Curious to know where all the fans for this game went.[ mod edit]

Notimeforbs · November 2014

I remember when this game was about to launch. It was sort of going toe to toe against ESO at the time. All I ever heard about was how much ESO was a fail game, and how WS was going to be the second coming. Now it seems like people are saying the opposite. All I hear from people anymore is how WS is doing poorly - its either going to shut down or go F2P. So... what happened?

I played the Beta. Honestly, the game didn't really seem all that bad, although I didn't get too far into it. Still, it seemed like it was a lot of fun. It actually surprised me a bit. In fact, I almost bought it on pre-order. I would have too, had I not been preoccupied with other things.

So - what's the deal? This game seriously can't be that bad. I mean, I played it, and it was pretty good. It seemed like a really fun adventure I might want to try out some day. I know these forums, though. People love the doom and gloom story. But whatever.

Is this game really "that bad" or are people just blowing smoke because they don't like subscription models... like they do with every other Subsciption game?

[mod edit]

holyneo · November 2014

Still play...

Don't care if a lot or few play the game... Its about how much fun I am having, and not caring if it bothers other people.

Still don't like ESO.

Volgore · November 2014

Not enough content for solo players, not alt-friendly, pvp not working, nothing to do at 50 unless you want to sell your soul to the grind, guilds dying like flies, no RP, little variety in classes/gameplay, no dungeons popping up, combat/healing too demanding due to telegraphs, not fluff like pets/collections or such.....

Basicly every type of player found his respective playstyle and likings somewhat restricted or not working inm Wildstar, except maybe for the housing fans.

And those who were willing to deal with all the above had the game running at 20fps on their upper mid to high end rigs.

gervaise1 · November 2014

As I posted pre-launch: there never were that many people.

azzamasin · November 2014

The game was marketed and sold to appease that overwhelming 5% of the MMO population called the raiding crowd. As evident my Massively's article yesterday (loot it up) Raiding still remains the lowest populated player base in the genre and should never constitute the majority of the production of a game.

It also doesn't help that the game is a WoW clone through and through. With small variations.

gobla · November 2014

Was genuinely interested in the game and played the beta.

The gameplay was a lot of fun and the features for the long-term appealed a lot.

But performance was utterly horrid and my experience with games that still aren't optimized in beta is rather bad. I'm fully aware that the story, every single time, is that it's still beta and they'll do optimizations just before release. But I've never actually seen that happen. Every game I know that had bad performance before release also had it post-release.

So, given the much higher barrier of entry of both having to buy it and pay a subscription, I just didn't bother.

Entinerint · November 2014

I have three words for you:

Back. To. WoW.

Nanfoodle · November 2014

Went old School with EQ2. Wife and I enjoyed it greatly till we got end game and it seems everyone was so set in their ways they had no room for new players lol. From there we went to WoD for the new WoW expansion. May try Wildstar again some day if they make it worth coming back. IMO when they think the game is ready, they should hand out 30 days trials to who ever left the game.

PulsarMan · November 2014

I really enjoyed the game, but moved on for a couple of reasons. The main reason being that I just became bored.

I liked what they were going for, but there were a few things that I think could be done better. Dungeons being one of them. They were super fun! I really enjoyed the challenge. But at the time, the challenge wasn't worth it. I don't want them to be any easier, I just want the loot to be more worthwhile I suppose. This may have changes since I last played.

I like WildStar. I think what they have set up has a great deal of potential to grow into something great. I hope they can stick around long enough to continue to update this game long enough to give it a worthy growth period.

Alverant · November 2014

I got tired of the combat. It was too intense and more stressful to play than fun. I found other things to fill the void now. I may go back, I may not. I had such high hopes for the game that I bought a year's subscription early. It's a pity, the setting had so much potential.

ETA I never got into WoW. I tried it earlier this year and it felt very "meh" so all this "WoW clone" talk means nothing to me. Wildstar might have broken me in terms of MMOs until a game like City of Heroes arrives.

Kajidourden · December 2014

I think it's unfortunate that this is the way the game has went. Much like ffxiv in it's original form I have a feeling if they do indeed pull the plug and/or revamp the game a lot of what makes it great will be dismissed as part of the problem.

I don't feel that the dungeons need to be easier, in fact I think most who enjoy the game would agree that's one of their favorite parts.

The ONLY aspect they need to tweak (purely from a combat gameplay perspective, of course there are other areas to improve, as always) is the tedium involved with accessing raids.

They have what they were going for in difficult dungeons, THAT is the "Hardcore" aspect they were shooting for.

What they have now is not hardcore, it's TEDIUM at its finest. And i believe that is what drove people away.

FomaldehydeJim · December 2014

I was also looking forward to this game, but the reality of it was rather disappointing; my main issues were: -

The "Look at me! Look at me!" attention-hungry, neediness of it all just grated with me incredibly quickly. The relentless shouty announcements and unsolicited challenges etc. It was like expecting to watch Scarface and instead watching any recent Al Pacino film where he has the haircut of a middle aged woman and just shouts a lot in place of having any real magnetism or menace.
Although there were many quests they were mostly generic, poorly thought out and samey with incredibly bad pathing; and many were simply redundant as a means to level.
I found myself starring at red blobs on the ground and seeing nothing else of the game. The combat became repetitive and tedious- you were simply required to dodge different shapes which does not varied combat make. I found it exhausting when all I wanted to do was unwind after a days work.
PVP was a clusterfuck with very little by way of tactics.
It had gated content and huge time sinks. This might have been acceptable a decade ago, but frankly I have better things to do with my time these days.

Those were my thoughts on the game.

Chaserz · December 2014

I've played just about every MMO since EQ1. After watching some Wildstar game play video I tried the beta for 15 minutes. Wasn't for me. After, I played ESO, twice, bought the ArcheAge founder's pack and thankfully sold it -that buyer has to be bummed out now. Now I am playing FF14. It's a decent MMO but I am not drueling over it. I am a diehard EverQuest junkie but I am not liking how EQ Next is looking but I'll reserve judgement until more of it is revealed.

Margrave · December 2014

I'm cheap....

I go for f2p titles....

Currently getting my scifi fix from swtor.... that teaser helped push me that way too....

Mange1 · December 2014

Still playing, I am not a raider and primarily a PVPer but the state of PVP is sad due to the most part for population reasons. Next is the way they handled gear in arenas, Medic/Warrior just owns arena and once those teams got to 1800 and slotted their gear out fully they stick around to hinder any 1200s from catching up. That's also a result of low population though, if there was a way to get 50,000 players to start playing all at once going from 1-50 at their own pace then queuing against each other things would be a lot more healthy and the strong core of the game would help it sustain itself. As someone said earlier the population was never that high sadly.

Bladestrom · December 2014

Originally posted by FomaldehydeJim
I was also looking forward to this game, but the reality of it was rather disappointing; my main issues were: -

The "Look at me! Look at me!" attention-hungry, neediness of it all just grated with me incredibly quickly. The relentless shouty announcements and unsolicited challenges etc. It was like expecting to watch Scarface and instead watching any recent Al Pacino film where he has the haircut of a middle aged woman and just shouts a lot in place of having any real magnetism or menace.

lol excellent description of the issues.

Although there were many quests they were mostly generic, poorly thought out and samey with incredibly bad pathing; and many were simply redundant as a means to level.

the questing lacked character in my opinion, it was like they listened to those who think empty space is a bad thing (I want 'meaningful choices' constantly!) If there was ever an example demonstrating why skillful design includes the use of quality open space this is it.

I found myself starring at red blobs on the ground and seeing nothing else of the game. The combat became repetitive and tedious- you were simply required to dodge different shapes which does not varied combat make. I found it exhausting when all I wanted to do was unwind after a days work.

PVP was a clusterfuck with very little by way of tactics.

Ye a design requires you to stare at the ground constantly, that's a flaw.

It had gated content and huge time sinks. This might have been acceptable a decade ago, but frankly I have better things to do with my time these days.

Agree, spending 20+ hours a week every week is ok but a model where you are punished and fall behind in gear if you don't maintain this is a stupid dated manipulative design that may work with a captured player base that are addicted to keeping their long term character up to date, but there is no chance with a new game.

Those were my thoughts on the game.

Overall the game design is utterly flawed, what exactly is the demographic that likes childish humor with garish space cowboy styling with intense raiding? Maybe if it was aimed at children, but children that enjoy raids that are intensely disciplined and requires considerable man management etc? or adults that like that kind of garish childish humor - that's a thin niche! The game is in big trouble IMO, and needs to dumb down the raids to a level where children will love it - except the average mmo player is what 27ish? what a mess.

FomaldehydeJim · December 2014

Originally posted by Bladestrom
Originally posted by FomaldehydeJim
I was also looking forward to this game, but the reality of it was rather disappointing; my main issues were: -

The "Look at me! Look at me!" attention-hungry, neediness of it all just grated with me incredibly quickly. The relentless shouty announcements and unsolicited challenges etc. It was like expecting to watch Scarface and instead watching any recent Al Pacino film where he has the haircut of a middle aged woman and just shouts a lot in place of having any real magnetism or menace.

lol excellent description of the issues.

Although there were many quests they were mostly generic, poorly thought out and samey with incredibly bad pathing; and many were simply redundant as a means to level.

the questing lacked character in my opinion, it was like they listened to those who think empty space is a bad thing (I want 'meaningful choices' constantly!) If there was ever an example demonstrating why skillful design includes the use of quality open space this is it.

I found myself starring at red blobs on the ground and seeing nothing else of the game. The combat became repetitive and tedious- you were simply required to dodge different shapes which does not varied combat make. I found it exhausting when all I wanted to do was unwind after a days work.

PVP was a clusterfuck with very little by way of tactics.

Ye a design requires you to stare at the ground constantly, that's a flaw.

It had gated content and huge time sinks. This might have been acceptable a decade ago, but frankly I have better things to do with my time these days.

Agree, spending 20+ hours a week every week is ok but a model where you are punished and fall behind in gear if you don't maintain this is a stupid dated manipulative design that may work with a captured player base that are addicted to keeping their long term character up to date, but there is no chance with a new game.

Those were my thoughts on the game.

Overall the game design is utterly flawed, what exactly is the demographic that likes childish humor with garish space cowboy styling with intense raiding? Maybe if it was aimed at children, but children that enjoy raids that are intensely disciplined and requires considerable man management etc? or adults that like that kind of garish childish humor - that's a thin niche! The game is in big trouble IMO, and needs to dumb down the raids to a level where children will love it - except the average mmo player is what 27ish? what a mess.

Yeah, it seemed rather confused to have the cartoonish graphics together with the hardcore raiding. I am sure they are not natural stablemates.

deniter · December 2014

- bad performance

- all attacks are telegraphs

- arcade game feeling in everything (e.x. zones are like stages in some SPG shooter ending with 'stage complete' text and fireworks)

- questing in rails

- too fast leveling

There are more but these reasons alone made me quit the game. I'd have loved to play a hardcore game, but if gameplay isn't fun it's impossible to play a long period of time.

Sadly, there's probably nothing they could do for me to resub into the game, unless they redesign the whole game (very unlikely), so my days in WS are over for good.

As for the question where did i go.. i'm playing SPGs until something good is released.

eldaris · December 2014

I have a lv 50 character and played a little with housing but lost interest as soon it was clear that it was all about raiding and rated arenas. Went back to WoW and probably I will not return to Wildstar since they are planning to have dominion vs dominion bgs and I really dislike developers which sacrifice lore instead of fixing population imbalance (like Trion and Rift). If they don't kill lore then I'll wait for rated armour to go away before trying it again.

cybersrs · December 2014

I think telegraphs ruined this game.

TheGoblinKing · December 2014

Originally posted by eldaris
I have a lv 50 character and played a little with housing but lost interest as soon it was clear that it was all about raiding and rated arenas. Went back to WoW and probably I will not return to Wildstar since they are planning to have dominion vs dominion bgs and I really dislike developers which sacrifice lore instead of fixing population imbalance (like Trion and Rift). If they don't kill lore then I'll wait for rated armour to go away before trying it again.

i would love to see your source for this because it is completely made up.

eldaris · December 2014

Originally posted by TheGoblinKing
Originally posted by eldaris I have a lv 50 character and played a little with housing but lost interest as soon it was clear that it was all about raiding and rated arenas. Went back to WoW and probably I will not return to Wildstar since they are planning to have dominion vs dominion bgs and I really dislike developers which sacrifice lore instead of fixing population imbalance (like Trion and Rift). If they don't kill lore then I'll wait for rated armour to go away before trying it again.

i would love to see your source for this because it is completely made up.

"Jen Gordy ?@Bardic_

@mrfrezzzer same faction battlegrounds are being tested internally - they are targeted for next update, if the testing shows it is ready"

https://forums.wildstar-online.com/forums/index.php?/topic/118101-same-faction-battlegrounds-statement-from-bardic-gg-wildstar/

AIMonster · December 2014

As many have said the game was marketed to the raiding crowd; however the game at launch had an utterly ridiculous attunement + gear grind requirement just to get into raiding, which turned off a lot of players as it simply wasn't fun for the 3-4 weeks required of most player's hardcore (and I mean HARDCORE) play to get to that point. For a game focused on raiding, putting up such at artificial barrier at launch and not having more accessible raiding was a mistake.

Because the game had such a heavy raiding focus in development, it fell short IMO in a lot of areas. PvP wasn't as fun as it should of been, the game had severe bugs in dungeons, and leveling up was tedious with one of the most boring quest systems in a AAA MMO. Yes, it was worse than Rift, with a grind about 3X as long to reach max level.

There were great things about Wildstar and I still feel TESO isn't as good, but ultimately some bad design decisions - even if they've since fixed them - caused the game to enter a state it likely will never recover from until it decides to inevitability go F2P and bring in a slew of new players.

Entris38 · December 2014

Originally posted by Notimeforbs
I remember when this game was about to launch. It was sort of going toe to toe against ESO at the time. All I ever heard about was how much ESO was a fail game, and how WS was going to be the second coming. Now it seems like people are saying the opposite. All I hear from people anymore is how WS is doing poorly - its either going to shut down or go F2P. So... what happened?

I played the Beta. Honestly, the game didn't really seem all that bad, although I didn't get too far into it. Still, it seemed like it was a lot of fun. It actually surprised me a bit. In fact, I almost bought it on pre-order. I would have too, had I not been preoccupied with other things.

So - what's the deal? This game seriously can't be that bad. I mean, I played it, and it was pretty good. It seemed like a really fun adventure I might want to try out some day. I know these forums, though. People love the doom and gloom story. But whatever.

Is this game really "that bad" or are people just blowing smoke because they don't like subscription models... like they do with every other Subsciption game?

Addition:

I had to remake this thread because apparently my prior attempt was too "trollish" somehow. Really, there wasn't anything wrong with it other than a particular few people with paranoia. So I changed a few words so they wouldn't lose their $hit. Whatever. There were some decent comments in the other thread, but I'm hoping to get more insight. Hopefully this one will be more productive.

Never seen this thread, I would try the official boards if you want some real answers. All the real Fans of the game are playing it, and I realize that statement is probably going to get scrutinized here. People hype the crap out of everything and when it's not their "thing", then it's garbage. Admittedly as much as any other launch, there were issues, but the dedicated people that were looking for this "niche" game are mostly still playing it. It wasn't for the casual crowd, which I am one of, so it's no my "thing", though I think it's an incredibly fun game with some very quality/funny/witty Lore behind it. I just don't have the time to make the most of the hardcore part of it...

marganculos · December 2014

back2wow :P

Zarf42 · December 2014

I was really excited for this game. It looked like a lot of fun, and had a lot of vanilla WoW vibes. Then I played the beta. It was really not as good as it could have been, for every reason you have already heard about.

The worst part if, other than what they have done with the server merges, they have done nothing to improve the game. There are very few people still playing. Hardcore raiding is a very niche market that cannot sustain an mmorpg.

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Curious to know where all the fans for this game went.[ mod edit]

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Curious to know where all the fans for this game went.[ mod edit]

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