The Eternal City is a Roman Based, Fantasy MUD connecting players in a world unlike any other available on the internet. Recently having gone Free to Play with Subscription Options (no cash shops or pay to win) I returned to this MUD to find it advanced in combat, role-play, and GM interaction to a level not seen since the glory days of MUDDing in the 90s. It is not without it's issues, but those are eclipsed by the active, passionate, and dedicated players and GMs.

Pros

Sandbox -The Eternal City allows a player to embark in a true sandbox, where ones own actions, skills, etc affect how that character is perceived in the game world. Players run the Army (Legion), the police force (Constables) and participate in a government and legal system based off of early/mid Republic Rome. A new player is brought through a tutorial and thrust into the action, sometimes without guidance, but players quickly step in to provide advice, armor, and basic equipment to get your started. You can then set off building a gladiator, Legionary, Thief, Bandit, or aid to one of the cities wealthy patrician families.

Combat - Combat itself is fast paced, extremely detailed with a body part and critical system, and dozens of skills that can make or break you in PvE and PvP fights. You need to keep on your toes in battle and simple macros of slash, jab, strike will no work. PvP and PvE entail some strategy and in large battles, especially involving the war between Iridine (Rome) and Cinera (Gauls/Etruscans) things can move very quickly and get your heart pounding.

The GMs - Responsive, bug fixing, event holding, team of dedicated indivuals

The Lore - The world, Midlight, is extremely rich in lore and players are put in the forefront of it through their daily interactions. The world is rich with history, religion, warfare, adventure, and danger.

RP - Always there. Usually excellent and it is enforced.

Neutral

Player base - This game needs more people. When Skotos took it over and it became Pay-To-Play the numbers declined. A few hearty folks can -definitly- make a name for themselves getting involved now and I have done that. Now that is has a free to play option, slowly growing but dedicated players base, it has great potential.

Cons

Evolution - The game progress slowly, with time seemingly dragging on. The war between Iridine and Cinera, for example, has not progressed much from 10 years ago. The Government has never had an election in recent memory. However, this is not a drastic problem as the game revolves around the players building stories and not some of the background info.

Learning Curve - Initially Steep, but what MUD isn't? Once you get a friend or two you're well on your way.

Economy - Not much of one to speak of. No real money sink as players have made oodles of cash. You can act as a trader and broker to move nice, custom items around, but no player run shops are supported.

Overall:

Pretty awesome game, especially for combat enthusiasts and those wishing to get away from the 'high fantasy' MUDs and play something gripping like the Roman Republic it is based on. This game has a ton of potential and, with the right players, will shine.