Runes of Magic (RoM) is a free massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by the Taiwanese developer Runewaker Entertainment and adapted for the English and German speaking market by German company Frogster Interactive.
After going through an open beta phase, the game was launched on 19 March 2009 and Chapter II – The Elven Prophecy was launched on 15 September 2009. The next chapter, Chapter III – The Elder Kingdoms, started 22 April, however all of Chapter III did not become available until August 11, 2010.
The game client is free to download, and no monthly subscription fee is required because the service is funded by real money transactions (RMT) in the Runes of Magic Item Shop.[3]
Graphics
The graphics are really quite good, rather like WoW, mostly not quite as good but sometimes better then vanilla Wow, definitely not as good as LoTRO or Aion, but nice graphics, and for a free MMORPG they are excellent.
The animations and spell effects are rather good, and do the job nicely. Just like WoW the GFX run very well even on an older laptop or PC which is a big plus.
I consider the graphics to be better then EQ2 even running on a monster PC (not saying much)
Gameplay
The game plays like a cross between WoW and EQ1 which is a good thing, RoM has a classic class based system, with Druids, mages, Knights, priests, wardens (pet class), scouts, and rogues.
The difference is you can duel class once you reach level 10, so for example you can chose any combination of primary / secondary class, e.g. Knight / priest, or Mage / druid etc, this makes the class system fresh with lots of different combinations and play styles.
The itemization makes sense, the classes are more or less well balanced, there are many types of mounts, housing, you feel more powerful as you level up and equip new items (unlike AoC)
Tradeskills are in there and for once they are well thought out (unlike EQ2), over all A grade for free to play, plus options of PVP servers which is brilliant for the hard core player
Forsaken Abbey instance gameplay
Story
Its an MMO, not much in they way of story, with lots of the usual Fed-ex missions and kill AXZ, but like I said its an MMO, I never read the missions anyway.
Sound / Music
Surprisingly good music, actually I would say sometimes as good or better music then WoW, the music is mood music similar to Lord of the rings or Braveheart, with a tough of Legends of the fall, so very impressive music, especially amazing for a free to play game .
Overall
I would give this game a 4 out of 5 for quality and fun, however its free, totally free to download and play, so its definitely a 5/5 for this reason. Eurogamer giving it a 6 is a disgrace, but they are rapidly going down in their review quality anyways.
This is a top class free to play game which feels like a quality MMO, better then WAR for example which is a premium MMO.
Its not perfect (the instances could be better), but its very very good and free.
Rating: 
Runes of Magic Episode 1
What the others are saying
IGN 8/10
At its worst, Runes of Magic is a solid, by-the-books affair. At its best, Runes of Magic is a surprisingly deep game and is a great showcase for what a free-to-play MMO can be. Check it out; what do you have to lose?
Eurogamer 6/10
Runes of Magic is by and large a robust, enjoyable game. As a free-to-play title, it’s impressive. Although Western gamers will still have their reservations about amorphous RMT versus those nice straightforward subs, Runes of Magic is something of a landmark: it won’t dislodge the subscription-based model in the West by any stretch of the imagination, but it does demonstrate that free-to-play doesn’t necessarily mean rudimentary, shallow, cheap or totally brutal in the integration of RMT.
Game trailers Review
No review from Game trailers, I have no idea why they have not bother to review Runes of Magic
Batbat my level 26 Druid / 18 Scout on the Smacht PVP server
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Tech nerd Read more from this author
I love this game
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If youre playing on a PVP server, it can be a little unfair, because so many people seem to buy big Hit point armor with diamonds from the RMT store
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Its free and they constantly add FREE content patches, but the RMT store can be unfair
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I have 2 characters on the Palenque server of RoM, 1 at max level, and another near max level…after playing this game a few months, I have to realize like many of those who left this game…Just how much problems this game have…At first glance, this game might look like a decent F2P game…but most of these writers that wrote these reviews never really stayed on the game long enough to give you an accurate feel of the game…RoM for one, has many bugs & glitches…also, many players reported being hacked, or paid for diamonds that they never received…They never bother to address the bugs & glitches issue, as they continue to add on contents in hopes that it’ll keep the paying players on, and many players still talked about getting their account hacked on the world chat…diamonds purchased and never received would take forever to resolve…basically no customer service to paying players…the GMs only come on the server to chit chat…but when a player ask about fixes or raise issues about the game…the GMs tuck tail & sign off as soon as possible…I have gotten my forum account banned for stating the truth…Letting newcomers know that their Palenque server has a lot of players that take advantage of new players, and are very selfish & greedy…I was banned because a paying player who trolled my posts complained to the GMs…and I was the one banned for trolling & forum abuse when i simply tried to warn new players of the problems on that server…and the GMs have been trying to get new players to join that failing server…where many players have grown tired of Frogster’s shady business ethics, and the self serving players on Palenque, and have either quit playing or moved on to another server. If you want to try RoM still, I would highly recommend that you enjoy it as a F2P and not pay for this piece of crap they call MMO, because you’ll most likely be playing by yourself on Palenque…People will only help you when you have diamonds or something they want from you…save yourself time & money…avoid the game or the Palenque server like a plague!!!
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Existen varias denuncias en curso sobre este juego online, todas ellas orientadas al pésimo soporte técnico, fraude, poca seguridad de cuentas, bloqueo de cuentas de jugadores que han invertido cientos de euros en equipar sus personajes, regalos desproporcionados de Frogster a sus “amigos”. La verdad no se lo recomiendo a nadie mientras el servicio lo siga prestando Frogster España.
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