Yu-Gi-Oh! Online

Overview
Yu-Gi-Oh! Online is an online PC game released in December 2004 by Konami, based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game. It was first distributed with the February 2005 issue of the U.S. Shonen Jump. In the game, players can chat, duel, and trade cards with each other.

A major update called "Duel Evolution" was recently released that changed many aspects of the game. Players now have their own avatars and can explore portions of Domino City from the original Yu-Gi-Oh! series and the Duel Academy from the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX series. The dueling screen and the deck editor have also been redesigned and improved.

One of the latest improvements of this game are the NPCs. They exist in both Domino City and Duel Academy. NPCs are both characters that are featured in the series such as Yami Yugi, Seto Kaiba, Jaden Yuki, Alexis Rhodes and characters that aren't featured in the series.

There will also be another new update called "Duel Accelerator", featuring characters and cards from the latest series, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, as well as new in-game elements, such as the three-dimensional graphics and the transition from "Duelpass" points to "Boosterpass" points.

System Requirements

 * OS: Windows 2000/XP. Konami does not guarantee that the game will run on Windows Vista, although it usually runs fine on Vista.
 * CPU: Pentium III 600 and above
 * RAM: 256 MB or more
 * Hard Drive: 2.0 GB or more free space
 * Video Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible
 * Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible
 * Internet Connection: 256 kbit/s or faster

Cards
Players duel using cards, in the same way as in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game. Each player starts with a 42-card starter deck. After that, players need to duel to get more cards. Whenever a single game (1 duel) is played, both players get 1 card from a card pack of their choice. Whenever a match game (2 or 3 duels, first to win twice wins) is played, both players get 3 cards from a card pack of their choice. There have been 48 packs released to date with additional packs being released every 3-4 months.

What card packs a player can choose is based on what packs are currently available. After Level 2 the normal packs are available,The Beginner Packs 1, 2 and 3, packs 1 and 2, and Packs 30-47 are freely available to all, while Packs 3-29 are available only through Gunslinger, Duelist Trial events and buying card packs within the shop with MP.

Cards can also be obtained through trading (only if the player has played 36 or more duels) or exchanging Mileage Points (MP). MP is earned in amounts for claiming duel pass codes, and can be used to buy some of the game's more sought-after cards (such as Doomcaliber Knight, and Grandmaster of the Six Samurai). Since the update to Duel Evolution, MP is being done in the form of a Duel Shop, where packs, single cards and custom parts for your avatar can be purchased. Buying packs through these stores gives you 5 random cards from that pack, rather than the usual 1 or 3.

The game includes cards from OCG boosters up to and including Light of Destruction, as well as a variety of OCG promos.

Ranking
There are 30 player Levels, Levels 1 through 30. Once a player has played at least 36 duels, he or she can advance beyond Level 1, and must to move from the beginner's lobby to the other lobbies where all players Level 2 and above play.

The player's Level is decided by their score. Each time a player wins a duel, that player's score increases, and whenever a player loses a duel, their score decreases. The amount of points received or deducted depends on the player's level and the opponent's level. For example, a Level 2 player winning from a Level 5 player would gain more points than a Level 6 player winning from a Level 3 player.

Events

 * Duelist Trial
 * Gunslinger
 * Evolution Duels
 * Ultimate Match

Seasonal Championships
These championships are held once every season (excluding Fall). A preliminary tournament is held and the top 16 duelists go into the Final Tournament where they play a knock-out tournament until they lose. Qualifiers are awarded with cards based on what place they arrived in.

Anniversary Trials
These are held yearly and offers prize cards depending on how many times you win over a 24 hour period.

Payment
To duel, players must spend Duelpass Points (DP). It costs 1 DP for 1 duel. Duelpass points are obtained by purchasing Duelpasses. Purchasing a Duelpass gains the player 30 Duelpass Points, 1 card in the game, and 10 Mileage (that players can exchange for cards). Ten Duelpass points are given for free to every account when they are first created. There are currently four formats for obtaining Duelpasses. A Duelpass Point is approximately 10 US Cents.

Generation I
 * Duelpass: Phase Two
 * Duelpass: Phase Three
 * Duelpass: Phase Four
 * Duelpass: Phase Five
 * Duelpass: Phase Six

Generation II


 * Duelpass: Phase Seven   : E-Hero
 * Duelpass: Phase Eight   : Spellcasters Unity
 * Duelpass: Phase Nine    : The Lost Guardian
 * Duelpass: Phase Ten     : Legend Ojamaster
 * Duelpass: Phase Eleven  : Dinosaur's Roar
 * Duelpass: Phase Twelve  : Rainbow Explosion
 * Duelpass: Phase Thirteen : Divine Judgement
 * Duelpass: Phase Fourteen : Absolute Darkness
 * Duelpass: Phase Fifteen : Dragon's Dominion
 * Duelpass: Phase Sixteen : Advent of the Emperor
 * Duelpass: Phase Seventeen: Ultimate Selection

Duelpass 150
This is an online purchase that is equivalent to 5 Duelpasses (150 Duelpass points). The 5 cards gained from this type of Duelpass are chosen randomly from a set. At one point, sale of the Duelpass 150 was suspended in the United States due to fraud, but since the release of Duel Evolution, the Duelpass 150 is available in United States again.

USB Duelpass Key
The USB Duelpass Key is equivalent to 3 Duelpasses (90 Duelpass points). It is a USB device that is sold in retail stores in the United States, such as Toys 'R' Us and Target. It works like a standard USB flash drive, except it only contains the information necessary to transfer game credits to your account. A CD-ROM with the full version of the game is included in the packaging for the USB Duelpass Key. The flashdrive itself has only 128K or so of memory, unusable for anything but the duel pass credits. The 3 cards gained from this type of duelpass are chosen randomly from a set. The USB Duelpass Key is sold only in the United States and Mexico. Players in other locations must get duelpasses from one of the other methods or buy them from a third party.

SMS Duelpass
The SMS Duelpass is available in the United Kingdom to date and for a charge of £1 you gain 15 Duel Points and 10MP. It's a quick and popular way of obtaining Duel Points.

More Information

 * Yu-Gi-Oh! Online: Booster Packs
 * Yu-Gi-Oh! Online: Gunslinger

Other Versions
Duel Monsters Expert - A free pixelated manual play version of the card game hosted as a BYOND game.

Duel Monsters Online - A free pixelated version of the Yu-Gi-oh! Online Duel Evolution hosted as a BYOND game.

Kaiba Corporation Virtual Duel System - A free manual play flash version with the same card graphics.