Shaiya

Infobox VG
title = Shaiya


developer = Sonovaslag Entertainment
publisher = Aeria Games & Entertainment,Inc.
distributor =
designer =
series =
engine =
version =
released = November 26, 2007 (closed beta)
December 18, 2007 (open beta)
December 24, 2007 (live) [ [http://forums.aeriagames.com/viewtopic.php?t=98168&start=15 www.aeriagames.com :: View topic - further development ? ] ]
genre = Medieval fantasy, MMORPG
modes = Multiplayer
ratings = 18+
platforms = Windows XP, Windows Vista
media = Download
requirements =
Pentium 4 1.5 GHz or AMD equivalent
1.8 GB free HD space
512 MB RAM
DirectX 9.0c
nVidia GeForce FX series or ATI Radeon 9600
Broadband Internet connection
input = Keyboard, Mouse, Gamepad
footnotes =

Shaiya is a MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) created by Sonov Entertainment [http://eng.sonov.com/ SonoVaslag Entertainment] ] and published in North America by Aeria Games & Entertainment. [http://www.aeriagames.com Aeria Games] ] Although the game is free to play, Shaiya triumphed over several well-established subscription games to win GameBorder's Best MMORPG of 2007. [ [http://www.gameborder.com/bestmmorpg07.php GameBorder's Best Mmorpg of 2007] ] In addition, Shaiya was awarded first place for Best Graphics and second place for Most Anticipated Game, in the 2007 Reader's Choice contest by MMOSITE. [ [http://contest.mmosite.com/annual_vote2007/ MMOSITE Reader's Choice 2007] ]

tory and Background

In the ancient times, there was the Goddess Etain and the three races she created: the Dragons, the Nordein, and the Dumianas. The Goddess Etain found faults in the Nordien and cast them into the soil. In their arrogance, the Dumianas questioned the Etain's power and authority. The Goddess was weakened by their disbelief, and the Dumianas killed her. Her soul was torn in two. The death of the Goddess left Teos out of balance and unprotected. Other Gods sought to take over Teos and created monsters to invade and destroy it. The Dragons hid themselves from the world. When the dust settled, there were two new Goddesses overseeing Teos. The remaining Dumianas were split into two factions; one for each Goddess.

These two races, the Elves and the Vail, found themselves in constant conflict with each other. Age old tensions fueled their aggression. Soon after, the Humans joined forces with the Elves while the Nordein re-emerged as the "Deatheaters" and allied with the Vail, creating two factions: The Alliance of Light and the Union of Fury. Not only battling the monsters that still roam the lands, these two sides wage a never ending war over the control of Teos. [ [http://shaiya.aeriagames.com/info/intro Shaiya Introduction] ]

Difficulty Modes

One of the most distinguishing aspects of Shaiya is the four difficulty modes:

*Easy mode is capped to level 30 and fewer experience points are required to reach each new level. Certain player skills and items may not be used in this mode.

*Normal mode, as implied, is the standard for most players. Experience and skill points are acquired at a baseline rate.

*Hard mode is unlocked once a player has reached level 40 in normal mode on at least one character. Additional skills, items, and quests are made available. However, gaining experience takes four times the normal rate.

*Ultimate mode is unlocked once a player has reached level 50 in hard mode on at least one character. The difficulty of this level scales on par with hard mode, with one key uniqueness: if an ultimate mode player is killed, and not resurrected within 3 minutes, that character is permanently deleted.

Factions and Races

New players must choose which faction they will play before creating a character: Alliance of Light or Union of Fury. Since these factions are at war, an Alliance player cannot use the game's chat features with a Union player and vice-versa. Once a player has chosen a faction, they cannot create a character on the opposing faction until all of their existing characters have been deleted. The chosen faction determines a character's appearance, starting location, skills, and available races.

All races of both factions can be either male or female. The same customization options are also available for each race, including hair, eyes, facial features, and height.

Classes

The choice of class is restricted by race, and therefore by faction. There are twelve total classes, however only six unique styles of play:

* Defender (Human) / Guardian (Nordein or deatheaters): The only playable tank, which is heavily armored, with high hit points and the ability to provoke enemies into attacking them. Their primary goal is not damage infliction, but rather keeping foes away from other party members.

* Fighter (Human) / Warrior (Nordein or deatheaters): Standard melee damage inflicter, with access to a range of highly effective weapons. Their skills include spells as well as physical attacks.

* Priest (Human) / Oracle (Vail): The only class with healing and resurrection skills, but extremely weak armor. While minor damage spells are learned for solo play, this class generally does best in groups and helping other players.

* Ranger (Elf) / Assassin (Vail): Stealth, deception, and evasion are used by this class to inflict damage before the enemy has a chance to strike back.

* Archer (Elf) / Hunter (Nordein or deatheaters): Uses ranged weapons, such as bows or javelins, to wound and slow enemies from a distance. Their light armor is compensated for by the ability to kite.

* Mage (Elf) / Pagan (Vail): A ranged, spell-casting class with very weak armor but multiple AoE and high-damage skills.

Controls

Players have the option of using either click-to-move or WASD controls. [ [http://shaiya.aeriagames.com/guide/interface Shaiya Interface ] ] All of the available player skills may be dragged into hotbars and assigned keyboard shortcuts.

References

External links

* Shaiya Official Site - [http://shaiya.aeriagames.com/ "North America"]
* [http://shaiya.mmosite.com/ Shaiya English Fansite]