What’s the Difference Between Wurm Unlimited and Wurm Online?
stargrace 
Wurm Unlimited is a stand alone client version of the MMO Wurm Online. You can set up your own server to play on privately, host servers for other people to play on, and all sorts of other goodies. There’s a one time fee to buy the game from steam, and then the choices are up to you. Some servers do have a fee for upkeep, or donations to help keep that particular server running, but there’s lots of choices out there.
So how does wurm unlimited differ from wurm online?
Well, there’s one big huge difference. In order to preserve the ‘mystery’ of players skilling up in wurm online, wurm unlimited goes by a completely different formula. In wurm online there is a thing called difficulty. It means that for optimal gains in a skill you need to be skilling on optimal things. You can’t (or at least shouldn’t) skill from 1-100 on the same thing. Lets take mining, for example. You start out working away on rock, move to a different ore as your skill increases, and continue moving up different types of ore.
In wurm unlimited skills are based on actions. The faster the action, the faster you’ll skill. In wurm online you would typically want two sets of tools. You’d want a low quality set which would draw out the action timer and make things very slow – this would be your skiller set. Then you’d want a high quality set, this would be so you could get high quality results. In wurm unlimited, you only need one set, and you want it to be the best set possible because you want those high quality fast results. That means to level up blacksmithing, you don’t want to go slow and improve tools. Instead you want to make the fastest item that gives blacksmithing. In my case this has been small nails. Uses the least amount of ore, and it’s very fast. This is how you skill up in wurm unlimited. Fast actions.
What other differences are there?
Well, it honestly depends on the server. There are mods and rules that each one takes into consideration and it all depends on the play style for that server. Some may have 5x faster skill ups. Some may start you off at a higher level so you’re not beginning at 1. Some may start you out with full gear and weapons. Others may include more cosmetic changes, texture addons, maps, and things like that. A lot of servers have gone the rout to removing priest penalties so that you’re not required to play an alt but can enjoy being a priest as your main character. In wurm online, these things are just not possible.
Of course then there’s the difference in price. If you want to be premium in wurm online you need to pay a monthly subscription and this can be a deterrent especially if you like having multiple characters (priests, as example). It adds up. Wurm unlimited is a one time fee from steam to buy the game, and then you’re set. If you’ve ever been wanting to try out a fantastic sandbox MMO – but are reluctant to shell out for a monthly fee, wurm unlimited is a perfect choice.
That’s not to say that wurm online doesn’t also have its merits. The servers are huge, there’s more single players in the MMO version than you’ll typically find on any of the player hosted servers, and because of that the economies per server is pretty firmly established. People are friendly, and you don’t (typically) have to worry about the servers randomly shutting down because xyz person is unable to host them any more. In other words, it comes with some stability and you’ll not be subjected to the whims and decisions of a random GM who may or may not have the best interest of that particular player base at heart (not that Rolf hasn’t made his own random decisions over time, but at least he works with a team of people who can let him know if a decision made is a particularly poor one).
Playing one or the other? Have a preference? Let me know below in comments – and as always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself.
