Aug 16, 2012
A few warp portals ago, we gave you first dibs on the Port Malaya patch before it rolled out on all servers of Ragnarok Online. Now, we’re stepping into the our very own digital town in the long-running MMORPG! Eyjaynizel has the story
Mabuhay! Finally, after more than 8 years and 24 patches in PRO (Philippine Ragnarok Online), the Korean MMO developer, Gravity rewarded us with a Philippine themed map. We skipped Bifrost along with the skill rebalancing patch for the meantime and went ahead with this patch. Strategically, Level up is attracting old school players to come back to play the game again with several line of timely events. RWC (Ragnarok World Championship) agit scoring, summer vacation (for students), a new free-to-play server (New Iris) and episode 25 of PRO. So what exactly is in this patch? Read along this week’s overdue review for a glimpse of what to expect on our “bayan”, Port Malaya (“Malaya” means free). Let’s start our journey and adventure!
How to get there?
Remember the port town Alberta and the numerous NPCs that lets you sail to explore other towns themed after other countries like Kunlun and Amatsu? They remodeled it a bit just before this patch hit our local server. Rest assured it’s still the same old Alberta only with more ships and somewhat a bigger port. If you just want to set foot on the new town then you just need 10,000 zennies. But if you want to talk to the people around the town and do some quest then you need 6 pieces of both holy water and blue gemstones.
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The Tour
A great bgm, a nice seaside feel and a huge map are few of the assets of Port Malaya. But where is the “Pinoy hospitality” that we’ve always known for? Why are NPCs scared to talk to you?
It seems like a weird town with an eerie feel, like a bit of Halloween/horror movie aura. And I smell a roundabout quest to make the people acknowledge you.
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The Quest
To get everyone on speaking terms with you, chitchatting with Rodel the guard NPC will get some clues on what to do. He’ll point you to Phong the Mumbaki, where you’ll get your next instruction (Amazing Race much?)
Heeeeeeeeeeey look! Quest illustrations! Phong the Mumbaki is saving us the trouble of imagining what he’s narrating! Savvy~!
Afterwards, the shaman will ask you to talk to talk to 6 NPCs in any order. The minimap below shows their location along the Port.
The 6 NPCs are:
Old Man Nardo suited in Barong Tagalog.
Romel and his daughter Tala.
Pandoi, the “panday” (blacksmith).
Lolong and his rooster.
Pedro the Sailor.
Talk to the shaman again after giving the other NPCs a heads-up and he’ll order you to give each of them a holy water and a blue gem. Tadaa! You may now talk to everyone and roam around the town normally.
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The Town of the Free
“Prontera, only not” is how players usually describe this town since almost all of the npcs you can find in the major towns are present here, with the addition of the jeepneys to ease your traveling experience. YES, The Philippines’ own major form of public transportation is also present in Port Malaya! We were expecting something festive/fiesta-ish… Y’know… like banderitas here and there, tables and tables of local Filipino cuisine, native and decorative costumes, and people dancing in the streets. Instead, the whole town is surrounded with supernatural beings and ghost stories.
The town features a unique kafra sprite and portrait, designed and illustrated by LevelUp! Ph’s creative department and GM team. She’s actually quite pretty too!
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The Monsters
Fields around the town are filled with monsters based from Philippine mythology and folklore, Just in case you plan on leveling here, we saved you the trouble of looking for their stats via the skill “sense” of the mage class.
Jejeling – not a mythological creature and drops “j3j3llopy”. Based on j3j3mon culture. Don’t let the cap fool you, they have a skill that can one hit ko a high level character.
Tikbalang – a horse standing upright (comparable to a minotaur) that tricks people to lose their way. Elders say that wearing your shirt in reverse (was it backside front or inside out?) will help you find your way again. It seems to have a rather high flee rate and can hide when it’s hp is low. The paladin-ish armor is a nice touch for its design. It can be tamed.
Tiyanak – after you defeated a tiyanak, a new tiyanak will respawn in place of it with 10287 hp. If you have a soul drain skill for a warlock and used a single chain lightning to defeat both the first and the respawned version, you’ll be able to get sp twice out of it, though the second soul drain is lower than the first one.
Wakwak – another monster from our local folklore that attacks people at night. Noticeable high mdef.
Manananggal – A woman that transforms into a creature that flies in the night with only the upper half of its body. They can be found inside the haunted hospital which may explain the syringe.
Mangkukulam – Local version of “witch/es”. Both high def and mdef and is neutral attribute.
Engkanto – Spirits of the environment in human form.
Bungisngis – One eyed giant, our local version of Cyclops.
MVPs need a quest, and a party. They can only be fought once a day/week in an instance dungeon.
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Is Port Malaya the new Prontera for Philippine Ragnarok Online players? Yes and No. Veteran players can easily get the chance to visit the Philippines’ own map in the online game, state their claim to a piece of space, sit down and chat with other guild/partymates, and lay down their wares for prospective buyers. For new characters (either new to the game, or a newly-created character by a veteran player), Prontera is still the go-to place for supplementary quest needs and wares.
Enjoy your stay at the Port of the Free!
~~Eyjaynizel
External Links:
Port Malaya patch news
Official Philippine Ragnarok Online site
