TEF is unique. The MudOS base it runs on allows for the builders to craft quests, items, etc. with a level of depth that far surpasses that possible on other bases, like Diku. This is taken advantage of.

In this MUD, one sees intricately designed quests, a lot of mobs that respond intelligently to their environment instead of just smacking you for differing levels of strength, and original ways to make objects interact (the Chemist class can mix potions from a variety of ingredients). Detail expands to things as simple as item descs - you can examine a multitude of little things in the rooms you travel through for more detail (as opposed to most MUDs I've played which limit you to the long desc and a few fixtures like fountains).

The class system itself allows for a flexibility not seen in other MUDs. TEF allows you to multiclass infinitely, letting you switch between classes you have joined (all players start out classless, and must track down guildhalls after creation) at set places. This freedom allows for hours of entertainment trying out different combinations of classes on the field. Even with the length of time the MUD has been up, people are still finding new ways to mix classes effectively.

The geography of most MUDs is either far too restrictive or far too open. Overworlds are either a simplistic network of straight roads connecting the dungeons, or vast expanses of land you can get lost too easily in. TEF hits a nice balance: Overworlds are generally limited in size, and you can easily find the towns since they are conveniently near the corner of overworlds, most of the time. Territory is kept neatly seperated by the port system and the way oceans are distributed. This makes the MUD a pleasant place to explore, since the chances of getting irrevocably lost are minimal, yet there is enough land to satisfy a wandering mind.

TEF is based on the Final Fantasy series of games, yet you would not need to be familiar with them to get to know the game. A familiarity with the games can be helpful in understanding the other players (example, the world of Aradian is generally referred to as 'FF6', after the game it is modelled on), but this can be picked up like any other MUD lingo as you play. The MUD is different enough from the games that someone who had played the games would not feature that great an advantage over someone who hadn't.

All things considered, TEF is a recommended MUD to someone bored of the same old cookie-cutter slash'n'burn games, bored of seeing the same stock spellset on every MUD, bored of the traditional grinding in which every monster is the same, and bored of shallow, poorly thought out areas. You'll find a unique experience to be had if you stick with it.

Eternal Fantasy takes a bit of time to learn, I'll give it that right off. As far as it goes as a game, there's a lot of customization possible, with seven possible races: elves, half-elves, half-lunars (like Cecil from Final Fantasy 4), kelbans (from Final Fantasies 5 and 6), moogles, dwarves, and of course humans. Each race has its own feel and playing style, which leads me to the next thing: over 40 classes all based on Final Fantasy to some degree, but original enough that you don't get the same experience as just playing the games they're based on. These classes range from your standard Black Mages, Dragoons, Thieves, and Paladins, but also to classes you don't usually see, like the Beast Man, Mystic Knight, and Inventor. With all the possible races and class combinations, you can create virtually any character you like: a moogle Knight and a kelban Knight are never going to feel the same.

Advancement along these classes isn't cut and dried, either. There are three 'tiers' to each class, with increasing statistical requirements, such as Thief advancing to Rogue, and then to Treasure Hunter. You can also combine your skills as a Rogue with those of a Monk to become a Ninja, or your skills as a Black Wizard and Squire to become a Dark Knight. All of the tiers have their own skills, as well, so a Treasure Hunter will play pleasantly differently than a Ninja, even though they have similar class requirements in them.

You can even combine classes freely, switching between a primary and secondary class, in a system that resembles Final Fantasy 5 and Final Fantasy Tactics, to whatever suits you, or whatever seems fun, or even just whatever'll beat that hard boss you need to kill.

The system itself is a bit different from what the MUD standard is, but it's not going to stump anyone, and can be adapted to really easily. I'll admit that it's a rather small mud in terms of player base, but the world is vast, there are quests abound if you take the time to look for them, the immortals are friendly, and you can even do fun stuff like raise a pet chocobo. An aspect I've found Eternal Fantasy excels in is that death is neither a permanent thing, whether inflicted by mobile or by player, and corpse runs are unnecessary in all but a very small list of areas; the only penalties are lost time and lost experience, plus a penalty imposed on your class growth. It's not overly generous if you keep dying over and over, however.

The game does more than just set things in a world that feels like a game knock-off, too. Each world has its own, original plot in which a player can feel like they're really seeing a story, instead of there just being weak pretense to slay mobiles over and over. As far as roleplay goes, it's supported, not enforced, so if you want to be a min/max'er and not engage in RP, you can, and if you want to play a character, you can, and not get into any fights because of it (although I admit some people might give cry of 'that's stupid!' but that's frowned upon).

As far as social aspects go, Eternal Fantasy has a variety of channels, such as ooc, newbie, rp, elite (for high-levels to talk in), and whine. You aren't forced to go through any character approval process, and although copyrighted names are frowned upon, it's not as vehemently enforced as 'your name comes from Obscure RPG X, you're going to be deleted' (although you can't make such characters as Sephiroth or Squall). Clans are offered, and application is as simple as talking to a clan member. You can even set up your own fairly easily. Colour is varied without being an eyesore, and you can set colours for communications.

In short, I'd say that Eternal Fantasy is worth a shot for people who like the older games in the Final Fantasy series, or just fantasy in general, and want to have fun without being in a roleplay-enforced environment or in a game where you have to worry about rampant player killers.

I started playing TEF a year ago, I played for five months before I lost my internet connection, and had a great time. Now that I'm back on I came back to find.....That it was still just as awesome. I personally think LP is a little complicated, but when a MUD is this good, it's worth a little extra effort. The immstaff is friendly and helpful, the players that I've seen are both encouraging and non-hostile. Though, there is a slight shortage of players at the moment, which is why I'm writing this review. If more people knew about this place, more would play, I'm sure of it.

The race selection is awesome, from the Moogles, to the Yeti, and even Kelban [Like Lone Wolf, from FF5-6]. The job system is done well, with lots of jobs to choose from, even the semi-legendary among gamers Blue Mage. All in all, I recommed at least giving this place a look, who knows, you just might enjoy it!

When I started playing on Eternal Fantasy, I was new to MUDding in general. It took, I suppose, more time for me to learn the MUD than the average newbie. But it was still enjoyable and something compelled me to stay. I've been to other MUDs since then (for various reasons), but I always go back to EF. And I've heard the same from others.

You start with the choice of race (dwarf, elf, halfelf, half-lunar, human, kelban, moogle) and gender (don't think I need to explain that one further). From there, you can get multiple classes (depending on your base stats) and start levelling and class levelling your character.

There are also quests which I found interesting and I'm not a fan of quests really. Of course, I can't elaborate because that would be qinfo.

When there are enough players, we will have live quests again. It's one of the things we all enjoy the most.

Not to mention the newly added chocobos. It takes a little bit of time into the game to actually get one of these, but it's worth it. You have to raise them well, and this affects the outcome for each individual chocobo.

You can have three characters in this MUD (only one online at a time) and you're allowed a lot of customization with them as well.