Plants mean power in Runes of Magic
by Lesley Smith 
Apr 30th 2009 at 7:00PM
Filed under: Fantasy, Free-to-play, Runes of Magic
Free-to-play MMO Runes of Magic is prompting players to get green-fingered with their brand new plant system. While currently being tested, it is due to be implemented in an upcoming patch. Basically, players will be able to plant seeds in colourful pots (no boring visit to the garden centre required). Seeds can be purchased from the Item Shop or found left behind after slaughtering your foes, we assume some enemies must be stashing seeds in their pockets which fall out when they expire.
The plants must be watered regularly -- they will shrivel up and die if you forget -- and can take up to a week to grow. You can fertilise them with magical runes which will help determine what the plant will yield. This can be anything from more seeds and runes to the rarest of crafting items.
It's certainly an interesting mechanic and the range of plants and pots seems quite impressive, as does the detail involved. We're sure Runes of Magic fans will be pleased with this new system. Plus, we think the plants work really well as their secondary purpose: ornamental objects.
The plants must be watered regularly -- they will shrivel up and die if you forget -- and can take up to a week to grow. You can fertilise them with magical runes which will help determine what the plant will yield. This can be anything from more seeds and runes to the rarest of crafting items.
It's certainly an interesting mechanic and the range of plants and pots seems quite impressive, as does the detail involved. We're sure Runes of Magic fans will be pleased with this new system. Plus, we think the plants work really well as their secondary purpose: ornamental objects.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
mark said on 7:11PM 4-30-2009
FFXI has had a gardening system similar to this for about 5 years now.
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mko said on 7:18PM 4-30-2009
UO has had a gardening system similar to this for over 10 years now.
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Skuz said on 7:55PM 4-30-2009
I haven't played UO or FFXI but Warhammer Online's Cultivation system looks like a likely inspiration.
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Dblade said on 10:48PM 4-30-2009
No, it really looks like ffxi's system, down to the pots and needing to fertilize it with crystals/runes. Even having your own "room" with the ability to put on tables, and 6 types of pots.
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Then Gabe said on 11:11PM 4-30-2009
Uh, hasn't it long been established that Runes of Magic likes to pull inspiration from just about everywhere? All of you who are saying "so and so did it first", why yes, yes they did. And Runes recognizes that this is a cool feature, so they're aping it. Nothing wrong with that.
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Dblade said on 12:23AM 5-01-2009
Well, it's actually a lot better to make your own. It's not that good of a feeling to come into a new game and be reminded of the one you just left pretty blatantly. And this to me looks pretty blatant. Literally its the same number of pots in ffxi (sorry it was 7 for both, not 6.) In ffxi you can put them on tables exactly like that and even on the floor like that. The only difference is the visual appearance of the pots themselves.
It's silly anyways, I mean why not just give them outdoor space or a greenhouse? Or a plot in an orchard? No reason to limit yourself to old models. Why not instead allow ranching animals? Or even something like a pet that lays eggs that you break for materials. Plenty of low-cost ways to be creative with the base mechanic of letting players farm stuff in their own housing.
Hardy said on 12:01AM 5-01-2009
What a rip off! Early human civilizations were farming plants WAYYY before this game... I'm canceling my account from for this blatant rip off.
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Halldorr said on 8:49AM 5-01-2009
Thank you for making my Friday morning much better :-P
Archipelagos said on 9:02AM 5-01-2009
I laughed a lot. GG.