This garbage mmorpg.con site just lost all credibility.
CGMagazine – 8/10
COGconnected – 82/100
Dexerto – 9/10
Digital Trends – 4/5
GameWatcher – 8/10
Gaming Nexus – 8.8/10
God is a Geek – 8.5/10
MMORPG.com – 7/10
PC Gamer – 78/100
PCMag – 4/5
Twinfinite – 4/5
It's a headstart, it's easy to guess who the majority of players are at the moment: people who have already been playing Lost Ark through VPN, fans of this type of games, hyped players, etc.
Excuses, excuses, excuses. Those people reviewed the game just like this site just did so why do they need to wait 6 months?
This game is 4 years old and has been one of the best and most popular mmos in the world for 4 years. Right now Lost Ark probaly has the highest amount of players that it will ever so whats going to change in 6 months? It will be the same game now that it is in 6 months. If we need to wait 6 months then tell that to the person that just reviewed the game and the other sites that have posted reviews.
Nah, you wait 6 months. Well keep the lights on for you.
Looks like you completely misunderstood my reaction to your post. Wasn't the whole point of your post to show the "overwhelmingly positive" opinion on Steam? Wasn't the point of my reaction the futility of judging a game's performance and success based on a few hours of headstart?
Also, since you are a regular on this site, you surely know about gaming companies and their post-release shenanigans. Release a game, get good scores and lots of sales, wait a few months and start squeezing your players for all the $$$ you can - that's the standard of online gaming these days. I will not be surprised to see LA go the same way - there are some interesting 'surprise mechanics' present in the KO, JP and RU versions that have yet to be seen in the NA/EU. So yes, a lot can change for LA in six months.
While some are giving the game a poor score due to lack of access, I'm seeing signs of game mechanics I'm pretty sure will lower my opinion of the game over the long term as I'm not a fan of P2A gambling mechanics.
This from a review on Steam.
"The honing system, which primarily acts as a sort of content gate, is a major problem that is both terrible game design and incompatible with the expectations of Western gamers.
You acquire materials that are used to increase your equipment's level through 'honing.' These materials can only be acquired in limited quantities each day. The game also gives you a fixed one-time dump of these materials through quests to help you unlock more content fast.
As your equipment reaches higher levels, it gains a chance for the honing to fail, in which case you lose the materials and gain nothing. In order to access the 'tier 2' content, you need to successfully hone six pieces of gear 15 times. For context, honing from +14 to +15 has a 40% chance of success."
I wondered why I ran across a streamer video (that I didn't watch) titled something like, "Lost Ark, 6 months and $30K later"
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
The gear advancement is something I loathe. A system similar to BDO which I refused to participate in. It's gambling and it is addictive. You keep thinking the next combine might work.
My goal is to play until I can no longer do so without trying to advance my gear with these horrible odds. Then they will sell you some item that increases your chances to succeed in the shop. Fuck you very much but this is always the point I leave or roll another alt.
While some are giving the game a poor score due to lack of access, I'm seeing signs of game mechanics I'm pretty sure will lower my opinion of the game over the long term as I'm not a fan of P2A gambling mechanics.
This from a review on Steam.
"The honing system, which primarily acts as a sort of content gate, is a major problem that is both terrible game design and incompatible with the expectations of Western gamers.
You acquire materials that are used to increase your equipment's level through 'honing.' These materials can only be acquired in limited quantities each day. The game also gives you a fixed one-time dump of these materials through quests to help you unlock more content fast.
As your equipment reaches higher levels, it gains a chance for the honing to fail, in which case you lose the materials and gain nothing. In order to access the 'tier 2' content, you need to successfully hone six pieces of gear 15 times. For context, honing from +14 to +15 has a 40% chance of success."
I wondered why I ran across a streamer video (that I didn't watch) titled something like, "Lost Ark, 6 months and $30K later"
Be that as it may, it depends on what you want from the game. My experience on previous servers, which apparently were more P2A was that I never felt any problem without spending a dime.
I didn't play much PvP nor ever tried to get into a hardcore raiding guild though. I played with a group of friends and we never had any issues with raiding.
Of course PvP players might feel the same way, but my own experience is that is more in line of upgrading gears for the sake of upgrading the gear.
Not saying it has zero impact, I'm saying if you ignore it, you won't feel hurt.
Constantine, The Console Poster
"One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games and it cannot be done by men out of touch with their instinctive selves." - Carl Jung
While some are giving the game a poor score due to lack of access, I'm seeing signs of game mechanics I'm pretty sure will lower my opinion of the game over the long term as I'm not a fan of P2A gambling mechanics.
This from a review on Steam.
"The honing system, which primarily acts as a sort of content gate, is a major problem that is both terrible game design and incompatible with the expectations of Western gamers.
You acquire materials that are used to increase your equipment's level through 'honing.' These materials can only be acquired in limited quantities each day. The game also gives you a fixed one-time dump of these materials through quests to help you unlock more content fast.
As your equipment reaches higher levels, it gains a chance for the honing to fail, in which case you lose the materials and gain nothing. In order to access the 'tier 2' content, you need to successfully hone six pieces of gear 15 times. For context, honing from +14 to +15 has a 40% chance of success."
I wondered why I ran across a streamer video (that I didn't watch) titled something like, "Lost Ark, 6 months and $30K later"
This sounds like the BDO system, it is why I left BDO.
If anyone is interested this is pretty accurate. Anything besides what's explained here is cry wolf for the sake bashing the game. Of course this could be anyone's red line. But at least you can be fair about it.
"One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games and it cannot be done by men out of touch with their instinctive selves." - Carl Jung
If anyone is interested this is pretty accurate. Anything besides what's explained here is cry wolf for the sake bashing the game. Of course this could be anyone's red line. But at least you can be fair about it.
It's an interesting read, but I'm not sure we should be taking it at face value. Many points he makes are really specific to the version he plays and may work completely differently in other regions. Look at Tera and the way it was run in NA by En Masse and in the EU by Gameforge. Same game, yet back in its heyday, the two versions were worlds apart simply due to the little tweaks and balances that each publisher did and the way they then monetised the game. There was a good reason why hordes of EU players bit the high latency bullet back in 2014-2016 and moved to Tera NA (me included).
When you then see lines like this one "However, silver coins are very difficult and inefficient to obtain using real money (not Pay to content).", you just have to wonder... It literally takes just a tiny tweak by the publisher...
Anecdotally, this line made me chuckle: "The ability to automatically pick up items for pets is permanent.". That's exactly what Tera had in its early years with its store pet Dragonette. Until the publishers decided to remove this feature and shift it around a whole stable of new store pets. But hey, thanks for your past purchase and you can still spend $$$ to buy a new pet, right?
It's not really a question of how the game looks at the launch. All publishers are on their best behaviour when they launch a new game. But the simple fact that Smilegate and Amazon have made a deliberate decision to not publish the game in NL and BE is very telling. (Publishers' stance to NL and BE publishing is a bit of a gaming litmus test these days, isn't it?) This move is a huge red flag for me, showing how they intend to develop and monetise the game. It may not be the way the game works now, or even a few months from now. But it clearly shows their plans, in my view.
Have a look at the Mari's Secret Shop in Lost Ark. A feature that was not part of the beta test (gee, I wonder why!). A feature allowing you to use $$$ to buy high level components and mats. In a game where you need TONS of them to level up your gear, bearing in mind the "beloved" fail mechanics we all crave in our Korean grinders...
Again, the simple premise here is to be cautious with LA, as there are clear indications that what we have now is not the game as it is fully intended to be. Much will be clearer in a few months, I think.
I got to 36 last nite , and really enjoying the game the further I dig in..
It does have a face roll feel to 23-25ish , after that the difficulty and challenges start to Amp up , I find myself each level and area I enter , carefully going thru skills and looking for ever more effective synergies to give an edge, also having different card set ups is making a noticeable difference , as you can have several presets and change on the fly .. And food !!! great boosts to give an edge..
The gear advancement is something I loathe. A system similar to BDO which I refused to participate in. It's gambling and it is addictive. You keep thinking the next combine might work.
My goal is to play until I can no longer do so without trying to advance my gear with these horrible odds. Then they will sell you some item that increases your chances to succeed in the shop. Fuck you very much but this is always the point I leave or roll another alt.
This will be my approach, to do all content which doesn't require me to engage heavily in any sort of gambling like or failure based RNG, I hate losing...hate.
I had a good time in ESO while completely avoiding the trials and high end DLC dungeons, hopefully I can do similar in LA.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
As your equipment reaches higher levels, it gains a chance for the honing to fail, in which case you lose the materials and gain nothing. In order to access the 'tier 2' content, you need to successfully hone six pieces of gear 15 times. For context, honing from +14 to +15 has a 40% chance of success."
That's SO Lineage 2. The higher you plus a weapon the greater the chance to break. A player could "Plus" a weapon up to 3 or 5 I think safely. Thereafter it could break. Also, there was no guarantee that crafting a B grade or higher item would be successful.
So maybe that is something that western players aren't going to get behind. I don't think it's poor game design but it's more like gambling.
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
As your equipment reaches higher levels, it gains a chance for the honing to fail, in which case you lose the materials and gain nothing. In order to access the 'tier 2' content, you need to successfully hone six pieces of gear 15 times. For context, honing from +14 to +15 has a 40% chance of success."
That's SO Lineage 2. The higher you plus a weapon the greater the chance to break. A player could "Plus" a weapon up to 3 or 5 I think safely. Thereafter it could break. Also, there was no guarantee that crafting a B grade or higher item would be successful.
So maybe that is something that western players aren't going to get behind. I don't think it's poor game design but it's more like gambling.
DAoC had a similar system with enchanting. The enchantment would fail and the enchanter would blow up and die, suffering the death penalty.
In the context of a sub only MMORPG, it's more palatable.
As your equipment reaches higher levels, it gains a chance for the honing to fail, in which case you lose the materials and gain nothing. In order to access the 'tier 2' content, you need to successfully hone six pieces of gear 15 times. For context, honing from +14 to +15 has a 40% chance of success."
That's SO Lineage 2. The higher you plus a weapon the greater the chance to break. A player could "Plus" a weapon up to 3 or 5 I think safely. Thereafter it could break. Also, there was no guarantee that crafting a B grade or higher item would be successful.
So maybe that is something that western players aren't going to get behind. I don't think it's poor game design but it's more like gambling.
Sounds like the old Archeage regrade system, where at higher grades if you fail a regrade the item could go *poof* and you end up with nothing. Absolutely hate systems like that.
The gear advancement is something I loathe. A system similar to BDO which I refused to participate in. It's gambling and it is addictive. You keep thinking the next combine might work.
My goal is to play until I can no longer do so without trying to advance my gear with these horrible odds. Then they will sell you some item that increases your chances to succeed in the shop. Fuck you very much but this is always the point I leave or roll another alt.
This will be my approach, to do all content which doesn't require me to engage heavily in any sort of gambling like or failure based RNG, I hate losing...hate.
I had a good time in ESO while completely avoiding the trials and high end DLC dungeons, hopefully I can do similar in LA.
This is exactly the idea I had in BDO, just avoided PvP, well apart from some minor skirmishes. But in the end I thought, ""I am putting a lot of time into a game I will not play "end game" in"" so I dropped out. That said I enjoyed my time in the game, sufficiently to buy an outfit and pet and don't regret either the time or money spent.
mainly due to queues and the Korean developer never once adding character transfers into the code. Amazon also need to create a lot more servers for EA so those players would have been more spread out, since xfers aren't an option.
As your equipment reaches higher levels, it gains a chance for the honing to fail, in which case you lose the materials and gain nothing. In order to access the 'tier 2' content, you need to successfully hone six pieces of gear 15 times. For context, honing from +14 to +15 has a 40% chance of success."
That's SO Lineage 2. The higher you plus a weapon the greater the chance to break. A player could "Plus" a weapon up to 3 or 5 I think safely. Thereafter it could break. Also, there was no guarantee that crafting a B grade or higher item would be successful.
So maybe that is something that western players aren't going to get behind. I don't think it's poor game design but it's more like gambling.
DAoC had a similar system with enchanting. The enchantment would fail and the enchanter would blow up and die, suffering the death penalty.
In the context of a sub only MMORPG, it's more palatable.
Heh, I had a high level enchanter in DAOC and while it didn't happen often I remember blowing up a few times while crafting a tough gem....
Also recall never being able to enchant gear very high in any game, ie Lineage 1 or 2, maybe getting to plus 4 or 5.
Meanwhile some folks would carry or sell plus 12 or more items and I never fathomed how they had the stones to even try for one that high since failure meant total loss of a very rare and expensive item.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Heh, I had a high level enchanter in DAOC and while it didn't happen often I remember blowing up a few times while crafting a tough gem....
Also recall never being able to enchant gear very high in any game, ie Lineage 1 or 2, maybe getting to plus 4 or 5.
Meanwhile some folks would carry or sell plus 12 or more items and I never fathomed how they had the stones to even try for one that high since failure meant total loss of a very rare and expensive item.
Wish we could get a new MMORPG experience where the devs consciously refocus the experience from endgame dungeon running to the journey, instead: keeping all the lower level areas relevant by mixing higher content, requiring low-end ingredient bases for even high-end crafting items, heavy interdependence between crafting and PvE progression, etc.
Anything but "Watch these boss tutorial videos then be here 7PM to run through the encounter as quickly as possible. Repeat weekly until new content drops."
Heh, I had a high level enchanter in DAOC and while it didn't happen often I remember blowing up a few times while crafting a tough gem....
Also recall never being able to enchant gear very high in any game, ie Lineage 1 or 2, maybe getting to plus 4 or 5.
Meanwhile some folks would carry or sell plus 12 or more items and I never fathomed how they had the stones to even try for one that high since failure meant total loss of a very rare and expensive item.
Wish we could get a new MMORPG experience where the devs consciously refocus the experience from endgame dungeon running to the journey, instead: keeping all the lower level areas relevant by mixing higher content, requiring low-end ingredient bases for even high-end crafting items, heavy interdependence between crafting and PvE progression, etc.
Anything but "Watch these boss tutorial videos then be here 7PM to run through the encounter as quickly as possible. Repeat weekly until new content drops."
Only game I played like that was EVE, really enjoyed it as my main game for over 10 years, but all good things must come to an end.
I keep hoping for another, with more avatar focused game play...
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I'm having a lot of fun! I think the graphical style and the marketing has confused people. I wish people would avoid Diablo and PoE references more than they did. In my opinion, this game is better described as a modernization of Ragnarok or Tree of Savior.
People make too much of that shit in their quest for validation of their taste in games.
BTW, its mixed is a 68% mixed which, as it happens, is exactly the same mixed number as New World
"Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” ― CD PROJEKT RED
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I'm quickly finding out that in a way Lost Ark is a lot like Final Fantasy XIV in terms of how game content gets introduced; as in, the more and longer a person plays, the more game content gets fleshed out and is discovered.
I've been told you have to get to level 50 to really begin to see the scope of this game.
I'm only level 44, and i feel like I've seen a lot already.
I found this video to be a good starting point in giving people an idea about the game.
Fishing on Gilgamesh since 2013 Fishing on Bronzebeard since 2005 Fishing in RL since 1992 Born with a fishing rod in my hand in 1979
I'm having a lot of fun! I think the graphical style and the marketing has confused people. I wish people would avoid Diablo and PoE references more than they did. In my opinion, this game is better described as a modernization of Ragnarok or Tree of Savior.
Well it does seem to have the same 'eastern' style power progression systems, which is really about the amount of alts you have, the faster you will progress since your core progression is tied to dailies/weeklies, which isn't for everyone. But there are a lot of other things to do like exploring, tome completion, doing stuff on your board, etc, that aren't exactly direct power gains, but can definitely make alt life easier. For example, you can progress through raids and stuff on your highest character, then gain the ability to research buffs in your strong hold that make gear upgrading cheaper and increased reward rates on your alts.
I think a big draw to LA is that, unless you're going to PvP, the game is just plain fun and you can complete all the content for free without spending a dime.
It's a very fun casual MMOARPG with some interesting perks and enough depth to provide hours of fun without any investment. The timegating gear is really annoying, but if you're just strolling along it's not a big deal, IMO.
If you're interested in PvP though.. that's another story.
Comments
Looks like you completely misunderstood my reaction to your post. Wasn't the whole point of your post to show the "overwhelmingly positive" opinion on Steam? Wasn't the point of my reaction the futility of judging a game's performance and success based on a few hours of headstart?
Also, since you are a regular on this site, you surely know about gaming companies and their post-release shenanigans. Release a game, get good scores and lots of sales, wait a few months and start squeezing your players for all the $$$ you can - that's the standard of online gaming these days. I will not be surprised to see LA go the same way - there are some interesting 'surprise mechanics' present in the KO, JP and RU versions that have yet to be seen in the NA/EU. So yes, a lot can change for LA in six months.
This from a review on Steam.
"The honing system, which primarily acts as a sort of content gate, is a major problem that is both terrible game design and incompatible with the expectations of Western gamers.
I wondered why I ran across a streamer video (that I didn't watch) titled something like, "Lost Ark, 6 months and $30K later"
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
My goal is to play until I can no longer do so without trying to advance my gear with these horrible odds. Then they will sell you some item that increases your chances to succeed in the shop. Fuck you very much but this is always the point I leave or roll another alt.
I didn't play much PvP nor ever tried to get into a hardcore raiding guild though. I played with a group of friends and we never had any issues with raiding.
Of course PvP players might feel the same way, but my own experience is that is more in line of upgrading gears for the sake of upgrading the gear.
Not saying it has zero impact, I'm saying if you ignore it, you won't feel hurt.
https://www.reddit.com/r/lostarkgame/comments/qy3im5/is_lost_ark_pay_to_win_100_honest_review/
When you then see lines like this one "However, silver coins are very difficult and inefficient to obtain using real money (not Pay to content).", you just have to wonder... It literally takes just a tiny tweak by the publisher...
Anecdotally, this line made me chuckle: "The ability to automatically pick up items for pets is permanent.". That's exactly what Tera had in its early years with its store pet Dragonette. Until the publishers decided to remove this feature and shift it around a whole stable of new store pets. But hey, thanks for your past purchase and you can still spend $$$ to buy a new pet, right?
It's not really a question of how the game looks at the launch. All publishers are on their best behaviour when they launch a new game. But the simple fact that Smilegate and Amazon have made a deliberate decision to not publish the game in NL and BE is very telling. (Publishers' stance to NL and BE publishing is a bit of a gaming litmus test these days, isn't it?) This move is a huge red flag for me, showing how they intend to develop and monetise the game. It may not be the way the game works now, or even a few months from now. But it clearly shows their plans, in my view.
Have a look at the Mari's Secret Shop in Lost Ark. A feature that was not part of the beta test (gee, I wonder why!). A feature allowing you to use $$$ to buy high level components and mats. In a game where you need TONS of them to level up your gear, bearing in mind the "beloved" fail mechanics we all crave in our Korean grinders...
Again, the simple premise here is to be cautious with LA, as there are clear indications that what we have now is not the game as it is fully intended to be. Much will be clearer in a few months, I think.
It does have a face roll feel to 23-25ish , after that the difficulty and challenges start to Amp up , I find myself each level and area I enter , carefully going thru skills and looking for ever more effective synergies to give an edge, also having different card set ups is making a noticeable difference , as you can have several presets and change on the fly .. And food !!! great boosts to give an edge..
I had a good time in ESO while completely avoiding the trials and high end DLC dungeons, hopefully I can do similar in LA.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
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
In the context of a sub only MMORPG, it's more palatable.
Also recall never being able to enchant gear very high in any game, ie Lineage 1 or 2, maybe getting to plus 4 or 5.
Meanwhile some folks would carry or sell plus 12 or more items and I never fathomed how they had the stones to even try for one that high since failure meant total loss of a very rare and expensive item.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
- RPG Quiz - can you get all 25 right?
- FPS Quiz - how well do you know your shooters?
Anything but "Watch these boss tutorial videos then be here 7PM to run through the encounter as quickly as possible. Repeat weekly until new content drops."
I keep hoping for another, with more avatar focused game play...
A cat can dream, right?
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
BTW, its mixed is a 68% mixed which, as it happens, is exactly the same mixed number as New World
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I've been told you have to get to level 50 to really begin to see the scope of this game.
I'm only level 44, and i feel like I've seen a lot already.
I found this video to be a good starting point in giving people an idea about the game.
Fishing on Gilgamesh since 2013
Fishing on Bronzebeard since 2005
Fishing in RL since 1992
Born with a fishing rod in my hand in 1979
It's a very fun casual MMOARPG with some interesting perks and enough depth to provide hours of fun without any investment. The timegating gear is really annoying, but if you're just strolling along it's not a big deal, IMO.
If you're interested in PvP though.. that's another story.