A Free MMORPG: What Is Free in Ancient Online: Remastered and What Is Never Sold
Ancient Online: Remastered is a free-to-play MMORPG: no fee to sign up, download or play. What the shop sells, what it never sells and how to start.
Ancient Online: Remastered is a free MMORPG: it is free to play, and you pay nothing to create an account, download the game or play it. "Free" means very different things from one game to the next, so this post answers a single question: what exactly is free here? You will find what the in-game shop sells, what it never sells, how to tell a free MMORPG from one that is free only on paper, and how to get started.
Ancient Online: Remastered is in development; it is currently in closed alpha and no release date has been announced. The systems described here may change before launch.
What does "free to play" mean here?
- Creating an account is free. You create it with your email address on the game's login screen.
- Downloading is free. The game is downloaded from the website's Download the Game page.
- Playing is free. You do not pay to enter the world or to stay in it.
This is the model the game will launch with. Today the game is in closed alpha: you get in with an access key, and keys are not for sale. How keys work is explained in the closed alpha guide.
What is free, what is sold and what is never sold?
| What | How you get it |
|---|---|
| Account, download and play | Free |
| Levels, skills and equipment | Earned in the game; never sold |
| Rare items, ranks and leaderboard places | Earned in the game; never sold |
| In-game currency (Tael) | Earned in the game; cannot be bought with real money |
| Login calendar, playtime rewards and battle pass | Free in the development build; the battle pass has no paid tier |
| Costumes, appearances and convenience items | Sold in the in-game shop |
What does the Item Shop sell?
The in-game shop, the Item Shop (Nesne Market), only offers costumes, appearances and convenience items; none of them grant combat power, experience or in-game currency. In practice that means:
- Costumes and appearances: Outfits, hair and headgear, weapon appearances. None of them carry a stat bonus.
- Pets and social items: Pets that give no bonus and are there for their looks, emotes and fireworks.
- Convenience items: Time-saving items such as an extra inventory row or a storage expansion.
Every item bought from the Item Shop arrives bound: it cannot be sold to other players. When the shop opens to players, its products and details will be announced separately.
What is never sold?
Nothing that makes a character stronger is sold for real money:
- Power: Damage, defence, stats, levels and item power.
- Equipment and upgrade materials: Weapons, armour, accessories and the materials used to upgrade them.
- In-game currency and boosters: Tael, experience boosters and drop boosters.
- Boxes with random contents: Once sold for money, they would turn into loot boxes.
The full list, and how the server rejects any attempt to put a power item in the shop, is in our no pay-to-win post.
How do you spot a game that is "free but pay-to-win"?
A free download tells you nothing about what comes later. Before you give your hours to any free MMORPG, ask these questions:
- Does anything in the shop add damage, defence, stats or levels?
- Can in-game currency be bought with real money, directly or through items you can resell?
- Are experience boosters, drop boosters or upgrade materials sold?
- Are boxes with random contents sold for money?
- Is the rule written down publicly, and does it say it will not change?
For Ancient Online: Remastered the answer to the first four is no, and the answer to the fifth is yes: the rule is our Fair Play Pledge, and it is permanent.
Which platforms can you play on?
The target platforms are Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS; the development build is currently tested on Windows and Android devices. Your account is not tied to a device, so the same account works on your computer and on your phone, and the game is free to play on PC and mobile alike. Details are in the PC and mobile cross-platform guide.
How do you get started?
- Check the system requirements page to see whether your device will run the game.
- Open the Download the Game page. During closed alpha the page asks for your access key before the download buttons.
- Create your account inside the game; the website has no login or sign-up form. The steps are in the account creation and security guide.
- Choose an empire and a class, and take your first steps with the beginner's guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ancient Online: Remastered really free?
Yes. It is free to play: creating an account, downloading the game and playing it cost nothing.
Do I have to pay for an access key?
No. Keys are not for sale; any person or website offering you a key for money is not official.
Is the battle pass paid?
In the development build the battle pass has a single, free tier; there is no paid upper tier.
Can money make me stronger than other players?
No. Power is not sold for real money, and items bought from the shop cannot be sold to other players.
Next step
To see every rule of the shop, read our no pay-to-win post. To join the test, start with the closed alpha guide, and follow the announcements in our Discord community.
