So, this was brought up at school between me and Ori, so I thought I'd do a little section on it on this.

Elsword is basically Grand Chase (from what I've heard), but has 3D graphics, not as system needy I've heard, great combo system where having an extended combo pays off versus randomly hitting stuff, and good class diversity. First off, let me show how the combo system looks with some gameplay (for each class; also heads up, some gameplay vids are very old, so the interface may look different than it is today.)

Original Trio

Elsword (Warrior-Type)

Spoiler:

Aisha (Mage-Type)

Spoiler:

Rena (Archer-Type)

Spoiler:

Video of all of them (Ori, look at 0:15 to know what I was talking about with the giant sword.)

Spoiler:

New Members to the Team Trio

Raven (Uh...Let's make him the Robot-Arm-Type, kay? Plus his two job choices are included since I couldn't find a better beginner gameplay vid of him.)

Spoiler:

Eve (Queen of Nasods (Robots); Similar to a Mage-Type, but not really. Also shows her two job choices)

Spoiler:

Chung (Cannoneer-Type; Also, unreleased, but coming soon I hope? Skip to 4:20, unless you wanna see what it's like creating a new character)

Spoiler:

So those are all the characters in Elsword. Now, as you may have noticed, I mentioned job choices. Basically every character has two job choices (eventually three). Usually, it's magic vs melee/combo in most of these choices. For instance, Elsword can either improve his melee combos or learn to use magic for his first job choice (Sword Knight or Magic Knight); Aisha can master the basic elements of magic or focus on dark magic (High Magician or Dark Magician); Rena can become combat oriented or specialize in archery (Combat Ranger and Sniping Ranger); Raven can either focus on his swordsmanship or release the seals on his mechanical arm (Sword Taker and Over Taker); Eve can create helpers to help her fight (be a summoner basically) or surpass her limits on her own (Code Architect and Code Exotic); Chung can become a supportive tank or focus on using light-weight guns (Fury Guardian and Shooting Guardian).

After the first job change, the characters eventually hit a 2nd job change, further enhancing their skills. But...something special about the job changes is that the character ages with each job change. As a beginner, the characters are in their early teens. In first job, they mature a little in their teenage years. In the second job, they are adults (Elsword's still short though, lol. Chung goes from a shrimp to about Raven's height. Aisha's flat chested still. Rena becomes the ideal source of fan service. Raven doesn't change much, except for his hair comparing his two 2nd jobs)

Also, leveling up isn't that hard oddly. Though, once you get into the level 40's, it becomes a bit of a grind, but the current max level is 50. So it works out. HOWEVER, there is a stamina system on weekdays (it's unlimited on weekends though; which is perfect)

Elsword is also PvP oriented, but you can ignore it if you want. Rather than explain PvP, I'll just show it. Also, I recommend PvPing at around level 40 if it's competitive, as everyone's lvl 40+ usually, with awesome gear.

Lord Knight vs Rune Slayer (Elsword's 2nd jobs...Aw yeah)

Spoiler:

That's kind of how PvP is basically. Whoever gets the first hit gets to unleash their combo. Of course, laggers, people with epic attack speed can jump out, and what not, but you'll learn about it as you play on.

So that's Elsword basically. Now here's what I have for tips.

Tips/Suggestions!

Passive > Active > Special Active skills.
Usually, it's for the better. You are only allowed to equip 4 skills (8 with money), and if the passive affects your character directly (not help boost a skill, but adds to the character), then go for it. Active skills tend to be helpful for different situations, such as helping start/add to a combo or other odd-ball effects. Special Actives (the character-cut-in skills) usually do great damage at the cost of a lot of MP (usually 100, 200, or 300), but are usually used as finishers. The reason why you don't want to focus on them too much as a beginner is because you get new skills in 1st job, and even more in 2nd job. All those skills in the PvP video? All of the special actives are second job. However! See that kick and counter skill? Beginner job. Actives usually remain helpful throughout the game.

When equipping your skills, have good variety in MP costs.
Don't have all 200/300 MP skills, while at the same time, only have 10~100 mp skills.

Don't be afraid to use skills throughout a dungeon run.
I've seen people not use a single skill in a dungeon run, except during the boss. That's wasteful on so many levels. You will usually gain at least 500 MP per run if you are helpful and have decent combos. You can only hold 300 MP (400 MP for Aishas at some point in 1st job), so don't be MP greedy. Besides, there's no special reward for doing the most damage on the boss or the like.

Join a guild when given the chance.
Pros are helpful. They will teach you the basics, especially since Elsword literally has no 'true' tutorial. You learn as you go. Also, have f12 on and press f1 for key information. It's helpful.

Control = Awakening
I did not learn about this for a long time, but basically, awakening gives you a 1.2x damage multiplier. Either save for bosses or use it throughout the run. Your choice, doesn't matter in the end. It comes down to skill.

Try to think about an End-game build at least by level 30.
Usually, End-Game build means having a PvP oriented set of skills. However, most of the skills for being PvP oriented come from the 2nd job, but it's nice to know what you can utilize for specific dungeon runs/PvP runs. Some skills are better than others, and those are the ones you want to go for.

Try not to upgrade too much until you're level 40+.
It takes about a week or two of hard work to get to level 40 (even faster if you join during a 2x exp event). I had 5 million ED (unit of currency in that game) at level 40; I ended up crafting/upgrading a lot and now I'm at 2 million. I did not upgrade once before then. And again, it comes down to End-Game gear. But feel free to upgrade if it helps or a quest requires you too.

Yes, this game is a little pay 2 win.
However, that only matters if all you care about is PvP Dungeon runs, everyone owns everything usually if you aren't too low level. All costumes do are act as skins to your clothing, give minimal stat boosts, and allow you upgrade them a little. For PvP, that's great! For Dungeons, it makes you crazy powerful, but you're already crazy powerful. Plus, pets help a lot, but you already get a free one, so it doesn't matter that much.

You only get 3 character slots.
You can get more for 300 K-Ching (100 K-Ching = 1 dollar, so I've heard) but surveys are your friend if you want more character slots. And sometimes, with a new character release, they give a free one. I recommend getting one for each character, but if you're crazy and need every character...Gl getting 9 (and eventually, 15 altogether with the 3rd job choice that's coming out eventually)

Job Changing
You can either pay to job change or do a quest to get it for free. I recommend the quest. You get the quest at level 15 for first job change/choice, and 2nd job change is at lv 35. Be sure to save some skill points for new job skills.

Finally, here's my character info if you decide to join.

CaliburnNite - (Elsword; Lv. 44 Lord Knight)
Atrias - (Eve; Lv. 28 Code Exotic)
HopelessArt - (Rena; Lv. 22 Sniping Ranger)
SubjectXVII - (Raven; Lv. 21 Sword Taker... Also yes, I realized I forgot an extra X for 27.)
Angeline - (Aisha; Lv. 21 High Magician)

Final Tip
Always do things as a party. You actually get more exp in a party than you do alone, however, you have to share the loot. But you do get 2x drop rate in a party of 3 or more, so it works out

T-T...i'm too into The Old Republic...if it's free to play, which i assume it is, i might party up with you guys a bit but not like it used to be

What do you mean, "Not like it used to be"? And of course it's f2p; but it's a little pay2win though.

when i was on like everyday...i'll be spending most of my MMO-ing on Star Wars: The Old Republic... If i do download it i'd only spend time on it if i have free time on saturday or sunday

Up to you; I just wanted to make a post about this game since I actually enjoyed it a bit. (And still am. I'm getting better at PvP now. Elsword LK all the way!)

But yeah, I think the best way to sum it up is this. Think about the best things in Maple and Grand Chase. Mash them together, and bam, you get Elsword.

Going to make a list actually about things in common it has between the two. (Never played Grand Chase, but I have a general sense of what it's like from videos)

Similarities to Grand Chase:
-Made by the same company.
-Combo/Knockdown system (I think)
-PvP; 1 v 1, 2 v 2, 3 v 3, Survival (Battle Royale)
-Dungeon/Arena Party system. (Different difficulties for the same dungeon)
-MP/Skill system (pretty sure from what I've seen, it's the same)
-Benefit more in a party than solo? (Again, haven't played it.)

Similarities to Maplestory:
-Art/Avatars slightly resemble it.
-Mushrooms...Though I don't think there are anymore mushroom monsters oddly o.O
-Similar Job system (mixed with the 'each character is a different class' system from Grand Chase)
-Skill allocation?
-Quests! They can be a little grindy/repetitive like with Maple, but it's rewarding and you level fast. And there's no quest overload.

Similarities to both:
-Platforming
-Hack N' Slash (Elsword's better at it though. It's more fluid in character control. Maplestory is basically spam a skill, while I've heard it's hard to maneuver with characters in Grand Chase. Might be wrong.)

So...With those similarities, I'll name what I think is unique to Elsword when compared to Maple and Grand.

Unique features: (Might be wrong, don't hate me.)
Awakening System (1.2x damage multiplier + Other bonuses soon to come)
YOU CAN MOVE FASTER AND WITH MORE FLUIDITY! (Trust me, character speed is decent while sprinting; especially for Elsword and Raven while sprint jumping; and you can control your character mid jump.)
Epic combo strings. (Combo or be combo'd basically)
Never truly overpowered by enemies unless you're taking on much more than you can chew. (Even then, Exp is lowered when you're fighting enemies outside of your level range)
YOU LEVEL UP REALLY FAST! (Expect at least a level a day until you're lvl 40. But usually takes 2~3 days of serious dungeoning for about an hr to level up though)

So yeah...That's what I like about Elsword (Especially that last bullet)

I actually looked at the game before but I wasn't sure if I'd like to play it or not.

i have a quick question...is it odd to have a Terabyte of hard drive space? Terabytes are TB, right?

*Edit* Scratch that 2 TB... o.O

I think a Terabyte is bigger than a gigabyte. But I don't know how big a terabyte is.

a Terabyte is a million Gigabytes...but is it unusual to have a TB on a C:/ Drive?

It just means you bought quite a large hard drive.

Honestly, I could use a Terabyte hard drive right now; my 400 gig one is about full and I can't find the big files taking up all the space -_-

2 TB sounds like a lot, but I realized it might not be a laptop like I'm thinking. (My laptop can only hold 451 GB)

If it's a PC, then I can believe that.

Back to the Elsword conver-

@Sky: Depends if you like Hack N' Slash games with a little platforming, because that's what Elsword is basically (with PvP included)

What I personally like about the game is how fast paced and interesting it can get at lvl 40+ (the bosses also get super innovative btw at lvl 40+)

PvP is sometimes fun (only at lvl 40+, unless you're sparring for fun with a guild/friends)

You level up really fast! (Although stamina system seems like a turn off on weekdays, it's really not that noticeable because of unlimited stamina on weekends + busy schedule.)

But it's your call; everyone has their tastes. If I have to be honest, I like Mabinogi's system a lot more cuz it keeps me on my toes and makes me think a little more, while for Elsword, I just have to have fast reflexes and know enemy patterns...That sounds too much like Vindictus, but it's a lot easier and less system heavy.

did you link the official site?

lol...wooot! didn't actually expect you to do it XD Way to go laziness