Salem: The Crafting MMO has finally entered open beta! This wide open sandbox world is welcoming new players into its deadly arms. Salem features permadeath, a wide open character development system without classes or roles, a vast crafting system and largely open pvp. I’ve had my eye on this game for a while, and after having peeked in on it briefly, I can say it is definitely as open a sandbox as I’d been hoping for, and it is deadly enough to make even me pause. I’d describe this game as something along the lines of a marriage between Terraria and Ultima Online, with players taking on the roles of pilgrims out to explore a huge and oftimes deadly new world.
Hit the jump for more details.
In the words of the developers:
In Salem, players can step into the well-worn boots of brave pilgrims, arriving in a fledgling settlement and attempting to carve out their new homes in the untamed wilderness. To survive, pilgrims will need to learn from the land to boost their skills, scavenge for food, and harvest natural resources in a wide-open sandbox environment to craft tools and homes, and even establish their own in-game settlements. Danger lurks around every corner, however, and between wild animals, unseen perils, and their fellow players, surviving Salem is no lean feat: there are few restrictions on Player-versus-Player (PvP) attacks, no law except what the community makes, and in Salem, death is permanent.
It’s really quite a fascinating game, and is fully free-to-play – although the cash shop isn’t open yet, so I have no idea what they’ll be selling. I do recommend that anyone interested in giving this a try take a moment to check out the forums, as there is a world of helpful information and survival tips from players who’ve been in the closed beta for quite some time. Anything from modding the game – I’ve already scoped out several community mods and some of them are quite good – to in game crafting and combat tips can be found on the forums. I rarely check out guides when I play games, but I found the time I spent browsing the forums worth its weight in gold.
To learn more about the game, visit the Salem official webpage or the Salem FaceBook page.
