Angry Joe - Wildstar beta impressions not very positive

Colt47 · February 2014

To be fair, I think people in general are tired of MMORPGs at this point, it's just that many people don't know what else to try out since MMORPGs are the only thing that seem like a sound investment as far as the amount of play time we can get out of them. Joe typically isn't negative unless the game in question is something like the one he reviewed recently. The feeling I was left with on his Wildstar preview was more like it is more of the same stuff we've seen elsewhere.

Avul · February 2014

I was long enough in the beta to say that AJ's review is overall more positive than my impression of the game. For people who like tedious grinding and are cheering for raiding this could be the MMO. Players who expect a firework of humor and creativity will be hugely disappointed.

Colt47 · February 2014

Originally posted by zelaex
I was long enough in the beta to say that AJ's review is overall more positive than my impression of the game. For people who like tedious grinding and are cheering for raiding this could be the MMO. Players who expect a firework of humor and creativity will be hugely disappointed.

Yup, so more of the same stuff we've seen elsewhere yesteryear as far as gameplay goes.

Arndush · February 2014

I honestly don't know much about WildStar. It just doesn't pique my interest. However, after hearing all of the misinformation and the surprising lack of insight he showed toward the MMO genre in his review of ESO, I would say that any negative review by Angry Joe of an MMO is a positive endorsement in my book.

nennafir · February 2014

Originally posted by Annekynn

Originally posted by hikaru77

Originally posted by Annekynn

Originally posted by hikaru77 I have been playing the beta, I just cant believe all the hype that was build around this game, Is without a doubt the worst P2P game of the last few years. Is a huge step back in the MMO genre, it looks like a 10 years old mmo, and im not talking about the graphics.

Huge step back? Im wondering if you played the same game as I have, as for me someone whos come from AC/DAoC/WoW/AoC/WAR/SWTOR I see this game as a huge step forward. Did you even leave the first 3 level tutorial area? Because you defend TESO saying its real game doesnt start till level 10 so I wonder if you gave WildStar the same length of attention

Yes i did, and im still playing the beta to find out if im wrong. I also have more than 10 years of MMO gaming, let me ask you this, why you believe is a huge step forward?.

Why is it a huge step forward compared to WoW? well, lets try a few:

1) brings back 40 man raiding which WoW abandoned in the 2nd expansion, while still offering 20 man raids for smaller guilds
2) makes the raids variable on a weekly basis so the encounters are not static
3) raids are designed to be easily constructable by Carbine so they can spit out content faster (something blizzard has struggled with for years now)
4) provides Adventure instances, which unlike WoWs static scenarios which always play out the same, adventures can provide everything from convoy defense to castle tower defense to DoTA style fights. Lots of variety
5) provides both fantasy AND sci-fi, allowing the devs to literately do anything their imagination allows without being shackled to lore or games scope. Want to fly to an asteroid or the moon? Sure, why not!
6) brings back raid bosses in large scale pvp, something blizzard abandoned in the first expansion due to "this game is too hard!" whining
7) adds persistent base building to pvp that can be built or lost giving you much more reason to play well and strategically
8) provides a modern interface that is fully moddable. While WoWs is also fully moddable, its default UI is still stuck in 2004 and blizzard refuses to modernize it
9) gets rid of the tab targeting lockon system so you can actually dodge the attacks coming at you. No more being chased by a fireball
10) since most attacks have an aoe component, placement in battles becomes crucial so its not just stand there and attack. You constantly move to optimize your damage and avoid damage
11) allows you move/explore beyond the maps boundary. If you can see it you can get to it
12) allows you to go both up above the zone and down below the ground. Climb tall trees or explore underground cave systems to access different parts of the zones etc
13) allows you to build structures in the open world for others to use
14) allows you to have your own home which can be improved in many ways. Allows you to build structures around your home. Allows your home to come under attack by npcs, and ability to defend your neighbours homes
15) huge and varied soundtrack that isnt stuck in the "fantasy only theme"
16) active character skill sets are limited to only 8 abilities at a time. But you can have 30+ abilities so you have to strategically chose which abilities to take with you. Its like a card game where you basically create your deck before a fight. Allows you to save your sets for quick swapping in and out between fights
17) character progression allows you to tweak such things like crit chance or crit damage etc etc. Lots of variety therefore in tweaking your strengths or weaknesses

Translation: I like this game for one reason: It has 1337 raids that make me feel special.

I hope you enjoy the game. I like the graphics, unlike--apparently--most people. I just think the raid focus is archaic and really question the priorities of the devs...

Avul · February 2014

Originally posted by Annekynn

Why is it a huge step forward compared to WoW? well, lets try a few:

5) provides both fantasy AND sci-fi, allowing the devs to literately do anything their imagination allows without being shackled to lore or games scope. Want to fly to an asteroid or the moon? Sure, why not!

10) since most attacks have an aoe component, placement in battles becomes crucial so its not just stand there and attack. You constantly move to optimize your damage and avoid damage

11) allows you move/explore beyond the maps boundary. If you can see it you can get to it

13) allows you to build structures in the open world for others to use

16) active character skill sets are limited to only 8 abilities at a time. But you can have 30+ abilities so you have to strategically chose which abilities to take with you. Its like a card game where you basically create your deck before a fight. Allows you to save your sets for quick swapping in and out between fights

I have to say something to these points. Most of your pros were raid-focussed. I'm not interested in these and they can be good.. who knows. But the other things are hilarious. Either you haven't played the game yet (or at least not to a higher level) or you're trolling.

The mixture between Sci-Fi and Fantasy is one of its bigger problems. From the beginning it feels like a bad idea. You got mailboxes instead of drones, you have to pay with WoW-like currency (Gold, Silver etc.) in space etc. It feels shallow and many people don't get immersed in the game at all - including me. 80% of the Mobs are earthen creatures like wolves, snails, birds etc. The lack of creativity is disturbing. Just Farside and Grimvault are feeling a little bit alien-like.

Yes, all attacks are basically AOE-spells. That makes fights with more than 2-3 people a pure clusterfuck. It can be fun and you can do better with a premade group but it's far away from being a real skill-dependent game.

The exploration-part of WildStar is not existent. All areas feel like a different shaped bowl of plants and creatures. There are few caves and no rewards for actual exploration (except you get 100% of the map discovered). Many areas feel like copypasta from WoW. A little bit of dusty Barrens here, a little bit of Winter Wonderland there. Meh. There was a lot of potential for a Sci-Fi game. No real indoor levels with low gravity and floating mobs. Just flat landscapes with random placed mobs.

To build structures at special places you have to be a Settler (-> path system). These places are predetermined and therefor boring and just last a really short amount of time. They have no impact on the gaming world at all. Yea, you can get a buff.. but that's it. You get no real rewards for that and it's always the same place where a buff station stands (i.e. 2-3 times per city or camp).

Now to the most hilarious "pro"-point I've ever seen. I like the LAS and its 8 abilities only. But 60-70% of the 30 abilities are total bullshit and worthless (Thresher anyone?). Everybody is running around with the same skill set. And the mechanic of each class/role is the same. Builder, builder, spender, stun/snare, builder, spender. Just different animations and names. There is no place for fun builds (try it.. I did it a lot.. white damage forces you to play the mainstream faceroller build). Just look at the forums how disappointed the most people are.

aSynchro · February 2014

Wildstar will flop, no doubt about that (too much like WoW: why play the copy when you can have the original?), but the good thing is that maybe more people will realize that themeparks aren't not a viable option. Hopefully, in a sad way, Wildstar will open the way to more sandbox MMORPG

Avul · February 2014

Originally posted by aSynchro
Wildstar will flop, no doubt about that (too much like WoW: why play the copy when you can have the original?), but the good thing is that maybe more people will realize that themeparks aren't not a viable option. Hopefully, in a sad way, Wildstar will open the way to more sandbox MMORPG à la EQN,

People really need to realize that having 40-man raids instead of 25-man or blasting mobs with a laser instead of a bow doesn't make a new game. [...]

I'm not sure if it will flop. It's just not my game at all after 2 1/2 years of fandom. In some parts it's definitely better than WoW. I never liked WoW for some reasons. Just played it for 3-4 months back then. So I'm not burned out on these grindfest MMOs. Although I've got the exact feeling playing WildStar I had in these 3-4 months of WoW. It's mind-numbing. I got better hobbies than doing errands and meaningless tasks about slaughtering over 9000 different kind of bears, birds and bees.

GuyClinch · March 2014

Originally posted by zelaex
Originally posted by aSynchro
Wildstar will flop, no doubt about that (too much like WoW: why play the copy when you can have the original?), but the good thing is that maybe more people will realize that themeparks aren't not a viable option. Hopefully, in a sad way, Wildstar will open the way to more sandbox MMORPG à la EQN,

People really need to realize that having 40-man raids instead of 25-man or blasting mobs with a laser instead of a bow doesn't make a new game.

Open the door to more sandbox? LMAO. The door has been wide open for 15 years. Sandbox is niche. EQN isn't going to be sandbox - its landmark that sandbox. EQN will be a bunch of mobs shoved into the open world that are supposed to entertain us with their AI - just like EQ was. That's cool and all but its not sandbox by any stretch.

Cetra · May 2014

My cat loves watching me play mmos.

But he fell asleep while i was playing wildstar.

/uninstall game

got to believe an animal's instinct.

Salute · May 2014

Fair review.

Except the aesthetics which are up to everyone tastes and grinding which many ppl (like me) dont really care or even like doing, he said a lot of good things about the game. He sees it as a step forward for WoW style games and i m ok with that. I m interested in WildStar and this review make me even more positive towards to it.

For an Angry Joe review, considering he doesn't like cartoony graphics anyway, this was a fairly positive review and compare it with ESO was superb.

So i dont see any negative points except those we knew anyway and are up to the ppl tastes, not game flaws.

Thx Joe

MikeB · May 2014

Please don't necro threads.

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Angry Joe - Wildstar beta impressions not very positive

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Angry Joe - Wildstar beta impressions not very positive

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