With all the renewed interest in old-school MMORPGs, I want to put a game on people's radar that I think deserves a lot more attention: Lakebane, a free-to-play mmorpg based on Shadowbane.
This is a long post, so TL;DR up front: Lakebane is a free mmorpg built around shadowbane's open-world PvP,
deep character customisation, contested resources, guild politics and city warfare. It's old-school,
it's unforgiving, and it offers something that many modern MMOs don't: a world where the players themselves are the endgame.
If you've been looking for that kind of MMO, come see what it's about.
Website: https://www.lakebane.com/
Discord: https://discord.gg/sABGV7kHx
If you miss the days when your guild was your community, enemies had actual names you remembered, losing a fight had consequences, and the world wasn't just a lobby connecting you to instanced content, this might be worth a look.
And if you've never played Shadowbane, you're in for something very different from most modern MMOs.
So, what exactly is Lakebane?
Lakebane is an old-school, dark fantasy sandbox MMORPG built around the Shadowbane formula. Think open-world PvP, deep character theorycrafting, guild politics, contested resources, player cities and large-scale sieges.
The biggest difference between this and a lot of modern MMOs is that the players create the stories.
There is no scripted sequence of daily quests telling you what your endgame should be. Your guild needs resources. An enemy guild wants the same resources. Someone gets ganked. Someone calls their mates. A small skirmish becomes a grudge match. That grudge becomes a war. And suddenly, the thing you logged in to do isn't what you're doing anymore. This is what keeps most of us coming back to this game.
The PvP: this is where Lakebane really shines
Let's get the important stuff out of the way. PvP isn't a side activity you occasionally participate in between PvE chores. It is at the heart of the game.
Daily mine fights
Guilds need resources to support their economies and equipment. Those resources create contested objectives, and contested objectives bring players into conflict.
Mine fights are where small-scale PvP really comes alive. You can find yourself fighting in little skirmishes, coordinating with a handful of guildmates, hunting enemy players, protecting your own people or trying to take down an opposing group's support before their frontline rolls over yours.
A group of three to five players can have a meaningful role. You don't necessarily need a massive guild and a hundred people to get involved. And the fights aren't just about who has the biggest health bar. Positioning, target selection, crowd control, healing, resistances, debuffs, stealth, burst damage and team coordination all matter. A well-built character played intelligently can make a real difference.
City versus city warfare
This is the big one.
Guilds can establish cities, build up their position and fight over territory. Cities aren't just decorative housing that you visit between activities. They're tied to the political and economic life of the world. It's where you gather, equip, craft in your own forges, roleplay (if thats your thing) or just shoot the shit and test your builds with guildies.
Alliances form. Rivals emerge. Resources become strategic. Guild leadership and diplomacy matter. Sieges turn those relationships into actual battles with something at stake. Your guild isn't just a name above your character's head. It's a group of players with a shared home, interests, enemies and ambitions.
Imagine spending weeks fighting a rival guild over resources, territory and control, then finally taking that fight to their doorstep. That's a very different experience from queuing for a battleground where everyone forgets the match five minutes after it ends.
Open-world danger
Outside safe areas (more on this in the section talking about the first 15 minutes), you have to respect the possibility of running into hostile players.
You can be hunting, travelling, farming or exploring and suddenly find yourself in a fight you didn't plan for. You need to pay attention to your surroundings, know when to engage and know when to get the hell out. It gives ordinary activities tension that many modern MMOs have lost.
You won't win every fight. You'll get ambushed. Sometimes you'll be outnumbered. Sometimes you'll be the one doing the ambushing.
Character building: the real rabbit hole
This is probably my favourite aspect of Lakebane, and one of the biggest reasons I think theorycrafters should check it out. You don't simply pick a class, follow a levelling guide and end up with the same character as everyone else.
Your build is the product of many interconnected choices:
Race: influences your starting attributes, racial abilities and the combinations available to you.
Base class: Fighter, Healer, Mage or Rogue.
Profession: your eventual specialist class, with its own powers, skills and playstyle.
Disciplines: additional abilities and tools that can fundamentally change how your character works.
Attributes and training: determine how you distribute your character's strengths.
Equipment and runes: help shape your damage, survivability, resistances and overall combat effectiveness.
The combinations are endless, truly.
Want a durable support that can survive an enemy team's burst and keep your group alive? There are ways to build towards that. A mage that carries a big fuckoff sword or chucks daggers? why not! A healer that foregoes their entire profession dynamics and plays like mage? viable. A fighter that casts spell or used long range weapons? yep. A rogue with stealth that plays like front line tanks? Sure. A Cow, a horse, a bird, a GOAT???? YESS!!!!
Two characters sharing the same profession don't necessarily have to play alike. Race selection, disciplines, attributes, training and equipment can produce very different results.
You can spend an absurd amount of time theorycrafting a build, take it into a real fight and discover that your supposedly brilliant creation gets absolutely demolished by something you hadn't considered. Then you go back to the drawing board.
For people who enjoy character optimisation, that's an entire game in itself.
Races: more than cosmetic choices
Lakebane's character system includes a range of fantasy races, with different attribute profiles, racial abilities and build opportunities. The precise combinations available depend on the server's implementation.
Here's a quick flavour guide to the roster.
Human: the flexible, adaptable option. A great starting point for exploring different build concepts.
Elf: naturally associated with agile, magical and caster-oriented possibilities. Tall, lithe mofos.
Dwarf: a classic choice for players interested in toughness, frontline combat and resilient builds. Literally made of stone. Best beards in the game.
Half Giant: the big bruiser. A natural fit for people who enjoy physical power and heavy melee combat. Or not, use bows or some shit, im not your boss.
Minotaur: Yeah, its a cow. An imposing melee-oriented race with a distinctive physical identity.
Irekei: a desert-dwelling race with a strong identity around speed, agility and aggressive combat styles and fucking fiery fist weapons.
Vampire: a dark fantasy option that opens up some particularly interesting character concepts. Also they float like ghosts 👻
Shade: a pale, shadowy race that lends itself to some very distinctive build ideas, and get stealth regardless of class/profession choices. Yeah you can totally have a stealth based fighter with the biggest greataxe you can find.
Aelfborn: a hybrid race offering its own set of attribute and class combinations. Has tats.
Aracoix: an avian race with a different racial profile and specialised character possibilities. Yes, its a bird, and yes you can fly.
Centaur: half-human, half-horse fantasy archetype with its own racial mechanics. its a horse..
Nephilim: a demonic-looking race that offers another distinct set of build options. Also can fly. has horns. can disguise as human too.
Lakebane also features Saetors, goat-like descendants of Minotaurs with their own mechanics, including increased movement speed and innate parry and staff abilities.
Choosing your race isn't just choosing what looks cool. It can influence your entire build.
Classes and professions: what can you actually play?
Character creation starts with one of four base classes, and you then advance into a profession. That profession defines your specialised combat role and gives you access to a different set of powers.
The following is a broad introduction to the classic profession roster
Fighters Base
Barbarian: aggressive melee combat, pressure and physical damage. Can also be rogues.
Crusader: a durable combatant with a strong support and protection identity. Can also be healer base.
Ranger: versatile combat with opportunities for ranged, melee and mobile playstyles. Can also be rogue base
Sentinel: a martial specialist whose particular strengths depend on the build.
Templar: a hybrid-style profession combining martial and magical elements. Rogue base too. Great at pretty much everything in the game.
Warrior: a straightforward, versatile combat profession with plenty of room for different melee builds.
Huntress: a mobile, aggressive profession with its own specialised combat options. Also Rogue base.
Rogues and stealth-oriented play
Assassin: stealth, target selection and the ability to wreck vulnerable enemies. can also be mages.
Thief: trickery and specialised combat options that reward the right setup. You can also fking peak into mobs and OTHER PLAYERS' backpacks, and STEAL THEIR SHIT. One of my favourites to fuck around with.
Scout: reconnaissance, stealth detection and tactical utility, depending on the build. you will find hundereds of these, runs fast, can be very diverse playstyles. Thieves' and other rogues' natural enemy
Ranger: also belongs in this conversation, with different ways to approach mobility and combat.
Stealth isn't just about sneaking around for the sake of it (unless you're a thief). In organised PvP, information, ambushes and eliminating the right target at the right time can swing a fight.
Mages and offensive casters
Wizard: a classic offensive spellcaster with powerful ranged magic.
Warlock: a darker, aggressive magical profession with its own offensive and defensive tools. Can also be fighter base. Can fly too. Great at farming and powerleveling groups.
Fury: a specialised magical damage dealer with distinctive build possibilities. Can fly, walking natural disaster. Also a great power leveler.
Necromancer: dark magic and specialised spellcasting. has pets, like a shitload of them.
Channeler: a flexible magical profession with unusual combinations and options. Fury's best friend. Can fly, stealth and be healer based too.
Bard: a hybrid support and combat role with tools that can contribute to group fights. Chant-bro. Can be rogue base too.
Confessor: a fire-themed magical profession with an aggressive offensive identity. The busiest fking class in the game, if you're a APM queen this is your calling.
Nightstalker: a specialised profession for players drawn to stealthy, unusual combat styles. kills vamps.
Healers, support and hybrid professions
Priest: focused on keeping allies alive and providing essential support.
Prelate: a divine-themed profession with healing, nukes, aoe, control and defensive utility. Can turn into an angel and fly.
Druid: a nature-themed profession with distinctive powers and hybrid possibilities. Hardest hitting mofo with massive AOEs. can also be rogue. Used for powerleveling and farming by literally everyone.
Doomsayer: a debuff-oriented profession that can bring a different kind of pressure to a fight. this guy can individually change fight outcomes if played right. can be mage too.
Crusader: also fits here, especially when built around supporting allies and surviving incoming damage.
These are not typical MMO holy-trinity roles. Shadowbane's build system lets you explore hybrids, unusual synergies and specialised roles that don't always fit neatly into a modern MMO's class labels.
Disciplines: where "wtf was that" happens.
Disciplines add extra skills, powers and utility to your character. Depending on the discipline, you might gain offensive abilities, defensive tools, crowd control, stealth-related utility, support options or a completely different way to play your character.
The discipline roster includes options such as:
Archmage: additional magical specialisation for elves and aelfs. you hit harder, become immune to powerblocks
Berserker: an aggressive combat-oriented option. Hit harder, but with weapons.
Black Mask: a discipline associated with specialised rogue-style capabilities. Ninja-mode.
Commander: tools for players interested in group-oriented combat and utility. Stun breaks, more damage, level faster.
Darksworn: a darker, specialised discipline with its own set of abilities. Evil healer.
Enchanter: additional magical tools and utility- like stats on jewelry.
Gladiator: combat-focused options for martial builds. makes some builds truly shine.
Huntsman: specialised hunting and tracking-related utility.
Rune Caster: a heal for some who dont typically get heals.
Savant: a discipline for caster birds.
Skydancer: a disc for melee or phys damage birds.
Storm Lord: an option for players interested in elemental and storm-themed powers. yeah this totally makes your half giant barbarian into Thor.
Summoner: additional summoning-related capabilities. great for farming or leveling.
Valkyr: a specialised discipline with for females front line fighters.
Wyrmslayer: another option for specialised combat builds, if you want to play with spears.
There are plenty more, and availability depends on your race and profession.
You might add a discipline to cover a weakness, improve your survivability, add a new damage source, gain access to crowd control or create a synergy that makes the whole build work.
The same goes for equipment and runes. Your character isn't finished when you hit max level. Gear choices, weapon powers, resistances and proc effects can all matter when you start taking the build into serious PvP.
For anyone who enjoys theorycrafting, testing and refining a character, there's a lot to dig into.
Dungeons, levelling and PvE
Before anyone assumes this is a PvP game with absolutely nothing else to do, there is PvE content too.
You level your character by fighting monsters, exploring areas and acquiring the experience, gold, equipment and resources needed to progress. Dungeons and dangerous PvE areas give you other reasons to group up and venture out. there are dungeons and bosses as well that can drop great gear.
But it's important to understand...
PvE supports the wider sandbox. It isn't the entire endgame.
You're not signing up for an endless treadmill of instanced dungeons where your only objective is to chase the next incremental item upgrade.
Levelling and gearing help you prepare for the wider game. Your build gives you a role in a group. Your guild gives you people to play with. Resources give you reasons to contest territory. PvP gives you opponents who can adapt, retaliate and remember what you did.
The PvE is part of the journey, but the player-driven conflict is what makes the world feel alive. The economy and the importance of resources. The economy isn't separate from warfare. Resources matter because guilds need to sustain their operations and acquire equipment. Controlling access to those resources can give a guild an advantage, while losing control can create real problems. That gives mine ownership a strategic dimension beyond simply earning a few extra coins.
You need to think about where your guild operates, what it needs, who controls the surrounding territory and whether your group can defend what it owns. It also gives smaller groups a way to participate in the larger political picture. You don't always need to be the biggest faction on the server to make an enemy's day miserable.
And let's be honest, sometimes making an enemy's day miserable is the entire point.
The community and the learning curve
I won't pretend this is a modern MMO with a polished onboarding experience.
Lakebane has a learning curve. There are a lot of systems to understand, and character creation can be intimidating if you're unfamiliar with the game. The interface and presentation also show their age.
You will probably make mistakes with your first build. You might discover that a skill doesn't work the way you expected, that a race can't access the profession you wanted, or that your character folds like wet cardboard when an enemy catches you out of position.
That's okay.
Ask questions, find people willing to help, join a guild and learn from the players around you. Don't be afraid to experiment once you understand the basics. Leveling is quick and respeccing is free.
You'll learn which opponents are dangerous, which abilities to watch for, how to position yourself, when to retreat and how to coordinate with your group. Over time, the game starts to make sense, and the depth becomes part of the fun.
Who should give Lakebane a try?
I'd especially recommend looking at it if you:
- Miss old-school MMORPGs where the world feels dangerous.
- Love open-world PvP and small-group skirmishes.
- Enjoy guild politics, territorial control and city sieges.
- Like experimenting with builds instead of following one prescribed meta.
- Enjoy theorycrafting character combinations, disciplines and equipment.
- Want an MMO where other players create much of the drama and excitement.
- Are happy to learn an older, less hand-holding style of game.
If you need modern graphics, a perfectly streamlined interface, a quest marker for every activity and a completely predictable progression path, this might not be for you. And if you absolutely hate getting killed by other players, well, you're probably going to have a bad time.
But if you're looking for a sandbox where your guild matters, your build matters, and the people you fight are real players with their own plans, it's worth checking out.
Give it a shot
Lakebane is free to try
Start here: https://www.lakebane.com/
Discord: https://discord.gg/sABGV7kHx
Get the client here, and literally log in with any combination of user/pass. you dont have to create an account or share your email.
Your first 15 minutes in Lakebane
One of the nice things about getting started is that you don't begin at level 1, punching rats with a wooden stick for three hours.
You spawn already at level 10, so you're quickly into the character-building side of the game.
Here's how your first 15 minutes look:
- Download the client, set custom resolution in SBconfig once you launch the.... launcher. or you will be playing @ 800x600 res T_T. Click play. Press enter to skip Fatboy's custom intro videos. (Love you bro, but nah).
- Spawn into Sea Dogs Rest (Level 10). Get your bearings and take a moment to check out your character and the starting area. This is a click-to-move game. press esc, settings, interface skin, and pick one you like.
- Choose your profession. Before leaving, find the appropriate trainer and promote your character into the profession you want to play. This is an important step in shaping your build, so have an idea of what you're aiming for. you'll get gold and a buff pot (use this now, has 5 charges and lasts over 9000 seconds).
- Teleport to All Father's Rest. Once you've promoted, head to the Rune Master and teleport to All Father's Rest.
- Head north into the levelling zone. From All Father's Rest, make your way north into the designated levelling area and start fighting mobs.
- Push towards level 20. Your next ten levels are about learning your character, gaining experience and getting comfortable with the combat and progression systems. Until about level 26, you're in safe zone, you cant be ganked. At level 26, its time to venture forth. There are gear vendors in SDR where you can spend some of the gold you made, dont forget to train before heading to another zone.
- Runegates: Theres one in SDR. This helps you move around quickly to other runegates to get to other leveling zones. You can also teleport to various safe zone cities which are conveniently located close to leveling zones.
Other useful shit:
https://morloch.shadowbaneemulator.com
Morloch Wiki is a community-maintained reference encyclopedia for Shadowbane, particularly the fan-operated Shadowbane Emulator project. It documents the game's character classes, races, abilities, equipment, world geography, and mechanics, serving as a resource for players navigating Shadowbane's complex character customization and competitive multiplayer systems.
https://www.anybrowser.org/shadowbane/
Rivkah's notes, that still survives 👊 Some stuff has changed for better QOL.
That's it. You're in the world, you've chosen your direction, and you're already working towards the next stage of your character.
The deeper systems, disciplines, equipment and build optimisation can come afterwards. Don't let the complexity put you off before you've even started.
You can be out levelling within minutes, and once you start getting a feel for the game, there's a whole world of builds, guilds and PvP waiting for you.
My advice to newcomers would be to get through the initial learning curve, find a group of players who are happy to help, and get involved in the world rather than treating it like a single-player levelling game.
Don't worry about building the theoretically perfect character on day one. Learn the fundamentals, find a role you enjoy, and get out there.
Go fight over a mine. Join a guild. Make a rival. Help defend a city. Get absolutely wrecked by a build you didn't understand, then come back with a plan to beat it.
That's the sort of experience that made old-school sandbox MMOs special.
And to anyone already playing: what race, profession and build are you running, and what keeps you coming back?
And for those who actually read all that... wtf bro? Nah, thanks :D see you on lakebane.
Note: I didnt create, or run this, im simply one of the plebs who keep getting drawn back to it, and would like more people to play with :P
