Because they presented me with what could have been, or was, on the official server-like a tangible thought experiment. In one sense private servers did harm my perception of the game. But it wasn’t the Ragnarok Online I cherished. Because Gravity’s edition of RO emphasizes a progression system running counter to my desires-one tuned to be familiar to the massive MMORPG player base. And after years of server hopping I tried playing the official server and was bitterly disappointed. Each jump was a novelty, rejuvenating my passion for Ragnarok Online’s universe. Each one had their own experience rates, level caps, items, grind spots, and gameplay emphasis (whether it was grinding MVP bosses or the War of Emperium). But private servers have their own rules and ours doubled vanilla experience rates, making the grind tolerable (but still a struggle to level from 1 to 99).Īfter our server shut down I migrated to dozens of private Ragnarok Online servers, like a digital nomad without a homeland. Leveling from 1-10 required the slaughter of an entire Poring nation, a traumatic experience after my novice boots were covered in kawaii goop. I am not versed in law or the complex nature of copyright, and to present a legal discussion here would be a waste of time.Īs a kid I couldn’t play on Ragnarok Online’s official server, not only because my parents faith in credit card internet security was nonexistent but because the official experience rates were painful. I’m not concerned about the hastily skipped EULA’s or TOS’s in pursuing this question. I wanted to know whether server emulation ultimately harms or benefits the games they emulate. Or, zealous players start their own server because they dislike a title's direction after the latest patch. But the games live on through fan-managed networks. Lately, companies have had to shut down their servers due to high costs and saturated competition.
Were we wrong for playing in our world, defying the edicts of the Terms of Service none of us understood? It’s a debate that continues. And I’m convinced that if it weren’t for that private Ragnarok Online server I would never have taken part in the genre.īut the server ran in defiance of Gravity’s sanctioned network.
I never did, but it’s an experience I cherish. A friend hosted a private server from his basement, where we each competed to see who could grind the most Bathory’s and reach level 99. But we didn’t slaughter porings together on Gravity’s official server. A brand new Dell Pentium II one Christmas finally let me join my friends in Ragnarok Online. Thanks to debilitating internet speeds and a 4GB hard drive I arrived late to the MMORPG scene.
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