Personally I don’t play a lot of games, but when someone recommend a game to me, it makes me want to play it. This was also the course of events that led to me playing the Japanese game Innocent World, which was translated to the European MMORPG-game Auro Kingdom from the Taiwanese developer X-Legend. The game is full of things you’d expect from a typical MMO, different classes to fight and help people with, a lot of quests and a lot of crafting possibilities to name a few.
The story
The story’s main focus is an Envoy of Gaia, a chose none who gains possession of the Cube of Gaia to be able to call on Eidolons and in this way help protect the world of Aura Kingdom Innocent World. One day this unfortunately fails. The Envoy feels that things aren’t going well and turns against the other Envoys of Gaia. He pits monsters against humans and curses some of the Eidolons. Many people now call him the Demon King. It’s up to you to help the group of good Envoys, get back the enchanted Eidolons and lead the world into an era of peace. Are you up for this task or will the monsters be too much for you to handle?
Characters
In this game you create your own character and get the opinion of fully adjusting this character to your own taste. Hairstyle, hair color, eyes, eye color, skin color, a name and, of course, a class are the options that will take you some time to decide on. There are some 13 different classes you can chose from, classes for close of ranged combat and classes that are skilled in magic and healing. Some classes offer the possibility to give others special powers, like a full life bar or increased strength. There are also four different companions, Eidolons, to choose from in the beginning. Two of which are good at healing, which comes in handy if you are playing with a close ranged class and the other two of course have a higher DPS (Damage per second). While you play the game you can acquire new Eidolons. Gaining a level is traditionally done by completing quests and this is no different in Auro Kingdom Innocent World. These quests can vary from killing a certain kind of animal to defeating bosses, or even traveling to different dimensions. This way you learn a lot about the world around you, but you also gain a lot of information on certain NPCs (Non-Playable Characters). This information you should memorize, because chances are you have to go back to a specific person at one point or another.
Eidolons
As mentioned before, you get to choose between 4 kinds of Eidolons:
Serif
Serif is an angel that can fly. He does a lot of single target damage, but can’t heal.
Merrile
This anime-like goddess is good at healing, but doesn’t do much damage in a fight.
Alessa
The unicorn of the group. Alessa does a lot of damage, but can’t heal.
Grimm
The last of the starter Eidolon is Grimm, a small dragon. Grimm is good at long range combat because he can shoot fireballs.
Eidolons also get spawned in the game. When you fight them you get the chance of acquiring a key that will enable you to call on the Eidolon the key belongs to. Another way of getting Eidolons is by finding key fragments, so you can put together a key. This does take a long time, because you only get key fragments during special occasions like an event (For instance an Aura Kingdom Innocent World quiz or special battles) and if your character has a high level. There are a lot of different Eidolons with different abilities, so I would definitely recommend collecting as many as you can!
Quests
Quests are of course the most important way to gain a level and that is why Auro Kingdom Innocent World has all the ingredients needed to not only make these quests fun and challenging, but also to be able to keep up with them. There is a questlist on the right side of the screen and a questlog for your party. A nice little extra is if you click on the name of an open quest your character immediately starts running towards it. This is something you don’t get to see in every MMORPG and makes navigating a lot easier.
Quests are marked with a question mark. You can distinguish between standard quests, which are yellow and daily quests, which are blue. On top of that there are also quests that lead you to specific instances, dimensions you are teleported to for more difficult missions, these are not accessible outside of these quests.
There are a lot of different kinds of quests. They vary from simply walking over to someone or the place where you can find specific items to be able to craft something to quests that require you to do dungeons. Dungeons are instances in which you have to enter with a party of max 5 people or at least 3. The higher your level, the harder the dungeons and crafting will be.
Around level 70 you stop getting new standard quests. So how do you get to level 100? What end-game content exists? Well, if you’ve completed all the normal quests, you can still do extra quests in extra dimensions. Aside from that you can always do dungeons and tag along on daily quests to help people with lower levels. This will be highly appreciated. These are mainly the missions that have to be done with a party. Lastly there are also fame quests. With these you gain Loyalty Points, aside from extra EXP, and specific items to upgrade your armor and sword with.
Dimensions
Navea
Navea is the biggest dimension in all of Auro Kingdom. The entrance to the Church is in Navea and this is the biggest marketplace you can shop (with in-game money) and swap items with other players at. It’s very nice to be able to sell your old armor, outfits and weapons and gain more silver and gold this way so you can buy new clothes and prettier weapons. The Church is the most important location here, because it offers the possibility of traveling to travel to the different dimensions. Aside from all this it is also the home of the Pope, a figure that can provide you with even better weapons and tougher quests when you are around level 40 or higher. Level 60 or higher? Than you can also go to the Skytower, which you’ll enter with a big group of people (often from your guild). In this Raid there are 100 levels, getting tougher as you reach higher levels, but the treasures you can earn also become bigger.
Portskandia
Portskandia is a small village between the ocean and the forest. This is the dimension you start off in. It’s a small fishing-village with few inhabitants that is home to the starter quests. Here you learn a little bit about the story.
Helonia coast
This coast is full of pirates. Here you can learn how to make fireworks and you are thought about the more dangerous aspects of the story of the Auro Kingdom. You get some new clothes for your character here as well, during certain quests, so this location is definitely something to look forward to!
Cresent hill
In Cresent hill you learn the most important features of magic. So pay close attention! Didn’t choose a class with magic? You should still pay attention, because you might just benefit from chosing a secondary magical class at level 40!
Candeo Marsh
Candeo Marsh is dangerous place to be. The monsters will attack you without holding back and you have a high probability of getting your character killed here. So it’s wise to make sure you are strong enough before taking on quests in this area.
Oblitus Wood
In Oblitus Wood the atmosphere isn’t very pleasant. Is this because the woods looks so creepy or are there dark creatures roaming around? Magic used to pile up too much here, which ended with an explosive eruption. This is why the creatures became a lot stronger and have a big desire to kill. Can you clear this area of all the monsters or are you scared of visiting Oblitus Wood?
Classes
Aura Kingdom Innocent World has a lot of different and fun classes. Once you’ve reached level 40 you can also chose a subclass. Pay close attention, because with 2 classes that ‘go together’ you can also get special attacks. This makes the game a lot more interesting.
Guardian
Guardians look like standard warriors. As a Guardian you have a sword and shield, are good at blocking attacks and do a fair amount of damage. However you can’t heal, but this isn’t a necessity with this class.
Duelist
As a Duelist you fight with 2 swords and are very agile. Duelists are specialized in DPS. Become of their quick attacks they are stronger against slower targets, like people with a Guardian or Ravager class. This is a close range class, so watch out for classes that are ranged!
Ravager
As a Ravager you carry a giant axe. You can’t heal, but you are very strong. It’s a fairly fast class and is perfect for single target battles.
Wizard
A wizard carries a staff to cast spells with. As a wizard you’ll be able to do a little bit of healing, but you can also offer support. You can, for instance, give yourself a power up or buff which makes you stronger and faster, but you can also do this for people around you or people in your party. Thanks to these buffs you increase the damage you can do. They are also stackable: if you cast this spell several times after one another a little more strength will be added on every time.
Sorcerer
You possess a big book full of spells, as a Sorcerer and are specialized in dark magic. You are a decent damage dealer and can even heal. This makes this class a strong one.
Bard
As a Bard you have a harp. With the songs you play you can heal others (and yourself). However you don’t do a lot of damage which can make leveling up take a little longer. It’s a good subclass for a lot of other classes and you can pick from a lot of subclasses. It’s mainly a support class.
Grenadier
A Grenadier uses a big canon to blow up its opponents. Their damage is sufficient, but they can’t heal of course. What they can do however, is put down a canon as a temporary turret that focusses on enemies that are nearby.
Gunslinger
The name says it all. This ranged class uses two guns, one in each hand. The fact that they are ranged can work to your advantage. This way you don’t have to get close to your opponent. The damage you do isn’t very high, which is why it can take a while to level up.
Brawler
If you pick a Brawler, then you get claws on your hands as a weapon. You are a real close range fighter. Brawler is, thanks to quick combo’s, a strong class. You can also heal yourself, but you can’t block attacks.
Ranger
This classical class uses bow and arrow and this makes it a long range class. Just like with the Gunslinger, this can work to your benefit because you won’t have to get close to your opponent. As a ranger you can heal and the damage you deal is pretty high with certain attacks.
Ronin
The Ronin is the class that Kirito choses in Sword Art Online. They use a big sword and are the most overpowered class in the entire game. If you chose a Ronin then there’s a big chance of winning and survival. Healing and blocking attacks are not your strong points, but you don’t really need them in this class anyway.
Holy Sword
If you think they sound like a Paladin, then you could be right. Holy Swords use a giant sword that is very strong. Aside from this they are also good at magic. This makes them able to heal, but different than you’d expect from a Paladin, they aren’t good at defending themselves.
Necromancer
Your weapon as a Necromancer is a scythe. You can call upon a number of demons to help you in battle. Because of these helping demons you don’t die very quickly. Your magic is very strong. Just like a Sorcerer you use dark magic.
View and music
The game exists of pretty and bright colors and very good graphics! The animations are pretty and very well done, you can often see the amount of detail that went into this. The music that was made for this game can get a bit annoying, because they keep repeating the same melody. No voice actors were used for this game and I think it wasn’t necessary either. There are a lot of cut scenes, which can get annoying. Luckily you can skip these by pressing on the escape button. They do make the story a lot clearer because they elaborate on the background and reasons for what’s going on.
Conclusion
Aura Kingdom is a fantasy filled game with beautiful graphics, a lot of different dimensions and fun gameplay. It’s very fun to meet people and do new quests. You can play this game for hours on end, it’s very addicting. X-Legend chose not to make the game too difficult for younger players, which can make it a little less fun for people who are a little older and figure out the game quicker. This shouldn’t stop you from playing though. The game is definitely worth the effort. So pick a fun class and explore this world! Have fun!
Title: Aura Kingdom (Innocent World)
Genre: MMORPG
Developers: X-Legend
Publisher: Aeria Games
Rating: 90/100