Zentia is an upcoming MMORPG published by ChangYou US and also the 3rd title in its English portfolio. Developed by Chinese studio, Pixel Soft, the game is coined as a “fairy tale” MMORPG with a delightfully twisted sense of humor. Judging from the various media releases about Zentia, I am for sure convinced that it looks really wacky and fun at the same time!With players dreading the massive number of Asian-themed MMORPGs in the recent market, will Zentia be successful in convincing players that there is much more to the game? Let’s find out.
Q: Hello, I am Fo Po (cinderboy) from OnRPG. Can you kindly introduce yourself to the readers?
A: Hello readers! I am Susan Revelt, the Senior Producer for Zentia.
Q: Zentia will be ChangYou’s 3rd MMORG to be released in the English market. Any thoughts on the company’s Western odyssey so far?
A: ChangYou is a young, thriving company with devoted, experienced, and passionate professionals, a team that knows and loves all different genres of games. We are confident that players will find Zentia to be very immersive and will appreciate the uniqueness that the game has to offer.
Q: Why the decision to bring in Zentia to the English audience?
A: Zentia is a unique game that combines the best aspects of MMORPG play with a humorous environment. A game like Zentia is a rare treasure that merits a global audience.
Q: What role do the players play in the game’s storyline?
A: Players will step into the shoes of one of 22 former immortals who were cast out of the Heavens to clean up the earth. The three immortal brothers who rule the heaven, earth, and underworld had a huge fight. During the fight, the lord of the underworld let loose his demons and other abominations upon the earth.
The lord of the mortal world chooses 22 of his followers to help the immortals destroy the demons, and in the process of doing this task, the followers obtain immortality. However, after the lord of the underworld is defeated, the lord of the heavens is not satisfied with the job the new immortals did. He casts them back to the mortal realm, strips them of their newly acquired immortality, and instructs them to finish the job. If the 22 can get the job done they have a chance to get their immortality back.
Q: Is there any special meaning to the game’s title, Zentia?
A: It’s simply the name of the world, but in particular, its inhabitants prefer to think of the name as it relates to the state of the world before havoc was wrought upon it by the lord of the demons.
Q: How is the learning curve in Zentia like? Will there be a Master-Disciple system or sorts to guide new players?
A: Zentia has a friendly user interface that players can pick up fast. We’ve customized the game to be accessible by gamers of all levels of experience. There is also a very fun master/apprentice program in the game. A special instance is available to Master and Apprentice teams. Masters can also get unique titles and special high level items.
Q: There will be 8 classes in the game, can you briefly describe to the readers what roles do they play in the game?
A: These eight classes have unique abilities which provide balanced gameplay.
Vajra Guardian – Vajra Guardians are the ultimate in staying power and keeping enemy attention. Their high toughness and melee power make them a valuable core member of any team.
Raksha Warrior – Raksha Warriors trade some of the Vajra Guardian’s durability for the ability to do more damage. Though not as specialized as their counterpart, they can still take a beating.
Blade Warden – Blade Wardens are expert sword wielders. They are skilled with them in melee, but can also summon and hurl swords made of lightning or ice.
Master Summoner – Master Summoners are even more versatile than Blade Wardens, though they also have a lack of focus. Their summoned allies can damage enemies while they themselves join in melee combat, stay back and use ranged attacks, or even heal their allies.
Fire Mage – Fire Mages possess a singular focus and possess the highest single-target damage skills in the game. They can burn down a single target quickly but should be wary of tougher enemies or groups of enemies.
Stormlord – Stormlords deal less damage than Fire Mages but specialize in lightning skills that can shock several targets at once. They hurt groups more than the other classes, but their damage potential is wasted against a single foe.
Divine Enchanter – Divine Enchanters possess attacks, but their true strength is making their allies stronger. They can heal them, raise their attributes, and even revive them if they fall.
Dark Revenant – Dark Revenants can heal and enhance their allies, but they trade off some of this ability for shadowy power that lets them hurt and otherwise hinder enemies. Though they are still in a supporting role, they take a more aggressive stance.
Q: Will gaining experience points in Zentia be based more on questing or PvE?
A: That will be up to the player. It is possible to get through most of the levels by questing alone. It is also possible to explore the environment and gain experience from demons and other abominations scattered over the land. If you really want to put in minimal effort, it is possible to dance your way through the level by auto- following one of the dancing NPCs.
Q: How will players be able to upgrade their characters upon reaching a new level?
A: Each new level brings attribute and resistance points to be assigned to the stats of the user’s choice.
Q: Will there be any instances for players to group up and conquer?
A: There are so many instances in Zentia. The first really HUGE one that players will encounter is the Heavenly Test. The Heavenly Test is triggered when the first player reaches level 40, level 60, level 80 etc. Each section of the test culminates in an epic raid to open up the next 20 levels of content. I recently participated in the level 40 Heavenly Test during closed beta.
It took us nearly 5 hours to fight our way to the top of the mountain. It was one of the best raids I have ever participated in. Even after the next 20 levels of content are opened up players can still do the Heavenly Test raid for the previous level assuming they can prove themselves worthy through a series of quests.
Q: I read about the unique mounted PvE, where up to 10 passengers can be on the mount at the same time. How does this system work?
A: Most of the monsters that players encounter can be captured. Some of the monsters can be trained as pets, and a few special ones can be trained as mounts. Depending on the type of mount, 1 to 10 players can ride on it. A fox or donkey seats one passenger, wolves and bears seat up to two, a treant can seat three, etc., all the way up to the dragon that seats up to 10 players.
Mounts continue to level up as the player rides them. With each level the mount can learn new skills. Some mounts can even fight while the player is mounted. The fox can shoot flaming birds out of its mouth, the deer shoots a laser type beam out of its eyes and the dragon can be trained to shoot fire.
Q: What role will pets play? Will the pets be just an eye-candy?
A: Pets provide passive buffs to players. After a monster is successfully caught, it is then re-hatched into a pet. Upon hatching, the new pet will have a specific set of attributes. Each attribute can have a random value within each type of pet. These attributes will give players buffs. The higher the base attribute the better the buff the pet gives.
Q: In every MMORPG, there is bound to be a guild feature. Can you tell us about some of the advantages of creating or joining a guild?
A: You get your own city complete with a warehouse and NPCs that act as quest hubs for guild members only or give extra gifts for leveling. There is a guild tree that can provide gifts on a daily basis, guild only instances, and guild officers get added HP and a special guild aura.
Q: Are there any other unique or special features that you would like to share with the readers?
A: There are many unique features in Zentia, but one of them is the Jail System which has never been done in an MMORPG. In many areas in Zentia, forced PVP is not possible; however, in a PK area, if another player kills you, it is possible to report the player to an NPC judge. If the judge determines that you indeed were wronged, a warrant for the arrest of the other player will be issued. This means that if the offending player shows up in any town, the captors will come for him, beat him up, and throw him in jail.
The sentence for griefing is one hour of logged-in game time. If waiting for the offender to show up in town seems like an insufficient punishment, players can buy “wanted posters” from a local warden officer. The offending players name is automatically announced; the player turns red and is forced to accept any and all pvp challenges. Players who kill a red criminal are eligible for justice rewards.
Q: Are there any upcoming events you can share with the readers?
A: Early Access Beta began on Aug. 16th at 4pm PST. No key will be required to enter the game, and there will be no character wipe between Early Access and Open Beta. We hope that your readers will enjoy a chance to get a head start before the mad rush of Open Beta.
Q: With regards to players complaining about the number of Asian-themed MMORPGs flooding the Free-to-Play market, what will you say to encourage them to give Zentia a shot?
A: Zentia offers unique gameplay, numerous and in-depth features that no other MMORPGs have done before. We spent a lot of resources during development on marketing research, testing, and getting feedback from the community to create a game that offers gamers an experience unlike any other. Zentia has humor, freedom of control in the virtual world, endless quests, competitive PvE and PvP systems, a friendly UI, and all of this absolutely free for players!
Q: Thanks for your time!
A: Thank You! It is always a pleasure to talk to OnRPG.
