away their internal power, leaving them useless in combat.
Golden Diamond Soft Palm: Focusing on ranged, this Palm style slows opponents and knocks them down, while giving the Emei crazy amounts of damage reduction.
Departing Sting Manual: The most popular style, this Double Dagger "berserker" style builds stacks of buffs to unleash damage that can kill players in a single slash.
Scholars
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Good-guy smartypants, similar to Wudang in appearance.
Strong AoE (spin2win). Single-sword.
Strong AoE (spin2win). Single-sword.
Beggars
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No matter where you come from, there will always be beggars. The Beggars' Sect is a school devoted to taking in poor people and teaching them the ways of kung fu to defend China from outside invaders. Using Stick and Palm styles, beggars brutalize their opponents with knockbacks and air denial, while turning any battle hilarious by spitting alcohol in their faces and getting them drunk.
Crying Stick: The most infamous of the Beggar styles, this Stick style focuses on becoming increasingly more drunk as the Beggar fights. Using this style, a Beggar is capable of spewing wine into the faces of their enemies and rendering them too drunk to fight, as well as snare them and drain their internal force.
Lotus Palm: Widely considered to be their most effective style, this Palm style is a Beggar's most direct combat style. Utilizing several knockbacks, this style will keep opponents in the air and primed for a brutalizing aerial groundslam.
Spirit Snake Stick: This Stick style utilizes poisons and toxins to give Beggars an upperhand in dungeon combat. Using a combination of knockdowns and poisons, a Beggar is capable of quickly stacking poisons on large groups of enemies to clear a room fast.
Crying Stick: The most infamous of the Beggar styles, this Stick style focuses on becoming increasingly more drunk as the Beggar fights. Using this style, a Beggar is capable of spewing wine into the faces of their enemies and rendering them too drunk to fight, as well as snare them and drain their internal force.
Lotus Palm: Widely considered to be their most effective style, this Palm style is a Beggar's most direct combat style. Utilizing several knockbacks, this style will keep opponents in the air and primed for a brutalizing aerial groundslam.
Spirit Snake Stick: This Stick style utilizes poisons and toxins to give Beggars an upperhand in dungeon combat. Using a combination of knockdowns and poisons, a Beggar is capable of quickly stacking poisons on large groups of enemies to clear a room fast.
Tangmen
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Tangmen are a mysterious sect run by the Tang Family, a group of assassins who specialize in highly toxic contact poisons. Specializing in Daggers and Hidden Weapons, Tangmen are the most reviled school in the game for their ability to utterly kill at range or demolish opponents with single target damage.
Golden Snake Sting:This Dagger style focuses on single target damage, using ranged stuns and speed boosts to keep out of danger, while closing in for the kill with a powerful Rage.
Vertigo Dart: This Hidden Weapon style is the Tangman's most infamous style, using entirely ranged attacks to break blocks and kill targets. Tangmen are fully capable of moving while attacking, making them extremely difficult to chase down and kill in this style.
Shadow Chasing Sting: This Dagger style is mainly PvE. It uses poison clouds to damage enemies while increasing teammates' dodging and damage, while having decent damage output and an AoE finisher.
Golden Snake Sting:This Dagger style focuses on single target damage, using ranged stuns and speed boosts to keep out of danger, while closing in for the kill with a powerful Rage.
Vertigo Dart: This Hidden Weapon style is the Tangman's most infamous style, using entirely ranged attacks to break blocks and kill targets. Tangmen are fully capable of moving while attacking, making them extremely difficult to chase down and kill in this style.
Shadow Chasing Sting: This Dagger style is mainly PvE. It uses poison clouds to damage enemies while increasing teammates' dodging and damage, while having decent damage output and an AoE finisher.
Royal Guards
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The Royal Guards are the secret police whom serve the Emporer and follow his instructions to rid the world of all martial artists. They are adept at chasing people down and preventing them from fleeing with the use of Chains or their Eagle Claw style. They are also able to put out reliable DPS using their Sword style.
Soul Chasing Claw: A long-range Chain style that relies on stunning their opponents or pulling them towards them.
Eagle Claw: A Palm style mainly used for PvE due to their ability to put life steal on an enemy. They also can life steal for themselves, chase others down, and have several knock downs with a powerful followup attack.
Soul Losing Blade: This Sword style is mainly melee with a reliable ranged DPS ability. The majority of this style is based around being able to disable their opponent by knocking them down.
Wanderer's Valley
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Lead by a doomed man, a headmaster destined to die of poison at the age of 40, the Wanderer's Valley is a school dedicated to taking from everyone what was denied to them. Utilizing Palm, Twin Blade and Twin Dagger styles, Wanderers mix in lethal poisons and flesh-eating insects they breed in the flesh of their arms.
Wind-Catching Blade: This Twin Blade style specializes in keeping enemies locked down with Shock, unable to use abilities or block for 5 seconds. It can also knock enemies back from a large range and has a very strong ranged DPS attack.
Bone Corrosion Palm: Dealing a mix of single target and AoE damage, this Palm style disables enemies, throwing down fields of stunning poison and firing off short-range cone attacks and debuffs. This style mainly focuses on being a punishing PvP group style.
Perish Blade: Dealing mainly in AoE damage, this Twin Dagger style reduces their health drastically to increase their damage two- or three-fold. They inject themselves with poisons to increase damage by 100%, add lifesteal or increase movement speed.
Wind-Catching Blade: This Twin Blade style specializes in keeping enemies locked down with Shock, unable to use abilities or block for 5 seconds. It can also knock enemies back from a large range and has a very strong ranged DPS attack.
Bone Corrosion Palm: Dealing a mix of single target and AoE damage, this Palm style disables enemies, throwing down fields of stunning poison and firing off short-range cone attacks and debuffs. This style mainly focuses on being a punishing PvP group style.
Perish Blade: Dealing mainly in AoE damage, this Twin Dagger style reduces their health drastically to increase their damage two- or three-fold. They inject themselves with poisons to increase damage by 100%, add lifesteal or increase movement speed.
(Credit to the SA thread for these descriptions.)
Life Skills (Crafting)
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As with most sandbox games, a plethora of crafting is available. All gear is player-crafted, and the market is entirely player-driven.
Gathering:
Mining, Hunting, Farming, Woodcutting, Fishing
Production:
Tailoring, Chef, Poisonmaker, Blacksmith, Craftsman. Herbalist,
Social:
Musician, Weiqi (Go) player, Calligrapher, Painter
Market:
Beggar (this is hilarious by the way), Divinator (fortune teller)
Combat:
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AoW has a rock-paper-scissors based combat system consisting of Blocking, Attacking, and Feinting. Every style of martial arts has different skills in these categories.
Combine this with air-dashes, ground-dashes, walking up walls and across water; you have a very complex system in a deceptively simple package.
Here are some videos to illustrate what a typical duel will look like:
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Videos
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Links
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This post will be updated with more information in the near future.
Additional information can be found at:
http://www.ageofwushu.com/