Last week, Gravity NeoCyon launched its latest mobile game based on the Ragnarok IP in Southeast Asia, Action RO2: Spear of Odin. Just a note that we do not know which countries are including, but at least Singapore and Indonesia are. Action RO2: Spear of Odin first appeared back in 2017, but it took another 3 years before it was officially launched in any region. Many players will ask the question… Is this game any good? Well, let’s find out.
Gameplay
Having just 3 starting classes in any modern MMO sucks, and that is the case with Action RO2: Spear of Odin. While the class advancements somewhat help soften this issue, players won’t likely see classes such as the Merchant in the game since there is no economy or trade to speak of. The dungeon runs are short and filled with uninspired monsters and bosses and fully-linear paths with no surprises, something which I thought could at least be included. Imagine if there are different routes and some leading to dead ends, some leading to sub-bosses, like a real dungeon crawler…
Graphics
The overall 3D graphics is simplistic with underwhelming skill animation effects and even worse 3D models. Gravity NeoCyon should have at least looked at what recent Ragnarok mobile titles (here and here) to at least be on par aesthetically, even if the gameplay is sub-par. We are certainly not asking for graphics on the level of Black Desert Mobile, but surely with modern game engines and technological advancements, it could be done much better as a respected game franchise?
Gacha
The monster card system socketed to equipment parts is something very iconic for the Ragnarok games. While players can still hunt for these cards in Action RO2: Spear of Odin via clearing dungeons and raids, I am appalled by how players can simply gacha for them in 4 convenient categories. I would have been more lenient if it was a single gacha tab, but there are 4 of them, with tabs allowing players to gacha based on equipment parts and elements. While I understand a need to fulfil the whales, I do not see the need to go all out and fulfil their desires and leave others behind. Is this 100% pay to win? You decide.
Other than the monster card gacha, there is equipment gacha as well. This is pretty normal in mobile RPG titles these days, so I shouldn’t shit so much on it. There are just 2 tabs for this gacha.
Costumes
What costumes? Played for over an hour and there isn’t a free costume given. Even the 2017 Closed Beta version had one by level 5!
Overall Thoughts
As readers of MMO Culture know, I never give scores when previewing or reviewing a game, especially if it is free for all to download and try. If there is, Action RO2: Spear of Odin would be closed to the failing grade. It has been 18 years since Ragnarok Online first launched in 2002, but developers are still banking on the IP and introducing crap products like this. There is totally no advancement shown to bring Rangarok to the next level and there is a serious lack of respect for the IP. Heck, even the original game is better than this! While I may shit on Action RO2: Spear of Odin (it is a stupid name), readers with access should give it a try since it is free. It only takes a few seconds to uninstall.
Note: While I understand this is a game taking place in dungeons and not on the open fields, there wasn’t a single Poring to be found in the starting levels. Not one!
