Different towns have distinctive, culturally influenced environs.
Making a Name in Midgard
... Jumping into the world of Ragnarok Online is as simple as heading to Gravity's site for the game, creating a user account, and downloading the rather sizable client software.
Once installed, fire up the game, log in, and you're presented with three empty character slots that will, of course, house the characters you're about to create. These three characters don't form a party, as you might expect. Rather, they exist independently of each other in the gameworld and can only be played one at a time.
After you come up with a name for a character and pick from a wide assortment of hairstyles, you're shown a hexagonal control with which you can set the starting attributes of your character. Each point represents a standard RPG-style stat--vitality, agility, dexterity, luck, intelligence, and strength. Moving a corner of the hexagon toward one stat detracts an equal amount from the stat directly opposite it. Of course, you're only given a limited number of stat points to draw from, so once you've distributed them to your taste, you can confirm your character's creation and begin the game.
This is a red herb. This caption would have been humorous and clever but for our political correctness considerations.
....Once you've made your first character in Ragnarok Online, the game randomly deposits you in its training area or right in the middle of one of its six towns. In the training grounds, you proceed into a small building that will be identifiable by the incredible horde of people crowded inside. Once you make your way to the host, you'll receive some zeny (the game's currency) and relevant tutorial information to get you started. Strangely, the training grounds are not the default starting location for all new characters. The first three characters created by the author were all made to bypass the grounds and simply start off in town. A fourth character, however, did start in the training area. If you're new to Ragnarok Online, it might be worth your while to make new characters until you're sent to the tutorial area. ....For characters who spawn in one of Midgard's towns, the real game begins immediately. Ragnarok Online plays very similarly to Diablo in that you simply click where you want to walk, click on other characters to interact with them, and click on enemies to attack them. In short, click on everything of interest. You'll find that Midgard is a busy world, with people rushing back and forth around you, merchants selling their wares on street corners, and a general sense of activity everywhere. All new characters begin with a simple knife and clothing equipped and are, of course, very weak compared with experienced players. The first order of business, then, is to head outside the town and get to killing some monsters to earn money and improve your character's stats.
Combat in Ragnarok Online is about like you might expect--again, it's very Diablo-esque. Roaming around the plains outside town, you'll notice scores of other players attacking non-player monsters, and the easiest thing to do is find a relatively uncrowded area of the field and simply make like the natives. The most basic monster is the poring, which closely resembles Dragon Quest's famous slime. Set about killing porings, and you'll eventually gain the experience necessary to raise your levels. Your base level determines your hit points and lets you raise the six basic stats, while your job level determines which new character classes you can change to. There are plenty of other monsters in the field besides porings, of course, and as you grow stronger you'll be able to take them all on.
