70/100
Players17 ratings

Where to get it

Steam

2008 · ESTsoft · MMORPG · Role-playing

Cabal Online

Long ago, a powerful group known as the CABAL used their powers to transform the continent of Nevareth into a utopia, ruled by the strong. Constant abuse of power, coupled with in-fighting between members, ultimately led to their downfall, leaving the continent in ruins. During this massive upheaval, nearly every member of the group perished, sparing only seven, including their leader, Faust.

Released: 1 March 2008
Platforms: Windows
Genres: MMORPG Role-playing
Developers: ESTsoft
Publishers: —
Modes: Multiplayer
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Action Fantasy
Country: South Korea
Age ratings: ESRB T

About

Cabal Online (Korean: 카발 온라인, stylized as CABAL Online) is a free-to-play, 3D massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by South Korean company ESTsoft. Different localizations of the game exist for various countries and regions. Although free-to-play, the game makes use of the freemium business model by implementing an "Item Shop", both in-game and via web, allowing players to purchase special premium coins using real currency, in order to acquire exclusive game enhancements and features, useful items and assorted vanity content.

Cabal Online takes place in a fictional world known as Nevareth, nearly a thousand years after its devastation by a powerful group of idealistic men, the CABAL. Hoping to turn their world into a utopia, they inadvertently fueled the forces and laws of nature to rebel against them, causing the event known as the Apocalypse. After the destruction, only eight members of the CABAL survived, including their leader, Faust.

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

As a typical MMORPG, gameplay in Cabal Online contains elements of both player versus player and player versus environment, as well as player killing. PvE elements include grinding and quests which reward players with items and experience points, as well as instances for obtaining assorted treasure and "Alz", the in-game currency. PvP elements include player-killing in special channels (with penalties for mass killing), arranged duels between two players with no penalties for either side, the Mission War system, which divides players into two nations, Capella and Procyon, as well as a Neutral faction, and has them wage war against each other in Tierra Gloriosa events, specific war channels and all higher-level maps (which are war-enabled at all times), and lastly the Guild versus Guild system, allowing arranged mini-wars between two guilds. Players can band together to form a party, with a maximum of six characters. Bonus experience points are awarded to party members based on their contributions.

The game is divided into servers, or game worlds, each with its own unique name and set of further subdivisions - channels. While players from different servers cannot interact with each other unless they transfer to the same server using special premium items, they can switch freely through all available channels on one server, including Premium ones if they have purchased a Premium package. Characters in different channels cannot, however, assist each other directly; only characters in the same channel can interact. Chatting does bypass this restriction for chat modes such as private messaging (whispering), guild chat, party chat or personal chat rooms.

Development

Cabal Online was developed by ESTsoft. The programming works were led by Min Yeonghwan.

Reception

Cabal Online received mixed reviews from critics. In December 2006, PC Gamer UK gave it a rating of 6.4, commenting that the game was "mindblowingly generic". The magazine had also criticized Cabal Online for sharing many features as other Korean MMORPGs. Despite the negative review from PC Gamer UK, the game was selected as one of the "Top 9 Free MMOs Worth Playing" in the magazine's June issue.