Wurm Online is a Java-based MMO sandbox survival game developed by independent game developer Code Club AB, formerly OneTooFree AB. It was founded by Mojang Specifications (Rolf Jensen and Markus ‘Notch’ Persson of Minecraft). Players create the world around them from day one when they enter the game. As time passes, they will be able to construct highways and large cities filled with great designs and fantastic scenery. From building structures and vehicles, to living as a nomad fighting to survive, or being hired by other players to finish their projects, each player decides their own fate in this open world completely changeable world.
Wurm Online Review
Developer: Code Club AB (Sweden)
Website: www.wurmonline.com
Pros
Great Community, Large playerbase on Freedom servers, Many mount possibilities, tons of skills, provides a challenge to the players, high skills pays off, beautiful game world, many ways to travel, breedable mobs, informative wiki and in-game help channel
Cons
Some regions have bad lag, high settings impossible on low end computers, some rude players, early on difficulties, harsh learning curve, difficult to get good equipment
Wurm Online Review: Introducing Xanadu “The Mystery”
The game has made history with the addition of their newest server, Xanadu. Although the term “server” doesn’t work like it does in other games, it is referring to a large landmass. History was made by Wurm as it launched the largest sandbox game landmass to date. In addition to its several islands already made, Xanadu is by far the largest coming with a 32km x 32km region fully changeable by the players.
As Xanadu launched, it opened its gates with a Landrush event which was intended to get as many players as possible to start claiming the land. The server is 8 times the size of the older largest server allowing plenty of room for over 6000 deeds for players to set up.
Wurm being much like Minecraft, has only shown how it’s a truly unique sandbox game with a complete open world linked by sea travel in its many large ships that can be created by players. Having created the largest possible explorable world, Wurm is a great game for many types of players.
Customization
Customization here is very limited in terms of the player’s character, but there’s a lot of other aspects that are very customizable. For the player’s character, you start with a randomized one of the gender you choose upon account creation. After which, you’re sent to the tutorial zone that shows many aspects of the game and you’re given a hand mirror to change appearance after the tutorial is completed. You get 7 options for each of the customizable areas of the character: face, hair, complextion, skin color, and hair color.
Although the character customization is limited, there are several armor types to further customize your look to match whatever theme you desire. Cloth armor is strictly for appearances and most commonly seen on Priests around the game world. It offers no protection against attacks. Leather and Studded Leather armors are the most common types often used by adventurous players to provide protection without limiting movement speeds. Chain is slightly stronger than Studded armor, but it also weighs a bit more. Chain is used by frontline fighters who often expect to take some hard hits. And lastly is Platemail, the strongest but heaviest type of armor. Plate offers great protection against every type of attack and is seen on only the tankiest of players who prefer to take the hits while others deal the heavy damage.
You can also have your very own design in the buildings with 4 building types, 5 roof types, and over 150 objects to use inside the building to give it your very own desired look. From a diner, to an inn, to a bakery, or even a leatherworking station, anything is possible. You can make castles that touch the sky with the possible 15 story construction plans all made by the player. It is however based on skills, so at first you are very limited to how big you can build things.
Mounts
The great thing about Wurm is the many mounts that are all over. You can ride horses, bears, hell horses, crocodiles, and even unicorns. Better yet, you can breed all of them and make your own herd of mounts to sell to other players or just butcher them for food or materials once you got the traits you desire for your personal mount.
All mounts will fight back if anything should attack them while fighting the player. This is sometimes bad because they instantly pull the hatred onto themselves and most often die from being attacked if the player isn’t careful. For battle pets I would suggest finding bear or crocodile ones to help fight or if a Priest dominate or charm a troll to do the heavy work.
Skills and Survival
There are over 200 skills in Wurm for each player to learn and master as a profession. This opens a huge variety of what is possible from making tools to building a church and serving as its priest/priestess. You can create tools for others, do some land work and farm for food supplies.
One thing is certain though, none of it is easy. All skills are a challenge and the game is not for the weak or impatient. You will have to work hard to gain high level skills and then reap the rewards by using them to profit. It’s all possible once you look past the start.
To Survive in Wurm Online a player must know a few key aspects of the game (the tutorial covers them so paying close attention to that helps). First, foraging is the best thing for one to do while starting out. This will get you the cotton needed for bandages as well as a fair amount of food to keep you going. Although you can’t die from starvation, it does affect your stamina and how fast it will regenerate. Second, you’ll want to meet other people, listen to what they have to tell you as advice, and how to set up a campsite to keep you safe. Making friends is key when you’re unable to defend yourself in the wilds. Third, once you have a camp you’ll have to get the digging skill up in order to flatten the area to build on. You’ll also need to cut trees to make some planks and drop your tent so that you can respawns at the campsite should the wilds’ creatures happen to kill you. Lastly, you attach all the things you made to a house plan and begin your life in Wurm by raising the skills you want to professionalize in.
All creatures will be after you as their meal, so getting safety behind a wall or building will pay off early on. From there it is pretty much up to the player to do as they like and enjoy the game.
PvP
PvP in Wurm Online is different than other games because it focuses on guerilla tactics primarily. Hit and run or die trying to fight the horde infront of you. From the 4 main nations, one for each of the deities, and all the player made kingdoms, there’s a lot of PvP that is possible.
Even though everything is player made, in the PvP servers the players can siege other players’ land and destroy their structures as well as steal from them and slaughter their pets.
It’s a brutal world in the PvP aspect of Wurm and you fight primarily as one in a hundred against those that would defy your deity. Combat can be slow paced so using a bow is preferred to hit them from a distance and make for the hills.
Conclusion
Wurm Online provides a true challenge to the players and allows them to decide the market prices as well as what the world should look like by giving them the power to change everything at will (so long as they have the skill for it).
Each player can make a village on every server if they choose or they can choose to have none and roam the world working for others and getting rich quick. The choices are unlimited here and the game world has amazing beauty for all to see.
There’s several means of travel if by mount, or boat, or cart pulled by herd animals. The world is huge and traveling will take time, but the progress of the region changes every day so the world will never look the same as you travel by it from time to time.
Xanadu is the biggest and newest server. This addition has added the Landrush event, and is called the Xanadu Mystery with the “mystery” part unknown to the players. We’ve yet to discover what that is meant to be.