PRESS RELEASES
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Behind MU Legend: A Story of ARPGs and the Passion of Fans
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WEBZEN today releases an overview of the long-standing MU franchise in the run up the launch of ARPG MU Legend, the newest addition to the dynasty.
Reminding players of the franchise's beginnings, the MU Legend team commented:
"The first game of the franchise - MU Online - had its release in 2001. It's been nearly 16 years since the month that marked the beginning of a very long journey, one that still influences millions of players around the globe. A very innovative product for the time, the game featured immersive 3D graphics, great character building and beautiful maps to discover. These factors, combined with a dedicated community, have made the game a huge success with more than 56 million registered accounts since its release. To this day, we keep its servers up and running and are constantly developing new updates."
Regarding MU Legend, the last two CBTs, followed by a successful worldwide stress test on September 23rd, have since attracted hundreds of thousands more fans. Addressing the developers, the most vibrant echo heard from the huge community of MU Legend testers and followers has been "We love MU Legend!". The game is the next in line to be released after the long-lasting classic MU Online and the recent mobile game MU Origin, establishing the MU franchise for the next generation.
With MU Origin, WEBZEN has successfully proven that it is possible to convert big PC MMOs into smartphone/tablet games. The mobile RPG has achieved the top rank in the charts of both the Apple and Android stores in China, South Korea and other countries. Besides all the other exciting elements on offer in MU Origin, players can find iconic MU Online classes, such as the Dark Knight, Dark Wizard, Elf and Magic Gladiator. Other features include various game currencies, maps, the Crywolf event and a variety of items.
WEBZEN has confirmed that MU Legend's official release will begin with an open beta phase starting on November 7th, 2017. The game continues the saga in true MMOARPG style, delivering exciting gameplay and diverse content that will be sure to touch the heart of every MU fan.
Players will have 4 different classes available, including the Dark Lord - one of the MU franchise's most well-known characters. Fans will remember this class as the go-to clan leader during memorable Castle Siege weekends in MU Online.
Classic MU events like Blood Castle have also not been forgotten and will feature in MU Legend. WEBZEN's development studio has managed to reproduce the classic MU Online event, but with new exciting features, such as a new reward system and challenging new bosses.
Item refinement, one of the most popular and sophisticated elements in MU Online that has captivated players for years, also features in MU Legend in an evolved form.
The WEBZEN team also confirms that despite all the content already shown during the CBTs & stress test, new updates linked to the MU franchise are to come in the near and far future.
The ARPG & hack 'n' slash genres have been around for a long time, originating from classic tabletop RPGs. Since the arrival of more complex video games, they have been continually adapted and evolved. The gameplay usually prioritizes real-time combat over turn-based strategy. Some games in these genres follow a specific gameplay style where the player must fight against a horde of monsters, usually followed by a boss fight. Short-distance weapons are commonly present, and players are still at risk of being hit while using long-distance weapons, producing a constantly high level of intensity.
MU Legend combines everything mentioned above: the combat is real-time and very fast paced, whether during PVE or PVP play. Furthermore, the community aspects of the game have been expertly tailored by WEBZEN's development studio, ensuring the proper implementation of a very essential element of MMOs. Players can expect crowded cities, lengthy in-game chats, booming in-game commerce, new hunting parties taking form, or even the new best/worst guild of the game being nominated on several different servers. WEBZEN's years of experience with MU Online have produced a team of true experts when it comes providing these important game features.
MU Legend's team at WEBZEN Dublin commented:
"MU Origin has already reached more than 2 million downloads on the Google Play Store and the App Store, and MU Online is approaching its 16th birthday. What's more, MU Legend's Facebook page now has almost 100 thousand passionate fans awaiting the game release on November 7th. Seeing this has really got us fired up, and we're prepared for 16 more years and longer!"
To learn more about MU Legend and pre-download the game, visit: http://muLegend.webzen.com/en.
Players are also invited to discuss the game and join the official Facebook community at: http://facebook.com/MULegendGlobal.
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October 11 2017
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WEBZEN Celebrates the Success of the Stress Test and Launches Frontier Packs
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WEBZEN has today confirmed that the player numbers reached during MU Legend's stress test were in line with the developers' needs, allowing them to adequately assess the stability and endurance of the server setup.
Along with the success of the stress test, a time-limited sale of founder's packs has also been unveiled: Hardcore fans will be able to start their collection with MU Legend's exclusive Frontier Packs.
MU Legend is the next-gen ARPG MMO, slated to enter the open beta phase on November 7th, 2017. With the stress test successfully completed, the technical team will now work on adjusting the setup of the game servers based on the data received. The preparation will go on for the month of October.
Dennis Czybulka, COO at Webzen Dublin, declared with enthusiasm: "I will start by saying a warm 'Thank you!' to all the players who helped us push the technical limits on this very special day, which was all about server-data collection. And speaking of data, our developers got their hands on a mine of information that will be immensely useful in driving our technical planning in the proper direction. I would like to remind everyone that the data gained with the help of players on September 23rd will guarantee the maximum optimization of our servers from now on."
Mr. Czybulka continued: "We encountered a lot of passion among our players during the stress test, and their support was the perfect emotional boost! Again, I'd like to thank players for their patience, resilience and support. They've made these exciting moments even more memorable."
WEBZEN has unveiled three Frontier Packs that will be sure to delight hardcore fans, available for a limited time only. The Frontier Packs include collector's wings, exclusive mounts, unique pets and special titles. The complete list of items and titles for each of the Frontier Packs can be seen on the game's official website.
Players can also check out what the unique Frontier Packs have to offer in the following video: https://youtu.be/JcCvhX8hoUY
The Frontier Packs are only available from today, September 26th, until before the start of the open beta on November 7th.
MU Legend's team at WEBZEN Dublin commented:
"Our artists have given special attention to the all the Frontier Packs' items: From their aesthetic features to their animation, they are among the most beautiful items we have ever seen in the game! We put these packs together with the desire to provide special memories to players of the MU franchise."
The MU Legend team continued: "We wanted these collector's items to be truly for the collectors among our fans. So, true to form, they won't be purchasable after November 7th."
In addition to the release of the Frontier Packs, players that want to take part in the open beta on November 7th can now pre-download the game client on the official website.
To learn more about MU Legend and pre-download the game, visit: http://mulegend.webzen.com/en.
Players are also invited to discuss the game and join the official Facebook community at: http://facebook.com/MuLegendGlobal.
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September 26 2017
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WEBZEN Confirms Final Release Date for MU Legend OBT
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WEBZEN has announced that the global OBT of MU Legend will begin on November 7th of this year.
WEBZEN - through the voice of the MU Legend team at WEBZEN Dublin - confirmed the date of the long-awaited global OBT to MU Legend fans:
“Being faithfully committed to the delivery of the game, what was initially planned to be a three-month-long development, QA and localization process (cf. Producer Letter) has been shrunk to a duration of two months only.
Our people at WEBZEN are like our fans: actual gamers and with a great passion for videogames, and I can guarantee you that they are all committed to the November 7th release date!"
The MU Legend team has also revealed its plan to deliberately strain the integrity of part of its game-server infrastructure (Americas). All available users have been invited to take part in a stress test, under the hashtag "#Breakourserver", intended for September 23rd.
Check our Youtube video for the occasion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFyOGd1VCbY
Dennis Czybulka commented: “To satisfy our strong wish to offer the most optimized game experience, we are willingly stressing one portion of our server system, jamming its capabilities in order to get precious technical data before the OBT release".
WEBZEN's COO continued: "We cannot adequately test all worst-case scenarios virtually, so we will need the cooperation of our fans to push our server to breaking point."
Another important piece of information also accompanies the stress test announcement: The client that is now available on the new MU Legend website is an early download of the game that will be updated for the OBT release. Users will be able to download the game a month and a half before the OBT release date.
Meanwhile, the all-new MU Legend website will be delivering important gameplay guides on a regular basis.
Along with all these announcements, the MU Legend team has also made a big step in broadening its communication with players.
The stress test details themselves will be communicated in five languages later on. Up to this point, our loyal fans have been following the MU Legend project on the official global Facebook page in English.
From now on, players can also keep track of all things MU Legend in four more languages, thanks to the opening of the Spanish, German, Brazilian-Portuguese and French official Facebook pages. Additionally, our teams are working towards launching a Polish Facebook page, with recruitment still ongoing."
To learn more about MU Legend, visit the official website: http://mulegend.webzen.com.
Players are also invited to discuss the game and join the official Facebook community at: http://facebook.com/MuLegendGlobal.
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September 19 2017
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RAPPELZ's Newest Expansion, Trials of Devildom Is Now Live
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WEBZEN has announced that the latest expansion "Trials of Devildom" for dark-fantasy MMO Rappelz has successfully been released on European and North American servers today. Players worldwide can finally enjoy the new content in English, French, German and Italian.
Rappelz is a classic dark-fantasy MMO, combining a striking fantasy art style with deep character customization, tactical pet training and PVP/PVE gameplay. With this expansion, Rappelz raises the bar and will put players' strength to the test in an unprecedented way.
The new Devildom dungeon will see the appearance of the evil Yushiva. She will wait for the few players that manage to get through each of the 30 rooms, in the most challenging dungeon to date. Consequently, parties and guilds will again play an important role when it comes to succeeding in Epic 9.5; some brand-new perks include a permanent experience increase for anyone playing in a party, and a new guild buff activatable by spending guild points.
The expansion also introduces a permanent 50% base experience boost to help players get to end-game content and start the race for the new level cap of 200. The previously announced community-driven project is now running and a full rebalance of each Master Class is ongoing with the invaluable support of the players.
Finally, 6 weeks of events will follow, as per tradition with every Rappelz expansion, rewarding players with special drops, buffs, Lak and even more experience!
Check out the official patch notes (link) for a complete list of all changes.
For more information on the game and all upcoming expansions, interested players are invited to check out http://en.rappelz.webzen.com/, join the official Facebook community at https://www.facebook.com/RappelzUS/, or follow us on the WEBZEN games streaming channel: https://www.twitch.tv/webzen_games.
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September 12 2017
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RAPPELZ: Trials of Devildom Set for Release on September 12th
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WEBZEN today announced that the dark fantasy MMORPG Rappelz will release its newest expansion, Epic 9: Part 5, on September 12th, 2017.
Epic 9.5 will bring brand-new features and challenges to its wide and loyal community, including a new dungeon, new monsters, new gear and an unprecedented community-driven project.
The new instanced dungeon, Devildom, will test players like never before. With 3 stages and 30 rooms, this will be the most challenging Rappelz dungeon to date. A marathon that will force "solo aficionados" to drop their weapons and look for help, players will need to group together for the salvation of Gaia.
The Refined Crystals collected in the dungeon can be traded to acquire the latest Nusylite's Armor. This stunning, golden level-175 armor is upgradable to the powerful Fluminis's Armor when players hit level 185.
While this content is for high-level players, WEBZEN has been making preparations to help new and existing mid-level characters reach the end-game faster than ever. This will be achieved with a combination of features, including a permanent EXP increase, a rework of the drop for all servers and the possibility to open multiple clients, which will allow players to keep playing the game while trading with their secondary accounts.
Additionally, to assist the delicate but critical process of balancing the various classes of the game, Gala Lab, the experienced developer of Rappelz and multiple other MMOs, agreed to the go-ahead of a community-driven project. For the first time, a special section of the forum will allow players to give their input on the balancing of all 15 end-game classes. The input provided will be collected and reworked by Rappelz GMs and sent to the developers, who will have the final call on all changes. From now on, constant updates will be provided based on community input in order to achieve a more enjoyable and fair gaming experience.
For more information on the game and all upcoming expansions, interested players are invited to check out http://en.rappelz.webzen.com/ and join the official Facebook community at https://www.facebook.com/RappelzUS/.
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August 31 2017