Wakfu

Wakfu Review

By Ange Perdu

Wakfu is a 2D fantasy themed strategy MMORPG where players become reincarnated heroes sent back to the World of Twelve to rebuild civilization. Based off of the popular Anakama hit Dofus, fans revisit a familiar land that has taken a drastic turn for the worst. Choose from 14 starting classes and join a nation worth fighting for in this unique adventure. Explore dangerous zones inhabited by strange powerful creatures, battle beasts or opposing nations, and raid dungeon instances. Wage tactical turn-based combat solo or in a group with friends. Participate in special challenges, complete quests, and practice up to 16 different professions while establishing a new form of government. Run for an electoral position to make major decisions for your republic or go on a PvP killing spree to earn a reputation as a menace to the newfound society. This completely F2P game combines the imaginative style of Dofus with some seldom seen RPG features for an entertaining multiplayer experience.

Beyond Souls’ Crossing, the Gameplay

Players start out at a celestial transitioning point called Souls’ Crossing where they encounter a brief tutorial and then are dropped down into the World of Twelve. Similar to Istaria the game’s environment uses an open sandbox style. There’s not much direction and very few NPCs delegating quests. Most of the gameplay revolves around monster killing, exploring, and mastering multiple professions. Combat in Wakfu utilizes a tactical turn based system much like Dofus. To initiate a battle players simply click on their opponent and select the attack icon. A placement grid automatically appears with red and green colored tiles representing each user’s available movement points. Each player’s turn is timed for 30 seconds. Choose to make a move, cast a spell, or execute a direct hit. Battles are intense fights to the death. High level enemies can take forever to kill making combat feel slow paced at times. Every class has their own set of 10 special abilities that can be mastered as a hero levels up and used in battles as well. There are hundreds of cute but challenging creatures to fight. Slay a Bad Meow or take out a team of Tofurbies. Killing critters earn XP. Battles can involve one or multiple monsters against a solo player or team. At any time players can challenge others in a PvP duel. Heroes do not gain any XP for dueling. Battles involving two teams of six are also allowed. Players only earn an opportunity to gloat and a few Citizen Points if the defeated opponent is an enemy of the nation or an outlaw. There is no auto-walk feature. Players have to manually click their way through massive fields and rugged terrain. It makes travelling to and from a destination an arduous task. Periodic challenges become available and flash at the top of the screen to break the monotony of repetitive grinding or aimless meandering. These mini-competitions are timed. They usually have simple objectives like kill the most plant monsters before the buzzard sound off. The winner receives a rare item.

Herbalists to Governors

In the World of Twelve players have up to 16 different professions to choose from, an evolving ecosystem, and a political feature that allows heroes to run for various positions within their nation. All of the professions are interchangeable, once learned. Heroes can freely switch from an herbalist or farmer to a lumberjack at will. Unlike Perpetuum there isn’t a steep learning curve for crafting professions. Players receive a two page book on the subject to look over and then they take a quick quiz over the profession’s procedure. The entire game is player driven including the ecosystem. Nations have the option of using up all of their resources or maintaining their land’s environment. Monsters and plants can be repopulated through the use of seeds or exploited. The in-depth political system allows every hero to become a participating citizen. Vote on local laws and issues once you have earned 100 Citizen Points. Citizen Points are rewarded for being involved in your nation’s welfare. To move up the political ranks to a guard or solider in the government you must unlock a particular achievement such as killing a certain amount of outlaws that have been terrorizing your area. To become a candidate for Governor a hero has to possess 1,000 or more Citizen Points. Elections last 48 hours with stationed polls set aside for users to cast their vote. High ranking positions give players additional bonuses along with the prestige.

Haven’s Bag or Nothing

NPC item shops do not exist in this game. Shocking, I know. Heroes get all their items from monster drops, crafting, or buying it from another player’s Haven’s Bag. Haven Bags are enchanted bags that functions as a mobile shop, house, and garden. Heroes can set up a window display within their bag to sell any unwanted items or equipment. This feature works well with the array of professions available. As a baker whip up some breads or switch to a handyman to create a few nice pieces of furniture to display. Tailors are able to make clothes and herbalists can concoct vital remedies to sell or dispense to allies in need. Similar to most player trading options heroes get to set their price. Although virtually any item can be sold in Haven Bags finding a player with the specific item you need is just as random as monster drop rewards. It’s always nice to have the security of a placed NPC shop to go to when in need. The lack of item shops makes it hard to acquire powerful gear without relentless grinding. It’s not fun. Players have to become a jack-of-all-trades with their profession skills and even then it’s only certain items that can be crafted. Occasionally heroes will stumble upon a Haven Bag with a nice assortment of equipment. Weapons like the Gobbhammer, Tofu Staff, Ha Sword, Gobbsword, and Gobblette Wand may be available. Sometimes a user will find extra keys to dungeon instances like the key to the Three Pirates’ Cave and sell them. Purple Piwat, Swocks, Belle Ring, Kapow Thongs, Adventurer Helmet, Larvesque Helmet, Moonstone, Gobball Breastplate, Sticky Shield, Tofu Cloak, and Moskito Wings are other gem finds but overall customization is limited.

Final Verdict: Good

Wakfu is a unique and challenging game. Players will find themselves literally lost in a world overflowing with cartoonish yet difficult to beat creatures. Although the map and navigation options could be better, intense tactical turn-based combat is prevalent throughout the game. Fans of Dofus or those new to the genre will appreciate the stylish graphics, in-depth ecosystem, interchangeable professions, political system, and the fact that all of the content is F2P. The open sandbox-like gameplay gives players the freedom to choose their character’s destiny but this feature may not be for everyone. If strategy RPGs and fantasy themed games like Istaria are more up your ally than this animated adventure might be worth checking out.

Wakfu Screenshots

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Wakfu Videos

Wakfu Official Trailer

Wakfu Ecosystem Trailer

Wakfu Political Trailer

Wakfu Links

Official Game Page

Wakfu System Requirements

Coming soon. . .