In March, closed beta testing of Tarisland, a new Chinese MMORPG, which is scheduled for release at the end of June 2024, took place. Even in the announcement trailer, users noticed locations and characters whose appearance resembled familiar places and heroes from World of Warcraft. On social networks, Tencent representatives deny this similarity, insisting that they are creating a completely original game. We played the current beta version and will tell you whether this is a clone of the famous Blizzard game or whether something completely different is hidden behind the similar appearance.
The game Tarisland became very popular very quickly. All this is thanks to its impressive graphical capabilities and captivating storyline. From the first minute, players are immersed in a new world with a large number of different classes and specializations. The valuable currency in the game is Tarisland gold, which can be purchased from boosting companies, or earned on your own for a long time. The game is really interesting and unpredictable. So let’s look at it in more detail.
Lands of Taris
The planet Taris, on which the main events of the MMORPG will unfold, is only a small part of the fantastic universe created by the authors. In this fairy-tale world, since the beginning of time, three deities called “Gothoi” have been fighting for power: Nigilox, who destroys everything in his path, Erebus, consisting of the energy of chaos, and the goddess of law Fatuina. To defeat the two competitors, the goddess Fatuina created a powerful artifact and sent it to the planet Taris in the hope that one day a hero would appear there who could use the relic to defeat Nigilox and Erebus. Actually, the role of such a hero will be taken on by the players. The character appears in the world of Taris without memory but with a certain “Inscription Stone” in his pocket. Now you have to treat amnesia and save this very world. In order to immerse gamers in the plot, the developers created many cut scenes, notes, and dialogues with NPCs. During testing, you could visit Ankasha Canyon, Silverlight, Silverlight Suburb, and the Misty Forest. The locations are varied, but there is always a feeling of deja vu. The first is reminiscent of the green pastures of Mulgore from World of Warcraft, and the second is Bastion from the Shadowlands. However, it cannot be said that Tencent artists simply copied the assets. Rather, they took inspiration from the classics to create an MMORPG that could replace the iconic but outdated game in 2024.
Classes and Specializations
You can create up to five characters on one account, but you won’t be able to give any of them a truly unique appearance. You have to choose from a small selection of ready-made options for faces, hairstyles, and tattoos. During the test in Tarisland, warrior, priestess, barbarian, paladin, ranger, mage, bard, soul catcher, and shadow swordsman were available. Each of them has two specializations. For example, the Soul Catcher has a skill line called Soul Drain, which is focused on damage, and Soul Heal, which is aimed at healing allies. For the comfort of newcomers to the genre, the game allows you to choose a recommended build – in this case, the system itself will distribute the character’s skill points. You can enhance your abilities using silver coins – the main currency you receive for completing tasks, achievements, and other activities. Some quests reward you with special dust for upgrading the “Inscription Stone” – a set of passive talents. Each class also has “Higher Skills” and an ultimate ability, which enhances one or another characteristic such as attack speed. On the active skills panel in battle, 10 skills are available – 6 attacking, 3 auxiliary, and an ultimate ability.
Peaceful professions
Gamers compare Tarisland with Warcraft. As in any self-respecting MMORPG, in addition to war and exploits, the hero can also engage in peaceful crafts in his spare time. There are professions of alchemist, tailor, jeweler, and blacksmith. Fishing stands apart – it is a separate mechanic for everyone. The developers combined in each craft the skills of collecting the necessary resources, processing materials, and creating objects. For example, a jeweler knows how to mine precious stones, cut them, and forge rings. In this case, you can choose a specialization – say, become a Processing Master – and receive bonuses for this specific type of activity. Vigor points are spent on collecting, processing, and creating. At the beginning of the game, there are only 300 of them and they accumulate one every 15 seconds, so you won’t be able to craft without any interruptions. As you level up, your supply of Vigor will increase, but not enough to require you to spend a day in the forge. Moreover, the choice of recipes for crafting seemed very meager – at least in the beta test. By leveling up a jeweler, you could create only one item for every 10 profession levels. Craftsmen are also hampered by small equipment – it is constantly filled with materials.
Quests and other activities
The developers approached the creation of quests with imagination. Tarisland does not overwhelm the player with typical Asian MMORPG tasks to exterminate this or that biological species in the nearest forest or deliver letters to all residents of the capital. Here they offer to help the winemaker add ingredients to the vat according to the recipe, attack the enemy from a helicopter, and solve puzzles. Even typical monster-killing missions have special conditions. For example, use only a bow with an optical sight. On the world map, you can find open quests for all nearby characters, exploration locations, and world bosses.
Tarisland is a good MMORPG with modern graphics and content for every taste. It doesn’t offer anything radically new, but it’s not the worst representative of the genre. Tarisland doesn’t claim to be a World of Warcraft killer, but it may be of interest to both MMO veterans and newcomers.
