Why did we make only the CH race and ×5 rates?
When you open a private Silkroad server, the easiest thing is to set high rates and unlock all the classes at once. The first evening looks great: level 100 by nightfall, everyone armed, and a lively chat. The question is what to do on that server a month later.
We took a different approach. SroAsia currently has one race, China, and experience rates five times higher than normal. Enhancement rates are standard. The main server has a level cap of 100, while new servers start at a cap of 60 and progress in stages. Below, we explain why we made these choices and where we think their weak points are.
Three schools, five weapon types, four Chi forces. That’s a lot for one race
Why China only
Let’s start with the obvious. Europe is in the works, and that’s exactly how it’s labeled on the website: “coming soon.” Knights, wizards, clerics, bards, nine weapon types. We’re not hiding it or canceling it.
But we decided not to launch with it, for three reasons.
First: balance. Silkroad has two races with different mechanics. A Chinese character is built around a weapon school and Chi forces. Europeans play by different rules. When both sides enter the same arena, every stat change affects everyone at once. We’d rather get one side right first than release two and spend six months patching the gaps between them.
Second: China has plenty to offer. Three schools: Bicheon with a shield, Heuksal with a spear and glaive, and Pacheon with a bow. Four Chi forces: Cold, Lightning, Fire, and Force. You can combine them, and those combinations alone are enough for dozens of different characters. A tank holding a unique and an archer who strikes first play different games, even though they belong to the same race.
Third: that’s how the game itself began. Europeans didn’t arrive in Silkroad on day one, and the early Silk Road was Asian. We’re not turning that into a cult. But if you want to experience the game’s beginnings, this is roughly what they looked like.
There’s a practical side, too. When there’s only one race, the rules are the same for everyone. A guide you’ve read works for everyone. A unique hunting party comes together around clear roles: the shield holds the line, the spear hits the crowd, and the bow starts the fight. And in a siege, the winner is whoever plays better and coordinates better; there’s simply no one to argue about which race is stronger.
We see the weak point. Some people are waiting specifically for a knight or a bard, and right now there’s nothing here for them. That’s the honest cost of this decision. When Europe is ready, we’ll announce it in the news.
Why ×5
Rates are the biggest point of debate on any private server. At one end is classic ×1, where reaching the cap takes months and demands free time that adults don’t have. At the other end are rates in the hundreds and thousands, where you get levels just for logging in.
Neither works for us. At ×1, a player with a job and a family is unlikely to reach level 100. With high rates, we lose everything that makes Silkroad worth playing in the first place.
Here’s what we mean. Silkroad is a game about the road. A trader carries goods between cities, a hunter protects them, and a thief steals them. This triangle needs people at different levels, spending time in different lands. If everyone rushes from Chang’an to the cap overnight, the road empties. The trader has no one to run from, and the thief has no one to rob.
The same goes for unique monsters. Tiger Girl, level 20, near Chang’an; Uruchi, level 40, near Hotan; Isyutaru, level 60, in the Karakoram passes. Each one is a milestone. When you spend an evening at level 20, Tiger Girl means something. When you spend five minutes at level 20, she’s just scenery.
Meadows near Chang’an. At ×5, you’ll spend an evening here
We wanted a road where people could meet.
Five is a compromise. A level 100 character is within reach for someone who plays in the evenings. At the same time, you get to spend time in every region.
There’s also a bonus for those who use both character slots on their account. At ×5, a second character is realistic, too. You can level a fighter and a trader, and neither turns into a second job. At ×1, people usually abandon their second character halfway through; with high rates, it loses its purpose because it’s no different from the first. We wanted a road where people could meet.
What the road looks like
To make clear what we mean, here’s the journey we have in mind. You start in Chang’an, taking your first quests from the townspeople. At level 20, Tiger Girl is by the city walls, described honestly in the bestiary as “the first real test for beginners.” At level 40, there’s Uruchi in the Hotan oasis. At level 60, Isyutaru appears in the Karakoram passes, once every few hours. Beyond that lies the Taklamakan Desert and Lord Yarkan, level 80. And Demon Shaitan, level 90, lives on Roc Mountain; the hunt there runs from level 70 to 90.
You spend time in each of these stretches. You learn your class, find people, save up for gear, lose your caravan, and get angry at thieves. At ×5, you make this journey over several evenings; with high rates, all that would be left of it is six lines in the bestiary.
Enhancement, without gimmicks
Gunpowder Ghost. Its drops are worth money while leveling takes effort
Our enhancement rates are standard. No guaranteed +10s and no boosted chances.
Why does that matter? Weapon enhancements are the server’s currency. If they’re easy to get, they’re worth nothing, and the economy loses value along with them. The marketplace shows the average price over seven days. We want that number to mean something.
When levels are worth nothing, everything else is worth nothing, too.
The logic is the same as with rates. When levels are worth nothing, everything else is worth nothing, too. Drops from a unique that a guild spent an evening hunting should be worth money. That’s only possible while levels and enhancements take effort to earn.
A server that grows
We launch new servers with a level cap of 60. The cap rises in stages, and new regions open through player votes.
This is a direct extension of the same idea. When the whole map is open from day one, people scatter across it and don’t see each other. When the map grows, everyone spends some time in the same lands, trades on the same auction house, and fights over the same uniques. The server has time to become a community.
We added voting because we don’t want to decide for players where they should go next. Guilds, traders, and solo players want different things, so let the majority decide. We’re planning rewards for taking part in the vote.
This also works for the main server with a level cap of 100: anyone who joins later can start on a new server alongside everyone else, without having to catch up with those who’ve been playing since day one.
What we pay for this
A slow-paced game is a risk. Someone who logs in for an evening might not reach the interesting part. So we’ve kept all the inconvenience inside the game and removed it from the outside.
The game opens in your browser, on your phone, and in Telegram; there’s nothing to install. The interface comes in two versions: classic and updated. You earn Silk by playing, one per hour of active play, up to ten a day. There are professions, automated events, and active game masters. The @SilkRoadOnlineGame bot will remind you about an event ten minutes in advance when you use the /remind command.
In other words, it takes a minute to get to the road, but the road itself is still long. We think that’s how it should be.
Where we might be wrong
SroAsia is currently in open testing. Major updates may involve resets, and we’ll give advance notice if they do. That means the decisions in this column aren’t set in stone either.
We know people will debate them. Rates are a matter of taste, and there’s no universal answer. Our answer is meant for someone who only has evenings to play and wants those evenings to still mean something a month later.
Maybe ×5 will feel too slow for some people. Maybe some will leave because Europe isn’t here before we finish it. If we’re wrong, the players will tell us. We’re fine with that.
If we’re wrong, the players will tell us. We’re fine with that.
We prefer a server that adapts to its players over one that’s simply the easiest to launch.
SroAsia is an independent project. Silkroad Online, its trademarks, graphics, and characters belong to Joymax and the respective rights holders. Play: sro.asia · Telegram: @SilkRoadOnlineGame