Opinions?

[Zurii]

Interested in buying this game and looking for some opinions from people who have played it or are playing it right now.

I really just want to know if it is worth investing the time and money into. I've been playing WoW since release and have been looking for an alternative since Cata.
I like the combat system of Tera, I hate the questing (or special events) of Guild Wars 2 and SWTOR was just to slow for me- combat wise it was to much like WoWs. Where does this game fall when compared to those titles? Is it different enough from WoW that its enjoyable or does it just remind you of a prettier WoW when you play it?

Honest feedback please and thanks.

[mstieler]

Combat-wise, it's slow but it works. The game has a 2.5 second GCD (as opposed to a 1.5 second baseline GCD like WoW), but honestly, it gives you time to move out of stuff and still push buttons. "Tunneling" becomes lass of an issue when you have that long of a break between attacks.

There's currently no Addons, but for combat, there's so far only one move I've heard of that would benefit from something like DBM (no "orange effect area", just a "get as far away as you can while it's casting", some kind of 1000-ton smash in a later dungeon I think). Other than that, enemies telegraph their attacks with orange areas of effect and castbars; if your hitbox is in the orange area when the cast finishes, you get hit, it you're not, you take not damage; it's also possible to dodge these effects, which I find hilarious. There's also a combo system for non-caster classes, where using a weaker move first supercharges another move to do more damage and/or have an additional effect, sometimes into multiple chains or branches.

Quests are still the standard MMO fare: Kill X of Y, Collect X of Y, Take X to Y person. However, as with all the FF games, the story is where it shines, and quest text/flavor text on quest items/NPC speech is superb. It's not 100% voice acted like SWTOR (or one other, was it Rift? Tera? something like that), but from my understanding, they're adding voice acting initially to the main storyline first, then elsewhere as needed. It's still a grindy game, especially after you level your first class.

[CandyCotton Marshmallows]

If you are tired of the MMO genre, there are no real alternatives outside of taking a break for a month or few at first, before diving into a different game.

SWtOR I found actually pretty fast to level, well, not my first toon, it took a week or two, but I could level a toon to max now as a non-sub in a few days. I felt the questing more 'immersive' because of the voice acting as well ... but questing in any game (including games like Skyrim) feels the same to me. It is really hard for me to compare this game; because I'm allowing myself to have fun without breaking the game down. I'm just enjoying everything, about as much as I enjoyed leveling a sorcerer in SWtOR (didn't enjoy the maruauder experience too much gameplay wise). I'm just in the world and feel a part of it. Combat in this style can all be quite similar ... EQ/WoW/SWtOR/Rift ... action bar/hotkeyed combat ... since 'feel' is personal, it is a bit hard to interpret what you mean exactly.

I also enjoyed Tera's combat, and world; but I never really felt a part of it even though I think it is a great game. I would find it hard to compare these two games very much besides FFXIV, at least the first class you level, is much less grindy compared to launch Tera.

Since I'm not basing my experience in game on comparing it to all the other MMOs I've played, I'm getting a pretty pure and enjoyable game play. You could say with the 2.5 gcd, and the bosses telegraphing their abilities; it is like a cross between WoW and Tera. It is lock on targeting like WoW, it is moving out of the way of mob abilities like Tera (with more clear visuals instead of just animations). The time between attacks gives the average player (and people on consoles who have a bit rougher game experience) time to move and react. Think about it like this ... less excuse for those who stand in fire for 1337 deeps. Move and use an instant ability instead and get positioned if you are a caster; melee and archers can move while doing their abilities anyway. As the other poster stated, melee have combos/build up chains to increase damage and require positioning at flank as well as behind for good execution.

There is grind, but it will mostly be your professions or if you are going for a 2nd/3rd job. As long as you are participating in your hunting logs and fates along the way, you'll be able to skip a lot of non-essential quests along the way on your first job/class to make the latter ones less of an Asian mob/fate grind. That is the thing, like in Rift where your class can play nearly any role; Your character can be any and every class and job in the game. If you pursue this course, expect the grind to increase some, but not completely ... get your first class to 50 and all following ones get a 50% xp buff which helps counter not having the story quests and some side quests available ... there is still a hunting log for each class which also helps. Keep some 3% xp buff food and stay in a Free Company (guild) that keeps the 5% xp buff up (there is one that adds to professions as well). Resting in an inn, in a bed is also a great boon to moving your leveling along.

Caveat: this game isn't for everyone. Check out the videos and streams thread pinned at the top of the board to get a feel for the fights and gameplay. If you can afford to, $30 for 30 days isn't too bad of an investment to check the game out for a month and see if you like it.

I can't promise this game will fill the void or be a replacement for anything. It is a game that just re-released with a complete workover, but still needs some tweaks here and there; but I don't see a game that doesn't need some tweaks imo

It feels different to me than WoW and SWtOR. I still like SWtOR, but I just really loved my inquisitor and having a companion I could fully gear up and do the daily grind with for credits that was smarter than a damn voidwalker and put out real damage ... and you'd get credit and could loot something it killed without you tagging it.


I think if you could elaborate on what you like and dislike about the games you've played; we all could be of more assistance trying to help you find if the game is right for you.

If you really want raiding, right now there is only 4 and 8 player content. 24 player content coming soon, when they feel enough people have caught up to current 'end-game'.

I honestly don't think any game is 'like WoW' or a 'prettier WoW' even a game like Rift that marketed itself as direct competition. There may be some similarities, but nothing that feels like a clone as is claimed by some.

At worst, if you try it, you get to have the experience, and if you don't like it you go back to WoW and nothing has changed besides having a break from WoW and maybe appreciating some things more; or deciding you want to leave the game for good (which for my wife and I was a good thing; playing other MMOs is what helped us move on instead of just playing and being unhappy, like an addict).

Whatever you decide, have fun with it! ^_^