Metin2

Game overview

Released in 2004, Metin2 is a Korean free to play MMORPG that allows players to pick one of three kingdoms to represent as factions, and embark on slow progression journey to becoming a master combat fighter. The game's combo-based action combat is revolutionary for its time, making open world fighting a pleasure especially against waves of enemies.

When it comes to gameplay, the PVE content is mediocre as questing is largely uninteresting, but the game's focus lies largely within its exciting PVP modes.

The game does look very aged and dull in comparison to newer MMOs, but there is a certain nostalgic factor in addition to an emergence of private servers that has been keeping Metin2 relevant today. Overall, Metin2 is a pioneer of Asian-style MMORPGs and it's worth checking out for the combat and PVP, and since it's free, all you have to lose is just time.

➔ Main points:

• Join one of the three empires of the game
• Enjoy a hack’n’ slash-like gameplay based on combos
• Fight other players in PvP mode

Full review

Starting Your Adventure

Released in 2004, Metin2 is a Korean free-to-play MMORPG that takes place in an ancient world where three kingdoms whose previously harmonious rule has come under attack due to recent events involving a meteor disaster.

As the player, your involvement in the world comes shortly after and begins with selecting a kingdom to represent. Each of the kingdoms will offer passive bonuses to the player, such as granting certain playable classes that are only available to those kingdoms.

Class selection is the next step and the game has five classes in total, ranging from the warrior, shaman, sunra, ninja and lycan.
The classes function very similarly to each other as all are viable for DPS, but there are very limited options when it comes to buffing, healing and tanking play styles.

Character creation is somewhat dull due to limited customization options, but that's largely down to player expectations - remember, this game is 12 years old.

Once completed, players are thrown into the world and are greeted by the vast and spacious open world of Metin2. Don't expect to see gloriously highly detailed textures because from a graphical perspective, the environment designs and character models look really dated.

But if players can look past the game's graphical flaws, there more fun bits are lying ahead. It's also important to note that there are private servers available, and each will have its own game rules such as double XP rates etc, so make sure you decide before jumping in.

Gameplay & Progression

Being a veteran of Asian MMORPGs, Metin2 uses the same gameplay mechanics that have been used in the newer games that followed, so expect to see familiar systems when you play: WASD keys to move, clicking, etc...

Metin2 is known for its grind, and the game does have a very slow character progression rate, as experience points from quests and killing monsters will trickle in instead of flowing. This definitely feels like an intended design, as besides following the main story quest, it seems that Metin2 wants players to take detours and experience other aspects the game has to offer in order to reduce the grind and repetition.

For PVE, the main story is decent and will require a lot of patience as the questing will resort to "old school" fetch quests and kill quests that may take a while to complete. At level 30, the game opens up other character advancement options such as crafting. Activities like mining and fishing become available as alternative ways to upgrade equipment besides questing.

PVP is where Metin2 truly shines as there are plenty of player versus player modes that will satisfy hardcore PVPers. For starters, the game has an all-out kingdom versus kingdom open world PVP that's chaotic and insanely fun, especially due to how combat works (we'll take about combat soon). The game also provides duels and arenas for a more laid back approach to competitive gameplay.

Combos & Combat

At the time of its release, Metin2's combat mechanic must have seemed revolutionary. The combat features two distinctive styles - classic point and click or an action-based active control scheme that almost feels like an arcade game. The latter is especially impressive considering it must be among the earliest MMOs to feature an action combat system.

Executing basic attack skills only requires the space button, which frees your mouse hand for movement and camera controls. Therefore at the early levels, players must manually move around to align themselves with enemies before attacking.

The one great thing about the combat is that majority of the attacks are satisfyingly AOE in nature, thus it feels awesome to pull a whole bunch of mobs and watch them go down in a few blows. At later levels, more skills unlock which encourages the use of combos - think of it as a damage modifier system.

Before level 5 however, combat isn't all that enjoyable as there will only be a couple of skills to use, which understandably will feel repetitive. Also, mobs spawn and fight in groups of threes, so unless you're levelled and geared properly, prepare to die a lot.

Renting Advantages

Metin2 does have an in-game cash shop and there are plenty of microtransaction options to go around. There are cosmetic options for characters as well as convenience items that will assist players in-game, such as an automatic gold collector among others.

While most items on sale seem harmless and are quality-of-life improvements on the surface, beneath it there are hints of pay-to-win.
Players can purchase temporary items that boosts their experience and damage gains, which lasts for up to seven days. Since they aren't permanent, it's hard to say if it negatively impacts the player base, but it's nice to have options nonetheless.

Conclusion

Overall, Metin2 is still a popular MMORPG for players who are PVP-centric and for those who feel nostalgia for the game. The rivalry between the players representing different kingdoms is a good recipe for PVP, but the PVE does lack substantial content for players looking for a long-term MMORPG.

Due to its age, the graphics and gameplay will no doubt look and feel ancient, but the Metin2 does have a legacy of slow progression and character development that might attract players who enjoy the Asian grind. The best feature today is the amount of private servers available that provide boosts to enhance the experience, making levelling faster to get that all-important gear for PVP, which may be the reason why it's still a popular game that will be around for some time to come.

Ready to enter the world of Metin2? Click here to play now!

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Review summary

1. Starting Your Adventure
2. Gameplay & Progression
3. Combos & Combat
4. Renting Advantages
5. Conclusion