English

What's great? When total strangers spend anywhere from 5min to days just to teach, rez, heal and/or otherwise help you for no reward except for feeling good about it. What's better? First time you do those things yourself. I remember saving some French player who only spoke enough english to ask for a rez. I teleported and run through aggro using my hard-earned speed and self-heal just to make it there on time and alive for the rez. Joining a guild and having all guild-mates welcome you and help you out is something I won't forget. First trek with guild help is probably the best memories. Seeing all the different places. All the danger around, but feeling safe with all the masters trekking the group. I miss having guildees sit around a camp fire just chatting.

Copy and paste from a post of mine on a website topic about ryzom:

I have been playing Ryzom for over 5 years now so thought I would give a little description of I think Ryzom is like. Ryzom is completely kept alive by its dedicated community. Whilst yes, as some people have mentioned, it is rather a small community, this for me is not a disadvatange. I played GW1 before Ryzom and recently tried out GW2 but like so many other players, I found myself coming back to Ryzom- why?

Ryzom is such an immersive and complex game. The leveling system starts out with 4 main branches (fight, magic, craft, dig) and stems into 63 different skill types. Leveling one thing does not hinder another. With fight and magic you have the potential to go into hoardes of different tactics in PVE or PVP with the potential to create thousands of different stanzas to use, in my opinion a lot more detailed than GW2. The crafting system is easy to start but once again, as you look more and more into it, it can become incredibly detailed, especially when designing gear for specific tasks. The diggging system is something I can't really comment on- I hate digging but there are different seasons, weather patterns, day/night and once again tons of different wants to dig a mat all with varying speed, xp gain etc. This is truely such a beautiful complex game.

If complexity isn't for you- then don't worry. You can still run around swinging an axe like a madman and have tons of fun wilst doing so. If you are sure about paying for the game then try it out as a f2p, something which I happily did for over a year.

I understand worries about players who have been playing longer having an advantage but I started playing 5 years later than many of my friends I play along side. Yes of course you start with a disadvantage but people are there to help and if you are one of those do-it-your-own types then it won't take long to catch up and everyone is really helpful and willing to offer advice.

The roleplaying community on Ryzom is an elaborate one, with languages designed for each nation if people want to use them. Many players talk in around chat only in roleplay terms adding to the immersion. The lore is highly developed, creatures migrate in herds (changing with seasons), predators attack their prey, NPCs patrol and roam around the map etc etc.

As for the economy- well if you are talking about the traditional market open to all with fluctuations in prices etc then no.. Ryzom definitely does not have anything that complex. I do however trade an awful lot with other players and would say thats where the real economy takes place- in /tells and trade windows. Often its just a simple trade for mats but there are many trades for different armours/weapons/jewels going on behind the scenes.

Ryzom is completely upheld by its volunteer community. There is a reason it has been going for 10 years and a reason players have stuck with it for that long as well. Why not give it a go and come see for yourself :)

I'll keep it short... but I wont be doing any justice to my post..

The Environment.

Unique, beautiful, alive! Never seen this in any other games, I simply love it. Especially Prime Roots :-)

PvP.

I played WoW, I enjoyed it.. but then I compared it with Ryzom.. and it's no match..

In this game, you are the healer, the melee, the mage... you and your group.. against well.. same type of players.. it is complex because you switch this role multiple times in a battle (2vs2 or more) and unlike other games, most of the times is about skills and team work.

Crafting.

You can craft your gear.. using mats (materials) you collect from bosses or sources you dig from ground.. and it's truly challenging to find the right recipe, with the right stats and the right color.

Exodus

Favourite things about Ryzom?

- Sunrise over Muse Watch Lake (esp. with a campfire)

- Sneaking unscathed through crowds of agro that could kill me with one blow

- The seasons, and the way mobs move around in different places at different times of year

- Crafting something for someone, just because I can

but mostly, chiefly, and in no small measure, the community, the friends, the banter.