<s>
Istaria	B-Protocol
:	I-Protocol
Chronicles	I-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
the	I-Protocol
Gifted	I-Protocol
is	O
a	O
massively	B-Protocol
multiplayer	I-Protocol
online	I-Protocol
role-playing	I-Protocol
game	I-Protocol
(	O
MMORPG	B-Protocol
)	O
developed	O
by	O
American	O
studio	O
Virtrium	O
and	O
originally	O
released	O
by	O
Artifact	O
Entertainment	O
as	O
Horizons	B-Protocol
:	I-Protocol
Empire	I-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Istaria	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Istaria	B-Protocol
is	O
unique	O
among	O
MMORPGs	B-Protocol
in	O
that	O
players	O
may	O
choose	O
a	O
dragon	O
for	O
their	O
avatar	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Istaria	B-Protocol
allows	O
players	O
to	O
build	O
non-instanced	O
player	O
communities	O
with	O
either	O
multi-level	O
underground	O
dragon	O
chambers	O
or	O
ground	O
level	O
communities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Istaria	B-Protocol
uses	O
the	O
race/class/level	O
paradigm	O
common	O
to	O
many	O
role-playing	O
games	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
similar	O
mechanics	O
as	O
other	O
massively	B-Application
multiplayer	I-Application
online	I-Application
games	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
other	O
MMORPGs	B-Protocol
,	O
players	O
do	O
not	O
normally	O
fight	O
each	O
other	O
in	O
player	O
versus	O
player	O
(	O
PvP	O
)	O
battles	O
,	O
but	O
they	O
work	O
together	O
in	O
player	O
versus	O
environment	O
(	O
PvE	O
)	O
battles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
eleven	O
playable	O
races	O
in	O
Istaria	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
include	O
Dragons	O
,	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
the	O
more	O
biped	O
classes	O
of	O
Human	O
,	O
Elf	B-Application
,	O
Dwarf	O
,	O
Gnome	B-Application
,	O
Half-giant	O
Dryad	B-Operating_System
,	O
Satyr	O
,	O
Fiend	O
,	O
Saris	O
(	O
a	O
catlike	O
anthropomorphic	O
humanoid	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
Sslik	O
(	O
an	O
asexual	O
non-anthropomorphic	O
reptilian	B-Language
humanoid	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Only	O
dragons	O
are	O
able	O
to	O
fly	O
in	O
Istaria	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
craft-able	O
equipment	O
is	O
very	O
important	O
to	O
the	O
player	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
unlike	O
other	O
MMORPGs	B-Protocol
,	O
where	O
trade	O
skills	O
often	O
play	O
a	O
much	O
smaller	O
role	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
core	O
concepts	O
behind	O
Istaria	B-Protocol
before	O
release	O
were	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
zone-less	O
,	O
constantly	O
changing	O
environment	O
in	O
which	O
players	O
would	O
work	O
together	O
to	O
hold	O
back	O
a	O
seemingly	O
unstoppable	O
enemy	O
:	O
the	O
Withered	O
Aegis	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Updates	O
to	O
the	O
client	O
in	O
recent	O
years	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
more	O
powerful	O
computers	O
have	O
significantly	O
reduced	O
lag	B-Application
and	O
improved	O
the	O
stability	O
and	O
smoothness	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
events	O
revealed	O
the	O
lore	O
and	O
history	O
of	O
Istaria	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
occasionally	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
discovery	O
of	O
new	O
,	O
different	O
events	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
the	O
Satyr	O
and	O
Dryad	B-Operating_System
races	O
became	O
player	O
accessible	O
through	O
such	O
large-scale	O
,	O
server-wide	O
events	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtrium	O
added	O
seasonal	O
events	O
held	O
throughout	O
the	O
year	O
:	O
Spring	O
Festival	O
,	O
Summer	O
Festival	O
:	O
Pax	O
Istaria	B-Protocol
,	O
Fall	O
Festival	O
and	O
Winter	O
Festival	O
:	O
Gnomekindle	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Istaria	B-Protocol
suffered	O
from	O
several	O
problems	O
in	O
the	O
first	O
years	O
after	O
launch	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
of	O
these	O
are	O
acknowledged	O
by	O
both	O
the	O
current	O
and	O
former	O
management	O
of	O
the	O
various	O
companies	O
that	O
have	O
owned	O
Istaria	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rick	O
Simmons	O
,	O
the	O
owner	O
of	O
Istaria	B-Protocol
,	O
has	O
stated	O
that	O
his	O
team	O
is	O
working	O
to	O
rectify	O
these	O
issues	O
as	O
quickly	O
as	O
possible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Istaria	B-Protocol
suffers	O
from	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
performance	O
issues	O
affecting	O
both	O
the	O
client	O
and	O
the	O
servers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
performance	O
problems	O
are	O
often	O
,	O
and	O
sometimes	O
incorrectly	O
categorized	O
by	O
players	O
as	O
lag	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
several	O
years	O
of	O
stagnation	O
,	O
Istaria	B-Protocol
no	O
longer	O
had	O
land	O
available	O
for	O
new	O
players	O
to	O
purchase	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Istaria	B-Protocol
has	O
Free	O
Access	O
and	O
Paid	O
Access	O
/	O
Paid	O
Subscriptions	O
.	O
</s>
