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A Change of Heart
I started off being disappointed in this game. Lack of Sandbox, too much themepark, etc. But over the past two closed betas, I've actually ended up really enjoying it so far.
The Quest to 30
That's pretty much what the start of this game feels like. You have quests, you get rewards and they lead you up to and past level 30 (give or take). I actually gave up questing around level 20 and went back to it a day or 2 later. At level 30, though a few things happen/have happened. Around level 10, you quest to raise a horse/mount. Around level 15, you quest to earn a glider. Around the same level, you build your first farm via a quest. By about level 30, the story quests end and you have enough saved up to buy a boat.
This is pretty much the point at which you have the freedom to stop questing entirely and still be in good shape. Stopping before you have the Gilda (special merchant credits) to buy your boat blue prints will mean you have to beg people for rides all the time... which will eventually earn you the Gilda needed to buy one of your own... but the quests make it so much easier.
After this, the game and world opens up. Quests now take place in PvP areas, if you choose to do them. Or you can use the property you earned questing to raise your own crops, cattle, house, etc. The goal now, is to earn money, raise your crafting abilities and earn Gilda for better and more things.
I didn't get this at first.
The game just seemed like a long, quest-grind fest and the crafting was unnecessarily difficult. Now I see how all that has become interconnected and it just "clicks". The quests are there simply to give you experience points and an occasional reward. I went form level 1-18 in a matter of 3 hours without reading a single line of text for the quests with my second character. I actually like that. I'll read a book if i want a story, I play games to actually play the game. The quest lines in this game serve to advance a character, not to reveal the ultimate meaning of the universe. Take them for what they're worth.
And then, of course, PvP opens up and becomes a viable source of entertainment 
Combat
The combat also seemed generic to me. At early levels, it is. However, since the game lets you choose which skills you want to blend with others, there are some that magically seem to work well and others that are... well... miserable. Admittedly, I chose one of the "miserable" sets when I started.
The "combo" system is the key to being successful in combat with this game and it takes work, lots of work and some good tactics to figure out what skills combine with what other skills to give you the effect you're looking for.
This also takes practice.
You'll probably suck at first.
Keep going with it though and eventually you'll start to see how one skill and effect relates to another and soon you'll be thinking up "dream builds" you want to try out just to see how effective a combination can be.
Alts.
I've never been a fan of alts in most games. I felt they distracted from my "real" character, so I avoided them. Archeage has pretty much changed my mind on the subject.
The Labor Point system in the game only allows for so much one character can do at a time. When my first, main character went on a crafting spree, I was left with almost no Labor to do anything else with. That's when I got curious about other character builds.
Now, I can play my alt, while my main character "recovers". In addition to this, property is shared between the two, so there's no need to go through every single quest again and re-craft everything I started on the other. They can also work together - one can mine, while the other farms and so on so each has a role to play in the overall game. It's not like other games where one just sits in an unproductive limbo until you log back in.
DAoC
Yep, that's what this game reminds me of. If you don't like playing a squishy, WoW-style healer, don a suit of plate armor and learn the Defensive tree. Now you're a Paladin. The skill system in DAoC was similar to this one for Archeage. It's also what allowed that game to remain entertaining for a while and not get old too fast.
The currency is similar as well; you'll jump for joy when you earn your first, full gold piece.
Comments
I can completely understand that "change of heart", lol
I have seen SO MANY posts in the last month from people that have written-off the game after 30mins because it's "just the same-old-same-old boring quest-driven themepark". There really aren't all that many MMO'ers around these days that understand what freeform play is all about, simply because they've never had the chance to experience it.
Those that have heard of "sandbox games" seem to have the notion that these are some kind of magical themepark where the entertainment just completely blows you away. When they login to AA, they take 5 steps and nothing incredibly awesome happens, so they come to the conclusion that "AA is not a sandbox" ! There's no rifts popping-up in the world, no dynamic events (GW2) taking place, the world is just "there".
Tbh, I'd be surprised if even 25% of MMO gamers would actually want to play a sandbox game. Many think they want to (it sounds so cool), but when they realise that it requires effort to play a sandbox game, they run away in horror.
Very good post OP
Another thing that makes this game awesome is the seamless open world, you can explore forever without bumping into a wall, unlike most of the new mmorpgs.
I'll gladly support this game and get patron status so my characters will get labor points while offline.
Did i mention there are 120 classes?
http://archeage.gamepedia.com/Classes
Yeah, I've played the true "sandbox" games. I like their concepts and the ideals but the reality of them is far more grueling and taxing on my patience than I prefer - Xsyon, Mortal Online, Darkfall, and so on. The reality of a sandbox is that for a brief moment, any select group of people might have fun, the rest of the time it's a struggle to survive with hopes of getting to that point. Once that moment passes, the fun fades... either through griefing or through boredom.
AA seems to combine the qualities of a sandbox that make it fun - you get stuff for doing stuff - without the constant hand-holding, mother-in-law nagging games like WoW force onto players. You have the freedom to ignore the Themepark and play the game the way you want and be no worse off for it.
In addition to my first post, even once you reach level 50 in this game, the game keeps going. Crafting and trade skills are calculated separate from character levels, so there are still your "sandbox" elements there and the game doesn't just turn into an end-game boss raiding fest.
I am one of those who wrote the game off. I heard about this sandbox game and I though let me have a go on the beta weekend to get a feel for what its about. I heard from a friend that it opens up at 30, and this promise was the only thing that kept me going. Tbh I don't look forward to pvp and at the crafting chores is not enough to interest me.. I haven't heard or gotten any feel for whether there is more to do later in the game. There were hints of something interesting hidden in the combat systems, but thats about it.
So I made it to 19 and since its the first run it did take me 10 hours to get there, and the journey was the most uninspired and boring experience I ever tried in any mmorpg. Not only was it extreme themepark but all the rides were cramped even tighter than in any game before and every hub boxed in with rails between them.. It was a chore, boring and pointless. I desperately tried to hop off the rails and try to explore the world because it was a sandbox game right?.. but no there was no escape, so I manned up and kept clicking pointless quests. My friend loved and clicked like mad, and I just grew increasingly bored and frustrated.. Finally I gave in and went to bed, the next day I couldn't bare to log in again.
So You are saying players should just endure the boring first 30 levels and then suddenly the game will go from the most extreme themepark closed world, to and open world sandbox game? It is hard to beleive a game would turn 180 like that, and I can read that is what You guys are saying, but there have been no indications of it playing the game up till now. What is going on, is there any reason why they would make the starting experience so void of sandbox elements when they advertise it as sandbox... It is a complete mysteri to me. It was so completely and utterly out of touch with anything I could define as sandbox or open world.
I do appreciate a game that takes efford and dedication to play, but I feel that the first part of the game will mostly make the target players quit.
"I am my connectome" https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HA7GwKXfJB0
It will weed out the weak. So, yeah. its all good.
the beta was very crowded the first 24 hours
you dont want quests to level? So what do you want? A sandbox instead of quests? So you want to make your own quests?
The quests were very easy, there even arrows on the ground to lead you.
There's plenty of "going off the rails" action. Plenty of illegal farms to find and create for your own. You can always run north and attack people at random or look for that sweet place to put your next property. Overall, it does feel a bit monotonous questing pretty much the whole time but there's plenty to do outside of them.
It's not specifically 30 levels, I finished at level 28. Once you finish the story quest, it's like a weight's been lifted from your shoulders and you no longer have to deal with the annoying golden "!" everywhere if you decide not to. At that point the game becomes a "make your own fun" game.
Visit Mirage Isle and see what there is to buy.
Buy new plans.
Gather hundreds of resources for each new plan.
Place a structure.
PvP in hostile territory.
Quest some more.
Run a dungeon.
Find an illegal farm
Grow illegal farms.
Sail the High Seas
Explore the world.
Pirate against your own alliance.
Privateer against enemy alliance.
Trade runs
Intercontinental trade runs
Build a house
Buy and build a larger ship
Buy and build a larger house/castle
Gain Infamy points
Gain honor points
Buy more stuff from Mirage Isle
Raise crafting/trade skills thousands of points by crafting a variety of items
Really, if you can't find something non-linear to do in this game at that point, you're just not looking hard enough.
I have found Archeage "growing" on me particularly with a second character
doing a bit of farming and a couple of trade runs.
As a ftp player ( I will be Patron at launch ) I found it a bit frustrating
finding the Public Farms to grow certain items ( even with Google's Help ).
Trying to make armor or weapons was well- nigh impossible because the "dust"
ingredient did not drop despite my de-constructing numerous weapon and
armor items.AH prices on the dust was beyond my limited gold.
All in all I had a fair bit of fun in the 3rd beta doing a bit more than
the standard quest grind.
AA really grew on me the second time around. I found the game so lacking in appeal when I first logged on. To be fair, FFXIV: ARR also was jarring with text based quests. Ended up really enjoying FF. I had to get out of my mindset of fully voiced games like ESO, the game I'm currently playing. The quests in AA are rather uninspiring but that is ok. To be honest, fully voiced games are getting a tad bit tiring for me. I bought a founder's pack between CB2 and CB3 and my enjoyment level tripled. I only made it to level 22 and 3 levels were through crafting and gathering.
I'm a crafter at heart and after spending a day gathering things, tending to my farm, I found I was easy easily getting into the game. Sailing from mountain peak to mountain peak gave me an extraordinary sense of freedom. I was diving into level 40 elite zones, staying alive and gathering my heart out. Almost have my house finished but realized that I'm playing a beta a bit too much and backed off. As a low level I orgainazed two raids, danced and socialized with our group, made some friends, chatted with the guild who had taken over an island and was coordinating their efforts. I think this game has a great potential to bring back some of that old school MMO feel. To work as a team, make friends and have fun. Sadly that has been missing for a long time from most MMOs. Queue up, get your daily dungeon run tokens, log off. Blah, I want something different. I've been desperately craving a sandboxish game.
I haven't touched fishing, ocean travel, a fraction of the crafts in the game. I have a feeling it will be loads of fun with plenty of long term things to do.
There aren't 120 classes.
There are 10. there are 120 multi class combinations, but the majority of them are not really feasible
Yeah the first 30 levels are really misleading and for people trying out cbt they're left with the impression that's just another quest grinder with generic combat. If you stick with it past that, get out into the world and tooling with trades and crafting or especially get into some sea battles, you'll see the appeal.
Until you've taken care of everything, the words you read, the songs you sing...
Sorry, couldn't help that little tangent
I will say though, that my first character was an "Infiltrator" - Shadowplay/Achery/Sorcery - and that combo looks good on paper, but not in practice. I rarely used the last two skill sets.
My next character that I started with only a few hours of CBE3 left, was a Paladin - Vitalism/Defense/Battlerage - and that one is loads of fun. Skills from all 3 sets blend well with each other.
i just want to make sure i clarify this for people reading. you do not have to quest until level 30, hell you don't have to quest at all. i stopped questing at level 11. within 5 days i was at level 40 with minimal effort. i just gathered and crafted, did my trade pack runs, etc. within that 5 days i hunted down people outside of nuia with my friends ship. i ran numerous trade pack runs cross continent to make a small fortune for my level. i land boated up trees and throughout zones. i coasted down a river on a rowboat for hours fishing. i made a thatched farmhouse, a harpoon clipper, 2 large farms, and 2 small farms. within that time i had a ton of shenanigan related fun and became completely self sufficient in the game.
so to those who say "keep questing until level 30!" to hell with that, it's not necessary. you can go back and do the main story later (which is just running to npc's and talking). archeage is a sandbox because you don't have to do anything. it's up to you. it's like getting onto minecraft and jumping in a circle then saying you have no idea what to do. you make your own fun in this game.
I view the AA questing to be more like a kick in the pants to get you off and moving. I mentioned that you can stop questing early on, but some of the quests do push you along faster than trying to go it alone; just completing the main story gives you the Gilda to buy a boat on your own.
But I hear ya. There's no reason to limit yourself to only questing. If you're a Free to Play player, and your LPs are limited, then maybe questing will be your best option. Perhaps that's why it was implemented to begin with; to give the F2P players something to do in the game instead of gripe about not being able to purchase land or farm. As a Patron though, you're shooting yourself in the foot if all you do is quest in this game.
I'm in the same boat as the OP, except I played a lot less (only two evenings and only got to lvl 17 in the CBT3), but I do have the same feeling. I had written off the game before even trying it, and my first impression was "ok this is the same old stuff as every other mmo".
Questing is boring in and of itself, but after some time I understood that it's true purpose is not to be the fun part of the game, but rather to show you a sample of the world and the things you can do in it.
Like at some point the questing brought me to an animal pen and sure enough there were a couple quests themed after it and after doing them I was about to leave but then I noticed that I could actually buy one of the animals they were raising in the pens as a new mount. This was purely an option and I didn't really like the look of the mount so I kept my old one, but I like the fact that if you actually pay attention, you find interesting things.
A bit later there was a quest triggered upon entering an area where you could use specific monster drops to craft new gear. This wasn't regular crafted gear but rather only possible in this area's crafting stations, using local monster drops (once at the station you could see how to make the other parts of the set). This is another example of area-specific content that you're completely free to gloss over but nice in it's own way.
Other cool surprises seem to include hidden objectives that give you a reward upon completion, as well as being able to complete some quests either early or going beyond what was asked, and get less or more XP -but the same reward.
Maybe those examples won't speak to you, but after testing so many mmos and games in general, I have the feeling that there is more here than meets the eye. I think that the people who made this definitely got some things right, that will allow people to have long term objectives keeping them playing beyond levelling their character, and enjoying themselves in the process.
Oh and the game also feels extremely well polished.
Goes back to what the alpha testers were saying. It is a sandpark, a best of both worlds in my opinion. I am sure I will be irked by a few things in late game, but honestly haven't played an MMO yet that hasn't irked me in some way.
That being said, I have enjoyed any game I have put time into and am looking forward. Nice to see your impressions improved upon hitting 30. I had similar feelings of wonder and intrigue as you at that level.
Looking forward to: Crowfall / Lost Ark / Black Desert Mobile
I can see this becoming my next MMO when I am finished with Fallen Earth. Very similar games IMO, although it seems the PvP is a bit more open in AA. At least it appears that casual and more hardcore types can coexist reasonably well in AA.
And I won't mind a little quest grinding at all although I feel it won't be my only activity early in the game. I will probably dive into it next year sometime if all goes well.
FFA Nonconsentual Full Loot PvP ...You know you want it!!
Its not hard to grind 30 levels, if you wanted too. I do about 20 levels and then go off the quest hubs. I do finish the Main Story quest for the Gildas.
I will be doing the grinding on Launch, it is the easy way to level. Just get the quest, over achieve the quest, get hidden quest. move on. Is it boring? I think so, but its one way to do it. i dont mind grinding, and this is pretty easy grinding compared to Aion.
BUT, while doing that ill also be getting my farm, then my house, then building the house. So Ill alternate grinding with building. Then do a few dungeon runs.
You dont just do one thing at a time, you mix it up.
I dunno, you get your garden scarecrow around level 11 and at that point it already felt pretty fresh to me.
And quest chains and hubs aren't the worst thing in the world, every other AAA MMO has them.
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