Steampunk MMO ARGO Online now features a new ranking ladder system that ranks characters by the experience they've earned and their wins and losses in the game's RTS mode. There is also a tab for guild ranking that is still under construction.

To celebrate the launch of this new feature, alaplaya is hosting a month-long exp event that offers a prize pool of $500 worth of alaplaya points. The goal is to collect as much exp as possible. Check out the contest announcement for more details.

Staff Writer Paul "LockeColeMA" Cleveland recently took a tour of ARGO Online, so be sure to check out his article for his impressions.

I recently had the chance to take a tour through some of the zones of ARGO Online, guided by Senior Account Executive Ryan Morgan. The result is mostly a picture tour of some of the areas and enemies found in the game, as well as background information from Morgan. Read on to learn more about this free-to-play PvP-oriented steampunk MMO!

ARGO Online has officially launched! If you've been playing in the open beta for the past couple weeks, your progress has not been wiped.

The launch brings with it a variety of new content to the game. Here are the highlights:

• Max Level is now 50
• Languages other than English (though for now, only in the quests): German, French, Italian, and Spanish
• Seven new dungeons, six new PvP dungeons and nine new raid dungeons.
• Many new high-level areas
• -Hundreds of new quests
• Professions may now reach new levels
• RTS Mode (Realtime Strategy Mode, similar to StarCraft)
• Regular events
• Core Mall (Item Shop)

Check out the launch announcement for a schedule of the regular events, which include faction wars, guild wars and field wars.

ARGO Online entered open beta last week, but that hasn't stopped burda:ic from showing off new content. Naihill, the third continent in ARGO, is now available, and you can see everything it has to offer in a brand new trailer.

Players can enter Naihill beginning at level 30 by using an airship. The continent features new locales to visit, new dungeons to conquer, new PvP battles to fight and new mounts and pets to collect and raise. See it all below!

The ARGO Online open beta kicks off tomorrow, April 7, which means all players will soon be able to log into this free-to-play steampunk MMO that contains RTS elements. You can currently download the open beta client in preparation for the launch, so get ready to enter the game's post-apocalyptic world.

Once the open beta begins, the level cap will be raised to 40 and all 16 in-game classes will be available to play. Players will also have access to 10 new dungeons, a new stage for professions, and plenty of additional weapons, armor, mounts and more.

To celebrate the end of the closed beta, burda:ic has released some interesting closed beta statistics:

• Number of Monsters killed: Nearly 5,000,000
• Number of quests finished: Nearly 55,000
• Player Distribution Between Noblian - Floresslah Factions: 51:49
• Most popular classes: Explorer (1st Place), Warrior (2nd Place), Druid (3rd Place)

We'll have to wait and see if the Explorer remains the most popular class once all 16 classes become available in open beta.

The closed beta test for the steampunk-themed ARGO Online has kicked off and will run through March 22. If you'd like to participate, head over to the game's site and apply for the beta for a chance to get a key.

This post-apocalyptic MMO is free-to-play and is scheduled to officially launch in North America and Europe this spring. Keep reading after the jump for a full list of features that are included in the closed beta test.