Status: Final
Official Site: http://www.playrf.com

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RF Online (Rising Force) Overview and Features:

RF Online is an epic mix of traditional fantasy MMOG mixed with unique futuristic sci-fi action to bring an entirely new and original take on the existing MMORPG genre. Set in a deep space galaxy known as Novus, take your pick from three all-powerful waring factions leading your character into the final battle for total control over the entire Novus galaxy. Chose from either the Bellato Union, taking control of individual robot battle units like never seen before within any MMOG, Holy Alliance Cora, the mystical and fantasy orientated race utilising the power of magic and finally the mighty Accretia Empire, a futuristic alien race intent on spreading destruction across the entire sector with their advanced weaponry systems.

-The Races:
• The Accretian Empire follows a totalitarian regime where goals are for the Empire, a thought that is embraced by its followers. There is no feeling when it comes to the destruction of other races and for good reason, for the Accretia are a race of mechanised units with a materialistic thinking. The Accretia are proud to be the strongest and most formidable race in the galaxy, and are proud of the huge weapons they have created to kill men, women and all things living. Their need to expand to the further reaches of the universe to become even stronger is paramount and a key driving force to their being. This has inevitably led them to the Planet Novus and the arcane civilisations it plays home to.

• The Cora Holy Alliance is a spiritual civilisation with a firm belief in religion and the magical arts. Though the history of the Cora has been built on religious wars, which has created multiple states and nations, the country is strongly unified through its core religious beliefs. The Cora people, united as the Holy Alliance, now battle for their survival using the magical powers drawn from their spiritual beliefs, and traditional weapons blessed by their god, Disem.

• The Bellato Union utilise machines and some magic in their culture. Renowned for their great mechanical minds, intelligence and hand-eye coordination, the Bellato can construct huge armoured battle mechs and weapons to use in the war. Though they are physically strong and intelligent, the huge gravitational energies from their home planet have left the Bellato with smaller builds. The Bellato are experienced traders and their financial minds and greed have driven the need to extend out to other planets, to colonize and claim resource. To expand to the rest of the universe, the Bellato have to ensure that the Novus Sector doesn’t fall under the supremacy of the Accretia or Cora. This desire to expand and grow will no doubt leave the galaxy engulfed in turmoil and chaos.

The epic race for supremacy has begun…

As with many MMORPGs, the player will select one race and fight monsters to gain experience points. RFO is populated with many different monsters across many areas.
At the start of the game, a character will be led through an in-game guide of the basic commands for the game. From there, the character will be exposed to a series of quests which will familiarize him with his character’s headquarters. As the character progresses in level, his quests may take him out to aggressive maps, where he will be exposed to the player killing Features of the game.

-Political System

Each race is led by the archon, a person voted into power by their subsidiaries. Below the archon are four councillors. These councillors are determined based on the number of votes received during their run for archonship.

As of Episode 2, Giga 1.5 (Crimson Dawn), four additional councillors were introduced. These four are assigned by the archon.

In addition, each position is granted special abilities to help their race. These abilities range from increases in defense, increases in attack, or affect auras to increase the statistics of racial members around the councilor.

In the event the number of archon aspirants is not enough to populate the council position, the top racial characters will be placed into the vacant council positions by default. Racial standings can be seen by checking with the respective race manager NPCs.

-Economy

The game’s economy can be divided into two parts – production and consumption. The mine is a new field where resources are produced as a part of and in support of economic activity. Mining for minerals and processing the products of these produce many kinds of items. These form the basis for conflict within the mines.

-Chip War

The battle for resources is actualized in an all-out war among the three races termed as Chip War. Chip War happens three times in a day, where the winning race obtains the right to control the guardian of the mines – the dreaded Holystone Keeper.

The war is led by the respective racial leaders, whose goal is to break at least one control chip owned by the opposing race. Once broken, the player who has dealt the last blow on the chip must touch base at the center of the mine caverns, to earn his race an extra 60 minutes of mining time guarded by the Holystone Keeper.

As of Episode 2, Giga 1 (Crimson Dawn), the Holystone Keeper will be vulnerable for 30 minutes after a control chip has been broken. The winning race must defend the guardian, or risk losing his guardianship over players who will opt to mine for resources until the next chip war. In addition, only characters who have been able to obtain a HolyMental Scanner during the battle will be recognized by the guardian as a valid member of the controlling race. Connectivity issues, however, have been seen to cause problems with this new feature.

-Player Killing

Unlike most MMORPGs, RF Online revolves around player killing. Only the racial headquarters, and the settlement towns, are considered as safe areas from enemy races. Player killing comes into play because of the battle for resources between the three races. By default, opposing races members may engage in combat at any point in time on aggressive maps. Same race players may not engage in combat, unless by virtue of an item called the Chaos Potion, or during a special in-race competition called the Guild Circle Zone Scramble, also known as Guild Wars.