Phantasy Star Online 2



Phantasy Star Online 2 is the iconic MMORPG from Sega's Phantasy Star series, being not just free-for-all to play, but also boasting enormous amounts of optional content. Using all of what they learned from the Universe series, Sega has built the game in a style much like the first Phantasy Star Online, but incorporating features and aesthetics from Phantasy Star Universe. The game was developed alongside Portable 2 Infinity for PSO's 10-year anniversary, and as of now, the story and gameplay contents are in Episode 3.

Once upon a future, the creation of the "Oracle" colony fleet had ushered in a new era of exploration for mankind and expanded their operations across the galaxy. As many undiscovered planets can harbour dangerous wildlife and or terrain, an elite organization of Private Military Contractors known as "ARKS" were formed from the fleet's residencies to initiate first-contact exploration of any new locations and determine their value for colonization. However, ARKS encountered a threat to not just humanity, but all of life itself, and was in struggle against it ever since: the Darkers, an eldritch horde that spreads across the universe like a virus, infecting and mutating whatever they come into contact with.

You are a new ARKS recruit who narrowly survives their graduation exercise when it is unexpectedly interrupted by Darkers. Guided by the enigmatic Xion and her pre-cognizant "Paradigm Matrix", you begin to investigate the reasons behind the largest and most dangerous spike of Darker activity in recorded history.

''This article is about a game that is in development, just like most online game titles whose contents are/were pending update. Please refrain from posting speculation.''

Phantasy Star Online 2 provides examples of:

 * Abandoned Laboratory: The Surfaced Facility on planet Vopal
 * Achilles' Heel: In addition to their standard weak points, many enemies and even bosses have various weaknesses that make them much easier to deal with, or faster to be put down as a result. Big Varder's core can be mounted for the rest of the fight after its deck laser cannon has been taken out, Quartz Dragon and Dragon X take much more damage when parts of their bodies are poisoned, Vol Dragon can have it feet frozen to the ground, and so on.
 * Action RPG: As with the Genre Shift in the franchise, this game yet again features real-time combat and interaction.
 * Alternate Universe: The story will not take place in previous games' canon, and consists of several planets for the player to explore.
 * Attack Its Weak Point: Certain enemies and bosses have areas that, when hit, will make them take more damage than usual. Sometimes they are obvious, sometimes not. Additionally, the darkness seed embedded on the heads of boosted enemies also acts as a weakpoint for them.
 * BFG: Launchers
 * BFS: As usual, Sword-type weapons are a magnitude larger than their users.
 * Call Back: The Vol Dragon from Phantasy Star Online returns as the new Caves boss. Except he's not a simulated program, and he's a whole lot nastier...
 * Character Customization: An insane level of it. Users don't just use a few randomly labelled sliders: nearly every aspect of the player's body can be changed by way of a grid-based system. Yes, including the chest.
 * Character Portrait: Small windows featuring other characters pop up along with chat text.
 * Combos: The combat system has been expanded to feature more fluid and dynamic combos.
 * Canes and Rods store up to three technicks, and can also be used for physical attacks.
 * Magic can also be charged for higher damage.
 * You can chain parts of different combos with other ones, up to three strikes.
 * Death Is a Slap on The Wrist: Falling in battle merely lowers the grade you get for the dungeon, not the entire party, resulting in a lower bonus for you.
 * Easy Exp: Averted in that you need to be in-range of enemies to earn party exp.
 * Fan Service
 * Gainaxing
 * Hunter, Force, Ranger: Players may choose between the classic three, though they have all been loosened up since Online. Each character has a different level for each class and can switch classes.
 * Each class has its own skill tree, which unlocks new skills and abilities.
 * In addition, CASTs  can now be Forces as well.
 * Each class has a different form of dodging:
 * Hunters side-step and block.
 * Rangers do an Unnecessary Combat Roll.
 * Forces teleport.
 * Informed Equipment: Line Shields, as usual, are invisible.
 * Averted, however, now that Units can be placed in the arms, back or legs and will change appearance. Still, you can turn them off, reaffirming the trope.
 * Jump Physics: Fights and dungeons are now more three-dimensional with the addition of jumping.
 * Limit Break: Mags can once again use Blasts.
 * Melee a Trois: Happens whenever the Arks (Player Characters), the native fauna of the planets they explore and the Darker meet in the same place.
 * Mix-and-Match Weapon: All classes get access to Gunslashes from Phantasy Star Zero.
 * Depending on the photon arts learned, Rifles combine the functionality of assault rifles with shotguns, grenade launchers, and sniper rifles.
 * Player Headquarters: Each player receives their own room to personalize.
 * Random Drop: Decided on a character-by-character basis to avoid Loot Drama.
 * Random Event: Can now happen in dungeons, and there is no penalty for ignoring them.
 * Randomly Generated Levels: Some dungeons will be randomized.
 * Restart At Level One: Of the Disgaea reincarnation variety: drop back to level one, but with stat buffs allowing you to re-level with better stats. This system was also used in Portable 2.
 * Revenue Enhancing Devices: A cash shop is planned for the game, called Arks Cash. Sega promises it will be mainly for aesthetic and grinding bonuses to avert it becoming a case of Bribing Your Way to Victory.
 * Ridiculously Cute Critter: Rappies return.
 * Robot Buddy: Mags are back. They can be fed weapons and armor like Phantasy Star Zero, use Photon Blasts and can perform auxiliary functions like in Phantasy Star Online, and higher-level mags can also assist in combat like R-Mags and Tech Mags in Phantasy Star Universe.
 * Stripperific: The future is scantily clad.
 * Scenery Gorn: The emergency city mission takes place in a city devastated by the Darker.
 * Symbol Swearing: When an expletive is typed in chat, it is replaced by a bunch of symbols.
 * Third-Person Shooter: Guns now feature this style of attack, instead of Point and Click or First-Person Shooter.
 * Three Races: Players may choose from the three series mainstay races of Humans, Newmans, or CASTs. Each race has also been balanced.
 * CASTs have the special ability to hover or skate instead of run.
 * Producer Sakai has stated that the number of races is open to change.
 * Tron Lines: The pre-release image gallery has a few characters sporting a lot of these.
 * Weapon of Choice: Each playable class has 1 to 3 types of unique weapons which only the matching class can use. As there are 8 classes in current content (post-August 2014) there are up to sixteen types, barring the universally accessible 'gunslashes', a hybrid of blade and gun.
 * Weather and Environment: Weather conditions, some ordinary, some abnormal, can occur at random.
 * Whip Sword: The new Wired Lance weapons can be used for medium-range sweeping strikes, or decisive grab attacks.