Are your kids talking about playing the Elsword game and leaving you wondering what this game is? Is it safe to play for them? We understand your concerns! Elsword is an online multiplayer anime-based game where players take on the role of characters to fight enemies.
In this guide, we’ll discuss in detail what the Elsword game is, including its gameplay, character overview, and more. We’ll also talk about its official age ratings and whether it’s safe for kids or not. We’ll even share some practical tips to ensure your kids have a safe and healthy Elsword playing experience. Keep reading!
What is Elsword?
Elsword is a free-to-play 2.5D action MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game). It was actually developed by KOG Studios in 2007 as a spiritual successor to Grand Chase, upgrading its graphics from 2D to 2.5D. It indeed features side-scrolling combat with anime-style graphics. Players can choose between fifteen different characters, each with a unique fighting system, skills, or weapons.
Platforms and how to play Elsword?
You can download Elsword free of cost on Steam or on Windows/PC from its official Elsword website.
To play this game, players will first have to create their account and download the client from the official website/steam. After logging in, they have to choose their game server, whether North America, Asia, or Europe. This indeed helps them enjoy smoother gameplay or a high connection speed. That’s all! Players can now play it and usually join other online players to complete missions.
Set screen time limits to balance play and health.
Key features and gameplay
Now, let’s dive deeper and have a look at the main features of ElsWord to better understand its gameplay!
Core systems
This online multiplier game combines being action-packed with fast-paced mechanics to make it more engaging and interactive for players.
- Class and Awakening System: As discussed earlier, players have to choose between characters that have a basic fighting style at the start. However, later on, they can unlock advanced classes with new skills, abilities, or weapons. Players can also activate the awakening system that temporarily increases the attack power.
- Combo-Based Combat: Players can also combine keyboard commands and skills to create fast-attacking chains against their enemies.
- Dungeon System: In addition, players enter the areas filled with traps or enemies, and their task is to clear that area. In return, they get rewards, equipment upgrades, and more.
- El System: EI is actually the magical power source that is connected with this game’s fantasy storyline. Thereby playing a major role in characters’ abilities and overall game progress.
Game modes
While playing Elsword, you can enjoy both player vs. environment and player vs. player modes.
- PvE mode: In this game type, players have to fight against computer-controlled enemies. It involves an instance dungeon mode, as mentioned earlier, and raid missions that require teamwork and cooperation to defeat the large bosses.
- PvP arenas: As the name suggests, in this game mode, players have to compete against real opponents instead of AI-based opponents. This way, it requires strong strategic skills to win.
In-Game Economy and Currency Types
Remember! Just starting the Elsowrd game is free; you do have to purchase items and costumes using the in-game economy. For instance;
- ED: It’s actually the standard in-game currency that you earn via battles, item trading, or quests.
- K-Ching: On the other hand, K-Ching is the premium currency that you purchase with real money. You know, using this currency, you can buy premium upgrades, costumes, etc.
Elsword characters overview: Who they are and why kids pick them
Already discussed that the Elsword game includes 15 unique characters; now, let’s review each profile. This way, you would better understand why kids pick them and soon.
Elsword
Elsword is the young red-haired swordsman who is actually the main hero of the game. He is beginner-friendly and known for his fast melee combos.
Aisha
She is a brilliant/magical mage who indeed uses magical spells and specializes in high burst damage.
Rena: You’ll see Rena with green hair, who is actually a bow user and has nature-based powers. For instance, she excels in speed, mobility, and long-range attacks.
Raven
Raven has a dark, serious look and is a melee attacker, which means he fights in front of enemies despite the long distance. He also has a metal mechanical arm, which gives him special abilities.
Eve
Eve, in contrast, has a robotic appearance and uses tech-based attacks like lasers, energy blasts, etc., to fight enemies. Moreover, she is portrayed as a calm, emotionally controlled, and intelligent robotic queen.
Chung
Chung appears to be in large, heavy knight-style armor that makes him super strong and protective. He uses large cannons with explosive power to protect others.
Ara
Ara also has long black hair and wears traditional East Asian-inspired clothing. She is usually seen wielding a spear, and in addition to her physical abilities, she has spiritual powers.
Elisis
Elesis, owing to her bold appearance, is a leader-type warrior who uses a sword for direct attacks.
Add
You’ll see that Add in the purple/black outfit has a pale face and a mysterious look. He is actually a scientist-type fighter who attacks enemies with his Drak energy and experimentation.
Lu
Lu is a demon princess in Elsword who is very small and cute, yet fights strongly using her magical energy attacks.
Ciel
Ciel is actually Lu’s bodyguard, always seen with her to protect her. He carries guns and firearms that give him a modern look.
Rose
Rose is a high-tech soldier from a futuristic world, equipped with multiple guns and other ranged weapons. She looks very strong and confident, just like a special forces soldier.
Laby
Laby has a childish appearance and a colorful outfit, and uses imagination-powered attacks & combos to attack enemies.
Ain
Ain appears to be a divine servant sent by the goddess who uses his holy powers to restore balance and order.
Noah
Lastly, Noah seems to be a young traveler who uses moon energy & shadow attacks to fight enemies.
You have seen that all of the above-mentioned characters have a unique appearance and fighting style. So, young players usually choose based on visual appeals or even gameplay style. Keep in mind that such characters are also widely shared via fan art and online communities, which also makes them popular among kids and teens.
If you learn more about the characters’ builds, skills, or traits, of Elswords game you can explore the Elsword wiki website.
Recommended age range
The Elsword is generally recommended for teens 13 and older; however, it has different age ratings that vary with regions. According to IMDb TV, in Brazil it’s rated Livre; in Germany, 12; in South Korea, All; in Taiwan, R-12; in the United Kingdom, 12 PEGI; or in the United States, T.
This game has received these ratings due to the following content breakdown!
- Violence: It features cartoon/anime-style characters that use swords, magic, or other weapons to defeat monsters and bosses. Although there is no graphic blood or gore, such fantasy-based violence is still not considered good for younger kids’ minds.
- Themes: Although the art style is generally colorful, it involves darker, complex fantasy elements like magic curses, revenge, etc.
- Online interactions: Since it’s an online multiplayer game, players can chat with one another, which increases the risks of strangers’ interactions or more.
Because of its visually appealing and action-packed gameplay, kids usually spend a lot of time playing such games. This excessive screen time not only affects kids’ physical health but also causes mood swings, sleep disorders, or other drastic effects.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), in its revised 2025 screen time guidelines, suggests there is no fixed recommended screen time for kids. That’s why parents, despite minimizing screen time, should maintain balance and ensure that screen time never replaces healthy habits like sleep, exercise, and face-to-face interaction.
Is Elsword safe for kids? Risks parents should know
Although Elsword is a fantasy-based game, just like other online games, it also comes with safety risks, especially for younger kids. Here is an overview of its risks that parents must be aware of!
Online interactions and chat risks
First of all, you already know that Elsword features multiplayer, which means players can communicate with others via chat. However, being an online game, it exposes kids to strangers who may use toxic or unmoderated language. That’s why you have to do strict chat supervision.
In-app purchases and spending risk
Furthermore, it involves microtransactions in which players spend real currency to buy items. It’s more likely that kids may make accidental purchases, affecting your monthly budget. Such things even put pressure on kids, making them feel like they have to take money from anywhere to buy upgrades.
That’s why parents need to use strong passwords and parental controls on such purchases to avoid any spending risks.
Exposure to inappropriate fan content outside the game
Not just the game itself, but there are fan-based communities online like “Elsword dark solace fanart”, “Elsword rule 34” etc that share fan art of characters and Story edits & animations.
However, there are many online platforms that may expose kids to adult content. This is especially true when they search for characters on image search engines, Discord groups, fan forums, or social media platforms.
Privacy concerns
It also raises privacy concerns because it requires users to create their accounts by entering their email addresses or usernames. However, such risks increase if kids share such sensitive information in chats. That’s why you have to teach your kids never to share their real name, location, or school address online.
Practical parental controls and step-by-step protection
Because the above-mentioned risks often come from inside and outside the gaming environment, layered protection would be an ideal approach to keep kids safe. In this section, we’ll share a combination of parental controls, including platform-level, in-game ones, or dedicated third-party ones!
Platform-level controls
If your kids are playing Elsowrd via Steam, you can restrict access to in-app purchases and chats using a PIN via Family Steam view. However, in the case of Windows/PC, you can set up built-in parental controls to have control over app access, screen time, and kinds of downloads.
Likewise, you can turn on router-level filtering to block adult websites to ensure a safe browsing experience.
Game/client settings
The game itself offers parental control features, such as enabling chat filters to reduce exposure to toxic messages. You can even manage friend requests from strangers. It also offers block and report tools to remove harmful players.
Browser and search safety
Because many risks may come from fan-based communities online, that’s why you must turn on SafeSearch on Google and other search engines. This would filter out the image search results and even restrict access to adult sites.
Deploy a third-party parental control app
Besides, you must have installed a reliable parental control app like FlashGet Kids for extra security. This is because it features many advanced monitoring functions enabling you to have control over your kids’ digital activities in real time. For instance,
- Screen time: It allows you to set time limitations on specific hours for a particular time. So, if kids try to exceed the limit, you will get an instant alert.
- Browser safety: It also allows you to blacklist the inappropriate websites, ensuring kids remain safe from adult fan-based sites.
- App blocker and monitoring: Also, you can check which platforms your kids have access to and for how long. If you find any suspicious activity, you can block such apps.
- Keywords alerts: It even lets you set keywords related to inappropriate searches on different social media platforms. If kids try to search them, you will get an instant alert.
FAQs
You can put Elsword in full screen using the in-game settings. You’ll simply go to game settings > Display menu > select Full Screen mode instead of Windowed mode. Otherwise, a shortcut method is just to press Alt + Enter on your keyboard to switch to full screen.
The record is actually the battle history in Elsowrd, which you can find by opening your character’s profile, or checking dungeon results or PvP records in the relevant tabs.
You can get K-Ching currency in Elsword by purchasing it with real money using your regional payment methods.
You can get EI Tree fruits and seeds in Elsword via completing daily & weekly quests, or even participating in event rewards.
Elsword has different servers based on regions, each has its own time, game progressions, and a rewards system. For instance, KR (Korea Server) is the original version with earlier updates. Likewise, there is an NA (North America Server), which is managed separately with localized content. On the other hand, the EU and other regional servers are adapted versions for different players.
Conclusion
In summary, Elsword is an action-packed role-playing online multiplayer game that is specially designed for teens. However, owing to its chat system and in-app purchases, parents need to stay cautious and strictly supervise their kids to ensure safe gaming. That’s why you first have to guide kids about safe digital habits and deploy in-game and device-level parental control restrictions.
However, for an extra protective layer, it’s best to have FlashGet Kids parental control app installed. This proves to be an all-in-one parental solution because it not only offers web filtering & app monitoring but also lets you set screen time limitations for a healthy balance.
