Icarus is a mission companion with a fiery soul. And using special skills

Why do I love the game MMO Icarus?

(MMO - Massively Multiplayer Online Game or Massively Multiplayer Online Game),
which very often have the Arpidzhi genre (RPG - role-playing game or role-playing game).

If in 2 words, then:
- Types of spaces (game design).
- Easy to use - not intrusive interface (its minimalism).
- Taming of creatures and their study, flying creatures (there are even dragons).
- Fights on creatures (even in the air).
- Elaboration of the monsters of the game (monsters really look like monsters).

She really ignited in me that feeling of delight from immersion in the world, which for a very long time
not only one MMO brought, the feeling of a pioneer and delight as in a distant childhood.
Like when I first got into MMO Lineage 2... and then the game was not what it is now in most MMOs.

The world was thoughtful. Everything was interesting. And everything was in place and logical.
For example, dark elves could not use light magic. Everything existed according to the canons.
Elves lived in a bright village, Dark Elves underground, and so on, each NPC (non-playable characters) told something from himself and you understood this (game) world, understood who worships what gods and for what, etc.
Now, unfortunately, they don’t make such games anymore, now they chew everything and put it in the player’s mouth.

And sometimes even worse, suddenly a bunch of symbols appear on the map and the game stops explaining to the player what needs to be done, and the player simply does not even know where to start.
In Icarus, we also have linear tasks... and NPCs explain everything to us.
(and there is also good background information in the game,
I really liked the way it is served and how everything is written there).

At the same time, in Icarus everything is done so logically and to the point ... that you enter the game and relax.
You don’t feel like a worker who is being urged on from behind by the authorities, shouting - faster, faster, faster, but this is impossible and that is impossible.

Game history:

MMO that rethought its existence from ICARUS Online v ICARUS 2.0
and it clearly worked to her advantage.
In Europe the game is called Riders of Icarus,
and in the Russian Localization the game will be called simply Icarus ,
all this is probably done in order to further confuse us in the versions of the game.
I don’t know what exactly has changed in the game, since I didn’t play in Korea at that time,
but after that, Icarus soared into the Korean MMO Tops.

And this helped her, because what I see now I really like and I hope the developers of Icarus, namely WeMadeIO will not hit the same apple as Ncsoft,
who turned their unusual game into "the same as everyone else."

But from Indonesian Icarus means True Flow. (joking, maybe not)

But back to our nesting dolls.

What makes Icarus different from everyone else: Revolutions in the MMO genre, The best MMO of all time,
MMO you haven't seen yet, Biggest MMO, Best MMO of 2000, etc.,
and other MMOs with beautiful slogans?

Its most important difference it is made with heart.
It can be seen that the developers tried. She is meticulous in the details.
What really makes it possible to enjoy it, for me personally, for sure.
And most importantly, she does not try to present something of her own by reinventing the wheel, but very successfully uses familiar elements.
She does not create her own "new" opportunities, which are simply added for volume, without hesitation.
about where they are needed and how much to add them, the most important thing is to have it.
It's good when the best is taken in the game, but not many developers can keep the golden mean in this, there is always a bias, they shout to us about a bunch of opportunities, and then they start introducing a bunch of restrictions ... on the creation of items, on the time in the game, on the number of monsters killed .
All these restrictions are not in Icarus or are not so striking.
Icarus does not shout about a bunch of possibilities, all its possibilities are logical and simple - these are satellites
- and the rest of the mechanics in the game develop from them.
I did not find a single unnecessary element in Icarus that would be added to the game for show.
Of course, there are some restrictions (taming points and time for summoning satellites),
but they are not so radical and give room for maneuver.
And if we are talking about restrictions, it should be noted that in our location it will be prohibited to transfer items and gold between characters directly (due to the fight against the black market).
But the distribution of items when dropped from monsters within the group remains.
It is worth noting that this game is so well thought out that when distributing items, you can choose automatic distribution by character classes, which shows a clear concern for the players, because I have not seen such a function in more than one MMO.

The main advantage of Icarus is that it is intuitive.
This applies to almost everything in the game, from the interface to the monsters.
The developers really tried and did everything
so that the player does not feel out of place.

But let's continue, so we downloaded the game, launched it.

Classes:

How does any modern MMO meet us?
That's right, the class selection window.
Let's start with him.
And it's standard here, and it's even good, but at the same time, pay attention to how well the different elements are located inside the window. How convenient and understandable they are.
And the developer has not yet brought chaos to the game, which is inherent in many MMOs.
Although in Korea, the developers succumbed to the general trend introduced new classes and characters,
but what I liked again - with its share of humor and irony.
But for now, it’s too early for us to talk about it, according to localizers, first we will have a class: Archer, human race.
And only then, all sorts of pretty creatures.
The choice of races is also not great, only people. But this is also more of a plus than a minus.

Personally, I do not always understand why certain races are in the game, especially with all sorts of passive skills that no one will choose anyway.
Because a man is not suitable for a magician, and an elf for a tank, and this rarely affects the result,
at least a little.
The storytelling in modern MMOs does not change from this, we still start in the same village
and we do the same tasks, our attitude towards us does not change from our race, not the plot.
And what I like about Icarus is that it doesn't try to hide these unnecessary elements behind the falseness of features, because upon closer examination, it turns out that the abundance of features only introduces new restrictions that essentially deprive us as players of these features.
The restriction on the choice of classes depending on the gender of the character, I also did not observe.

The developer is not trying to jump over his head and create something that will contain a bunch of everything,
but at the same time it will be absolutely not convenient, overly complicated and quickly tiring
and not interesting, and sometimes simply useless, but in Icarus every
will find a class to his liking: Berserker, Guardian, Assassin, Priest and Mage.
The game is designed for a group and in it, and each class performs its role.
There is even an increase in players for loot and the amount of experience gained in the group.

Next, we get to character customization menu.
Everything is as always in an MMO ... several types of pre-prepared options,
which can be configured as you like, there are about 30 options.
There are plenty of sliders for customizing the face and appearance of the character,
You can create quite nice characters and even more.
Everyone who says that the game is old and there are few settings, come to your senses, the editor has huge possibilities - you either don’t know how to set up or you’re just too lazy, fiddling in the editor for a long time.

played with sliders

Yes, the characters look a little puppet, but this puppetry suits them very well,
this puppetry looks much better than many MMOs with "realistic" graphics.

The only thing I would like to note is the lack of a large number of "decorations"
like tattoos and other things., but there is a more or less standard set and this is already good.
Can customize skin color, eye color, hair color and so on,
quite a standard set of settings.

The body is configured in many ways, this is of course not a very advanced editor,
but height, build, weight, length of arms and legs, etc., are fine-tuned.
(female characters have a little more options in body settings).
There are no kinks in any direction in appearance, the characters do not look porcelain,
but well-designed (including the clothes of the characters are very designer).
The characters don't look like they're made of thin plastic like in Aion or like everything is made of clay like in Tera.
The game also has helmets, which you will agree is a pleasant opportunity to play.

And of course, all MMOs are different in taste and color, everyone likes something different.
But I started with Lineage2 C4, played a lot of MMOs and you know what I'll say?
I haven't seen a better game than Icarus.
You know how they say: "quality is in the details", and I will say petty irritation.
Here is Icarus, for me one of the few MMOs that doesn't annoy me.

If you compare it with Lineage2 - Yes, there are not as many classes, with races, as it was in Lineage2
(6 races and 37 classes are no joke to you, and probably there were even too many of them, and the game should have removed many of the old elements that were in the game, but were not used at the same time. For example, there were skills that, with the growth of the character, simply did not work on ordinary monsters, so why keep them in the game?).

But in Icarus there are no unnecessary skills (at least I did not see them).

About skills

With them, the developer also did not rack his brains, or rather with their receipt.
In ICARUS, skills, both active and passive, are simply given as you level up.
(as in most modern MMOs).
And this is even good, the skills have long ceased to be something outstanding.
But at the same time, the skills worked out, they really look like they should look if they were for real, without unnecessary pathos, but at the same time very clearly.
They are felt, and not just fireworks from the hands of the main characters, they make sense.
But at the same time, there are “talents” in the game with which everything is not so simple:
in short - talents affect your playstyle, and to pump talents,
it is necessary to pump a satellite, insert it into a stone and already pump “talents” with this stone.
Skills can chain sequences.
And in the skill description, the sequence is described very well.
It is not necessary to press 12 combinations one after another, just each skill goes one after another and they can be used both in a complete chain and changing the sequence.
And even these combinations make visual sense.
For example: you pull the monster, throw it up while it strikes in the air with a series of blows,
he falls, he rises, you knock him over again, while he rises you strike,
then you push it away, throw it at it, pull it, knock it over, and so on.

The game provides 3 Target settings

(target - highlighting other characters or monsters in the game, etc.):
Non-Target (Free), Sticky and Classic (Cursor)…
Switching to Target selection is carried out with 1 key, right during the game.
But to change it completely, you need to go to the game settings.
For example, if you are playing in Non-Target and you need to select something with the Cursor.
Just hold down the key and without releasing select the Cursor.
At the same time, when you press a key, some unnecessary notifications or windows do not come out.
Thanks to this, use the interface or write to the chat,
You can while moving the character, which is very convenient.
And what is so rare in new MMOs, and the use is made simple and clear,
which I haven't seen in a long time.
Usually, when a key is pressed, some other actions occur, such as turning the camera and so on,
that knocks down the run or does not allow control of the character.
You can also choose the style (only 2 styles) and the color of the target on the screen.

Monsters, on the other hand, react to the actions of the players, to their skills,
not just standing under the negative effects of our characters' skills,
they fall and rise, are thrown into the air, and when stunned, they tilt their heads, and so on.
That is, while the monster is feeding and rising, time passes (and not just a strip of the duration of the negative effect above the monster's head), throwing it into the air, you "feel" the weight of the monster.
I didn't get the feeling that I was just pressing the keys and the planned sequence of actions was just being carried out.
And magicians, for example, when casting spells, cast them,
no matter how paradoxical it may sound.
I already repeat myself, but I have not had such a feeling for a long time, in other modern MMOs.
They are simple, the monsters stand while the heroes around them flutter around, performing their actions.
And if they do react, then the monsters are so ordinary that it is not felt.
In those MMOs, monsters lack detail. There is no feeling that there is an evil boar in front of you ready to tear you apart, no, you see a cute but big pig.
In Ikarus, the monsters are like Monsters.

Here are some of them:

Show picture

I really liked the level of sophistication
characters and monsters in Icarus - their design, their "return" to the screen.

At the same time, many monsters can be tamed, which will be discussed below (except for humanoid monsters).

Territory design and attention to detail in this design.

Sometimes you raise your head, and there you think - wow, cool. Or just look around.
And I will even say more that in addition to Lineage2,
I haven't had an MMO that has given me such a sense of the integrity of the characters and the world as Icarus.

Having played many MMOs...
Lineage2, Aion, Tera, Blade and Soul, Revelation Online, Rf Online, Perfect World, Skyforge, Neverwinter Online, ArcheAge, Allods Online, World of Warcraft, Guild Wars2, Warframe, Tree of Savior, Dragon's Prophet, FIREFALL and WarFace, Guild Wars2 and Neverwinter Online, ArcheAge and Tera.
I can say with confidence that not one game, except for Lineage2, since it was the first (and at the same time a very well-developed and high-quality game, it’s a pity Ncsoft is no longer the same), did not cause in me such sensations as ICARUS, that feeling as if I had met with this genre for the first time.
They didn’t cause such a “wow” effect on me, except maybe only Guild Wars2 (but it’s all very small) and Neverwinter Online (very cardboard, boxed), Tera was probably the closest,
but she still lacked something.
And judging by my feelings, Icarus managed to immerse me in the same emotions as in childhood.

How natural the terrain looks, how well it feels.
There is absolutely no feeling that it is adjusted according to some formula and everything is where it should be, in a clear ratio.
Everything is absolutely natural. This is the whole game - it is natural, they are intuitive.
But at the same time, it does not copy the real world: this location will be like a desert, this location will be like some other country from the real world.
Maybe there is something in common, there is nowhere to go without it, but it does not catch the eye, as it did in ArcheAge.

ICARUS does not try to invent new mechanics and invent a wheel.
But those elements that she uses are made at the highest level.

Just look at this screenshot of the game.
For example, the path is paved with stone ...

Show picture

And castles look like castles:

Show picture

NPCs all also look different, and also have different clothing designs,
depending on what they are doing.

NPCs view

After we have created our hero.

We go through a small piece of the plot and look intro video, and then we get to the initial location.
(I will not spoil your impression by telling you in more detail).

Let's start with what we see when we enter the game: and this interface.

And it's also very good: it's minimalist, it's comfortable, it's very clear.
It can be moved off the screen, which is a clear plus.
It does not constantly dazzle on the screen, there are no unnecessary glare, futuristic frames near the windows, an extra gradient, and so on.
As for the icons of skills and items in the inventory…
Almost every image of the subject is intuitive.
(the only thing in the image below - some items at the bottom of the inventory are in a white frame (arrows), this is an animation of selection, those items that can be used in the forge, which is open in the center of the image, which is also very convenient).
For sealed items, the seal does not cover the item icon, but is located at the bottom left.
In the game settings, you can adjust the location of the interface, but even by default,
it does not interfere with the gameplay at all.

Show Interface

The only thing is that many elements are authorized when you press the right mouse button, and not the left one,
as we are all used to.
For example, to pull out the chat tab, from the general chat separately to the screen, to the chat name,
right click, hold and drag.

chat separately on the screen

The menu is very delicately located at the bottom right.
It is one-color, does not shimmer, and again, it does not interfere.
There are no deliberately complicated elements in the game interface; everything is done very intuitively,
concise and very smart.
And of course, all interface elements have their own "hot keys", which can also be changed in the game settings.

The fact that new skills are available, as well as new information in the game manuals they indicate buttons ... which, sometimes you just don’t notice - such a non-irritating interface.
All windows that open without your asking carry some information:
for example, it can be a guide, daily rewards.

Store news opens at the bottom right, in a small window that does not overlap other elements and is also not annoying.

Store News

Now let's talk about monsters, pets (companions) in the game ICARUS.

Icarus is generally a game about pets (companions), this is its feature.
Almost all monsters can be tamed as companions
(and ride them or fly them - these are air monsters).

On air satellites, the character will move slowly on the ground.

Further in the story, we will even tame dragons and other feathered living creatures.

Monsters have skills (when acting as a Servant) or skills that buff you (when you're riding your pet), which can be viewed in your companion information.

You can see your satellites

by pressing the Y or H (rus) key.

All satellites can be viewed in (key "B" or Russian "I")

bestiary of companions

To tame some pets, you must meet additional conditions or have special items in your inventory.
And you can also get a companion as a gift by collecting all the previous ones.

To tame, you need to press the "taming" skill to sneak up on the monster, jump (by pressing the space bar) on it (which they teach you to do on assignment, after 10 minutes of the game),

You can also jump on a monster while on your companion (this is how flying satellites are tamed).

Or you can recall a companion with a skill.

When taming after the initial location, taming points start to be spent, so I recommend taming all the companions at the beginning before heading to the spider cave.

The only companions have stamina (yellow bar), which is spent when moving on them or for using skills on satellites (each skill mounted on a satellite consumes the stamina of a satellite) which can be replenished with special potions.
Or for using the accelerated run (flight) on the satellite.

Companions - can be turned into servants,
who will run after you and help in battle (they become a smaller version of the companion) using a special scroll.

Or you can use a special item to turn the soul of a companion into stone
and insert your subject into it, which is done again, in 2 clicks,
which will also enhance your items.
Note that the companion must be at the same level as the stone.

Each companion has its own power-ups that it will use while you are riding it.
The Companion can travel with you and level up.

There are special items (like staff and crossbow for melee and ranged attacks),
which are issued for the first time on missions and are used as items of equipment in combat on horseback. They are perpetual.

And using special skills

riding on a satellite, you can fight.
(both on the driving and on the flying satellite).

There are also companion equipment.
special stone

very conveniently plotted on the radar, different colors in the area where these tasks can really be completed, and not just a circle designation - as in most MMOs.
There is a feeling that you are really in real world and you really marked the card, and not just sent somewhere.

Craft (creation of items from resources).

I also really liked crafting in the game.
Scattered around the world are various resources that the character can collect,
such as: ore, herbs, etc.
Resources are often found on the ground, but when creating items, you need a lot of them. But this is better when you need few resources for crafting, but it takes a very long time to wait for 5 resources to appear on the entire map.
The crafting system is also very simple and I think it's more complicated and not necessary.
We have a recipe scroll that we buy (get on a quest, knock out a monster) and learn the resources that we collect or knock out (tools are not spent) and additional ingredients.
There are 6 types of crafting: Weapons, Armor, Costume Jewelry, Companion Items, Food and Potions.

Also in Russian Localization

item upgrade system changed (forge)

(I will write more about this):

Level up , Synthesis , Awakening , hardening and cleaning .

Level up: with special items (grinding stones), we increase the level of the item to 30.

Things Level 30 can Synthesize (combine) two identical items 30 levels
(or one type: helmet-helmet, gloves-gloves), in one item.
Tempering and Seal Stones are retained, but the level is reset to 1.
Thus, raising the category of the item, higher than it already is:
Common, Elite, Rare, Heroic, and Legendary.

Awakening: almost like a synthesis, but instead of 2 items, "awakening stones" are used, the same category as the level 30 item.

hardening: she's a point. For hardening, "hardening stones" are needed.
There are 3 types of tempering stones: weapons, armor and decorations.
The item category is responsible for how much you can temper (sharpen) your item as much as possible.
(Normal: +5, Elite: +10, Rare: +15, Heroic: +20, Legendary: +25)
On a success: the hardening level increases by +1 one.
On failure: downgraded by -1 one).
To block the level of hardening, during hardening, you must press "Block" and spend, inside the game currency "Elluna" and then, if hardening fails, the level of hardening will not fall.

cleaning serves to reset the type of set to level 30 and the characteristics of the item, the level of sharpening and seal stones will remain, but the level of the item will be reset to 16.

Quests in Icarus

Also easy to read. Scroll comfortably.
And Localized, in an understandable language, the right NPCs speak with the right immersion.
The only thing that is not clear is why the Peasant can give a better reward for the task than at the beginning of the game, but the head of the Royal Guard, for example.
The tasks are also not particularly outstanding, as in any other MMO: we follow the main storyline, at the same time we help NPCs in those places where we find ourselves.
There are beautiful places and a good location of monsters. Yes, and sometimes monsters are not so easy.
It creates its own atmosphere and you feel that you are an adventure, and not the game adapts to you, as in most MMOs, especially in older MMOs.

There is nothing new here, but at least it is readable.
The voice acting of NPCs is also present in Russian. Although personally I am against the voice acting of NPCs ... they do not tell stories, and the voice acting that is present in MMOs is just a waste of "effort" that could be spent by developers writing tasks.

Localization

I would like to note the excellent localization.
As well as understandable and visual, localized training within the game.

open training example

There are also dungeons (or dungeons) in Icarus.
There are several types of each dungeon.
That is, one type of dungeon is designed for passing alone,
and another type of dungeon is a group, but it's the same dungeon.

The group version of the passage also has several levels of difficulty:
Very easy, Easy, Medium, Hard,Very difficult.
It also increases or decreases the chance of items falling out:
Very easy: Probability; Easy:0,35 ; Average:0,75 ; Hard:1 ; Very difficult:1,3 .

Bottom line, about the game: 9/10
+ management.
+ design.
+ sounds.
+ gathering and crafting items.
+ improved items.
+ taming monsters.
+ localization.
+ team play.
+pvp channel in the game, not permanent pvp.

+\- item improvement.

Prohibited transfer of items between players.
-4 free slots for a companion.

These are pets (they are also pets, mounts or companions, the differences are described below) and this guide is mainly for beginners on how to tame mounts, pump them faster and use them profitably.

Pet Taming

So… There are 3 types of pets in this game: ordinary, heroic and epic(these are the ones that require certain conditions in the game to be tamed).

You will simply be taught to tame pets at the first levels, each attempt consumes taming points, which are restored once a day or when you level up, but if you need it now and quickly, you can replenish it for a fee. The chance of taming depends on many indicators:

To tame epic mounts, you need special marks (they are also marks) that need to be crafted, very often both a recipe and resources tags needed for crafting, dropped by mobs that are in the same area as the target pet.

A tamed pet can be saddled with such a pet called a mount, or you can make a separate combat unit out of it, that is, a companion, but for this you will need a special scroll.

Mount upgrade

With recently caught mounts, you can upgrade your talents, you do not need to upgrade your pet for this. The pumping of the mount consists in the time when it is active, that is, in order for the pet to swing, you just need to use it. Naturally, in combat, mounts and satellites swing faster. Ways to speed up the pumping of pets:

purchase of premium;
consumables;
special equipment or gear.

Each pet has a maximum level, but you will not be able to upgrade your mount above the level of your character.

Also, an equally important way of pumping is the passive pumping of pets on the farm. There you expose your companion, and he just swings, and it doesn’t matter whether you are in the game or not in the game.

Use of mounts and combat satellites

The use of pets in the game Ikarus online is very diverse. First, you can use it as a means of transportation on horseback. Secondly, it can be used as a combat companion, but using it in the literal sense will not give much benefit, it is needed to give its owner a useful buff, which is the main purpose of the satellite.

In combat mode, satellites do not live long, they are often placed near the place of hostilities, of course you can use them directly in battle, but as it was written above, this option is meaningless.

You can also use pets for equipment performance improvements and the better the pet, the better and more useful the characteristic will be. To do this, you need to seal the captured mount into stone, and stick the stone into the equipment. A sealed pet can be pulled out of equipment with a special extract. You can also sell it to another player or throw it away.

It will also be useful to improve and develop the talents of your character with the help of sealed mounts, which class is better to pump your talents was written in general class overview. There is also a guide in which there is a table indicating effects of sealed pets, thanks to which you can improve your health, strength, physical or magical attack, defense, dexterity, endurance, etc.

Just as useful in using mounts is the option of sending them on adventures, where this action can be performed on the farm. When sending his pet on a mission, he may bring you some trophies, or he may not bring you, it depends on the pet himself.

In addition to all this, we can collect a collection of pets and get equipment, consumables, tags and skins that make it possible to change appearance mount.

Links to tame mounts

Well, in conclusion of this guide on taming, pumping and using mounts, I want to advise you on additional guides on the detailed taming of certain types of mounts.

In the Icarus Online guide: how to raise your first companion, creating pets, bestiary

How to Raise Your First Companion

The nature of Midlas impresses with its wide selection of mounts and companions. V gaming world you can meet the most ordinary animals and birds, and a huge number of fantastic animals The main thing is to know where they live. In one of our articles, you studied . And today we are ready to share with you information on how to tame your first companion.

To turn your own mount into a pet, you need the mount itself and the pet scroll. Scrolls can be obtained in two ways, knocked out of monsters or received as a reward for quests. Mounts and pets equally have special skills (attacking abilities and defensive ones).

Around the very beginning of the game, at level 6, a quest to create a pet will be available to you.

We advise you not to hesitate and take the quest as soon as possible. You will need to tame a very unusual beast Kengushkan, this is such a mixture of a hare and a kangaroo. As a reward for completing the quest, you will receive a scroll that you can use to make the mount a pet. And this will be your first pet to serve you faithfully.

When you summon your pet, a special panel will open that will allow you to control your companion. For example, you can give the command to go to a certain point (not far) or attack the enemy, provoking him to yourself.

Companions also have passive abilities, they can collect loot for you. Thus, you can focus on passing the dungeon, and not on collecting eternal loot.

Like the mounts pets have their own scale of health and stamina, passive and active skills.

Create pets is one of the most important steps in the hero's journey. Companions will serve you faithfully with their abilities. They diversify the gameplay and add more features.