Introduction to Renewal

Renewal is a comprehensive system-wide revamp that was implemented on Ragnarok Online in 2010. This guide will help you to understand the difference between Pre-Renewal and Renewal mechanics, so that you can adapt quickly to the mechanics used on ChronoRO.

If you're familiar with Renewal, but new to our server, check out our Introduction to ChronoRO page.

Game Mechanics

Some of the most significant changes that was brought with the Renewal update has to do with Game Mechanics. This includes Jobs, Levels, Stats, and several Substats.

Third Job

The biggest change brought by Renewal is the addition of and the increase of the base level cap to 200 and job level cap to 70. With new job classes come new skills, which open doors to new play-styles for each job class.

The Alternative Outfits for some of these jobs are purchasable from the Stylist.

• 
  Rune Knight
• 
  Arch Bishop
• 
  Warlock
• 
  Ranger
• 
  Guillotine Cross
• 
  Mechanic
• 
  Royal Guard
• 
  Sura
• 
  Sorcerer
• 
  Maestro & Wanderer
• 
  Shadow Chaser
• 
  Geneticist

Stats

The entire stats system has been revamped. With the higher level cap, the cap for max stats were also raised up to 130. The increase in available stat points allows true hybrid classes to be made. Below is a short description of each Stat with comparison to Pre-Renewal mechanics, if applicable.

• STR: For melee weapons, every point in STR increases StatusATK by +1 and WeaponATK by 0.5%. For ranged weapons, every 5 points in STR increases StatusATK by +1. Each point of STR also adds +30 Weight Limit. The bonus ATK per 10 STR for melee weapons is no longer applied.
• AGI: Every point in AGI adds +1 Flee and increases ASPD. Additionally, every 5 points in AGI adds 1 SoftDEF.
• VIT: Every point in VIT adds +1% MaxHP, +2% HP Healing Item effectiveness, and +1% resistance to several status effects. Every 2 points in VIT adds +1 SoftDEF. Every 5 points in VIT adds +1 SoftMDEF and +1 HP Recovery Rate.
• INT: Every point in INT adds +1.5 StatusMATK, +1% MaxSP, 1% SP Healing Item effectiveness, and decreases cast time. Every 2 points of INT adds +1 SoftMDEF and every 6 points in INT adds +1 SP Recovery Rate. The multiples of 5 and 7 bonus for minMATK and maxMATK is no longer applied.
• DEX: For ranged weapons, every point in DEX increases StatusATK by +1 and WeaponATK by 0.5%. For melee weapons, every 5 points in DEX increases StatusATK by +1. Every point in DEX also adds +1 HIT, decreases cast time, and increases ASPD. Every 5 points in DEX adds +1 StatusMATK and +1 SoftMDEF. The bonus ATK per 10 DEX for ranged weapons is no longer applied.
• LUK: Every point in LUK adds +0.3% Critical Hit Rate, as well as resistance to several status effects. Every 3 points in LUK adds +1 StatusATK, +1 StatusMATK, and +1 HIT. Every 5 points in LUK adds +1 Flee and +1% Anti-Critical Rate, and every 10 points in LUK adds +1 Perfect Dodge.

Substats

Aside from Stats, several Substats were also drastically changed. Most of these define the main difference between Pre-Renewal and Renewal Mechanics.

ATK

In Renewal, the Attack Power (ATK) is divided into two, StatusATK and WeaponATK. In essence, they both contribute to the final damage (StatusATK being multiplied by two). However, when amplified by racial/size/elemental bonuses (such as Hydra Card or Skeleton Worker Card), only the WeaponATK is amplified. This makes it so that people no longer rely on 4-slotted starter weapons (such as a Quad-Racial Composite Bow), and instead will strive to get higher level weapons with higher ATKs and Refine rates to deal better damage.

MATK

As with ATK, Magical Attack Power (MATK) is also divided into two, StatusMATK and WeaponMATK. With the introduction of this update, many weapons now possess a flat MATK number (e.g. 280 MATK from Staff of Destruction; 105 MATK from Bazerald). In MATK's case, WeaponMATK makes up the greater percentage of the final damage, due to the variance factor which relates to weapon level.

DEF/MDEF

The Defense (DEF) and Magical Defense (MDEF) system was revamped in the Renewal Update. HardDEF/MDEF is no longer limited into a 1-100 point system, with 100 being full immunity. Instead, the effect of HardDEF/MDEF is now reduced exponentially as the number goes up (i.e. the higher the number, the less effect every single point adds); and in DEF's case, the number often goes way beyond 100. For example, 200 HardDEF gives about 25% damage reduction, and 400 HardDEF gives about 40% damage reduction. As for MDEF, 20 HardMDEF gives about 15% damage reduction, and 40 HardMDEF gives about 25% damage reduction. With this change, many armor have had their DEF number raised significantly (e.g. 85 DEF from Meteo Plate Armor; 16 DEF from Naght Sieger's Flame Manteau; 120 DEF from Sacred Mission) to match the new DEF calculation system.

SoftDEF/MDEF, which is mostly based on VIT and INT respectively, did not go through a lot of change from Pre-Renewal. They reduce damage subtractively, removing flat amounts from the final damage after the HardDEF/MDEF reductions are applied.

Critical

Critical hits had been slightly altered in Renewal. Critical hits still ignore FLEE, but they do not ignore DEF anymore. Instead, they will deal 40% more damage by default. Additionally, more items provide Critical Damage bonuses, which means with the right combination of equipment and cards, it's possible to deal 200% your regular damage per critical hit, or even higher.

Cast Time

Cast Delay display in Hotbar

One of the most significant changes that happened with the Renewal update was Cast Time. It is now split into Fixed and Variable Cast Time.

The Fixed Cast Time part is not affected by Stats, and can only be reduced by special means (e.g. Arch Bishop's Sacrament or Temporal DEX Boots). Not all skills have a Fixed Cast Time, but the addition of Fixed Cast Time disallows skills like Acid Demonstration and Asura Strike to be cast instantly; thus offering balance in PvP.

Variable Cast Time, on the other hand, is similar to the Cast Time in Pre-Renewal. The main difference is that it is no longer reduced only by DEX, but also by INT. Variable Cast Time can be completely eliminated if (DEX x 2 + INT) = 530.

Delay

Delay is a relatively obscure mechanic that was mostly ignored in Pre-Renewal. In Renewal, however, it can be separated into two: Cast Delay and Cooldown.

Cast Delay (also known as Global Cooldown or After-cast Delay) is a delay that prevents all skills from being cast. Some skills, such as Magnificat, have longer Cast Delay, while others have shorter ones. This delay can be reduced by certain equipment like Expert Ring and Kiel D-01 Card, and by a Bard's Poem of Bragi skill.

On the other hand, Cooldown (also known as Hard Cooldown) is a delay that prevents certain single skills from being recast immediately. Not all skills have Cooldowns, but some, such as a Sura's Asura Strike, have a long Cooldown. This Cooldown is not affected by Poem of Bragi, and is only affected by very specific items, for example: Tornado Axe reduces the cooldown of Mechanic's Axe Tornado, and Bow of Storms reduces the cooldown of Maestro/Wanderer's Severe Rainstorm.

Endgame

Main Article: Instances

Some of them, like Ghost Palace and Geffen Magic Tournament, must be done Solo; while others, like Sara's Memory and Faceworm's Nest, are done in a party.

Most of these instances reward players with exclusive, endgame-worthy equipment, such as Giant Faceworm Skins and Thanatos Weapons.

Other Instances

Aside from previous part, there are also instances like Endless Tower, Old Glast Heim, Wolfchev's Laboratory, and the Port Malaya Instances. A few of these are very challenging, even for the best PvE players. However, most of them are very rewarding, giving players access to equipment such as Temporal Boots, Biolab-exclusive equipment, and Agimat Tattoos.

Battlegrounds

The Battlegrounds system (BG) is a series of PvP games available to players level 150 and above. They reward players with Badges, which can be exchanged for PvP-oriented equipment. Players who join BG will be split randomly into teams, and must fulfil certain objectives to win, depending on the game mode. The game modes include Triple Inferno, Capture the Flag, Stone Control, Conquest, and Krieger von Midgard.

War of Emperium

The War of Emperium system (WoE) is Ragnarok Online's most defining feature. As with Pre-Renewal, WoE is the de facto Endgame for most players. It is a structured PvP revolving around the Guild system, where Guilds compete against each other to conquer castles. With the introduction of third job classes and their new skills, the WoE metagame has evolved into a more balanced state, where every class has a purpose in WoE.

See Also

• Introduction to Ragnarok Online
• Introduction to ChronoRO
• Getting Started
• Class Guides
• Instances
• Player vs Player