Beautiful MMO Mortal Online 2 enters final stress test before launch
The hardcore MMO is old-school in some ways, but gloriously modern in others.
It’s over 10 years now—a decade—since Mortal Online stormed our PCs to deliver one of the best MMOs of its generation. Driven by a growing desire among players to return to the challenging days of early MMOs, when exploring beyond the borders of your starting town felt like a dangerous and intrepid adventure, Mortal Online was a hardcore alternative to its relatively tame contemporaries.
Now, Mortal Online developer Star Vault is deep into developing the sequel, and is offering online adventurers the chance to be among the first to explore the stunning world of Mortal Online 2.
From 6 September (today!) until 12 September, you can register for the stress test via the Steam page. Just click the link, hit that ‘Request Access’ button, and you’ll be able to jump in as soon as the servers go live. The game is also hosting a contest, but more on that later...
This is the last stress test before Mortal Online 2 enters Early Access, so will give you a pretty good idea of what to expect come launch. Of course the game’s journey from there to full release will be a long one yet, so expect the game to keep on evolving.
True to the spirit of the original, Mortal Online 2 will be an open-world sandbox MMORPG with a focus on exploration, lucrative loot and intense PvP. If you prefer to explore the world (and it really is a beautiful one) and forge your own story, then the good news is that Mortal Online 2 will have a much stronger PvE focus than the original. There will be dungeons to plunder, regions to explore and titans to topple. The AI system sounds great too, with creatures relying on their senses of sight and sound to detect your presence.
In the stress test, you’ll get to encounter tier 2 enemies for the first time, including trolls which - strong stupid lunks that they are - will introduce you to their unique ability to pick you up and smash you around like an unloved ragdoll.
Beyond that, the latest stress test has new dungeons, new magic to master, and its intriguing directional combat system has received some polish too (you’ll find no auto-attacks or tab targeting here!). If you were part of the previous stress test, then you’re in for a treat with all the improvements that have been made.
Photo contest
That’s not all! Developer Star Vault AB is running a screenshot competition during the stress test, with the best in-game photographers having a chance to win a copy of Mortal Online 2 as well as full access to the original Mortal Online. The contest will be based around the best in-game screenshots taken by players, so get snapping, and absorb the following information.
The contest runs from Monday, September 6 to Friday, September 10, and there are two ways to enter:
- Follow Mortal Online on Twitter and post your screenshot, tagging @MortalOnline with the hashtag #MO2Screengrab
- Or post your screenshot as a comment on the pinned Facebook post
- Wait to see if you win!
After all these years, the sequel to one of the best MMORPGs of the last decade is finally upon us, and based on what we’ve seen it makes all the improvements a sequel should - modernising key systems (and those graphics!) while holding onto the hardcore spirit that made its predecessor shine.
Mortal Online 2 enters early access 26 October. Head over to the Steam page and wishlist it to become part of the journey.