Age of Wushu

Lore & Background

Age of Wushu revolves around wuxia-inspired lore, with players initially selecting one of eight factions: Shaolin, Wudang, Emei, Beggars' Gang, Tang Clan, Scholars' Academy, Royal Guard, and Wanderers' Valley. The game lacks a class system; instead, players develop characters, learn skills, and engage in PvE and PvP content. Skills are divided into Overt (damage), Feint (defense-breaking), and Block (damage blocking), akin to rock-paper-scissors, and consume Energy. Quests, gathering, crafting, and combat yield experience points converted into cultivation points for upgrading fighting skills. Elements include solo and party dungeons, equipment, crafting, professions, housing, mounts, and a Jianghu System tracking Chivalry and Guilt.

Reader's Guide

Age of Wushu is significant for its skill-based progression system that replaces traditional class and level restrictions, emphasizing player proficiency over numerical values. Its combat incorporates actual martial arts and superhuman abilities from Chinese legendary stories, as seen in films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero. The game's faction system allows players to join one of eight schools, with internal skills restricted to each school; leaving a school forfeits that skill. Later expansions added secret factions (Peach Blossom Island, Shifting Flowers Palace, Rootless Clan) and Jianghu factions (Golden Needle Shen Family, Xu Family Village, Beast Villa). The original Chinese version, named 九阴真经 (Jiǔyīn Zhēnjīng), began beta testing in 2009 and launched commercially in 2012. It spawned regional versions in North America, Europe, Russia, Thailand, and Southeast Asia, as well as a mobile version (Age of Wushu Dynasty) in 2016 and a sequel beta in 2017. Its legacy lies in its unique skill-based combat and cross-regional publishing history.

Did You Know?

• The game uses a rock-paper-scissors combat system with Overt, Feint, and Block skills.
• Players lose access to a school's internal skill if they leave that faction.
• A mobile version, Age of Wushu Dynasty, launched for iOS and Android on January 6, 2016.

Origins & Global Expansion

The game traces its roots to an independent development team whose work was ultimately picked up by the Chinese publisher Snail. The original Chinese title, Jiǔyīn Zhēnjīng (translated as "Nine Scroll Manual"), entered beta testing back in 2009 before seeing a full commercial release in 2012. From that foundation, the title spread across multiple international markets under distinct local names: North American players encountered it as Age of Wushu, European audiences played Age of Wulin, Russian gamers received Legends of Kung Fu, Thai players got 9Yin, and Southeast Asian markets saw Age of Kung Fu. The game is a free-to-play 3D martial arts action MMORPG set against the backdrop of Ming dynasty China, drawing heavily on wuxia-inspired storytelling. In January 2016, the franchise extended into mobile gaming with Age of Wushu Dynasty, available on both iOS and Android platforms. By 2017, beta testing for a sequel, Age of Wushu 2, had already begun, signaling the developers' intent to continue the series.

Combat & Skill System

Rather than relying on traditional class structures or fixed numerical stats, Age of Wushu builds its combat around a skill-proficiency model. Players must actively learn new abilities and talents to grow stronger, with no level caps restricting what they can attempt. The core combat loop revolves around three skill categories that function somewhat like a rock-paper-scissors dynamic: Overt skills deal direct damage, Feint skills are designed to break through an opponent's defense, and Block skills absorb incoming hits. Beyond these three pillars, additional skills exist outside the triad. Every skill activation draws from an Energy pool, serving a role similar to a mana resource in other games. The visual and mechanical inspiration draws from real martial arts forms alongside the superhuman feats and legendary storytelling seen in acclaimed films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero. Experience gained through quests, gathering, crafting, and combat is funneled into cultivation points that unlock and upgrade fighting abilities, making progression feel tied to a character's personal growth in the martial arts world.

Factions & Schools

One of the game's most distinctive design choices is its faction system, which replaces conventional class selection. At the start, players commit to one of eight schools: Shaolin, Wudang, Emei, Beggars' Gang, Tang Clan, Scholars' Academy, Royal Guard, or Wanderers' Valley. Each school grants access to a unique internal skill, and this is the only ability that becomes locked if a player decides to leave their faction. All other skills remain available regardless of school membership. Later, with the Tempest of Strife expansion, an additional layer of faction play was introduced, offering two broader categories. The Secret Factions include Peach Blossom Island, Shifting Flowers Palace, and Rootless Clan, while the Jianghu Factions comprise Golden Needle Shen Family, Xu Family Village, and Beast Villa. This dual structure gives players multiple avenues for social and competitive engagement beyond the original eight schools, deepening the sense of a living martial arts community.

European Legacy & the Road Ahead

The European chapter of the franchise ended in July 2017 when Webzen shut down Age of Wulin, the localized European edition of the game. Rather than simply abandoning its player base, the community was offered a path forward: the option to migrate their characters to a newly established European server that would operate under the Snail USA-published Age of Wushu brand. This transition marked a significant shift in the game's Western publishing landscape, consolidating European play under the same umbrella as North American operations. Meanwhile, the franchise continued to evolve beyond the original PC title. The mobile spinoff, Age of Wushu Dynasty, had already launched in January 2016 for iOS and Android, bringing the wuxia experience to handheld devices. Looking further ahead, beta testing for Age of Wushu 2 commenced in 2017, indicating that the independent development team behind the project remained committed to expanding the Ming dynasty martial arts universe into a new generation of gameplay.

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