I think this was a fair review. I hope that the game continues to grow and evolve. Personally the grind and lack of more PvE stuff like dungeons is driving some of my guild mates away. Some of our top crafters are disgusted with the RNG type of crafting at the higher levels. I can understand their frustrations.....not fun. I'm definitely noticing a drop off of players in our rather large guild but that is to be expected really with any MMO. Folks play it until they are exhausted and burn themselves out. This will happen in any MMO....themepark, sandbox, etc. I'm just a bit surprised that AA didn't have a bit more staying power for them.
Personally I'm really liking the game. I'm not yet 50, still piddle around on my farm and take my time. Each play session I feel like I'm accomplishing a little bit more. I really like crafting so I don't mind playing Farmville in an MMO. AA is perfect for my very casual play style. I have so many little goals that it will take me a very long time. For the hard core folks, I can see how the same stuff would become rather boring, even if AA is more of a sandbox game.
I tried the game and found it boring. Only one real reason though. I've played it. Its called EvE. Except in EvE, if I get into a fight and lose, I don't just rez and go again or lose my goods but still get a reward if its turned in. I lose my ship, my cargo and if I'm unlucky, my pod. EvE at least makes me fear dying. I'm not a PvP'er by any stretch but if I am going to play a PvP game, there should be consequences for failure.
Grind is a fair word in any mmorpg because its the core of this gender.
The point is if the player enjoy the grinding of certain game or not.
I enjoy the grinding in AA and i dont enjoy the grinding in ESO for example, others enjoy the grinding in ESO and not in AA.
Bill didnt enjoy the grinding in AA, fair enouph.
The Cons listed are extreme subjective, someone that dont even try the game because of this Cons list im sure its because really trust in Bill's opinion, nothing more.
I'm definitely noticing a drop off of players in our rather large guild but that is to be expected really with any MMO. Folks play it until they are exhausted and burn themselves out. This will happen in any MMO....themepark, sandbox, etc. I'm just a bit surprised that AA didn't have a bit more staying power for them.
This is where I disagree. MMOs shouldn't peak at release but unfortunately due to the over hyping done by sites such as this one and the garbage that we are accustomed to these days, sadly that's the trend.
Look at games like WoW and FFXIV both of these games have gained players since launch, sure WoW has now started to decline but it's 10 years old and FFXIV continues to grow. Why because they are polished and well done.
This review should have been titled, "MMORPG review of AA based on popular opinion". It's like you took all the popular QQing from the vocal minority and based your review on it. This also seems like a review from a reviewer who prefers instant gratification which directly associated with the review based on popular opinion.
You could have made this same review two weeks after release. Also btw, a big part of the game isn't even released yet! Might have been better to wait till after the 4th to see the complete game which also happens to be one of AA biggest end game features.
So if AA is only a 7.3, I guess that bar is set pretty damn high. Is AA perfect, no. Does it deserve far better than a 7.3, without question!
I think Mr. Murphy should stick with themeparks.
THIS IS THE SAME REVIEWER WHO GAVE WILDSTAR A 8.4 rating, need I say more?
[mod edit] This games does not deserve higher than 7. It's just not that good of a game. It has some definite pluses, but objectively, it just isn't that good. Auroria just adds more to grind and gives the big zerg guilds a place to hang out and act tough. It is a new place to go, it isn't a huge part of the game.
Originally posted by flizzer I have to admit I'm shocked. I expected MMORPG to tell us this was a 10 and the best thing around. This was a critical review highlighting problems with the game. Im amazed.
I know!!! They actually messed up the review on Destiny too! That's TWO 10/10 games that they've gotten wrong in the last 3 months!! Crazy.......
This review should have been titled, "MMORPG review of AA based on popular opinion". It's like you took all the popular QQing from the vocal minority and based your review on it. This also seems like a review from a reviewer who prefers instant gratification which directly associated with the review based on popular opinion.
You could have made this same review two weeks after release. Also btw, a big part of the game isn't even released yet! Might have been better to wait till after the 4th to see the complete game which also happens to be one of AA biggest end game features.
So if AA is only a 7.3, I guess that bar is set pretty damn high. Is AA perfect, no. Does it deserve far better than a 7.3, without question!
I think Mr. Murphy should stick with themeparks.
THIS IS THE SAME REVIEWER WHO GAVE WILDSTAR A 8.4 rating, need I say more?
Ok so what reviews are not biased? This is the reviewers perspective of the game, that's what reviews are, no more, no less. I never agree with Bill's reviews and I totally agree with this one, so he's not the only person that feels this game is lackluster. I mean maybe you enjoy playing water downed Farmville but I would bet most people would just rather play Farmville if they wanted to tend to crops for hours straight.
Honestly, the current trending of server population kind of speaks for itself. I logged on last night for the first time in over a week and only two servers were High pop which is a huge difference than two weeks ago where almost all servers were high.
Bottom line is once you get to 50 and finish grinding your hasla gear you are left with tending farms, staring at crafting screens, running trade packs, and a few war honor farms a night for a net return of a maybe 50 - 75 honor, none of which is any fun after the first few times.
Bottom line is that if you are an instant gratification player or are looking for endless action, you might want to stay away from AA. For some of us, the action is setting goals and being able to achieve them over time.
I personally feel that AA brings more innovation than most MMO"s released in the past 8 years or more. Based on that alone, it deserves a higher rating that the historical WoW clones which bring barely NOTHING NEW to the table, yet most are rated higher.
I have played AA longer than most and for me it has held my attention moreso than any game since WoW. Maybe I was different in that when I started AA, I went out of my way to avoid any and all features I have been playing in MMO's for years. I focused nearly entirely on what made it different and AA delivered for me in spades. Maybe those who are quick to judge or decide the game isn't for them, really aren't looking for anything different to begin with and are content playing clone after clone after clone as long as they have a sword to swing at enemies non-stop, their need is satisfied.
Personally, I would rather "grind" in AA to reach my goals than the alternative. So how is raiding any less boring after the 100th time? How is less a waste of time to spend hours "grinding" instances or raids for the "chance" of getting something? At least in AA I am slowly reaching my goals whereas in the latter, more often than not, a full night of raiding doesn't produce a single thing but a loss of gold in repair bills or consumables and ohh yeah.....TIME.
This generation of MMO's are just too damn fickle and don't have any idea what they want from a game and would be perfectly happy hopping 20 MMO's over the course of a year (waste of time) than commit to anything because it may not be absolutely perfect.
Being "Ok" with AA economic model means you've not really done any high level crafting / Regrading.
Regrade crystal from cash shop, labor system, Archeum and gold from apex, the whole mixed with RNG system makes it clearly P2W... Since all in Archeage is based upon craft and economy.
Selling 10 Apex gives me more than anything I could grind for one month of 4h/day of gaming...
This review should have been titled, "MMORPG review of AA based on popular opinion". It's like you took all the popular QQing from the vocal minority and based your review on it. This also seems like a review from a reviewer who prefers instant gratification which directly associated with the review based on popular opinion.
Guy spends many many hours of his life over the course of several months, even delaying the review for a couple months just to ensure he can get a full picture of the game, playing a game and taking note of his experiences from his own perspective, then carefully writing and laying it out in a multiple page column, only to finally be told by someone that it's just a "MMORPG review of AA based on popular opinion".
[mod edit]
As an aside, if an opinion is "popular", there is at least a decent amount of chance that some of it is valid. Perhaps because a lot of it might be based on the personal experiences of each person who had that opinion. The writer of this article had personal experiences with this game. He then gave his opinion. It was similar to others, who also had personal experiences with this game and their own opinions on the matter. MAYBE THERE IS A REASON FOR THAT.
So anyone who disagrees with you hasn't played the game enough. Ok.
You'd give it 9/10 or higher, there are plenty of people who've played it who'd give it 6/10. I'd personally give it around 6.5 in its current form and I played since alpha.
There's 1 big thing about 1 of the biggest complaints you made in the review that you're forgetting:
APEX and the ability to pay for Patron with gold.
You can easily, within a week, farm enough gold to be able to afford 2 x APEX (which is what you need for Patron, 2400 CRED for 1 month and 1 APEX gives you 1250), which means you can pay for Patron once and at this point VERY easily maintain it permanently if you can spend about 10-15 hours of cumulative gold farming in 30 days.
I'm also really missing the Pay2Win part ... you can't really buy an advantage with Credits or labor related stuff.
Coming from a level 50 with quite decent progression, farms, a house and only having paid 1 month of Patron and now going with APEX bought Patron, which I was able to afford within 5 days, I'm not even kidding and I have quite a busy life.
Another thing, people complaining that PvE is a lackluster:
This might sound old, but really, PvE isn't lacking in terms of quality, it's mostly lacking in terms of quantity and this is simply something that - I'm sorry you struggle accepting this - takes time to develop and implement, just like World of Warcraft (again, sorry, but face it already damnit, things aren't always as simple and black/white as you want them to be) which didn't have a lot of endgame content either, initially.
Because we all know the big update that's coming in 4 days is adding a few things for endgame PvE and it'll definitely not be the last update.
Then my biggest confusion is the fact people mention the combat is dull or even broken ...
Are we even playing the same game?
I think this is about as interesting as target + hotkey spamming combat will get and it's certainly not broken, glitchy, buggy, whatever at all.
And if you're really judging it on an Alpha or early Beta from back in September or before, you really need be a little rational/realistic and try it again now before judging that part.
I suppose some people will call me a fanboi, that's good for you, but I'm just pointing out some faulty and misguided claims here.
Even I was honestly having no expectations for this game at all initially and starting the game with a very critical view.
Because I do agree with a 7/10 for this game, since it's exactly what it deserves, it's a good game without being perfect, even if you'd correct some of the stuff I mentioned, it'd still be a 7/10, which is not a bad thing.
So anyone who disagrees with you hasn't played the game enough. Ok.
You'd give it 9/10 or higher, there are plenty of people who've played it who'd give it 6/10. I'd personally give it around 6.5 in its current form and I played since alpha.
Of course not, I would never assume that.
There has to be the other side to this coin, not everyone will agree with the reviewer and I am simply stating my opinion like all of you.
Maybe I was a little shocked after Bill took this long to write the review and the articles prior to this led me to believe he would have more creative/insightful things to say about the game. When the review finally came, it was nothing more than a summary of what has already been said Ad nauseam. I expected more from him. While I didn't expect a perfect score or even a "9", I didn't expect a "7.3".
I think this is a pretty balanced review, probably because it reflects my own opinions.
When my patron time is up, I don't plan to sub. So I'm making plans now to build a clipper, save up trade pack items, level up crafting skills and prepare to sell off my house and small farm for gold. I think occasionally popping in to AA is something I'll do for a relatively long time, but I don't want the burden of a sub to get in my way. Living on the water is a nice alternative to that.
these points weigh pretty heavy for me. Even though I know I should try it out myself before having an opinion.
The game is free, seriously?
[mod edit]But since I'm busy with college/work/girlfriend, I tend to spend my 'game time' with games I know I will like. So if I read things like that in a review, I am hesitant to download. Free or not.
i'll tell ya this, the game made me care about my character. not every game does that. i dunno where that would go in the score, though. maybe there shd be an immersion category. if there were i'd give AA an 8 probably... a 10 with a -2 for the typical vomit inducing jackasses that a ftp game is bound to have.
thx for writing it, good read.
RIP Ribbitribbitt you are missed, kid.
Currently Playing EVE, ESO
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed.
these points weigh pretty heavy for me. Even though I know I should try it out myself before having an opinion.
The game is free, seriously?
[mod edit]
But since I'm busy with college/work/girlfriend, I tend to spend my 'game time' with games I know I will like. So if I read things like that in a review, I am hesitant to download. Free or not.
There's no such thing as a free lunch. Time is a valuable resource, and MMORPGs can take up a LOT of it (often taking up a lot of it before you can get a taste of what the game will be like at the high levels). It's good to know in advance about an MMO so people don't have to lose valuable time on ones that just aren't for them or are just plain bad. Perhaps that person with a job and a family or school or the millions of other uses and needs time has MIGHT miss out on some good games here and there because s/he relied on reviews. But that's okay when there are other fish in the sea, anyways.
I think this review is spot on and I agree with pretty much all of it. The game has potential but there's just too many important cons preventing it from being fun for more than a month, and the hacks/bots are really the least of my problems with it. Yes they do have an effect and need to be dealt with, but it's basic gameplay issues that really bother me.
yea, I also bought the $150 founder pack and started playing when it became available for us in alpha...game was a blast until patch 1.2 came where everything changed, to push people to the cash shop. they removed water logged chest and bags from fishing, removed any treasure worthwhile from sunken chests in the sea, removed treasure maps.......bound everything to labor use and etc. etc. In order to get some certain required resources for crafting, hey forced crafters to overseas pvp zones where the docks are camped day and night by zerg guilds.
needless to say, I will not be re subbing for patron, nor spending another dime of real money on it.
I will however play it in free mode until a game I like comes along. (divergence online)
NOTE: I got the alpha invite to Repopulation, just cant stand the "Hero" engine....so 90's
Current games playing: MechWarrior Online Games being watched: Project Genom Favorite played games: SWG, RomaVictor, and Xsyon
"Personally, I think without the ability to own land, you’re missing a lot that’s unique and fun about AA. And you’re also missing out on getting the most from the Labor system."
This is why I stopped playing. The game is fun, but the land grab thing ended it for me.
I love the game, and don't consider the grind as a negative. I just wish farming/crafting was a little more interactive. I'll be playing this for a while though. Being a high seas trade runner is really enjoyable.
I gave ArcheAge a 7.4
The MMO world needs more games like this.
Nope. We need less of these F2P cash shop heavy MMOS. Which have started to look more and more like online casino and gambling hubs. We need more mmos like FFXIV and ESO.
Good review - if anything, a bit kind, I think. It's a game very lacking in atmosphere. To me, it doesn't feel like a real world at all. And so many rough edges, like allowing people to ride their horses into buildings - looks so stupid!
The concepts are great, they are on to something that could potentially be huge...in another game. A Westernized version of this concept should be the next step IMHO.
Comments
I think this was a fair review. I hope that the game continues to grow and evolve. Personally the grind and lack of more PvE stuff like dungeons is driving some of my guild mates away. Some of our top crafters are disgusted with the RNG type of crafting at the higher levels. I can understand their frustrations.....not fun. I'm definitely noticing a drop off of players in our rather large guild but that is to be expected really with any MMO. Folks play it until they are exhausted and burn themselves out. This will happen in any MMO....themepark, sandbox, etc. I'm just a bit surprised that AA didn't have a bit more staying power for them.
Personally I'm really liking the game. I'm not yet 50, still piddle around on my farm and take my time. Each play session I feel like I'm accomplishing a little bit more. I really like crafting so I don't mind playing Farmville in an MMO. AA is perfect for my very casual play style. I have so many little goals that it will take me a very long time. For the hard core folks, I can see how the same stuff would become rather boring, even if AA is more of a sandbox game.
I tried the game and found it boring. Only one real reason though. I've played it. Its called EvE. Except in EvE, if I get into a fight and lose, I don't just rez and go again or lose my goods but still get a reward if its turned in. I lose my ship, my cargo and if I'm unlucky, my pod. EvE at least makes me fear dying. I'm not a PvP'er by any stretch but if I am going to play a PvP game, there should be consequences for failure.
Grind is a fair word in any mmorpg because its the core of this gender.
The point is if the player enjoy the grinding of certain game or not.
I enjoy the grinding in AA and i dont enjoy the grinding in ESO for example, others enjoy the grinding in ESO and not in AA.
Bill didnt enjoy the grinding in AA, fair enouph.
The Cons listed are extreme subjective, someone that dont even try the game because of this Cons list im sure its because really trust in Bill's opinion, nothing more.
This is where I disagree. MMOs shouldn't peak at release but unfortunately due to the over hyping done by sites such as this one and the garbage that we are accustomed to these days, sadly that's the trend.
Look at games like WoW and FFXIV both of these games have gained players since launch, sure WoW has now started to decline but it's 10 years old and FFXIV continues to grow. Why because they are polished and well done.
[mod edit] This games does not deserve higher than 7. It's just not that good of a game. It has some definite pluses, but objectively, it just isn't that good. Auroria just adds more to grind and gives the big zerg guilds a place to hang out and act tough. It is a new place to go, it isn't a huge part of the game.
I know!!! They actually messed up the review on Destiny too! That's TWO 10/10 games that they've gotten wrong in the last 3 months!! Crazy.......
Crazkanuk
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Azarelos - 90 Hunter - Emerald
Durnzig - 90 Paladin - Emerald
Demonicron - 90 Death Knight - Emerald Dream - US
Tankinpain - 90 Monk - Azjol-Nerub - US
Brindell - 90 Warrior - Emerald Dream - US
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Bottom line is that if you are an instant gratification player or are looking for endless action, you might want to stay away from AA. For some of us, the action is setting goals and being able to achieve them over time.
I personally feel that AA brings more innovation than most MMO"s released in the past 8 years or more. Based on that alone, it deserves a higher rating that the historical WoW clones which bring barely NOTHING NEW to the table, yet most are rated higher.
I have played AA longer than most and for me it has held my attention moreso than any game since WoW. Maybe I was different in that when I started AA, I went out of my way to avoid any and all features I have been playing in MMO's for years. I focused nearly entirely on what made it different and AA delivered for me in spades. Maybe those who are quick to judge or decide the game isn't for them, really aren't looking for anything different to begin with and are content playing clone after clone after clone as long as they have a sword to swing at enemies non-stop, their need is satisfied.
Personally, I would rather "grind" in AA to reach my goals than the alternative. So how is raiding any less boring after the 100th time? How is less a waste of time to spend hours "grinding" instances or raids for the "chance" of getting something? At least in AA I am slowly reaching my goals whereas in the latter, more often than not, a full night of raiding doesn't produce a single thing but a loss of gold in repair bills or consumables and ohh yeah.....TIME.
This generation of MMO's are just too damn fickle and don't have any idea what they want from a game and would be perfectly happy hopping 20 MMO's over the course of a year (waste of time) than commit to anything because it may not be absolutely perfect.
The game is free, seriously?
Being "Ok" with AA economic model means you've not really done any high level crafting / Regrading.
Regrade crystal from cash shop, labor system, Archeum and gold from apex, the whole mixed with RNG system makes it clearly P2W... Since all in Archeage is based upon craft and economy.
Selling 10 Apex gives me more than anything I could grind for one month of 4h/day of gaming...
Guy spends many many hours of his life over the course of several months, even delaying the review for a couple months just to ensure he can get a full picture of the game, playing a game and taking note of his experiences from his own perspective, then carefully writing and laying it out in a multiple page column, only to finally be told by someone that it's just a "MMORPG review of AA based on popular opinion".
[mod edit]
As an aside, if an opinion is "popular", there is at least a decent amount of chance that some of it is valid. Perhaps because a lot of it might be based on the personal experiences of each person who had that opinion. The writer of this article had personal experiences with this game. He then gave his opinion. It was similar to others, who also had personal experiences with this game and their own opinions on the matter. MAYBE THERE IS A REASON FOR THAT.
So anyone who disagrees with you hasn't played the game enough. Ok.
You'd give it 9/10 or higher, there are plenty of people who've played it who'd give it 6/10. I'd personally give it around 6.5 in its current form and I played since alpha.
There's 1 big thing about 1 of the biggest complaints you made in the review that you're forgetting:
APEX and the ability to pay for Patron with gold.
You can easily, within a week, farm enough gold to be able to afford 2 x APEX (which is what you need for Patron, 2400 CRED for 1 month and 1 APEX gives you 1250), which means you can pay for Patron once and at this point VERY easily maintain it permanently if you can spend about 10-15 hours of cumulative gold farming in 30 days.
I'm also really missing the Pay2Win part ... you can't really buy an advantage with Credits or labor related stuff.
Coming from a level 50 with quite decent progression, farms, a house and only having paid 1 month of Patron and now going with APEX bought Patron, which I was able to afford within 5 days, I'm not even kidding and I have quite a busy life.
Another thing, people complaining that PvE is a lackluster:
This might sound old, but really, PvE isn't lacking in terms of quality, it's mostly lacking in terms of quantity and this is simply something that - I'm sorry you struggle accepting this - takes time to develop and implement, just like World of Warcraft (again, sorry, but face it already damnit, things aren't always as simple and black/white as you want them to be) which didn't have a lot of endgame content either, initially.
Because we all know the big update that's coming in 4 days is adding a few things for endgame PvE and it'll definitely not be the last update.
Then my biggest confusion is the fact people mention the combat is dull or even broken ...
Are we even playing the same game?
I think this is about as interesting as target + hotkey spamming combat will get and it's certainly not broken, glitchy, buggy, whatever at all.
And if you're really judging it on an Alpha or early Beta from back in September or before, you really need be a little rational/realistic and try it again now before judging that part.
I suppose some people will call me a fanboi, that's good for you, but I'm just pointing out some faulty and misguided claims here.
Even I was honestly having no expectations for this game at all initially and starting the game with a very critical view.
Because I do agree with a 7/10 for this game, since it's exactly what it deserves, it's a good game without being perfect, even if you'd correct some of the stuff I mentioned, it'd still be a 7/10, which is not a bad thing.
Of course not, I would never assume that.
There has to be the other side to this coin, not everyone will agree with the reviewer and I am simply stating my opinion like all of you.
Maybe I was a little shocked after Bill took this long to write the review and the articles prior to this led me to believe he would have more creative/insightful things to say about the game. When the review finally came, it was nothing more than a summary of what has already been said Ad nauseam. I expected more from him. While I didn't expect a perfect score or even a "9", I didn't expect a "7.3".
I think this is a pretty balanced review, probably because it reflects my own opinions.
When my patron time is up, I don't plan to sub. So I'm making plans now to build a clipper, save up trade pack items, level up crafting skills and prepare to sell off my house and small farm for gold. I think occasionally popping in to AA is something I'll do for a relatively long time, but I don't want the burden of a sub to get in my way. Living on the water is a nice alternative to that.
Does AA bring all this new stuff to the table that someone who's been in the genre for 10-15 years hasn't seen anything like it before?
[mod edit]But since I'm busy with college/work/girlfriend, I tend to spend my 'game time' with games I know I will like. So if I read things like that in a review, I am hesitant to download. Free or not.
i'll tell ya this, the game made me care about my character. not every game does that. i dunno where that would go in the score, though. maybe there shd be an immersion category. if there were i'd give AA an 8 probably... a 10 with a -2 for the typical vomit inducing jackasses that a ftp game is bound to have.
thx for writing it, good read.
RIP Ribbitribbitt you are missed, kid.
Currently Playing EVE, ESO
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed.
Dwight D Eisenhower
My optimism wears heavy boots and is loud.
Henry Rollins
There's no such thing as a free lunch. Time is a valuable resource, and MMORPGs can take up a LOT of it (often taking up a lot of it before you can get a taste of what the game will be like at the high levels). It's good to know in advance about an MMO so people don't have to lose valuable time on ones that just aren't for them or are just plain bad. Perhaps that person with a job and a family or school or the millions of other uses and needs time has MIGHT miss out on some good games here and there because s/he relied on reviews. But that's okay when there are other fish in the sea, anyways.
yea, I also bought the $150 founder pack and started playing when it became available for us in alpha...game was a blast until patch 1.2 came where everything changed, to push people to the cash shop. they removed water logged chest and bags from fishing, removed any treasure worthwhile from sunken chests in the sea, removed treasure maps.......bound everything to labor use and etc. etc. In order to get some certain required resources for crafting, hey forced crafters to overseas pvp zones where the docks are camped day and night by zerg guilds.
needless to say, I will not be re subbing for patron, nor spending another dime of real money on it.
I will however play it in free mode until a game I like comes along. (divergence online)
NOTE: I got the alpha invite to Repopulation, just cant stand the "Hero" engine....so 90's
Current games playing: MechWarrior Online
Games being watched: Project Genom
Favorite played games: SWG, RomaVictor, and Xsyon
"Personally, I think without the ability to own land, you’re missing a lot that’s unique and fun about AA. And you’re also missing out on getting the most from the Labor system."
This is why I stopped playing. The game is fun, but the land grab thing ended it for me.
Nope. We need less of these F2P cash shop heavy MMOS. Which have started to look more and more like online casino and gambling hubs. We need more mmos like FFXIV and ESO.