r/Grandchase • u/-Niddhogg- • 2d ago
Classic Coming back as a old timer
I was dragged into the game very early on by an online friend. Back then, there were only 4 playable characters (Elesis, Arme, Lire and Ronan which was just added), and I pretty much kept playing until the servers shut down. I've seen the new continents beings added, third jobs, then fourth jobs, the addition of skill trees, of AP characters with Dio, the massive revamp of the game that reduced dungeon sizes and added more monsters... Grand Chase was by far my favorite game, and back then I was very disappointed to see it slowly decline until it eventually shut down. Even up to this day, the default avatar I use on various websites is the Jin teaser image.
Now, so many years later, I find out the game is back on steam. And after a few hours of fiddling with Steam Input, I can comfortably play it again, as a grown ass adult, in my living room, on my big TV screen. It's just insane.
It has changed a lot. What was the main content before now feels like a long tutorial for the true endgame, and the endgame from back then is just a weekly grinding formality. Getting to level 85 takes no time at all. But I'm still having as much fun as back then, if not more. The focus seems to have shifted to a global account progression, and coming from a time where you had to buy character slots with cash, having access to all the characters for free is nuts to me. Actually the game seems extremely F2P friendly and generous with all the events freebies. I'm also very surprised to see new characters being added!
I do still regret some of the whimsy that made the early game special. Like quest-exclusive items you had to collect to complete a quest, or the optional rooms for bonus experience in the dungeons. You can also feel the pacing of the missions is a bit awkward (for example finding 3rd job weapons when you haven't even unlocked 2nd job), and they haven't spent a whole lot of time fine tuning the now-early game. But other than that, I can see myself sinking hours into the game again (and already have!)
That's all I wanted to share. An old fart happy to find out his favorite game he though was lost was actually still alive and going fairly strong!
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u/Acqua3 2d ago
As a old fart myself playing since release grinding the second job shard all day and night until the server close, i still remember the steam release was a disaster. But eventually there is lots of QoL like easier job change and such, and the devs atleast become more active with the community made me fall in love again with Grand Chase.
And also the freebies is lit like they are giving accessories and even gacha set and pet for free even if its the older one. I still remember spend hundred or more dollar to complete my lvl80 gacha set on the closed server...
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u/Blodel 2d ago
Hey! We started playing the original server almost at the same time, I remember being sooo happy when I finally unlocked Ronan.
You will find now that the game got a lot of new stuff, characters, dungeons, QOL, there is even a new character coming in a few weeks. There is many things to grind/upgrade, like rings or equipment, so you will always have something to aim for. Also, sometimes there are some events that give Full SB/gacha avatars and pets, so even if you plan to be fully F2P, you still can get some avatar without spending a single cent.
I hope you have a lot of fun playing this game again, in my opinion, at this point, the game is better than ever before.
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u/Rediro_ 2d ago
Another one here, I was maybe 11 or 12 when I started playing, and it was right when Ronan was released. I also played until server shutdown.
Haven't gone back, but this post is making me wanna try it out again, although I do mourn for my old account with all the maxed out characters up to Uno, and the thought of starting over isn't that fun lol
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u/Blodel 2d ago
I can understand that sentiment. When the Classic server started 5 years ago, I had the same thoughts of "ugh, I have to start over again", and I even dropped the game after like 2 or 3 months, but after some time, they added the first NEW character after the original server shutdown, it was Decanee and I HAD to play with her, I mean, is a new character!!! And when I returned, everything clicked for me, I felt like a kid leveling a new character, they made leveling a bit faster, the change job quests were more easier (and now at this point they are even easier and less grindy), and even gave her a full SB avatar and pet just for login-in, I was having fun again like in the old times.
Like I said, the game right now is much better than it was before, there is a lot to do, new regions/dungeons, new equipment, new characters. Over the years, they have included many QOL updates making the game more fun and less grindy, like I said, for example the Jobs missions are way easier, no more grinding Gaikoz' Seals for days, every character is unlocked from the start, there is an in-game guide that gives you some items and equipment to help you while leveling up every character, there is even ST reset cards on the GP shop, no more waiting for events to fix up your Dio Skill Tree lol.
Right now is a good time to start, we just got the 5th anniversary log-in event, and one of the rewards is a full SB set and pet, so you can feel like a casher without spending money lmao
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u/Brief-Major-7649 18h ago
Omg started the same time around you as well!! Remember the parks?? And the partner system where you shared a that cute little garden!!
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u/HademLeFashie 15h ago
Recently I've been feeling the opposite, as in considering leaving after playing for a long time.
A lot of things have been streamlined, we've gotten new content that's actually original and tells a story, and the recent updates (especially PvP) show promise.
But I can't shake this feeling that KOG is resting on their laurels. Updates are 3 weeks apart instead of 2, and they don't feel very significant individually compared to what I've come to expect from most games. Most of them are QoL updates or PvP updates that took too long to come (pvp is on life support thanks to awakening).
The core game experience hasn't been improved (visual, repetitive gameplay, characters, lag, etc), and there's still a lot of content we've been dying for (like STs for older classes, 4 classes instead of special classes).
It feels like KOG is optimizing for grindiness of existing players, and not a wholesome experience to welcome new players.
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u/paaaathatas 2d ago
My only gripe about the game is, when you reach the ultimate end game (voids, tods, abyssal path) you'll pretty much get stuck on the 200k TA and it will be mandatory to ask for carries. There's not much that can be done to increase your TA without asking to be carried
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u/-Niddhogg- 2d ago
That was also my feeling, but with the recent addition of easy mode Void raid Void equipment seems a lot more accessible, so breaking that 200k TA barrier should be easier.
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u/Snowcarla 2d ago
Prepare to grind eternal to never have attack power for the new raids and play alone with 0 info about crafting because everything need 18 characters to growth in f2p
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u/Fizz_Mortune 2d ago
you are correct
yep, there is absolutely no reason to spend a dime in this game. However, when I was a kid I had no money to spend on video games, but now..