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An honest and (hopefully) balanced review
bruisie150
Member Posts: 12
Ok ill keep this short and sweet.
Pros
Good looking game (and only a little laggy at times)
Unique combat system - The Skill deck - which adds a dynamic element to combat and leads to a need to plan ahead a little.
Apparently good quest lines later on (reported to me by others!)
Cons
This is not a game for crafters. (some will disagree for sure but with only a couple of types of items to craft (sigils/enchantments) and everyone able to craft them I would disagree) Item,s are non binded and do not deteriorate either. Its not possible to craft armour weapons ect...
*edit* ok lets see hpw this goes at later levels, lots of players seem to say good things so im man enough to say i may be wqrong here! but if you were more than 50% crafter i still wouldnt bpther!*
Not a game for RP's really either with the ability to turn off global chat not working and the majority of names coming for the wow ilk like deathdealer'pwnsall ect ect
Staring area (and there is only 1) is quite boring. It looks ok but the majority of quests are kill x number of whatever. We also have that wow favorite of not all boars have boar meat so it can get tedius especially if rolling an alt.
A lot of elements within the game are pointless. Armour has no stats and is just for show as are weapons. E.g the sheild you carry does nothing for you. You can run around in bra and pants and have the same protection as full armour. There is pvp but at present there is no consequence so again a little pointless (some might argue its just for fun!) When you pick your house (action) same thing...doesnt matter what u choose its just cosmetic. The race you choose (and there are only 2) is also just cosmetic.
Neutral - The game is about how you set yup your skill deck and how you use it during combat so its very player focused. Some may like this others might not its just opinion. In summary i think some may love this game for its uniqueness, for the skill deck system and lack of any item stats. Others may see it as lacking depth and being gimmicky.
Personally i played the trial and did sign up for a month (acclaim coins) but Im still undecided! It deos look great - on a par with lotro but does it lack depth?
Comments
You're right: it's not a game for crafters. The overwhelming majority of games that do nominally have a crafting system aren't games for crafters, either. If a game isn't going to go to the effort to have a good crafting system, then the next best thing is to make sure that the crafting system isn't a nuisance.
I miss intricate crafting systems. I think the last great crafting system in an MMO I played was eq2 at launch, Vanguard was a pretty cool crafting system as well. Wish there were more mmos that would take the time to create a worthwhile crafting system.
So far I'm loving TCoS with my only complaint being the starter quests and the combat sounds. The combat sounds just do not sound "epic". Every hit sounds like I'm hitting a twig against a tree, not like I'm hitting a sword against flesh.
So the Skill Deck system is just Guild War's skill system?
only in the sense that you pick the skills you are going to use out of a bit list of them, but other than that its nothing like guildwars.
Really, the bottom line is the game just isn't as innovative as I thought it was going to be or hoped it was going to be. The first few levels are really interesting the first time ingame if you try dodging, but after that, it's pretty much just a pattern for dodging mobs, making it just another skill-smasher. It works well, but is it original? No, it is basically a rotating Guild Wars skilldeck, which is a good idea, I like the skill-deck, but the "real-time" combat is just another form of button smashing.
Good game? Sure, but it's basically the same as any other game on the market minus a lot of the polish. After playing the Aion COB and feeling what it's like to play a polished game again, Spellborn has a long way to go. Infinite potential, but it's just not there yet. I still log on and deliver things, kill 5 of this for him, 2 of that for her, collect 16 of these for both of them, and then run back and forth delivering messages for another 30 minutes. Plus, there's just an overwhelming amount of pure run quests in Quarterstone.
The game probably would of been more enjoyable, too, if every named mob (Vaults included) wasn't bugged. But the Vaults are supposed to be big chunks of the story line, the fun things to do, and every one I experienced was either completely bugged to the point it just wasn't fun trying to figure out how to manipulate pathing, the NPC not helping me, or certain mobs doing crazy damage out of nowhere.
Not worth paying for yet, really. Glad everyone is still enjoying it, tho.
OMG LIES AND HATE!111
Nah, I agree that there needs to be a lot of polish and bug fixes in certain areas, but the game itself is a lot of fun, both through combat and surprisingly, the quests themselves. It doesnt to me at least feel like another "quick, get to level cap and grind!" affair although sadly some people have treated it exactly as that.
How are you finding Aion btw? Is it deserving of the hype its been getting?I was never really intetrested in it tbh, but then i saw a video of flying combat and was intrigued.
OMG LIES AND HATE!111
Nah, I agree that there needs to be a lot of polish and bug fixes in certain areas, but the game itself is a lot of fun, both through combat and surprisingly, the quests themselves. It doesnt to me at least feel like another "quick, get to level cap and grind!" affair although sadly some people have treated it exactly as that.
How are you finding Aion btw? Is it deserving of the hype its been getting?I was never really intetrested in it tbh, but then i saw a video of flying combat and was intrigued.
My ingame time on Aion is limited to the starter areas. From my experience it is a quality title, definitely better than Warhammer, Age of Conan, Warhammer, and a lot of the more "cookie-cutter" MMOs that have launched lately.
I keep thinking that TCoS is a game that I am going to play twice. Once just to kill the time until other new games come out, then again when they've got all the content polished, bugs fixed, balanced, and new features completed. I still love it and can't imagine playing anything else at the moment.
That was basically my point, it's just another button smasher. Just like every other MMO, but compared to them, it is a step up. The problem is, it isn't a big enough step. The only REAL difference is the strafing, which works, but honestly, once you figure out the attack pattern of the mob, it's just more buttons to mash to kill the mob. You can completely circle strafe while killing mobs, which honestly, doesn't feel too much different from my Rogue on any other game. The dodging is a nice touch, but in the end, it's just a pattern. Every mob has them, and they're similar -- they either attack slow or fast and in different patterns, but you can dodge most mobs by using the same traditional skill strafing.
And don't get me started on the humans, they're even easier, the only difference is they like to group up and strafe backwards. Good AI?
My point is, you might as well just be standing still with auto-attack, because that's the only difference, is there's no auto-attack. I just strafe in circles around the mobs like any other game that had a class based on position. In the end, it feels just the same, just without an auto-attack.
The setting and the style in general is what brought me to the game. However, the soundtrack isn't all it's cracked up to be, and the sounscapes in Aion completely smash any from Spellborn. Bigger budget? Probably. And I do music production for a living, the quality in the soundscape in Spellborn is nice, but it's more unique than anything, but that doesn't last a long for a while.
And MMO is like anything else. You get a new phone, constantly mess with it. You get a new car, constantly cleaning it, etc. etc. but eventually they "shiny new" wears off and it's just another thing. The style of the game graphically did grab my attention, but it didn't keep my attention there because appearance is only worth so much. There's lots of games that have good graphical presentation, but that isn't what captures me into playing the game consistantly, that's what gets you in the game in the first place.
I wasn't trying to compare the two games, I was simply stating that my personal experiences took me towards Aion. I imagine players from ALL games, not just Darkfall; Warcraft, Warhammer, all of them, are going to goto Aion. Not all of them, it won't be an exodus to Aion, but Aion does offer what the mainstream player wants. Massive PVP in form of RVR, the new PvPvE, the raids, the cosmetic goodness, all of that.
Don't bash the indie developers for releasing buggy garbage. Be mad at the consumers who don't understand the real difference between an indie developer and a commercial developer. The resources, the funds, all of it -- I'm a big indie supporter, and I 100% support the Darkfall developers for what they tried doing. They just got over their head with the demand for the game and it completely through them off -- the game bugs might of been able to be addressed if it wasn't for everything else. But it's an indie developer, not a commercial, and that's just how it works out. You have to appreciate the indie movement to appreciate an indie title.
I wasn't trying to bash Spellborn, or it's playerbase, even tho a lot of the fanboys go a little overboard with it all. Sure, Spellborn is a good title. I didn't bash it at all, I was simply saying that half of the cult-following it has overrate the combat system and they think it's some completely new and fresh idea -- it's not. It's a skill-spammer without auto-attack. Strafing in combat isn't new, maybe the ability to not get hit while doding is, but that isn't even a big deal to me. The soundtrack? So what they got some rock band I personally think is garbage to help out, it still isn't up to par with some of the top releases in terms of audio, at all.
Everyone I see says "THE GAME GETS BETTER PAST LEVEL 10!!! JUST WAIT AND SEE!" -- sure, it would, but all those "epic" quests and encounters you're talking about are bugged to the point they aren't epic or fun anymore. Every one of the vaults I went into was bugged, the house Quests were completely broken. The only quests that worked as intended were the trash quests, the space fillers. So yes, there is a lot of room for polish and improvement in the game. Will it be a great game once it's all touched up? Yep. Still not for me, tho.
But it is for sure a game to play twice. I tried it out, and enjoyed it, for what it was. Not something for me to play constantly, but enjoyable, somewhat. And I'll try it again once it's completely launched and all the major things people seem to think are minor are fixed. I doubt I'll resub, but I do appreciate the work they put into the world. It's just not as good as their fans seem to think it is. Before we saw failures such as AOC, WAR, Tabula Rasa, and so on, this would of just been another title.
Forgive me if this has already been said because all i did was read OP's post..
The armor does have sigil slots on it so that you can put added stats for defence and offence, but all gear armor/weapons have the same type of slots so the pvp is played by skill and group builds. The quests after first area do get better also you should really take the time to read the quests for some are good dialog and might keep you interested in the game.
Also the house you choose sets up your team for the rest of the game, these houses are a type of faction, and split the teams for most of the pvp aspect of the game
It is true that the game is getting better, but there is still room for alot of improvement. Most of the bugged quest have been repaired. Together with the introduction of new hunter quests and the introduction of bounties you now can keep going questing till level 50. However, a small portion of the main line quests is still bugged, which can be annoying when you are curious about the lore behind them.
If you have played Spellborn before it is not a bad time for returning, but when you are so difficult to please as you seem to be, it might be advisable to wait a bit longer. Progress is slow but steady and the longer you wait the better the chances for an enjoyable experience are.
About the game getting better after level 10. The quests get better, AI in higher level areas is different. The strafing technique you seem to use as an all purpose solution will be your death against most human mobs and howlers. But the game is what it is and mainly gets better by content patches not because you pass a certain level. Although people only playing the trial should realize that Hawksmouth is meant as a training area. Most mobs below level 10 do not use debufs in that area and for that reason are easier to overcome, which is a good thing for a starter area.
--
Delanor
Trying Aion..meh. The hype train is certainly on course, and I guess if you like pretty korean games youll be in heaven.
ok this is a reply to the crafting, first gathering the resources is hard work specialy as it is open pvp which means u need to kill all the other players around u b4 ur able to gather or while ur gathering ur gonna be killed. In stead of new armour u have sigils for ur armour + weopons so as u get to higher lvls u need to get new sigils to make ur weopon better than it was at lvl 1. So at the moment ur crafting sigils, but for the better sigils u need a higher lvl weopons so for this u need to craft a higher lvl armour but for this, u need a recipe not to mention a the resources thus making crafting hard. This makes players want to buy the sigils + weopons from market thus this game HAS A SOLID CRAFTNG SYSTEM not realy allowing a lvl 3 to make high lvl pieces as the recipes act as the craft lvls we see i so many games.
I have stated before that I am a SB fanboy, and I still am, so no need for anyone to try and hit me with that stick. I couldnt care and it dosent hurt. Just saying this so we are all clear.
I have always stated though that being a SB fanboy dosent make me uncritical or easily offended if someone dosent like what I like. Again, I couldnt care. 'Everyone' will be playing Aion? Let 'em I say. I don't need millions to be playing the same game as me to validate my choice of what I find 'fun'. I have never been much of a one for the herd instinct.
I have always openly admitted this game has bugs and other issues, and I have in the past been very vocal about the speed that Acclaim work and the lack of information while they do. No way would I stand here and say it is perfect as it stands. It isnt.
I have said in the past, on these forums, though that I consider what is good to be excellent. Excellent enough to stick with an support the game while the devs continue to fix the bugs (and btw there is nothing game breaking in any of the bugs, despite what anyone might say) and drop the heavy content patches like the last one (and the next one by the look of it).
There are no 'game breaking' bugs to offend anyone, unless they are easily offended.
I find it... confusing... though that people say they 'support indie devs' and then to go on a criticise and abandon them for being excactly that with all the limitations that it has by definition.
Supporting indie means being aware that small teams have limitiations, things won't always be perfect, and that more time is needed to get things into place. With indie you have to be willing to put your money where your mouth is and have faith in the good, while constructively criticising the bad in an effort to help it be better. Withdrawing your money (the only real support that matters) and putting it with the huge budget corperations that pump out ez mode gimmick driven games leaves you with no right to complain about the current state of the genre. It makes you part of the problem, not part of the solution.
Noone helps any indie dev, or the genre, by just posting 'I support indie devs' on public forums without backing it up in their actions. When these guys pay lip service to 'supporting indie devs' and then proceed to jump ship to the next hyped up big budget homogonous genre derivative crowd pleaser like Aion I get even more confused.
I guess every game is great until it is released and some people will spend their lives chasing the end of the rainbow, not realising that sometimes the only real pot of gold that exists is the one you stay in one place and help fill. Some people seem to want indie creativity and risk taking with a huge corperate safe bet budget and thats unrealistic, as any sensible person knows.
Personally I am willing to put up with the (non game breaking) bugs, and wait for the upcoming big assed content drops, for now because this is a game that IS that good and there is more then enough to keep me going for a while yet.
I am a member of a great guild (Radiance on Acclaim PvE) in this game, and I am having a great time. These are still very early days and SB is exciting. Never before have I been this interested or in where a MMORPG will go in future. We may have a little stormy weather now, but this is a game worth hanging onto
wut r ur problom. hi lvl weopons crafting r gud. amirite?
wut r ur problom. hi lvl weopons crafting r gud. amirite?
LMAO!!!
Seriously, though...what is the world coming to when people are too lazy to spell a three letter word??
Is this what we have to look forward to? People who have apparently skipped so much school to play Wow that they can barely communicate?
I like the game but think the are making a mistake as far as the combat. I think they should either do one of two things to make the combat smoother and overall more solid.
1) Make it auto-target.. before you cry foul hear my reason. The skill deck is a lot of fun and adds an interesting strategy to the game. To have to target and all that while worrying about the bar rotating and stuff.
2) Take away the rotating bar. If you aren't going to have the auto targeting then take away the roating bar to let me pick which skill i want to use at any given time.
What it comes down to is this: While they are both great ideas and make for interesting combat. Together they are hurting more than helping one another. After playing a few weeks, that is the conclusion I've come to.
When you say "auto-target" do you mean auto-face? As in, your character automatically faces your target.
If that was the case it would be just another MMO, and I wouldnt play it. It would be just another button spammer. Aion, for example, whilst all nice and shiny is just another MMO exactly the same as all the others ive played over the years. If spellborn had auto aim and 30 hotkeys to spam, it wouldnt have anything going for it compared to wow, war, aion etc.
Im sick to death of MMOs in general, and im liking the direction of manual combat.
Auto target?
No thanks, not in this game. There are plenty of games that offer that without making this into another one.
it's about time a mmorpg respected enough as players to ask us to learn a skill.
I am extremely happy with the lack of auto-target and the addition of the rotating skill deck here in SB.
There are a few things that i am not very happy about, but the combat is a much needed change of pace imo.
The tutorial and starting area of TCoS are just horrible.....I had zero desire to play more than a couple days they were both so bad........To me the only strength of the game is the graphics and its a nice looking game world.......Other than that there was nothing else that impressed me about TCoS.......