Website:
http://www.talesofpirates.com/Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_of_PiratesSo, I stumbled across this game a few weeks ago and have put in enough time to recommend it. When you boil it down, it's Runescape (the infamous free mmorpg), with better graphics, better gameplay and a more endearing setting. With an absolute glut of medieval/Tolkien fantasy-based MMO's out there ... it's refreshing to see one take a step to the right and introduce seafaring/treasure hunting and other buccaneer-type motifs.
So, sure you have your typical MMO trappings. Mining, Woodcutting, etc. Ways to mindlessly click on one spot and get goods to sell back in town. But, by opening up seafaring .. it tweaks the economy model a bit. You can use your boat to salvage other ships, fish, trade goods between cities (ala Pirates! of old) and even find treasure maps and hunt for the big loot.
The best part about this MMO is it's pay model. There is none. Unlike others that close off entire sections of the game, this one has it all open to everyone. The only "charge" are for items in the item mall. Most of those are superflous items, like unique hairstyles, equipment and pets. Things that only the most hardcore care about and have very little effect on competition/gameplay. Perfect. Even most of the items in the item mall you can get through gameplay, but they are very hard to get.
The "character builds" are done very well. You have melee, range and heal. Within those three there are 2-3 variations, depending on how you allocate stats and equipment. You can build a melee that is a meatshield or an all-or-nothing attack machine. Range can be an archer (longer shot, weaker attack) or gunman (short range, heavy damage). The heal build can be a battle cleric or be a pure healer/magic user. There is even an Explorer class, which never even see land combat at all .. as he is more focused on sailing/trading/fighting at see. I have never checked out PvP .. because I don't usually roll that way. So, I couldn't tell you about character balance in that regard.
All in all, it's a nice MMO that hits all the right spots for what you require out of this evil genre. A new twist with the setting and the seafaring aspect gives you something new. Drawbacks are prevalent lag (not gamebreaking) on most servers and limited weapon choice (only 1-2 different weapons/armor every 5 levels).
Some pics:
