It’s been almost 8 years in the making (and waiting). And finally, the most anticipated patch for pRO is now going live today, May 9, 2012. Ito ang sariling atin, ang PORT MALAYA. 

Tuloy po kayo!

How would you like to explore the beautiful Luneta park, the majestic ruins of The Fort (Corregidor), or even ride a Jeepney? Sounds like a tourist schedule here in the Philippines, right?

Well, with Episode 25 Port Malaya, you get to explore all that and more in Philippine Ragnarok Online!

This summer, join us as me and the Level Up! crew unveil the most awaited patch since the game was introduced to Filipinos almost nine years ago. The patch is called “PortofMalaya,” the first Philippine-themed RO game map featuring myths, legends, places and situations that are all uniquely Pinoy.

What can one expect from Port Malaya? Let’s watch the teaser trailer, shall we?

From Tikbalangs, Kapres, Jeepneys, Pinoy NPCs, a Jejeling (Jejemon Poring) to Boss Monsters like Bakonawah and the Bangungot: to a Pinoy, Port Malaya will indeed feel like home!

So, if you’ve missed playing Ragnarok for so long, we’re sure that you’ll enjoy leveling up and playing it again in the most fun pRO map. Ever!

Register now for FREE for a Ragnarok account here.

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For more details about Port Malaya, please visit the official website here

And, while you’re at it, please join the official pRO community page at Facebook

Thanks. Don’t forget to share.

Seeya all inside the game!

Rok On!

Last weekend, I was at Seoul, South Korea with the Philippine contingent for the Ragnarok World Championships 2011. The 1-day event gathering was held Saturday, October 15, 2011 at the AX Hall, Gwangjang-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. In a nutshell, 5 out the 7 players were denied travel VISAs by the South Korean Embassy in Manila.

We already came out with the official statement regarding the fate of the Philippine Team. Truly a sad day for our country since this was the first time that our team was denied travel documents for participating in the RWC. What’s even more sad was the fact that we really felt that this team was one of the best and getting that elusive RWC crown for our country could have been this year. I feel sorry for the series of unfortunate events and I totally feel sorry for Team Naked Nanaman, who were all excited to go to Seoul and prove to everyone how Pinoys play Ragnarok!

I am not one to say that “there was nothing we could do”. Here are the facts, we submitted all the documents and requirements to the embassy since September. PlayWeb/Level Up has no control on when the embassy releases the visas or how fast (or how slow) their process is. In fact, we have done everything humanly possible to explain to the embassy that the boys are part of a seven-man team and the fact that they approved 2 of their team mates means that they understood that a team-vs-team game of 7 needs an entire team to compete.

Our partners, Gravity Inc, developers of Ragnarok, and host of the RWC 2011 also wer calling the embassy to convince them and explain to them our position. We also tried to call some of our contacts to help the boys with their Visas up to the very last minute. Our managers and staff stayed with the boys to the last minute. Sadly, the embassy would not reverse their decision even if they did manage to approve Visas of some pRO tourist players. In short, I don’t know their basis for their decision. It all remains a mystery but I respect it nonetheless.

I am not blaming anyone. I just wanted to explain our side of the story since it pains me and my co-workers to see a lot of misguided people on Facebook and the forums bash us like it’s all our fault. Don’t you just hate it when people conclude things AS IF THEY KNEW all there is to know about the situation? That’s one thing I hate about the Internet. The Internet does NOT make you right. You just have access to information and if you don’t know the entire story, don’t pretend you do.

That’s kinda cool, eh? Let me repeat that “You don’t know everything, you just have Internet access.”

In the spirit of sportsmanship, we managed to talk with the tournament committee for RWC 2011 and they allowed us to field a team (minimum of 5) to at least fight. The 2 members of Team Philippines asked not to be included in this one. Seeing the ordeal that they went through, we respected that and I made the call to just field in 5 Filipinos to play so we could respect the host country and the event. Of course, we knew that we couldn’t win, but we wouldn’t want to “destroy the party” or the fun atmosphere of the event either.

Manila was the first city outside of Seoul to host an RWC event in 2008 and we wanted to show everyone, to all the RWC countries, to our hosts, and to all the foreign players, that we would carry our flag as proud as we could with our chins up high, as true Filipinos.

And yes, we didn’t win.

We got eliminated by Korea. Thailand went on to wear the 2011 crown defeating Brazil (a Level Up team too)

We could have complained, we could have whined,  and being angry was a normal reaction, right?

Wrong.

For me, that’s setting a wrong example, that’s painting a picture of a Filipino which I personally DO NOT want the world to see. What good would whining or bitching about it do? What’s done is done. I respect the decision of their consulate. They already did it. It was final. Sure it was sad, but dousing gasoline on fire will not do the world any good. I’ve been a Community Manager for far too many years to have seen the worst of the worst. And believe me, it’s not a good memory.

A lot of players will not be happy by some of our decisions regarding the unfortunate series of events. We’re not here to please EVERYONE. That’s an impossible task.

The notion of doing what was right so that everyone would respect us a pRO players, as professionals, and as Filipinos will be enough for me and for the company I represent.

It’s not just about a game, it’s national pride.

Next year will be a different story. I promise.

‘Rok On!

PS. I would like to congratulate Team Level Up Brazil for their highest finish (1st runner up) to date. It’s still a Level Up! team that’s there on top. Woot! Congrats, my brothers! I’d also like to thank our partners in Gravity, everyone in our office who did all they could to help the boys with their visas and of course, to Team Naked Nanaman, for their patience and will. Thank you.

It’s time! After the cloud settles, we will know which teams will make it for the grand finals at the World Trade Center (LIVE 2011) for the Ragnarok Philippine Championships 2011.

Last June, we crowned Naked Nanaman as the new Philippine Team, they will get to represent our country in Seoul this year (October) for RWC. I do hope that we win the RWC finally.

Anyways, aside from getting the finalists for LIVE-RPC 2011, the pRO team and the GMs for the other games will have tons of activities, raffles and events for all you players.

It’s an event that you surely DON”T WANT TO MISS!!!

Pass the word around.

September 24, 2011. Saturday. SM City North Edsa Skydome.

Seeya there!

Rok On!

A couple of months ago, I blogged (and teased) about the future patch for pRO, Dewata.

Finally, last August 2, 2011, this new island was finally patched to the pRO commercial servers.

Ragnarok Dewata has the following new features

• New Quests
• New Monsters
• New Items
• New Dungeons

For more details, you can check out this article from Ragnarok’s official website.

Thanks…

Don’t forget to share!

Rok On!

Last weekend, I traveled to Hong Kong to proudly accept the award for Philippine Ragnarok Online as the “Most Popular Online Game” in the Philippines at the first Asian Online Game Awards.

Held at TVB City in Kowloon, Hong Kong, The Asia Online Game Awards saw the biggest names in the Asian online gaming industry come together to promote and recognize the best that online gaming has to offer. 14 awards were given at the AOGA, including Asia Online Game Grand Award, Best Design, Best Technology, Best Graphic and Best Creative, as well as nine regional awards that included the Philippines in its prestigious roster. In the end, Philippine Ragnarok Online came out on top as the Philippines’ Most Popular Online Game, whose award was graciously accepted by yours truly.

The first Asia Online Game Awards (AOGA) Presentation Ceremony is organized by the Hong Kong Game Industry Association, and produced by Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB). AOGA is also co-organized by the Game Publication Committee of the Publishers Association of China, and the Hong Kong Digital Entertainment Industry Support Centre (HKDEISC) of Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC). Sponsored by Create Hong Kong of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (HKSAR Government), the cross-regional event aims to enhance development of the online game industry in Asia.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the kind organizers and their staff for making my stay at Hong Kong a pleasant and enjoyable one; Annie, Cynthia, and Florence to name a few. Thanks so much!

Also, I’d like to say that the show at the TVB studios was awesome! They truly did a grand production number with famous hosts, celebrities and artists. The Angry Birds segment (sponsored by Rovio) was a great hit!

In behalf of Level Up, we’d also like to thank our great partner, Gravity, for always being supportive and working with us to improve the game and make it even better for all the fans and players.

Last but not least, is a big THANK YOU to all loyal Pinoy pRO players. This award is dedicated to you guys. Without your support, pRO wouldn’t reach this level. As a special thanks to Level Up!’s loyal and growing community, Ragnarok Online players will get to enjoy 3X EXP mods across all servers from August 10 to 17.

Thanks all!

>GM T

I’m giving away this unused (new),yet classic Ragnarok shirt in my Facebook contest.

Click here to check out the mechanics. Draw will be on August 1, 2011. Invite all your friends by sharing this post, willya? Thanks!

In a bold and exciting “pagsabog” announcement, the pRO team recently revealed that we are selling the imba TGK card in the item mall tomorrow, June 30, 2011 for 24 hours only. The number of cards will be very limited. They will be available at PHP4,500 or PHP5,000 depending on your server.

The TGK is a very sought-after card. Giving +100% HP, Def -50 and MDef -50.

I’m sure there will be a lot of complaints and wild reactions about this promo. But let me assure you that we have done this with the blessings of Gravity, the developers of Ragnarok, along with STRICT guidelines, security and limitations. I am certain that it will not imbalance the game’s economy due to these counter-measures and safeguards.

That, in  a nutshell, is my own perception about this promo and I support the Ragnarok team and the GMs fully in this decision.

I call upon the community to be calm and respectful when giving comments and insights in forums or social media.

Thank you. Enjoy the promo.

GM T

For more details check the Facebook announcement here

The Top 8 battled it out yesterday at the SM North Skydome to determine who would be the Philippine rep for this year’s Ragnarok World Championships in Seoul, Korea.

After an epic match with the 2009 champions, Suspects (Coerce), Naked Nanaman (sister team of last year’s Philippine team, Naked Babies) came out the victor on a match that went to the fifth and final game. They will be going to Seoul this October and hopefully we get to win the RWC finally!

Suspects edged out last year’s reigning Philippine (Naked Babies) in the semis. But their big brothers, Naked Nanaman went on to the Finals and we had a “vengeance match” in line.

It was an epic best-of-five with each team taking one game after the other. Both teams were equally matched. However, in the end, there had to be ONLY ONE winner. And the better team proved to be Naked Nanaman.

Congrats to Naked Nanaman! Special thanks also to the thousands of pRO players who went to the event. The Skydome was so jam packed that the aircondition was barely able to keep up. We had tons of fun during that day with side activities, cosplay, pick-a-prize, Zenny o Bayong and of course, the much awaited imba-raffle.

Also, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone in team LU especially the organizing committee for their great work.

Last but not the least, I’d like to thank all our sponsors PC Express, SM North Edsa, PLDT MyDSL, No Fear, Cheesecake, MyPhone and BitDefender.

We will be uploading the match videos over at the Level Up Youtube channel soon so those that missed the event can view the replays. Meanwhile, you can check out the event pics at my Facebook page. Be a fan, if you’re not yet. Thanks!

Rok On!

It’s that time of year!

After the dust settled, only 8 teams are left. After the epic matches tomorrow, there will BE ONLY ONE. One left standing. And that team will be the new Team Pilipinas which will represent our country for this year’s Ragnarok World Championships. We’ve almost tasted the crown. This year could be OUR year.

I’d like to invite everyone to be part of this yearly event…

• What: RWC 2011 Philippine Finals
• Where: SM North Edsa Skydome
• When: June 11, 2011 9:00am onwards

Here’s the official line-up for the Top 8

1. Renegades
2. Valkyrie
3. Naked Babies
4. Suspect
5. Naked Nanaman
6. Endless
7. Solid
8. Bitzbox

Good luck to all the teams. May the best team win!

I’ll be hosting the event together with our GMs and the entire Level Up! gang!

So, I hope to seeya all there bukas.

Uulan ng Asura Strike bukas! Aside from the exciting matches, we have a lot of side events like Bingo, Raffle, Cosplay and more!

For more details, check out the official pRO Facebook Page and the official pRO website.

Don’t forget to share!

Rok On!

Another “Achievement Unlocked” for the Level Up! team.

Score one for the official Facebook Page of Philippine Ragnarok Online. Recently, our fanpage landed at #9 among the top Brands in the Philippines in a survey by social media ranker Social Bakers. Wohoooo!

Our sister company, Smart leads the pack with over a million “likers”. Ragnarok, as of this writing, has around 232,000++ fans.

And yes, we’re the only Online Game in the top 10. Yey!

Seems like our marketing, social media and web teams are doing something good… and something right.

Congrats guys!

And a special thanks to all “likers” (fans) of our page. If you’re in the marketing industry, be sure to check out some of my articles about Facebook and how to create and manage a page.

If you’re still not a fan, I mean, “Liker” of the pRO FB site, be one now.

Don’t forget to share!

Thanks!