The closed beta for Ragnarok: The New World officially started on November 7, giving players a chance to try Gravity’s next major MMORPG under the Ragnarok franchise. Feedback from testers shows a mix of promising features and areas that may need refinement before launch.
Here’s a balanced look at what stood out during the pilot beta phase.
A Familiar Yet More Polished Experience
Many players, ourselves included, described Ragnarok: The New World as feeling like a revised version of the previous Ragnarok mobile game, but with noticeably upgraded graphics. The art style retains the classic RO charm while modernizing character models, effects, and environments.
Gameplay pacing is also more forgiving. Even after players run out of Battle Time, they can still earn a small amount of EXP, and card drops continue to be possible. This feature was appreciated by those who dislike strict time-gated progression.
Cutscenes That Make Questing Interesting
One notable improvement is the use of cutscenes during quests. Simple cinematics and camera movements helped make early-game questing feel less monotonous.
That said, it’s still an MMORPG—so repetition inevitably settles in eventually. The cutscenes help delay that early-game monotony, but they don’t completely eliminate it. Still, it’s a welcome improvement.
Daily Tasks Are Quick and Manageable
Daily quests in Ragnarok: The New World can typically be completed in 30 minutes or less, depending on the player ‘s routine. This lighter daily workload may appeal to players who enjoy progression without heavy grinding requirements especially when you are playing it for so long a time.
Instead of forcing players to manually farm materials for crafting, Ragnarok: The New World automates most life-skill activities like gardening, mining, and gathering. You simply activate the task and the game collects the required materials for you, no need to grind endlessly for tiny amounts of resources. This system makes crafting progression smoother and far less time-consuming, especially for players who prefer focusing on combat or quests.
Party Dungeons With Some Difficulty Spikes
Ragnarok: The New World allows players to enter party dungeons even without a full team, using AI-controlled bots to fill the missing party slots. This is convenient for those who prefer quick runs without waiting for other players to join or accept invites. However, the current bot behavior seems limited; they often follow the same fixed movement path, which can make certain encounters feel awkward or predictable. Hopefully, this can be refined in future updates for smoother solo dungeon runs.
Another concern raised during testing is the game’s reliance on Combat Power/Battle Points (CP/BP). Since CP directly reflects your overall strength, it often overshadows creative builds, experimental skill setups, and strategic gear choices. However, considering how simplified and streamlined the game’s progression systems are, this approach becomes somewhat understandable. When forging or upgrading equipment, the game clearly shows whether an item is an upgrade or not, making gearing decisions quick and beginner-friendly.
That said, long-time RO fans generally dislike CP systems, as they feel it takes away the depth and individuality that made classic builds unique.
Overall Impression
Ragnarok: The New World has strong potential as a modernized RO experience, combining nostalgic visuals with smoother gameplay, better quest presentation, and manageable daily progression.
However, it still carries several classic MMORPG drawbacks, particularly repetitive early-game loops and a progression system that leans heavily on CP.
Still, as a pilot beta, the game is promising. With proper adjustments, it could evolve into a compelling new entry in the Ragnarok franchise especially for fans who want an RO title that feels familiar yet more polished than its predecessors.
You may also watch the game-play trailer below:
Offline Fan Meetup
In addition to the ongoing test, offline fan meet-ups in Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines are now officially open for registration.
Players who want to participate and meet fellow fans can sign up through the registration here: https://roworld.gnjoy.hk/mlkzh/.
For those who wanted to play Ragnarok: The New World, you may join their Discord at https://discord.gg/WACB3qKH