pRO Urban Legends

This Best of Ragnabeat article was written way back in 2004 and published in the Manila Bulletin. Let me just share it with the rest of you folks for ol' times sake...

If you’re not in the know, Urban Legends are basically just that. Rumors circulated around which are unverified for authenticity.

Sit back, relax and try to remember if you were one of those unlucky victims to any of these “Urban Legends”.

1. DOKEBI HORN LEGEND – There was a legend that if you carried at least 50 Dokebi Horns in your inventory list, you will be assured of a higher “drop rate”. Dokebi Horns are rumored to give their owners additional luck. But of course, carrying 50 Horns was not enough. A friend of mine even went to the extreme and gathered, bought and traded until he acquired at least 400 Dokebi Horns…

Guess what? His drop rate never increased beyond the occasional rare item or monster card every couple of weeks.

Maybe you were also a victim of this rumor… did you buy your Dokebi Horns for as high as 5k per pop? Tsk Tsk… poor kid.

2. THE ICE CREAM STAT RESET LEGEND – In 2003, word spread in Prontera that Ice Cream, an item that monsters in the Lutie Toy Factory dropped, will be a key ingredient in the infamous “Stat Reset”. During this time, most players were still learning the ropes and were experimenting with personal builds. Sad to say that most of these experiments ended in weak characters with inferior stats and skills. Ragnarok was new then… oh well.

True enough, a lot of players wanted a new lease on life (or maybe just for character stats and skills). The demand for stat reset was high. And somehow, the Ice Cream rumor surfaced. In the days the followed, merchants were vending Ice Cream for as high as 10M! And a lot of “hopefuls” fell victim to the evil rumor. Were you one of them? (in 2003, 10M was a LOT!)

3. OVERUPGRADE MYTHS – Who doesn’t want a +10 Muffler or a +8 Full Plate? When WOE and the second server set emerged (Odin, Fenrir, Sarah), a lot of mid-level characters were reaching their prime. Normal +4 gear just couldn’t cut it. In order to survive the demands of PVP and “siege”, overupgraded armors and weapons were in high demand. There are a lot of these legends and myths that circulated pRO. One such popular belief was that Gloria and Bless (and other items that increased a character’s luck, used in a series of exact castings, would somehow increase one’s chance to overupgrade gear. Guess what? This WAS NOT TRUE. Only one’s own “personal luck” (not the character’s) determines the chance of a successful overupgrade attempt.

I’ve also heard countless “techniques” or “lucky rituals” to increase the base chance too. There were merchants who would go in and out of the upgrade building, there was a series of “timed disconnects” and even a “sacred place” called coordinate 63,66 in the Prontera upgrade building which supposedly increased the base chance of overupgrading.

I even tried out some of these “charms”… which of course, didn’t work. /gg

4. HIDDEN KAFRA IN GLASTHEIM – Glast Heim, or GH, is such a popular place. Too bad there wasn’t a Kafra around for anyone to save or get stuff from. That’s why a lot of Acolytes and Priests make big bucks warping people to GH (in 2003 to 2004). Although it is apparent that no trace of the Kafra Corporation or their cute employees can be found anywhere in the map, a lot of adventurers believe that a “secret Kafra” is located “somewhere” in GH. So secret perhaps, that no one has ever found it to this date. Hmmmm… it could be a new skill called “Kafra Eternal Hide level 10”! But wait… that’s starting another rumor /heh

5. DRAGON PROPERTY OF EMPERIUM – When WOE was nearing, some noob spread word that the racial property of Emperium would change from “insect” to ”dragon”. True enough, prices for Petite cards skyrocketed! A guildmate of mine even sold his for 10M minutes into his vend. Tsk tsk… gullible people! Bah!

I’m not saying that believing in these “Urban Legends” is not good for your pRO career. Heck, I was even a victim in most instances. A word of advice though… do your homework first before investing a huge amount of zenny (or effort). Do some research over the Net. A good source of information is the official pRO site at www.ragnarok.ph. You can also consult advanced players.
Whatever happens, take everything with a grain of salt. Who knows? There might be legends or myths that might prove to be true in the near future.

Happy Hunting!

GM T