I have just finished my second day of playing this game. I find it have a weird and inviting appeal to it. I usually get bored quickly of MMOs because they are so predictable and i feel like it's just doing the same thing over and over again. This game offers me a challenge. I know i can't rush forward for no reason, i usually tend to avoid fights if i can help it and stick with my quest and most of the time, quests alone are good enough for you to level. They are well calculated.
I died over 10 times now. Today, i feared for my character and im level 6. Each time i have to head back toward that statue to revive, i get anxious and worry. I get this real feeling of frustation and don't tell myself: "Oh well.. ill just head back after." I ask myself... "Will i be able to get back?" Once there, i have a stiff 91% chance of reviving. IT seems nothing, but when your character is on the line, even those 9% chance is scary... because what if? I am geniunly doing my best not to die. I use my head and gouge my opponent. This game force me to do that, it give me the impression that each fight is worth something and that i have to work for each of them. I have to concentrate and not simply watch a video while i click and cast the same spells over and over again.
What make this game good with permadeath, is that it is complemented by other factors. The game is built around challange. The fact that your life and mana dont regen automatically. The scarse amount of loot, gold teamed with the expensive price for potions and healing items. The amount of damage the enemy make and their ferocity. They use skills, they are unpredictable and they can suprise you. Thjey will gang on you, they will block, they will dodge. Traps are deadly, sometimes hard to see. Its a combination of all those factors that make it a good and hard game. It is not a casual game. It's made for those who are bored of the doing the same thing over and over again, of sure victories. You can hardly solo bosses in this game. Only rogues have some chances because they can be stealth and that would take a long, long time.
Permadeath is well implemented, if you can sacrifice some gears you will not get your character taken. Just dont die too often and think carefully and you will not loose it. Be reckless, solo everything and be impatient. And well... there goes it. The reward is not in the loot, but in the genuine feelings you get for what you have and what you can loose. A feeling that you hardly get in videogames. It can be unforgiving, but this is what make this game so good.
Originally posted by neosapience Permadeath sounds like an interesting idea on paper. Hardcore players want that adrenaline rush that comes with the fear of loss. However, not everyone feels that way, as there are practical problems with permadeath.
For starters, most people are aware that in an online game you will experience connection issues. Nobody wants to lose 100's of hours of work to lag or a disconnect. There is no real way to prevent players from experiencing these issues and, given enough time, you will eventually lose your character to them.
Then there's the issue of risk VS. reward. Many people will 'play it safe' and simply grind lower level encounters to prevent untimely deaths. This causes the game to become really boring and people end up quitting. To prevent this, you have to reward people appropriately. This however, is almost impossible, as you have to make any single encounter worth as much as every single previous encounter combined.
You may think that's a bit unfair, and I agree, to an extent. While people enjoy playing video games, without any sort of progression, the game becomes little more than a fantasy FPS; die, respawn, die, respawn... etc. Progression means work, and people will tire of working for the same things over and over again, especially if the reward for success is little more than their previous encounter.
I think people are just tired of zero or near-zero death penalties in MMO's. That doesn't mean the solution is to implement its polar opposite, as that will cause just as many problems for most players.
The "perma" in permadeath in WO is greatly exeggerated. You have two chances at a revive and a percentage chance of survival in accordance to your soul-level and items you sacrifice.
But nevermind that, its just a quick correction.
The problem is, you (and many others) see WO as a "traditional" MMORPG or RPG.
However, its a MMORoguelike (like Realm Of The Mad God, also permadeath, but far more fast-paced).
Its blending RPG elements with roguelike mechanics, which isn't surprising, since the oldskool RPG games like the Gold Box games did exactly that.
Roguelikes live and die by permadeath mechanics, its their essence, their core. Its where the fun comes from for the people that play them. Its the no-win dick-moves the game pulls on you (instadeath traps, vastly overleveled mobs, etc) that make the game fun.
Roguelikes need a different mindset to play than RPGs. You have to abandon your feelings of character progression and the gratification it evokes. Roguelikes are about beating the -game-, overcomming it, not having an amazing character.
Its about crafting a unique and amazing adventure and narrative of your character, not instant gratification for success.
Its why I play FTL, NeoScavenger and DoD.
I even feel that WO made it too much newskool with their percentage survival mechanics, but its still a better and fairer system that I saw from other hybrids.
tldr: Disconnects are part of the roguelike mindset and just another random dick move the game can pull on you, deal with it.
I was about to make a post where I wanted people to convince me about the virtues of perma-death. But your post just did that, I see the point and I'll be trying WO. Nice one
true disconects can happen game crash also, it did happen to me several times, but here is the deal I never even get my body to ash yet, chances to res here is pretty high 95% also note then for each soul lvl you get bonuses some of these help with lvling speed from lower lvls and note equips will be bound to your soul lvl, if you are afraid to perma death you can stash some extra equips in your bank in case you die, also your soul lvl raise your chance to +6% with makes a 100% to res, just evade watchers and you can pretty much prevent perma death
Comments
I have just finished my second day of playing this game. I find it have a weird and inviting appeal to it. I usually get bored quickly of MMOs because they are so predictable and i feel like it's just doing the same thing over and over again. This game offers me a challenge. I know i can't rush forward for no reason, i usually tend to avoid fights if i can help it and stick with my quest and most of the time, quests alone are good enough for you to level. They are well calculated.
I died over 10 times now. Today, i feared for my character and im level 6. Each time i have to head back toward that statue to revive, i get anxious and worry. I get this real feeling of frustation and don't tell myself: "Oh well.. ill just head back after." I ask myself... "Will i be able to get back?" Once there, i have a stiff 91% chance of reviving. IT seems nothing, but when your character is on the line, even those 9% chance is scary... because what if? I am geniunly doing my best not to die. I use my head and gouge my opponent. This game force me to do that, it give me the impression that each fight is worth something and that i have to work for each of them. I have to concentrate and not simply watch a video while i click and cast the same spells over and over again.
What make this game good with permadeath, is that it is complemented by other factors. The game is built around challange. The fact that your life and mana dont regen automatically. The scarse amount of loot, gold teamed with the expensive price for potions and healing items. The amount of damage the enemy make and their ferocity. They use skills, they are unpredictable and they can suprise you. Thjey will gang on you, they will block, they will dodge. Traps are deadly, sometimes hard to see. Its a combination of all those factors that make it a good and hard game. It is not a casual game. It's made for those who are bored of the doing the same thing over and over again, of sure victories. You can hardly solo bosses in this game. Only rogues have some chances because they can be stealth and that would take a long, long time.
Permadeath is well implemented, if you can sacrifice some gears you will not get your character taken. Just dont die too often and think carefully and you will not loose it. Be reckless, solo everything and be impatient. And well... there goes it. The reward is not in the loot, but in the genuine feelings you get for what you have and what you can loose. A feeling that you hardly get in videogames. It can be unforgiving, but this is what make this game so good.
I was about to make a post where I wanted people to convince me about the virtues of perma-death. But your post just did that, I see the point and I'll be trying WO. Nice one
"after the time of dice came the day of mice "