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Possible Return to WAR
Douhk
Member Posts: 1,019
Hello all,
Plain and short, I bought this game at launch, and it didn't meet my expectations. I do believe it's a pretty fun game, better than my former MMO WoW anyhow, but it was definitely in need of some fixing up. I've played all classes, but the highest I've ever gotten in my first month was at lvl 22 with my Swordmaster. At that point, I simply couldn't plow through the rest of the game to end-game, hearing the rumors that it was screwy anyhow.
Basically, nice and sweet, I have a couple of simple questions on whether or not it's even worth making a new account on a personal level, based on my biggest gripes, to try this game for 10 days (since, after all these months I still didn't even uninstall it):
1. How is class balance? Will my swordmaster still be completely useless compared to say an Ironbreaker or my own Warrior Priest, which was more capable at lvl 10 than my SM ever was?
2. Although not something extremely important to me, how are PQs? Are they still something that players basically ignore due to not enough willing participants in certain areas? I didn't really like the concept too much of PQs to begin with, as I had a gut feeling to begin with that it wouldn't work out too well in an MMO anyway, but it's still somewhat important to me.
3. How is the experience ratio in comparison to world PvP, scenarios, and PvE? This was probably the biggest frustration I had with this game at launch. I absolutely hated the fact that I had absolutely no choice but to do the same scenario over and over again to level, as PvE was practically useless, and that it was near impossible to perform in world PvP with others on such a low level... not to mention, it's impossible to find others anyhow, as they're all in the scenarios because it's faster.
4. If I play a healer, will I still get barely any experience in scenarios? This is the second most important issue with me, because frankly, I love playing as a healer. I played my zealot up to lvl 18, my favorite class in the game, until I couldn't take it anymore. It's beyond annoying when the window at the end of a scenario opens up, showing that I healed more than twice the damage than the highest damage-dealer on our team, but still get barely any exp in comparison to him/her.
5. How is end-game? This wasn't so much an issue I had with the game, as I never got to experience it first hand. However, the bad rumors I've heard were enough for me to say that it wasn't worth plowing through the game just to reach lvl 40 and not have any fun while doing so, only to reach a mediocre end. I won't ask "is it still like that today?" Because I can't judge from first hand experience, so I'll simply ask, how is the end-game like now?
I have a couple more issues, but these are the biggest ones I can think of currently. I'll probably end up adding more as they come to memory, as it's been months since I've last experienced this relatively decent game (other than the major issues that have caused me to un-subscribe).
If only SW:TOR could be this epic...
Comments
1. Class balance - No need to worry about class balanced because no company has ever solved they mystery but they're working on it. Just play what you like.
2. PQs only get better (as in rewards) as you advance in tiers.
3. PVP/PVE I would say it is fairly balanced but that is just a guess.
4. Healers can get insane renown and experience in scenarios and orvr so no worries there.
5. Can't speak about endgame because I have not been there yet. Though from what I hear it is mostly dungeon raids, city sieges and the grind to max renown rank.
I hate posts like this. Reactivate your damn account and try it out for yourself. Only you can decide. The hell is with people now adays.
1. Class balance, as with all MMOs, is a continual work in progress. Overall, I think it has improved, but will probably never be perfect. Addressing the specific class you played, SMs have been significantly improved, so that they are more on par (which should not be misinterpreted as "the same") as the other tanking classes. Keep in mind, WAR is a game that is balanced more for group play than for individual play.
2. The PQ system has been changed somewhat, in that there are now Easy, Normal, and Hard PQs. The easy ones are designed for 2-3 players, but many of them can be done solo. Overall, I've always liked the PQ system, but I've never believed that there were going to be 5 or 6 players perpetually working every PQ in every tier in the game. Most PQs are group events, so to do them when you want to, you've always needed to do the same thing you need to do in other games for group content.... look for or put together a group.
3. It's possible to level up using any of the methods you've listed, and in point of fact, for the most part it always has been. Scenarios are still popular on some servers, but their supremacy has been mitigated greatly by the improvements to the oRvR system (esp. the oRvR influence system and improved Keep Lord drops). I'm not sure what you mean by PvE being worthless, because it has always been possible to level up through the PvE route (example: my brother has leveled his Choppa to 30 over the last few weeks, and he did it almost purely with PvE content - his renown ranks sucks, though - hah!). With scenarios, you are dependent on how fast they drop, and how long they take. In my opinion, just for pure leveling speed, PvE is the fasted way to level past Tier 1 (though your renown rank will not grow). Experience in oRvR has improved as well, but I think it's still the slowest way to go (but good for renown and gear).
4. Healers get experience and renown that is commensurate with other classes. When you say that you'd get "barely any experience" as a healer, are you saying that, for example, a dps class would get 3000 experience, and you as a healer, would get 500, or something along those lines?
5. Endgame has smoothed out a lot over the months. While there are still dungeons available, it's the capturing of zones, fortress assaults, and city sieges that have improved significantly, especially as a result of patch 1.2. While they still aren't perfect, they are certainly playable and fun, and they are still working on improving and modifying them over the next 2 or 3 months (and beyond). In the near future, we can also look forward to the implementation of the Land of the Dead zone (think Darkness Falls if you played DAoC).
Hell hath no fury like an MMORPG player scorned.
Now, since the choppa and slayer are here, you see loads of them, but that number is already decreasing
Sometimes 1+1 makes 3
IMO, the game is still great and fun... for the first twenty levels.
I played an Ironbreaker up to level twenty. It was fun doing things during the first month of play and working towards a mount.
Sadly, WAR couldn't keep my attention after that. I just got bored. The quests weren't that great, and Public Quests were not very popular at all. PQs were my favorite feature in the game.
After returning (since cancelling my account during the free 30-month trial period), it seems like there isn't much that has changed. Questing is still the same, and PQs still aren't very popular. There are good improvements, but it looks like population is still at the minimum. I think Mythic needs to consolidate more servers to maybe.... 5. LOTRO has less than 10 U.S. servers if I remember right, and I believe WAR and LOTRO have about the same 200,000 average population.
The fact is, you won't find a heavily populated server. Don't expect to have any fun in an MMO that doesn't have many players. Scenarios take time to pop up around Tier 3. The game is bustling during Tier 1 and 2. I don't know about Tier 4, never got there.
I returned during the free 10 days. But I cancelled my account again, after only two days and uninstalled the game again. I was standing around with my Ironbreaker looking for a group or PQs just to level. My scenario flag was turned on in case one popped up... I was waiting... I didn't feel like solo'ing...