Gamania Entertainment, Taiwan’s MMO bigwig, has launched the Sneak Peek Beta for its latest English MMO, Lucent Heart, just a few hours ago. Invited to try out the game, I decided to do sort of a full report of my adventure during the initial levels. Do note that the game is not even in Closed Beta yet, some features will change throughout the launch preparation process.
Character creation is a simple affair, with the standard options of the facial look, hairstyle and hair color. Upon entering the D.O.B (date of birth), your horoscope and character model will appear. Since one of the game’s main focus is on horoscopes, it is important to choose properly. For example, those under the Taurus sign, have natural abilities leaning towards a Priest class. And as for the “Idol name”, it is just a Password Recovery name you will need to enter sometimes to verify the account’s ownership.
When entering the inventory or cash shop the first time upon logging into the game, players will be prompted for a password. This will be the password set when creating your character.
There is a Gift Box given to aid players, and it can be opened upon reaching every new level, providing equipments, potions etc.
The navigation here is pretty convenient too, as there is auto-path to all NPCs and quest related mobs. However, the system is not without its minor flaws. We will talk about the cons down below.
The horoscope system, which can be seen in-game here. There are items which will help players to gain additional “star” for the stats.
Players will get their first taste of instanced dungeon when doing their first class change quest at level 10. Players are not obliged to clear the whole dungeon for this quest, hence they are able to solo.
Although a Taurus is more suitable to be a Priest, I decided to go with a unique Phalanx Archer anyway, a mixture of a warrior and a rifleman. The only other time I saw this class was in Luna Online. Somehow, I wished there is no need for replenishing bullets…
Through the Gift Box, a wolf card was received. It is a simple “pet” system, as players just need to click on the card and summon the wolf. No feeding is required!
Items cannot be dropped in Lucent Heart. Once dragged out of the inventory, players have an option to destroy the item.
Phalanx Archer, a really powerful class for the initial levels as he tends to 1 hit-KO mobs 2 levels below him. That is possible once the shooting stance is activated. I was having a fear that my character wouldn’t be able to move when using the stance, but only movement speed was decreased and I can opt out of the stance anytime i want.
Before I forget, the matchmaking or Cupid system in Lucent Heart. Touted as a “Dating MMO”, this feature allows players of different in-game gender to pair up and reap bonus benefits. The age range seems to be a little… too broad :3
Now, about the pros. I am glad to see a party search feature in the game, which is missing in most games even for new releases. The game is made interesting through the horoscope system, and of course the cupid matchmaking system for its various bonuses. Some cons, or minor flaws, will be that in the map UI, the NPCs should be more properly named. I had a hard time finding the skill master again after forgetting his name initially, making me talk to every NPC I can find near the town square. And there is no “jump” function. While some may say it is a really mediocre absentee, I am used to press the spacebar to jump while walking in WASD mode. Playing in the 1920 x 1080 resolution mode, the text can get pretty small. The current Sneak Peek client is also dogged with some translation errors.
With all the above, the Sneak Peek for Lucent Heart isn’t really dogged with horrible errors disrupting players’ progress of the game. If you are looking to play a less “serious” MMORPG, Lucent Heart will be the one to try once released. For more information about the game, you can download the Quick Reference Guide here. There is currently no Closed Beta date available. Stay tuned for more news!
