We’re back with another episode of Let’s Explore Ragnarok Origin! Tutorial. Our journey today begins at the Novice Training Grounds. When we exit the Academy’s main hall to get to the Training Grounds, we notice one particular feature of Ragnarok Origin that is not present in the original RO, but was introduced to Ragnarok Mobile back in 2019 in Episode 5: Midnight Party. This is the weather system. We see that the current conditions at the Training Grounds are as follows: Daytime, Pleasant, Sunny.

Much later in the video, we’ll explore the mini-map to find out that, similar to ROM, the weather affects the in-game environment. Exactly how? We don’t know just yet. Perhaps we’ll find out when we finally leave the tutorial area and do the story missions.

On our way to meet with our next instructor, we meet many ambient NPCs both Novices and First Job classes. In some of the groups we come across are First Job Instructors. The one standing near the portal back to the main hall with two female Novices is Pamela, the instructor for the Acolyte Job class. Donning a High Priestess attire we all know from other Ragnarok games, she tries to debunk a common misconception among Acolytes’ role in group settings such as parties and guilds. Aside from her, there’s also Emily Wan, a High Wizard who teaches aspiring Mages.

Close to Emily’s group is a Bard called Lorne, who serenades a couple of Novices with a song about the world of Ragnarok. When we speak to him and tell him that we’d like to listen his music, he plays a tune and sings along. The words in his song mention something about us rewriting the fate of the Rune-Midgarts Kingdom, possibly hinting to our character’s leading role in the game. It would be interesting to see exactly how this unfolds in ROO’s main storyline.

Combat Training with Instructor Brade

Next to Instructor Orbis Thea who seems to be teaching a young Swordsman how to cook is a crowd of Novices. To the right are three Novices busy practicing their skills on training dummies. In the middle of it all are Guide Sprakki and a dark-haired man clad in shiny heavy armor. This is Instructor Brade.

Brade teaches us the basics of combat, particularly the difference between Normal and Heavy Attacks, as well as two valuable Skills–Play Dead and First Aid–both of which are very familiar to long-time fans of the franchise. A funny cinematic cutscene featuring a group of Goblins and their leader accidentally summoned by a careless Novice is a good method to teach these two basic skills. Lesson learned: Don’t drop a Dead Branch!

Check Your Settings

Before we head to practical training, which is as simple as defeating five Lunatics, we take the time to check the Settings window. Apart from graphics, volume and gameplay settings, this is also where we can set our preferences for the Auto-Attack (or Auto Combat) function. We can also check and edit preferences for the game client’s push notifications.

One interesting detail here is the Operating Mode under the Personal tab. For this, we have two options: Classic (recommended for beginners) and Double Wheel (recommended for advanced players). We’ll get back to this in another post and video to explore this in more detail. To put it simply, Classic is a gameplay setting that allows you to focus on where you want your Skill to target. On the other hand, Double Wheel allows you to move your character around (first wheel) and, at the same time, move your target area (second wheel). This will definitely be useful for AoE classes such as Mages.

A Gift and A Trial

Upon completion of our practical training, Instructor Brade gives us an Auto-Recovery Device. Checking our inventory, we can click on it to set which potions we’d like to use automatically and exactly when to use them. The slider lets us change the required amount of HP and SP (e.g, 50% or below) our character needs to have before the device uses Red and Blue Potions.

Afterwards, Brade talks about our final trial where we have to meet and be baptized by a Valkyrie. He also explains the reason why the kingdom chose to build the academy on this particular island. This is because a part of it used to be a temple to a Valkyrie. Now a ruin, we have to go there to pay our respects to the war maiden in hopes that she can give us her protection.

What’s an Adventure without A (Mini-)Map?

On the way there, we decide to check the mini-map. To the right of the area name is the symbol for the weather system. Clicking it reveals information about the weather, as well as the current time. I wonder if time also affects the game environment… Is it random or server-/channel-based?

Tapping the mini-map shows some sort of weather forecast for the specific map we’re currently in. It seems that it’s going to be sunny all day! Below this is the local map in detail. As with many games, the red dots are enemies and the blue arrow icon is our character. Under the local map are four options–Map Info, Nearby Players, World Map, and Fly Wing. Map Info lets us check nearby NPCs, which monsters spawn in that map, and if there are any on-going events. The Nearby Players tab is self-explanatory, as well as the other two tabs.

Looking at the World Map, we can see that Ragnarok Origin has the same maps as when the original Ragnarok Online PC game was first launched. It has the six major Towns: Prontera, Izlude, Geffen, Morroc, Payon, and Alberta. The following Dungeons are also available:

• Mjolnir Dead Pit
• Labyrinth Forest
• Prontera Underground Sewers
• Byalan’s Undersea Tunnel
• Orc Dungeon
• Payon Cave
• Pyramid
• Ant Hell
• Sunken Ship

While walking around the area close to the ruins of Valkyrie’s temple, we meet two more First Job Instructors. One is a Sniper named Cecilius, together with her teaching assistant Tana and a male Novice who hails from the same town of Payon. Cecilius mentions that her hometown is also called “Archer Village” because everyone there knows archery. Quis is the other instructor. He is an Assassin Cross and is teaching a new Thief. His student, however, feels awkward about the fact that Quis doesn’t talk much.

Blessed by Valkyrie Alvitr

Finally, we reach Valkyrie’s temple ruins. Here, Brade asks us to pray in front of the Valkyrie’s statue. Almost immediately, we enter another dimension which turned out to be the Hall of Warriors in Valhalla. An unknown voice commands us to pull out the Sword of Trial but warns that only the chosen one can do so. When we successfully pull it out, a bridge made of light is formed allowing us to cross and reach Valhalla.

Here, we meet a Valkyrie named Alvitr. She helps us unleash our full potential by making us face a King Drops. While in combat, she increases our Attack Speed and Physical Attack by releasing the Marks of Agility and Strength bound to our body, making us invincible against our giant foe. When done she congratulates us. And before we are sent back to the academy, Valkyrie Alvitr briefly mentions the importance of distributing status points.

Back at the Training Grounds, our instructor Brade expounds on this. Because of the many different ways we can distribute our status points, “…even those of the same Job can have different combat styles,” he explains. Finally, we graduate…

Dressing Up for Graduation

…but before that, we receive a gift from Guide Sprakki–a headgear of our choice! The vain little Novice next to the Gift Manager introduces us to the Closet feature. This whole encounter is a tutorial on the Costumes aspect of Ragnarok Origin. This game has noticeably better graphics than Ragnarok M, the newly-released Ragnarok X: Next Generation and, of course, Ragnarok Online. With this comes the ability to entice players who love character customization through cute headgear, hairstyles, and costumes. The Closet feature is certainly something to look forward to if you’re into fashion!

At long last, we graduate… and it’s quite a heartwarming scene! Instructor Brade brought along Guide Sprakki, and even good ol’ Professor Anderson is there! All four of us take a commemorative photo. This is then followed by Sprakki giving us two gifts. The first is a gift box for the official release of the Japanese server which has a bunch of cool consumables and equipment, including a GM uniform! The second is a ticket for the Start Dash 10 Consecutive Gacha–our very first!

While this tutorial gacha allows us to reroll until we get all the items we’re after, I didn’t have to. I was already happy with my result! I just really wanted some Red Potions and–you guessed it right–a Bunny Band!

Personally, I’m not fond of games with gacha because I don’t enjoy gambling. I’d rather loot or pay for the item I want. Thankfully, from what we’ve seen so far, Ragnarok Origin‘s gacha are purely cosmetic and don’t really impact character progression and/or gameplay.

But what do you think? Do you see yourself using the Gacha and Closet features often? Or are you more focus on leveling up and getting the best equipment? Or maybe you’re like us who are very much excited about exploring the story and quests in Ragnarok Origin?