The point of the game, and really any game for that matter is to have fun. Do you really need a checklist of shit to do to feel like you had fun? I understand being a "goal oriented" person, but damn man. I play these games to have fun. That's it. If I am enjoying questing, exploring, crafting, pvp, etc. Then THAT's the point.
You really sound like you just don't enjoy the game. If that's the case, then it may be time to explore other options. And I'm not meaning to be a dick, cause I just left AA and went back to WoW again lol. I'm just saying, you shouldn't have to ask others how to have fun in a game. It should just happen... and if it does't, it's time to split.
May be the FUN is to analyse the games and the company's policies and ways and to see how the support player base deals with it's player base.
May be for you it is the game.
But for many the game is also about the community building side which is always taken care - of by the support player base, however if the company is looking for money, may be the support player base has to work accordingly.
..... um... ok. What in the hell are you talking about? The game is about having fun for me, which does involve community building. I assume you're talking about guilds etc? It appears that English is not your first language, so perhaps I'm misunderstanding the point of what you're attempting to get across here?
On your money point, let me ask you this: Why wouldn't a company be looking to make money? You people crack me up. You think that the company and all the employees just exist out of the kindness of their hearts to provide you entertainment? Are you for real? OF COURSE THE COMPANY IS TRYING TO MAKE MONEY. They have bills to pay. You would like all games to be completely free huh? What are your thoughts here? Should companies be allowed to attempt to make a living and pay their staff?
From the above post i made my point. I am just giving the analysis of it's extent of F2P. To be honest I was not suggesting the company policy. Just saying that the game is not very F2P friendly. Entertainment it is, if it entertains you ... Cannot be validated as to the advertisement and the reality differences.
Just a caution !!!
Cheers Sourajit Nandi
" Don't listen to anyone who tells you that you can't play this or that. That's nonsense. Make up your mind,and you'll never whine or repent about gaming hours anymore, then have a go at every Game. Open up the Internet, join in all the Mmorpgs you can. Go make the Guild. But never, never let them persuade you that things are too difficult or impossible. "
Let's take WoW for example, every aspect of the game has a path and a way to gauge success.
My question still stands, what is the "end game" really all about in Archeage?
This is what you are not getting.
And let's put aside the "archeage is a thempark with sandbox elements" that some will say and just look at the "sandbox elements".
You are one of the many people (and this is NOT a criticism) who seem to want a path. Like a friend of mine who tried skyrim with it's open world game play and wanted a better path because he didn't really see the point.
A game like archeage, regardless of how much of it is themepark/sandbox requires you to make your own path.
So, you need to make your own goals. Otherwise there is no point. If you want to lead a guild to take over a castle then that is your path. If you want to play the market/crafting game, then that is your path. If you want to be a pirate then that is your path.
Each of those things are an end in and of themselves provided that you are interested in that end.
If none of that interests you and if you can't find a meaningful path within the game then the game might not be for you.
Again, not a criticism and I don't believe that one type of player is remotely superior to another type of player. Just an observation that some want pointed game play and some don't.
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
Archeage's end game is PvP and the gear race associated with it (which comes with all the "sub-systems" like farming and crafting)
The gear race never ends (game's been out 2 years in Korea and NO ONE has the best gear yet) so basically, you just keep on working towards that gear. And PvP.
People go on and on about "you choose your path", but they all lead to the same goal. "Better gear" and, hopefully "to PvP with" (hopefully, cause if you aren't playing AA to PvP, you're gonna be dissappointed...). Which, since the gear race is endless, kinda leads to an endless cycle of "to get better gear" "to pvp with" "to get better gear" "to PvP with".
To illustrate, you may fish. To get gold or mats. To get better gear. To PvP with.
You may PvP to kill others to get their trade packs on the high seas. To get gold. To get better gear. To PvP with.
You may grow stuff on your farm. To get gold or mats. To get better gear. To PvP with.
You may run trade runs. To get gold or mats. To get better gear. To PvP with.
You may farm Hasla weaps. To get better gear (hasla). To PvP with.
You may barter on the auction house. To get gold. To get better gear. To PvP with.
Etc etc etc.
(note: To be truly successful at any of the above, add "alongside your guild" to it)
If you're instead looking for an MMO where you either "get better gear" "to beat stronger monsters" "to get better gear", Archeage is NOT that game.
If you're instead looking for an MMO where you "create player cities" or "run your own tavern", Archeage is NOT that game.
If you're instead looking for an MMO where you "roleplay".... um.... I dunno. I guess maybe some people do that in AA? I wouldn't call it one of its particularly strong points, though. The PvP isn't really that good for roleplaying due to silly things like "just keep respawning" and "only bidders may siege the castle and only 4 may own castles" and "can't hold land or cities via PvP" etc.
tl:dr;
Archeage's end game is "to get better gear" "to PvP with" "to get better gear" "to PvP with". I don't particularly mean that as an insult because most MMO's end games are similar (just replace "to PvP with" with "to PvE with"). But that's what it is.
Archeage's end game is PvP and the gear race associated with it (which comes with all the "sub-systems" like farming and crafting)
The gear race never ends (game's been out 2 years in Korea and NO ONE has the best gear yet) so basically, you just keep on working towards that gear. And PvP.
People go on and on about "you choose your path", but they all lead to the same goal. "Better gear" and, hopefully "to PvP with" (hopefully, cause if you aren't playing AA to PvP, you're gonna be dissappointed...). Which, since the gear race is endless, kinda leads to an endless cycle of "to get better gear" "to pvp with" "to get better gear" "to PvP with".
To illustrate, you may fish. To get gold or mats. To get better gear. To PvP with.
You may PvP to kill others to get their trade packs on the high seas. To get gold. To get better gear. To PvP with.
You may grow stuff on your farm. To get gold or mats. To get better gear. To PvP with.
You may run trade runs. To get gold or mats. To get better gear. To PvP with.
You may farm Hasla weaps. To get better gear (hasla). To PvP with.
You may barter on the auction house. To get gold. To get better gear. To PvP with.
Etc etc etc.
(note: To be truly successful at any of the above, add "alongside your guild" to it)
If you're instead looking for an MMO where you either "get better gear" "to beat stronger monsters" "to get better gear", Archeage is NOT that game.
If you're instead looking for an MMO where you "create player cities" or "run your own tavern", Archeage is NOT that game.
If you're instead looking for an MMO where you "roleplay".... um.... I dunno. I guess maybe some people do that in AA? I wouldn't call it one of its particularly strong points, though. The PvP isn't really that good for roleplaying due to silly things like "just keep respawning" and "only bidders may siege the castle and only 4 may own castles" and "can't hold land or cities via PvP" etc.
tl:dr;
Archeage's end game is "to get better gear" "to PvP with" "to get better gear" "to PvP with". I don't particularly mean that as an insult because most MMO's end games are similar (just replace "to PvP with" with "to PvE with"). But that's what it is.
I think you greatly oversimplifying.
There are many long term goals that MANY players have over gear that you seem to be missing. Moreover, if everything comes down to gear for you, I fear that you are looking at AA through the lens of themeparks which do exactly that.
My short list of possible goals.
Acquire land/more land/expand your empire
Get your end game upgradable mounts
Build a larger house or mansion
Build a fishing boat for sport fishing
Build a Galleon for war
Build a Merchant Ship for trading
Build your submarine
Mod your submarine
Build your Farm Wagon
Build your Farm Cart
Participate and defend your castle in the northern cont
Build your race car
Level crafting proficiencies
Become a master of all crafts by expanding your proficiency cap
Cap all classes to 50
Become a master composer and sell your music
Build your own nation (coming feature) and create your own custom factions
Build your Siege weapons for castle defense
Furnish your house/get all crafting stations and tools.
Acquire 100 slot chests for max storage.
Build your end game glider
Craft your diving equipment
EVERY one of these are long term NON GEAR oriented goals.
So as the game is advertised, make some goals and pave your own path. Seems the quoted poster just needs someone to hold his hand and direct him to the goals that are obviously there.
I find it kinda of odd that you can solo farm (obviously) for valuable materials but soloable/duroable mobs drop almost nothing but those lame loot bags. It would be nice if they offered a path for advancement to PvE people as they do for people that were lucky enough to get land and then stare at their growing plants.
Great posts by the two above me. I am apprehensive about the siege portion of the PvP with no consequences for death (respawn and endlessly zerg time!) and no bonus for territory control or owning a castle. I hope that is misinformation.
I find it kinda of odd that you can solo farm (obviously) for valuable materials but soloable/duroable mobs drop almost nothing but those lame loot bags. It would be nice if they offered a path for advancement to PvE people as they do for people that were lucky enough to get land and then stare at their growing plants.
Great posts by the two above me. I am apprehensive about the siege portion of the PvP with no consequences for death (respawn and endlessly zerg time!) and no bonus for territory control or owning a castle. I hope that is misinformation.
Unfortunately like everything else in AA, land must be earned and the land rush only happens once. I think the expectation that everyone should get land will set a false expectation for the rest of the game which takes a lot of time and effort. I would recommend doing trading till you can get together about 100g (wont be the best plot but should get your 16x16 somewhere ) and buy land from someone else. If peeps (not implying you) spend less time complaining about not getting free land but rather just earn some gold and buy some land, things will end up working out. Even the real estate market in AA is meant to be a commodity that is bought/sold and profitted from.
In regards to the northern cont. There are bonuses for territory control in that all houses in the sphere of influence of the castle, pay rent to the owner of the castle.
Archeage's end game is PvP and the gear race associated with it (which comes with all the "sub-systems" like farming and crafting)
The gear race never ends (game's been out 2 years in Korea and NO ONE has the best gear yet) so basically, you just keep on working towards that gear. And PvP.
People go on and on about "you choose your path", but they all lead to the same goal. "Better gear" and, hopefully "to PvP with" (hopefully, cause if you aren't playing AA to PvP, you're gonna be dissappointed...). Which, since the gear race is endless, kinda leads to an endless cycle of "to get better gear" "to pvp with" "to get better gear" "to PvP with".
To illustrate, you may fish. To get gold or mats. To get better gear. To PvP with.
You may PvP to kill others to get their trade packs on the high seas. To get gold. To get better gear. To PvP with.
You may grow stuff on your farm. To get gold or mats. To get better gear. To PvP with.
You may run trade runs. To get gold or mats. To get better gear. To PvP with.
You may farm Hasla weaps. To get better gear (hasla). To PvP with.
You may barter on the auction house. To get gold. To get better gear. To PvP with.
Etc etc etc.
(note: To be truly successful at any of the above, add "alongside your guild" to it)
If you're instead looking for an MMO where you either "get better gear" "to beat stronger monsters" "to get better gear", Archeage is NOT that game.
If you're instead looking for an MMO where you "create player cities" or "run your own tavern", Archeage is NOT that game.
If you're instead looking for an MMO where you "roleplay".... um.... I dunno. I guess maybe some people do that in AA? I wouldn't call it one of its particularly strong points, though. The PvP isn't really that good for roleplaying due to silly things like "just keep respawning" and "only bidders may siege the castle and only 4 may own castles" and "can't hold land or cities via PvP" etc.
tl:dr;
Archeage's end game is "to get better gear" "to PvP with" "to get better gear" "to PvP with". I don't particularly mean that as an insult because most MMO's end games are similar (just replace "to PvP with" with "to PvE with"). But that's what it is.
I think you greatly oversimplifying.
There are many long term goals that MANY players have over gear that you seem to be missing. Moreover, if everything comes down to gear for you, I fear that you are looking at AA through the lens of themeparks which do exactly that.
My short list of possible goals.
Acquire land/more land/expand your empire
Get your end game upgradable mounts
Build a larger house or mansion
Build a fishing boat for sport fishing
Build a Galleon for war
Build a Merchant Ship for trading
Build your submarine
Mod your submarine
Build your Farm Wagon
Build your Farm Cart
Participate and defend your castle in the northern cont
Build your race car
Level crafting proficiencies
Become a master of all crafts by expanding your proficiency cap
Cap all classes to 50
Become a master composer and sell your music
Build your own nation (coming feature) and create your own custom factions
Build your Siege weapons for castle defense
Furnish your house/get all crafting stations and tools.
Acquire 100 slot chests for max storage.
Build your end game glider
Craft your diving equipment
EVERY one of these are long term NON GEAR oriented goals.
So as the game is advertised, make some goals and pave your own path. Seems the quoted poster just needs someone to hold his hand and direct him to the goals that are obviously there.
Acquire land/more land/expand your empire
To use to get gold. To PvP with. Archeage really doesn't seem like a particularly good choice of game if you're the type that just wants land just so you can sit on it and say "look at my empire!" to me. The primary purpose of it is the resources it provides.
Get your end game upgradable mounts
Upgradable mounts are a type of gear.
Build a larger house or mansion
....granted, I suppose that counts as a non-gear or non-PvP related pursuit. Unlike other MMOs with more robust housing systems, though, this one's kinda.... well................... honestly I can't think of many AA players that have ever stated something like this as something they particularly looked forward to in the game.
.........but yea, I suppose it technically qualifies as non-gear or non-PvP related.
Build a fishing boat for sport fishing
Fishing is for gold and resources. Which leads to better gear. No one fishes just for the fun of fishing (although some fish for the fun of running into PvP while fishing. Which falls under the "PvP" category)
Build a Galleon for war
PvP.
Build a Merchant Ship for trading
Gold for gear.
Build your submarine
Used to get underwater resources for gold for gear.
Mod your submarine
Ditto.
Build your Farm Wagon
Build your Farm Cart
For farming. For gold and resources. For gear.
Participate and defend your castle in the northern cont
PvP. (and gold from taxing those on your territory. For gear. For more PvPing. ....but mostly primarily PvP)
Build your race car
...........okay, I'll give you that one, although it's pretty much the same as the house in that it's really a small diversion at best.
Level crafting proficiencies
Leads to better gear. Very few people craft, farms, or fishes just for the sake of crafting, farming, and fishing. It's always to get gold for gear. In some sandboxes, it might be for the social interaction involved in trading your wares from such things, but Archeage's auction house is too impersonal for that.
You do socialize with guildies when doing cooperative projects for crafting, etc, but the end result is the final product which is... well, better gear. People work together with their guild to craft so they can craft complete gear. They don't work together with their guild to craft.... just for the sake of crafting.
Become a master of all crafts by expanding your proficiency cap
Won't you like... die of old age first?
Cap all classes to 50
People actually enjoy doing that in Archeage? Though I wouldn't call "capping" end-game. Making alts or anything to do with alts is going back through the "before end-game" process and repeating it.
Become a master composer and sell your music
Guess I'll give you that one. But.... honestly, to everyone out there, my advice is if you want to compose music that you just do so. You don't need an MMO for that.
Build your own nation (coming feature) and create your own custom factions
Isn't that primarily PvP related?
Build your Siege weapons for castle defense
PvP.
Furnish your house/get all crafting stations and tools.
I'll give you that one, but this is kinda the same thing as the other housing stuff mentioned above.
Acquire 100 slot chests for max storage.
Depending on your point of view, that could be gear related. Me personally, I wouldn't consider it too gear related because by the time you have THAT much storage, you probably stopped needing it long ago. However, I'm still not sure I'd use this as any sort of selling point for a good end-game activity whatsoever.
Build your end game glider
See race car response
Craft your diving equipment
See submarine response. Some of these are kinda redundant in a way.
Although I admit some of those are "not gear" or "not PvP", they're so straw-grasping that they kinda fall under "if you REALLY like that sort of thing, sure, but consider carefully on whether or not AA will give you enough of it and in good enough quality to satisfy your craving for it"
Archeage's end game is PvP and the gear race associated with it (which comes with all the "sub-systems" like farming and crafting)
The gear race never ends (game's been out 2 years in Korea and NO ONE has the best gear yet) so basically, you just keep on working towards that gear. And PvP.
People go on and on about "you choose your path", but they all lead to the same goal. "Better gear" and, hopefully "to PvP with" (hopefully, cause if you aren't playing AA to PvP, you're gonna be dissappointed...). Which, since the gear race is endless, kinda leads to an endless cycle of "to get better gear" "to pvp with" "to get better gear" "to PvP with".
To illustrate, you may fish. To get gold or mats. To get better gear. To PvP with.
You may PvP to kill others to get their trade packs on the high seas. To get gold. To get better gear. To PvP with.
You may grow stuff on your farm. To get gold or mats. To get better gear. To PvP with.
You may run trade runs. To get gold or mats. To get better gear. To PvP with.
You may farm Hasla weaps. To get better gear (hasla). To PvP with.
You may barter on the auction house. To get gold. To get better gear. To PvP with.
Etc etc etc.
(note: To be truly successful at any of the above, add "alongside your guild" to it)
If you're instead looking for an MMO where you either "get better gear" "to beat stronger monsters" "to get better gear", Archeage is NOT that game.
If you're instead looking for an MMO where you "create player cities" or "run your own tavern", Archeage is NOT that game.
If you're instead looking for an MMO where you "roleplay".... um.... I dunno. I guess maybe some people do that in AA? I wouldn't call it one of its particularly strong points, though. The PvP isn't really that good for roleplaying due to silly things like "just keep respawning" and "only bidders may siege the castle and only 4 may own castles" and "can't hold land or cities via PvP" etc.
tl:dr;
Archeage's end game is "to get better gear" "to PvP with" "to get better gear" "to PvP with". I don't particularly mean that as an insult because most MMO's end games are similar (just replace "to PvP with" with "to PvE with"). But that's what it is.
I think you greatly oversimplifying.
There are many long term goals that MANY players have over gear that you seem to be missing. Moreover, if everything comes down to gear for you, I fear that you are looking at AA through the lens of themeparks which do exactly that.
My short list of possible goals.
Acquire land/more land/expand your empire
Get your end game upgradable mounts
Build a larger house or mansion
Build a fishing boat for sport fishing
Build a Galleon for war
Build a Merchant Ship for trading
Build your submarine
Mod your submarine
Build your Farm Wagon
Build your Farm Cart
Participate and defend your castle in the northern cont
Build your race car
Level crafting proficiencies
Become a master of all crafts by expanding your proficiency cap
Cap all classes to 50
Become a master composer and sell your music
Build your own nation (coming feature) and create your own custom factions
Build your Siege weapons for castle defense
Furnish your house/get all crafting stations and tools.
Acquire 100 slot chests for max storage.
Build your end game glider
Craft your diving equipment
EVERY one of these are long term NON GEAR oriented goals.
So as the game is advertised, make some goals and pave your own path. Seems the quoted poster just needs someone to hold his hand and direct him to the goals that are obviously there.
Acquire land/more land/expand your empire
To use to get gold. To PvP with. Archeage really doesn't seem like a particularly good choice of game if you're the type that just wants land just so you can sit on it and say "look at my empire!" to me. The primary purpose of it is the resources it provides.
Get your end game upgradable mounts
Upgradable mounts are a type of gear.
Build a larger house or mansion
....granted, I suppose that counts as a non-gear or non-PvP related pursuit. Unlike other MMOs with more robust housing systems, though, this one's kinda.... well................... honestly I can't think of many AA players that have ever stated something like this as something they particularly looked forward to in the game.
.........but yea, I suppose it technically qualifies as non-gear or non-PvP related.
Build a fishing boat for sport fishing
Fishing is for gold and resources. Which leads to better gear. No one fishes just for the fun of fishing (although some fish for the fun of running into PvP while fishing. Which falls under the "PvP" category)
Build a Galleon for war
PvP.
Build a Merchant Ship for trading
Gold for gear.
Build your submarine
Used to get underwater resources for gold for gear.
Mod your submarine
Ditto.
Build your Farm Wagon
Build your Farm Cart
For farming. For gold and resources. For gear.
Participate and defend your castle in the northern cont
PvP. (and gold from taxing those on your territory. For gear. For more PvPing. ....but mostly primarily PvP)
Build your race car
...........okay, I'll give you that one, although it's pretty much the same as the house in that it's really a small diversion at best.
Level crafting proficiencies
Leads to better gear. Very few people craft, farms, or fishes just for the sake of crafting, farming, and fishing. It's always to get gold for gear. In some sandboxes, it might be for the social interaction involved in trading your wares from such things, but Archeage's auction house is too impersonal for that.
You do socialize with guildies when doing cooperative projects for crafting, etc, but the end result is the final product which is... well, better gear. People work together with their guild to craft so they can craft complete gear. They don't work together with their guild to craft.... just for the sake of crafting.
Become a master of all crafts by expanding your proficiency cap
Won't you like... die of old age first?
Cap all classes to 50
People actually enjoy doing that in Archeage? Though I wouldn't call "capping" end-game. Making alts or anything to do with alts is going back through the "before end-game" process and repeating it.
Become a master composer and sell your music
Guess I'll give you that one. But.... honestly, to everyone out there, my advice is if you want to compose music that you just do so. You don't need an MMO for that.
Build your own nation (coming feature) and create your own custom factions
Isn't that primarily PvP related?
Build your Siege weapons for castle defense
PvP.
Furnish your house/get all crafting stations and tools.
I'll give you that one, but this is kinda the same thing as the other housing stuff mentioned above.
Acquire 100 slot chests for max storage.
Depending on your point of view, that could be gear related. Me personally, I wouldn't consider it too gear related because by the time you have THAT much storage, you probably stopped needing it long ago. However, I'm still not sure I'd use this as any sort of selling point for a good end-game activity whatsoever.
Build your end game glider
See race car response
Craft your diving equipment
See submarine response. Some of these are kinda redundant in a way.
Although I admit some of those are "not gear" or "not PvP", they're so straw-grasping that they kinda fall under "if you REALLY like that sort of thing, sure, but consider carefully on whether or not AA will give you enough of it and in good enough quality to satisfy your craving for it"
Everyone has different goals and while it may not be the same as others or valued by others, they are goals nonetheless. I do find a flaw in your logic in that gold=only gear. I don't see how you can make that relation since you can buy far more with gold than gear. Heck, a lot of the "non-gear" goals I listed can be achieved with gold alone. Heck I would bet there are thousands of players who have spent a fortune in game and haven't even begun working on their gear. Moreso, there are players whom may never work on gear but rather focus on gold/goals that have nothing to do with gear.
Personally for me, owning property, ships, farm cart and various other tools are far more important to me than my gear. Most my goals thus far have been everything but gear.
Owning a castle opens up siege bids which gives access to a 75vs75 GvG matchup. Even if a smaller guild can't claim a castle, they can still challenge larger zerg guilds in an even numbers match and take their castle.
Thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for! So once Auroria opens up the game becomes more like a shadowbane experience where you can have a castle and overthrow peoples castles and whatnot. I honestly didn't know that there was an actual endgame goal in AA.
The smaller guild might not even be able to attack the castle. If the bigger guild has more gold then they will just bid more gold and buy the attack themselves, can also be done by the guild owning the castle afaik. And I'm not sure how Shadowbanes town attacks were done but in AA you can attack once a month.
@the sandbox argument, whatever you do you make it because of the pvp. Farmer sells to crafter who sells to pvper. So more or less everything is done because of those ~2hours of pvp a month that can change something (castle). Ofc you can pvp all the time but it doesn't change anything(if you win or lose the gameworld doesn't care).
The smaller guild might not even be able to attack the castle. If the bigger guild has more gold then they will just bid more gold and buy the attack themselves, can also be done by the guild owning the castle afaik. And I'm not sure how Shadowbanes town attacks were done but in AA you can attack once a month.
@the sandbox argument, whatever you do you make it because of the pvp. Farmer sells to crafter who sells to pvper. So more or less everything is done because of those ~2hours of pvp a month that can change something (castle). Ofc you can pvp all the time but it doesn't change anything(if you win or lose the gameworld doesn't care).
You have to pay to raid the castle, really?? Well that lames things up a bit! Why would you have to pay to siege a castle? I was stoked to find out that you can do castle sieges but they are pointless since the largest guilds on the server will control them and the largest guilds will have the most money to prevent them from being sieged.
Honestly I hate to admit it but it seems like the sole purpose for playing AA is to dump real life $$ into the game so you can have enough gold in game to be able to truly participate. I am a founder and I never have enough labor or mats for that matter to turn a profit because I don't have a 16 x 16 farm, which I can't get because all the bots/hackers/no lifers gobble them up.
FYI... Shadowbane was not like that at all. Anyone could lay siege to any castle but according to how well developed the castle was the NPC guards that you employed would just kill off small groups. So basically Alliances were forced to be formed so that if a large guild with hundreds of players attacked smaller guilds would have a chance of defending. Your castle could be damaged, destroyed, etc and you would have to pay to repair it but there was no gold charged for participating in gameplay.
Many people enjoy "living" an on-line life and basically that is what "sandbox" games ore for. Living another life in a digital construct world that has different physics of our own.
ArchAge is not Sand-Box.
It's a Theme-Park with Sand-Box elements.
What's the point of being worried about semantics, when the answer to the topic is the same as if it were a sandbox? AA is a game you set your own goals in, just as any sandbox would entail. BE it joining a good PVP or RP guild, becoming some sort of artisan, etc... It's a platform to do what you want with.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
Many people enjoy "living" an on-line life and basically that is what "sandbox" games ore for. Living another life in a digital construct world that has different physics of our own.
ArchAge is not Sand-Box.
It's a Theme-Park with Sand-Box elements.
What's the point of being worried about semantics, when the answer to the topic is the same as if it were a sandbox? AA is a game you set your own goals in, just as any sandbox would entail. BE it joining a good PVP or RP guild, becoming some sort of artisan, etc... It's a platform to do what you want with.
Anyone who's playing AA just for the sole goal of being an artisan is in for some severe disappointment down the line. Doing nothing but crafting and not indulging in the PvP becomes one of the most boring things EVER. People might disagree with me but I say this as a sincere warning to everyone who'considering getting into AA and I will keep repeating it. Do NOT get into AA if you're ONLY doing it for the crafting. You will be bored or disappointed out of your skull.
If you want to get into AA, do it for the PvP and enjoy the rest as side-elements. I've yet to see a single AA lover who's actually been in the end-game that was not in it for the PvP. Sure, I see some people who are still levelling and haven't gotten to the upper end stages of things loving other aspects of the game, but more and more I see tons of posts by people who did love those aspects but were SORELY disappointed when they began reaching the higher tiers of equipment.
The labor point costs for the higher end gear are ridiculous, the amount of resources needed are insane, there's nothing to really mix up the crafting game... if you aren't in AA for the PvP, GET OUT for your own sake. Do not listen to the white knights who say it's not so bad or that labor points aren't a problem (only true for the lower ends of crafting) or that you can level up via crafting or that you should cooperate with others to craft. None of that changes the fact that crafting by itself becomes BORING in AA without PvP to give your vertical progression a purpose. If you want a game ONLY based around managing fake virtual good amounts and skill numbers going up and up, go play farmville or Simcity or Civilization or something that does it better, because AA does not.
I suspect it's the same (in terms of fun) for anyone playing AA for the sake of RPing, but I could be wrong about that (even Wildstar had an RP community, after all)
Many people enjoy "living" an on-line life and basically that is what "sandbox" games ore for. Living another life in a digital construct world that has different physics of our own.
ArchAge is not Sand-Box.
It's a Theme-Park with Sand-Box elements.
What's the point of being worried about semantics, when the answer to the topic is the same as if it were a sandbox? AA is a game you set your own goals in, just as any sandbox would entail. BE it joining a good PVP or RP guild, becoming some sort of artisan, etc... It's a platform to do what you want with.
Anyone who's playing AA just for the sole goal of being an artisan is in for some severe disappointment down the line. Doing nothing but crafting and not indulging in the PvP becomes one of the most boring things EVER. People might disagree with me but I say this as a sincere warning to everyone who'considering getting into AA and I will keep repeating it. Do NOT get into AA if you're ONLY doing it for the crafting. You will be bored or disappointed out of your skull.
If you want to get into AA, do it for the PvP and enjoy the rest as side-elements. I've yet to see a single AA lover who's actually been in the end-game that was not in it for the PvP. Sure, I see some people who are still levelling and haven't gotten to the upper end stages of things loving other aspects of the game, but more and more I see tons of posts by people who did love those aspects but were SORELY disappointed when they began reaching the higher tiers of equipment.
The labor point costs for the higher end gear are ridiculous, the amount of resources needed are insane, there's nothing to really mix up the crafting game... if you aren't in AA for the PvP, GET OUT for your own sake. Do not listen to the white knights who say it's not so bad or that labor points aren't a problem (only true for the lower ends of crafting) or that you can level up via crafting or that you should cooperate with others to craft. None of that changes the fact that crafting by itself becomes BORING in AA without PvP to give your vertical progression a purpose. If you want a game ONLY based around managing fake virtual good amounts and skill numbers going up and up, go play farmville or Simcity or Civilization or something that does it better, because AA does not.
I suspect it's the same (in terms of fun) for anyone playing AA for the sake of RPing, but I could be wrong about that (even Wildstar had an RP community, after all)
You have to consider people played SWG simply to dance/play music/chat...That's what their daily experience consisted of.
People did nothing but crafting/gathering day in and day out. There are plenty who play for that and only that.
As for RP, games like this are perfect for it, as they serve a good platform for freeform event planning ( In swg we had a lot of that going on) Rescue missions, point objective based PVP matches, etc.. etc.. etc.. All with full PVP throughout the event.
I don't see why people couldn't do that here. Outside of having no real community to speak of to motivate toward such purposes.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
You have to consider people played SWG simply to dance/play music/chat...That's what their daily experience consisted of.
People did nothing but crafting/gathering day in and day out. There are plenty who play for that and only that.
As for RP, games like this are perfect for it, as they serve a good platform for freeform event planning ( In swg we had a lot of that going on) Rescue missions, point objective based PVP matches, etc.. etc.. etc.. All with full PVP throughout the event.
I don't see why people couldn't do that here. Outside of having no real community to speak of to motivate toward such purposes.
Well, like I said, even Wildstar has an active RP community.
With AA though... I don't really see even AA fans ever harping on how great its lore or races or RP atmosphere are. Wildstar for all its flaws had a very defined plot and style and personality (and housing system) conducive to RPing, as did SWG (housing, established license and defined world, etc)
(as an aside, in retrospect, all that stuff about flair and cosmetics in the list we're discussing are mainly RP elements, I think. So their quality and the quality of AA's RP atmosphere are tied to each other, though not necessarily one and the same)
Maybe Archeage has that too. I don't see many people talking about it, though.
Archeage's end game is PvP and the gear race associated with it (which comes with all the "sub-systems" like farming and crafting)
The gear race never ends (game's been out 2 years in Korea and NO ONE has the best gear yet) so basically, you just keep on working towards that gear. And PvP.
People go on and on about "you choose your path", but they all lead to the same goal. "Better gear" and, hopefully "to PvP with" (hopefully, cause if you aren't playing AA to PvP, you're gonna be dissappointed...). Which, since the gear race is endless, kinda leads to an endless cycle of "to get better gear" "to pvp with" "to get better gear" "to PvP with".
To illustrate, you may fish. To get gold or mats. To get better gear. To PvP with.
You may PvP to kill others to get their trade packs on the high seas. To get gold. To get better gear. To PvP with.
You may grow stuff on your farm. To get gold or mats. To get better gear. To PvP with.
You may run trade runs. To get gold or mats. To get better gear. To PvP with.
You may farm Hasla weaps. To get better gear (hasla). To PvP with.
You may barter on the auction house. To get gold. To get better gear. To PvP with.
Etc etc etc.
(note: To be truly successful at any of the above, add "alongside your guild" to it)
If you're instead looking for an MMO where you either "get better gear" "to beat stronger monsters" "to get better gear", Archeage is NOT that game.
If you're instead looking for an MMO where you "create player cities" or "run your own tavern", Archeage is NOT that game.
If you're instead looking for an MMO where you "roleplay".... um.... I dunno. I guess maybe some people do that in AA? I wouldn't call it one of its particularly strong points, though. The PvP isn't really that good for roleplaying due to silly things like "just keep respawning" and "only bidders may siege the castle and only 4 may own castles" and "can't hold land or cities via PvP" etc.
tl:dr;
Archeage's end game is "to get better gear" "to PvP with" "to get better gear" "to PvP with". I don't particularly mean that as an insult because most MMO's end games are similar (just replace "to PvP with" with "to PvE with"). But that's what it is.
I think you greatly oversimplifying.
There are many long term goals that MANY players have over gear that you seem to be missing. Moreover, if everything comes down to gear for you, I fear that you are looking at AA through the lens of themeparks which do exactly that.
My short list of possible goals.
Acquire land/more land/expand your empire
Get your end game upgradable mounts
Build a larger house or mansion
Build a fishing boat for sport fishing
Build a Galleon for war
Build a Merchant Ship for trading
Build your submarine
Mod your submarine
Build your Farm Wagon
Build your Farm Cart
Participate and defend your castle in the northern cont
Build your race car
Level crafting proficiencies
Become a master of all crafts by expanding your proficiency cap
Cap all classes to 50
Become a master composer and sell your music
Build your own nation (coming feature) and create your own custom factions
Build your Siege weapons for castle defense
Furnish your house/get all crafting stations and tools.
Acquire 100 slot chests for max storage.
Build your end game glider
Craft your diving equipment
EVERY one of these are long term NON GEAR oriented goals.
So as the game is advertised, make some goals and pave your own path. Seems the quoted poster just needs someone to hold his hand and direct him to the goals that are obviously there.
The List Is Great.
Didn't find much FUN till highest level.
Second - Life has a BIGGER list of continuation.
Cheers Sourajit Nandi
" Don't listen to anyone who tells you that you can't play this or that. That's nonsense. Make up your mind,and you'll never whine or repent about gaming hours anymore, then have a go at every Game. Open up the Internet, join in all the Mmorpgs you can. Go make the Guild. But never, never let them persuade you that things are too difficult or impossible. "
Comments
From the above post i made my point. I am just giving the analysis of it's extent of F2P. To be honest I was not suggesting the company policy. Just saying that the game is not very F2P friendly. Entertainment it is, if it entertains you ... Cannot be validated as to the advertisement and the reality differences.
Just a caution !!!
Cheers
Sourajit Nandi
" Don't listen to anyone who tells you that you can't play this or that. That's nonsense. Make up your mind,and you'll never whine or repent about gaming hours anymore, then have a go at every Game. Open up the Internet, join in all the Mmorpgs you can. Go make the Guild. But never, never let them persuade you that things are too difficult or impossible. "
Once An Addict Always An Addict .
This is what you are not getting.
And let's put aside the "archeage is a thempark with sandbox elements" that some will say and just look at the "sandbox elements".
You are one of the many people (and this is NOT a criticism) who seem to want a path. Like a friend of mine who tried skyrim with it's open world game play and wanted a better path because he didn't really see the point.
A game like archeage, regardless of how much of it is themepark/sandbox requires you to make your own path.
So, you need to make your own goals. Otherwise there is no point. If you want to lead a guild to take over a castle then that is your path. If you want to play the market/crafting game, then that is your path. If you want to be a pirate then that is your path.
Each of those things are an end in and of themselves provided that you are interested in that end.
If none of that interests you and if you can't find a meaningful path within the game then the game might not be for you.
Again, not a criticism and I don't believe that one type of player is remotely superior to another type of player. Just an observation that some want pointed game play and some don't.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
Archeage's end game is PvP and the gear race associated with it (which comes with all the "sub-systems" like farming and crafting)
The gear race never ends (game's been out 2 years in Korea and NO ONE has the best gear yet) so basically, you just keep on working towards that gear. And PvP.
People go on and on about "you choose your path", but they all lead to the same goal. "Better gear" and, hopefully "to PvP with" (hopefully, cause if you aren't playing AA to PvP, you're gonna be dissappointed...). Which, since the gear race is endless, kinda leads to an endless cycle of "to get better gear" "to pvp with" "to get better gear" "to PvP with".
To illustrate, you may fish. To get gold or mats. To get better gear. To PvP with.
You may PvP to kill others to get their trade packs on the high seas. To get gold. To get better gear. To PvP with.
You may grow stuff on your farm. To get gold or mats. To get better gear. To PvP with.
You may run trade runs. To get gold or mats. To get better gear. To PvP with.
You may farm Hasla weaps. To get better gear (hasla). To PvP with.
You may barter on the auction house. To get gold. To get better gear. To PvP with.
Etc etc etc.
(note: To be truly successful at any of the above, add "alongside your guild" to it)
If you're instead looking for an MMO where you either "get better gear" "to beat stronger monsters" "to get better gear", Archeage is NOT that game.
If you're instead looking for an MMO where you "create player cities" or "run your own tavern", Archeage is NOT that game.
If you're instead looking for an MMO where you "roleplay".... um.... I dunno. I guess maybe some people do that in AA? I wouldn't call it one of its particularly strong points, though. The PvP isn't really that good for roleplaying due to silly things like "just keep respawning" and "only bidders may siege the castle and only 4 may own castles" and "can't hold land or cities via PvP" etc.
tl:dr;
Archeage's end game is "to get better gear" "to PvP with" "to get better gear" "to PvP with". I don't particularly mean that as an insult because most MMO's end games are similar (just replace "to PvP with" with "to PvE with"). But that's what it is.
I think you greatly oversimplifying.
There are many long term goals that MANY players have over gear that you seem to be missing. Moreover, if everything comes down to gear for you, I fear that you are looking at AA through the lens of themeparks which do exactly that.
My short list of possible goals.
I find it kinda of odd that you can solo farm (obviously) for valuable materials but soloable/duroable mobs drop almost nothing but those lame loot bags. It would be nice if they offered a path for advancement to PvE people as they do for people that were lucky enough to get land and then stare at their growing plants.
Great posts by the two above me. I am apprehensive about the siege portion of the PvP with no consequences for death (respawn and endlessly zerg time!) and no bonus for territory control or owning a castle. I hope that is misinformation.
So.. ugh? Can't handle freedom much? The goal here is for you to set.
For example, my goal right now is to accumulate as much worker's compensation as I can right now.
My next goal is to get Archemaster title.
My third goal would be finding a bigger land, for my entertainment.
My fourth goal probably going to get a merc ship, cuz by then I'd have enough gilda from dailies.
My fifth goal may be get some (FINALLY) crafting prof going so I could get some BiS gear, which is also my sixth goal.
And then, finally, my seventh goal is to tab into PvP and pwn some nubs.
I mean, seriously, that's how I am playing the game solo right now.
Unfortunately like everything else in AA, land must be earned and the land rush only happens once. I think the expectation that everyone should get land will set a false expectation for the rest of the game which takes a lot of time and effort. I would recommend doing trading till you can get together about 100g (wont be the best plot but should get your 16x16 somewhere ) and buy land from someone else. If peeps (not implying you) spend less time complaining about not getting free land but rather just earn some gold and buy some land, things will end up working out. Even the real estate market in AA is meant to be a commodity that is bought/sold and profitted from.
In regards to the northern cont. There are bonuses for territory control in that all houses in the sphere of influence of the castle, pay rent to the owner of the castle.
Everyone has different goals and while it may not be the same as others or valued by others, they are goals nonetheless. I do find a flaw in your logic in that gold=only gear. I don't see how you can make that relation since you can buy far more with gold than gear. Heck, a lot of the "non-gear" goals I listed can be achieved with gold alone. Heck I would bet there are thousands of players who have spent a fortune in game and haven't even begun working on their gear. Moreso, there are players whom may never work on gear but rather focus on gold/goals that have nothing to do with gear.
Personally for me, owning property, ships, farm cart and various other tools are far more important to me than my gear. Most my goals thus far have been everything but gear.
The smaller guild might not even be able to attack the castle. If the bigger guild has more gold then they will just bid more gold and buy the attack themselves, can also be done by the guild owning the castle afaik. And I'm not sure how Shadowbanes town attacks were done but in AA you can attack once a month.
@the sandbox argument, whatever you do you make it because of the pvp. Farmer sells to crafter who sells to pvper. So more or less everything is done because of those ~2hours of pvp a month that can change something (castle). Ofc you can pvp all the time but it doesn't change anything(if you win or lose the gameworld doesn't care).
You have to pay to raid the castle, really?? Well that lames things up a bit! Why would you have to pay to siege a castle? I was stoked to find out that you can do castle sieges but they are pointless since the largest guilds on the server will control them and the largest guilds will have the most money to prevent them from being sieged.
Honestly I hate to admit it but it seems like the sole purpose for playing AA is to dump real life $$ into the game so you can have enough gold in game to be able to truly participate. I am a founder and I never have enough labor or mats for that matter to turn a profit because I don't have a 16 x 16 farm, which I can't get because all the bots/hackers/no lifers gobble them up.
FYI... Shadowbane was not like that at all. Anyone could lay siege to any castle but according to how well developed the castle was the NPC guards that you employed would just kill off small groups. So basically Alliances were forced to be formed so that if a large guild with hundreds of players attacked smaller guilds would have a chance of defending. Your castle could be damaged, destroyed, etc and you would have to pay to repair it but there was no gold charged for participating in gameplay.
What's the point of being worried about semantics, when the answer to the topic is the same as if it were a sandbox? AA is a game you set your own goals in, just as any sandbox would entail. BE it joining a good PVP or RP guild, becoming some sort of artisan, etc... It's a platform to do what you want with.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
Anyone who's playing AA just for the sole goal of being an artisan is in for some severe disappointment down the line. Doing nothing but crafting and not indulging in the PvP becomes one of the most boring things EVER. People might disagree with me but I say this as a sincere warning to everyone who'considering getting into AA and I will keep repeating it. Do NOT get into AA if you're ONLY doing it for the crafting. You will be bored or disappointed out of your skull.
If you want to get into AA, do it for the PvP and enjoy the rest as side-elements. I've yet to see a single AA lover who's actually been in the end-game that was not in it for the PvP. Sure, I see some people who are still levelling and haven't gotten to the upper end stages of things loving other aspects of the game, but more and more I see tons of posts by people who did love those aspects but were SORELY disappointed when they began reaching the higher tiers of equipment.
The labor point costs for the higher end gear are ridiculous, the amount of resources needed are insane, there's nothing to really mix up the crafting game... if you aren't in AA for the PvP, GET OUT for your own sake. Do not listen to the white knights who say it's not so bad or that labor points aren't a problem (only true for the lower ends of crafting) or that you can level up via crafting or that you should cooperate with others to craft. None of that changes the fact that crafting by itself becomes BORING in AA without PvP to give your vertical progression a purpose. If you want a game ONLY based around managing fake virtual good amounts and skill numbers going up and up, go play farmville or Simcity or Civilization or something that does it better, because AA does not.
I suspect it's the same (in terms of fun) for anyone playing AA for the sake of RPing, but I could be wrong about that (even Wildstar had an RP community, after all)
You have to consider people played SWG simply to dance/play music/chat...That's what their daily experience consisted of.
People did nothing but crafting/gathering day in and day out. There are plenty who play for that and only that.
As for RP, games like this are perfect for it, as they serve a good platform for freeform event planning ( In swg we had a lot of that going on) Rescue missions, point objective based PVP matches, etc.. etc.. etc.. All with full PVP throughout the event.
I don't see why people couldn't do that here. Outside of having no real community to speak of to motivate toward such purposes.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
Well, like I said, even Wildstar has an active RP community.
With AA though... I don't really see even AA fans ever harping on how great its lore or races or RP atmosphere are. Wildstar for all its flaws had a very defined plot and style and personality (and housing system) conducive to RPing, as did SWG (housing, established license and defined world, etc)
(as an aside, in retrospect, all that stuff about flair and cosmetics in the list we're discussing are mainly RP elements, I think. So their quality and the quality of AA's RP atmosphere are tied to each other, though not necessarily one and the same)
Maybe Archeage has that too. I don't see many people talking about it, though.
The List Is Great.
Didn't find much FUN till highest level.
Second - Life has a BIGGER list of continuation.
Cheers
Sourajit Nandi
" Don't listen to anyone who tells you that you can't play this or that. That's nonsense. Make up your mind,and you'll never whine or repent about gaming hours anymore, then have a go at every Game. Open up the Internet, join in all the Mmorpgs you can. Go make the Guild. But never, never let them persuade you that things are too difficult or impossible. "
Once An Addict Always An Addict .