Early Access FAQ

What does Early Access mean for Monsters & Memories?

Early Access is the commercial launch of our Indie MMORPG. Players are able to subscribe to the game, level to 60, and benefit from the full live service experience. This includes customer service support and ongoing updates to the game.

Early Access includes a subset of the planned zones and races. More will be added as we work toward the full 1.0 version of the game.

Why are you choosing to go into Early Access instead of just finishing the game?

We have a volunteer team working on Monsters & Memories. MMOs are large, expensive, and difficult to make. By supporting us through Early Access, we hope to scale our art and design production capability, allowing us to accelerate development to where we can have a more fully fleshed out game world. Revenue from subscriptions and merchandise allow us to pay some of our team members, while others have opted to remain volunteers.

Is Early Access a head start launch?

No, Early Access is the initial launch of our game.

Will there be a character wipe after the Early Access period ends?

No. As stated above, Early Access is not a head start, so all players can start playing Monsters & Memories at the same time, for the same subscription fee. Players who want to start after the Early Access period will have the opportunity to begin on fresh servers.

What content is available in Early Access?

Players have access to a fully fleshed out 1-60 leveling path, which takes them through cityscapes, outdoor zones, dungeon zones, overland dungeons, and ocean zones.

The current zone count as of Early Access launch, including outdoor zones, dungeons, and mini-dungeons is 28 zones.

The Desert of Szuur zones include: Night Harbor, Tomb of the Last Wyrmsbane, Shaded Dunes, Sungreet Strand, Tel Ekir, Glass Flats, Fallen Pass, Fallen Watch, Shallow Shoals, Vale of Zintar, a mysterious island expedition, and several unlisted mini-dungeons and secret locations.

Calafrey zones include: Evershade Weald, where Faelindral resides, Keepers Bight, and Scarwood.

Fields of the Lost was originally slated for launch, but we’ve decided to spend the time on a new dungeon, called the Blind Midden, near the Deep Elf city of Ail’vorith (see below).

Our first Module, title “Descent into the Deep,” is included in Early Access. It provides the first zones of the Deep: an underworld as vast as the surface world above. The various Deep regions connect, and together span all of Aêthoril.

The Module 1 zones include: Underdocks, Caves of Irem, Great Cavern Sea, Rothold - the Ruins of Roothold Keep, Blind Midden, and the Deep Elven city of Ail’vorith.

The playable races in Early Access include:

  • Deep Elves

  • Deep Gnomes

  • Dwarves

  • Gnomes

  • Goblins

  • Halflings

  • Humans

  • Ogres

  • Wood Elves

Additional playable races will be added in future Modules.

All classes are available.

What starting areas are available in Early Access?

The majority of Early Access content takes place on the continent of Aêthoril, in the mysterious desert region of Szuur, the green lands of Calafrey to the north, and the Deep Region that runs beneath them both.

Players can start in one of four locations:

  • Night Harbor

  • The Underdocks

  • Faelindral

  • Ail’vorith

Night Harbor, the Crown Jewel of the West, is a massive port city on the western coast of Aêthoril. Good and neutral race/faith/class combinations can start here.

The Underdocks is a seedy underground port district found far below Night Harbor. It’s a conduit for trade and transport, connecting the surface world to Aêthoril’s Deep regions. Some neutral and evil race/faith/class combinations have the option of starting here.

From these two locations, adventurers will set out on their journey to explore the outer reaches of Szuur—both on the surface and in the Deep.

To the north of Szuur lies the enchanted lands of Calafrey, home of the Elves. Wood Elves and Halflings have the option of starting in Faelindral, the City in the Trees.

And deep below the eastern lands of Calafrey lies the city of Ail’vorith, the dark capital of the Deep Elves. Various evil race/faith/class combinations can start here.

Some starting locations for different race/faith/class combos will change as we work toward 1.0. Factions will begin to matter much more than before, so be sure to be careful when traveling.

How can I subscribe to Monsters & Memories? How much does it cost?

You can sign up for an account on our Account Management page. Subscriptions are available for a $15 USD monthly fee (plus applicable taxes), per account.

Is there regional pricing?

We’re using Stripe, so you can pay in local currency in many cases, but the cost is not modified for different regions. Whatever $15 USD converts to in your currency (e.g. EUR → USD) is the cost of the monthly subscription. Also, don’t forget that taxes are a thing. Those will be added to the price depending on your location.

Can I gift subscriptions to other players?

Yes, we’ll eventually support gift subscriptions. Keep an eye out for updates on this topic.

How do I download the client?

Log into your account, then at the top of the page, click Download Launcher. After you install the launcher, you’ll need to patch up the game before you can play.

What are the System Requirements?

Information regarding minimum system requirements is fairly limited since we're still optimizing the game, but we currently recommend that your system have at least:

  • Windows 10 version 21H1 (build 19043) or higher

  • 16 GB of RAM

  • A relatively modern CPU

  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB VRAM) or equivalent

Dedicated GPUs with lower specs and some integrated GPUs may suffice, but performance will be limited.

What servers are available?

The current server list as of Early Access launch includes:

  • US West PvE (no boxing)- Estaire - God of Time

  • US East PvE (no boxing)- Trem - God of Commerce

  • US East PvE 2 (no boxing) - Tilustra - Goddess of Knowledge

  • US PvP (no boxing) - Kravvin - God of Slaughter

  • US PvE (3 box) - Nunavoth - God of Gluttony

  • EU PvE (no boxing) - Vespyra - Goddess of Magic

We’ll monitor the server populations and determine whether more are needed, but we’re erring on the side of not having too many servers. That said, if we do add servers later and need to consolidate them -or- if the current list proves to be too many, we’ll provide a clear overview of how they’ll be consolidated.

Note:

  • For those that don’t know, the term ‘boxing/box’ is defined here.

  • The RP server has been removed from the list for now.

  • “PvE Boxing” has been merged with “PvE 2 Box” to form the “3 Box” option.

Is the merch shop open?

Yes! But it currently only supports purchases from the US. We’re working toward resolving this and opening it up internationally, but it may take some time.

You can visit the merch shop here. Buy a shirt, mug, or life-sized gnome snuggle pillow to celebrate the launch of Early Access!

Will tipping be enabled during Early Access?

Yes, we’ll add a Tip Jar during Early Access. There are some things to keep in mind with this:

  • The tips go into the team’s ‘War Chest,' rather than to any one developer.

  • They’ll be limited to $5-500, with the low end being to help protect us from chargebacks.

  • They are anonymized and provide you with no special benefits.

  • Tips will be tracked and published with the rest of our revenue numbers.

Tipping is not a requirement, but people asked about it. We’re just happy to get your subscription or sell you some cool merch.

What should I expect as a player during Early Access?

Besides providing a Live Service experience in the form of customer support, operations, and live events, we’re planning both major and minor game updates (Modules) that will flesh out Aêthoril to its full 1.0 state.

This includes new zones, abilities, items, bug fixes, systems, and of course, entirely new biomes to explore.

Descent into the Deep, our first Module, is included in Early Access. Stay tuned for information about Module 2.

Plans, names, themes, etc. may change between now and 1.0.

What if I don’t want to play until the game is further along? Won’t I be far behind?

We realize that a number of players would prefer a fully fleshed out game world before they start their adventures in Monsters & Memories. Coinciding with certain major content releases and/or other milestones, we will be releasing a fresh server or servers where all players can start off on equal footing.

These servers may one day merge with the original server or servers, but this will depend on a number of factors including server population, global population, and player feedback.

What all needs to be completed for Monsters & Memories to reach “full release” ready? How will you detail it?

We want all the racial cities to be online, along with release ready regions to support them.

We’ll be creating a new roadmap, or updating our current one to detail the development process to reach 1.0.