Myth of Empires is the new large-scale multiplayer sandbox game from development studio, Angela Game.
Player freedom and survival elements feature front and centre against the backdrop of an open-world ripe for customization, crafting and conflict-management.
If you’re looking to get a head-start on the path to power, here’s six things you need to know about Myth of Empires.
1. Survive and Thrive
The recent closed BETA gave us plenty of time to explore Myth of Empires’ detailed world and revealed it to be full of a great many and varied threats to our survival. A mix of wild animals, starvation, exposure to the elements, and roving bandits and NPC factions were amongst the omnipresent hazards waiting to catch out the reckless survivor.
Happily, there are just as many ways to mitigate those risks and stave off predators, making it possible not just to survive but to thrive. Early crafting recipes offer the means to make tools and weapons with which to feed and defend yourself. Areas of expertise ranging from weapon specialization and hunting thorough to animal taming and land cultivation provide focus for longer-term mastery of goals and specializations.
After just a few hours of play it is apparent that learning to survive and thrive go hand in hand as you level up your character.
2. The Land is Alive and It’s Dangerous
Myth of Empires’ land of the ancient East features realistic geographical features shaped by a digital Mother Nature complete with terrain consisting of plentiful landforms. From snowy mountain ranges to temperate forests, each biome hosts its own ecosystem supporting flora, fauna, mineral deposits, and resource categories to be mined, exploited, and defended.
The environment offers up some striking transitions throughout the day/night cycle but it’s best not to get caught staring too intently. Weather plays a key part of the world around you and while it will often be benign with some hazy sunshine here, or scattered showers and low-lying fog there, it can also be more threatening to your well-being. Blizzards, sandstorms, and even toxic miasma can catch sunset-gazers unawares.
3. Strangers Are Just Friends (or Enemies) You’ve Yet to Meet
Assuming you haven’t succumbed to the elements or been gored by a wild boar by this point then a long and – hopefully – illustrious career as a diplomat or military powerhouse could lie before you.
Guiding guilds and forging alliances in order to unite – or conquer – regions populated by other players and NPC factions is an excellent way to stake your claim to an enduring legacy.
Opportunities to meet with would be allies are plentiful across more than 100 resource sites like mines, farms, and treasure spots. Here you can converse, refine your social mores, and increase your nobility level as you break bread with the locals or break necks if things don’t go so well.
Be careful though, as violence begets violence and raising the hostility levels of rival NPC factions or even just the local wildlife through frequent attacks will result in them launching a large scale counter-offensive on your encampment.
4. Two Things Are Certain: Death and Taxes
There will come a point where war is waged in your sleepy prefecture, either because you have something your neighbors covet or perhaps because you yourself launch a hostile bid for power.
This is where Myth of Empires becomes a spectacle of large-scale conflict. Enemies at the gates of your fortress, or strife across your wider province, will see siege engines wheeled into place and armies force-marched into position to answer the call to arms.
County battles signal a server-wide conflict to establish ultimate control. Playing out over a two-stage warfront, these battles can see the balance of power shift between factions. The presiding power earns the right to rule with enlightened mercy or belligerent impunity, reaping the benefits of local resources and setting taxation levels to moderate or maniacal levels.
5. After Destruction Follows Construction
Having won a position of power, it might be wise to try to win over some of your former enemies and enlist them to your cause. Befriending other players and NPC factions to have them work towards your cause is a diplomatic mission worth investing in.
If you’re charismatic enough you can convince others to gather resources and craft items for you, or simply have them join your own private army to help protect against all the other people you annoyed along the path to power.
Building projects are a good public focus for cooperation. Whether you’re building with wood, clay, stone, or metal, there are scores of available building types each with myriad customization options. Construct a new fortress to make your followers feel safe, along with a place to eat, drink, and be merry so that they might forget that it was you that burned down their old one.
6. A Life Spent in the Saddle
Myth of Empires has an affinity for horses. Some are graceful and others are skittish — fleeing at the first signs of danger.
Horses can be used for transporting goods, pulling carts, and traveling with the wind in your hair, but it’s the very strongest that make for the most loyal and fearsome battle companions. Mounted combat benefits from associated bespoke crafting and ability trees and, just like their human counterparts, are animated from motion captured movement to ensure every equine is as authentic as possible.
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With expansive PvE and PvP options, thousands of crafting recipes, hundreds of decorative arts, scores of building projects and a whole load of horses, Myth of Empires offers a wealth of activities for those looking for a multiplayer survival sandbox experience.
For more on the game as it develops, stick with IGN.