Originally posted by Sovrath

Originally posted by Zierrity

 

The zones takes about 7 - 15 minutes to ride through, then again, no loadings between the zones, only change of maps.

And I am glad you liked it :)

Well, that might not be too bad.

Are they literally in a straight line or can one just go in any direction?

 

You can pretty much go where you choose, but following the quests you kind of have a route allready planned out (if that makes any sence)

Cecropia & Atrocitus

Thanks for you kind words, I am glad you found it interesting :)

"I'm sure the game will appeal to many people but you've got to remember that this game has been hyped as an almost epochal, genre-changing sandbox experience, which it is clearly not."

Pretty much this... Biskop is stating exactly what I tried to push through with this "review". ArcheAge is a good game, I'd even say a great game. It's really polished, well done and beautiful, and it will most likely appeal to many people, but it will not be able to live up to the hype it's gotten. While being a good game, it's not a revolutionary game.

@Bumer/gogo

While I do agree with not being a fan of the "mini-people" in Aion and such, my problem with no body customization at all, is that essentially, everybody will look more or less the same. Or, Hariharan will look like every other Hariharan, Nuian will look like every other Nuian, when they are covered in armor. For example, When I looked like this:

Which is an armor set you get from  doing quests, I've seen atleast 10 people who pretty much looks the same. While having slightly different skin color and maybe different eye color, from a far they look like the same Character. While their faces couldn't have been more different from one another, with a helmet, it didn't make much difference.

What I ment I would like is a different set with pre customized body options, something I think Guild Wars 2 did great, as nobody looks like a freak, you can still see some variety :)

Again, Thanks for all your feedback people! makes me happy to know my work was appreciated :)

good review.

looking forward to play AA 

Originally posted by BadSpock

Originally posted by Zierrity

Also, keep in mind that this is only an low level experience, and the true joy of ArcheAge starts at level 40, (or so I've been told), and that level 1 - 40 is basicly a long tutorial for you to learn the game and to prepare you for what to come at the end game.

And when will devs learn that the "average" MMO player in 2013 is not playing their first MMORPG?

We don't NEED or want 40 levels of tutorial.

I don't even want 5.

If a game doesn't capture my interest in the first couple of hours, chances are it won't be any better at the mythical magical "end game."

If AA truly does have 40 or so levels of mostly solo quest hub grinding as you and others have attested to - it will fail horribly in the west.

Why waste all that time and effort developing such useless content for a game?

Agree

All in all i am terribly dissapointed. Another hope for sandbox MMO smashed.

Its basically themepark + "i dont know what to do , so i just go around craft&farm" endgame

Originally posted by Zierrity

The zones takes about 7 - 15 minutes to ride through, then again, no loadings between the zones, only change of maps.

And I am glad you liked it :)

Good, glad there are no loading screens between zones. Question, was there a dye system for your clothing?

Originally posted by Lobotomist

Originally posted by BadSpock

Originally posted by Zierrity

Also, keep in mind that this is only an low level experience, and the true joy of ArcheAge starts at level 40, (or so I've been told), and that level 1 - 40 is basicly a long tutorial for you to learn the game and to prepare you for what to come at the end game.

And when will devs learn that the "average" MMO player in 2013 is not playing their first MMORPG?

We don't NEED or want 40 levels of tutorial.

I don't even want 5.

If a game doesn't capture my interest in the first couple of hours, chances are it won't be any better at the mythical magical "end game."

If AA truly does have 40 or so levels of mostly solo quest hub grinding as you and others have attested to - it will fail horribly in the west.

Why waste all that time and effort developing such useless content for a game?

Agree

All in all i am terribly dissapointed. Another hope for sandbox MMO smashed.

Its basically themepark + "i dont know what to do , so i just go around craft&farm" endgame

Don't say what it is when you have no clue.

Originally posted by PsychoPigeon

Originally posted by Lobotomist

Originally posted by BadSpock

Originally posted by Zierrity

Also, keep in mind that this is only an low level experience, and the true joy of ArcheAge starts at level 40, (or so I've been told), and that level 1 - 40 is basicly a long tutorial for you to learn the game and to prepare you for what to come at the end game.

And when will devs learn that the "average" MMO player in 2013 is not playing their first MMORPG?

We don't NEED or want 40 levels of tutorial.

I don't even want 5.

If a game doesn't capture my interest in the first couple of hours, chances are it won't be any better at the mythical magical "end game."

If AA truly does have 40 or so levels of mostly solo quest hub grinding as you and others have attested to - it will fail horribly in the west.

Why waste all that time and effort developing such useless content for a game?

Agree

All in all i am terribly dissapointed. Another hope for sandbox MMO smashed.

Its basically themepark + "i dont know what to do , so i just go around craft&farm" endgame

Don't say what it is when you have no clue.

And you do ? Than please enlighten us

Originally posted by Lobotomist

Originally posted by PsychoPigeon

Originally posted by Lobotomist

Originally posted by BadSpock

Originally posted by Zierrity

Also, keep in mind that this is only an low level experience, and the true joy of ArcheAge starts at level 40, (or so I've been told), and that level 1 - 40 is basicly a long tutorial for you to learn the game and to prepare you for what to come at the end game.

And when will devs learn that the "average" MMO player in 2013 is not playing their first MMORPG?

We don't NEED or want 40 levels of tutorial.

I don't even want 5.

If a game doesn't capture my interest in the first couple of hours, chances are it won't be any better at the mythical magical "end game."

If AA truly does have 40 or so levels of mostly solo quest hub grinding as you and others have attested to - it will fail horribly in the west.

Why waste all that time and effort developing such useless content for a game?

Agree

All in all i am terribly dissapointed. Another hope for sandbox MMO smashed.

Its basically themepark + "i dont know what to do , so i just go around craft&farm" endgame

Don't say what it is when you have no clue.

And you do ? Than please enlighten us

Yes please do it.

Originally posted by Zierrity

Now as the Open Beta just ended a while, I thought I'd take my time to write.. well, lets say a little "review" of my experience in ArcheAge so far.

Now, right og the bat, I want to emphasize that I only made it to level 26 i the beta, so I dont really have much to any experience when it comes to the end game pvp and sandbox elements which really is what makes ArcheAge, but i'll share with you, what my guildmates have shared with me, but I'll focus mostly on what I personally have experienced in ArcheAge.

Now let's start with Character Creation, as that was the first thing I got to experience after the log in screen and server selection.

(oh yeah, the log in screen is beautiful btw ;P)

Now the Character Creation has it's strong points and a few weak points aswell, but let's start with the goodies whall we?

First off, the Character Creation ha a lot of choices and sliders. Which is a very good thing for people like me who can customize their character for hours. We got:

 

• A fairly good har selection
• make up (for both boys & girls)
• skin color
• eyebrow types,
• lip color
• blush color
• facial hair (for men)
• face paint
• and facial scars (which you can customize size and position).

On the other side you can choose from pre created faces, then eyes, nose, mouth, and pre-created head morphs.

After that you can go into "advanced mode" and change the head morph, eyes, nose and lips to your liking with sliders.

 

It's fairly easy to create a unique looking character and I have yet to run into someone who looks just like me.

 

Then we got the weaker points.

The Hair selection is quite good enough, but I would have liked to see a couple more to be honest.

The face paints looks really over the top, and I've actually yet to see a character in game yto use any of them.

There is no body sliders. and no selection to choose from, everybody got the same body as the rest of the same race and sex does. The best comparison I can think about is the Tera Character Customization. Lots of head/face options, no body options.

The last thing is just a personal preferences, and it is that since ArcheAge is semi Anime inspired, it's quite easy to make a Anime face. Even though you choose to create a fairly realistic character, you will see some Anime-ish characters running around. And while it's not really a big problem for me, seeing as I am an Anime fan and it's a korean game, this might be a turnoff for others.

 

For those who have'nt seen the Character Creation here is a link.

 

Okay then, off to the starter experience.

 

I want to start with saying that the graphics and aesthetics are truly Gorgeous in Arche Age, while the graphics aren't as pretty as they are in the trailers XLGames have released, the game is still beautiful. The only problem I had was that the graphics were much better in the Character Creation screen than in the actual game, so I had to remake my character numerous of times before I was satisfied with how she looked in game.

(But to be fair, I am a real perfectionist when it comes to how my character looks, and I usually do spend more than enough time remaking my characters in any game).

Nuian Castle

Harihan City

 

I started of as a Ferre (a cat person) played until about level 11, got kind of bored with the looks of my character, started a Nuian (a human) and played it to level 9, before I got bored again and created a Hariharan (mini humans, more eastern influenced) and was more or less satisfied with that one and played it to the end of the beta.

My Huriharan girl Kazumi. Hard to believe that goes as a plate armor, hm?

 

I am just going to talk a little bit about the races and my take on them.

there are 4 races divided by two factions,

• Ferre
• Hariharan
• Elves
• Nuian

There were rumors about there being 8 races at launch,

• Warborn
• The Returned
• Fairies
• Dwarfs

But as we haven't seen or heared anything about them during the open beta it's fairly sure they will not make in to the game to Launch. Read more about the races here.

 

While personally, I find 4 races to be just a little weak, they all have their own story trough the story quest (their own mini cinematics here and there) and they all have their own starting areas, as their own mounts. The racial skills are not giving any of the races any serious benefits over the others, they are more practical, f.ex; Ferres can climb faster and Hariharan can harvest faster, etc. While the races aren't that unique (with an exception of the Ferres IMO) they still do look good and fit the game.

 

When it comes to classes ArcheAge really shines bright, there are a total of 10 different skill trees, and you'll be able to choose 3 of them. While the game does recomand trees for you, you'll be able to choose which ever playstyle you like.

Take my "class" for example, My first tree was melee dps, my second tree (I got at level 5) was a more assassin/rouge style tree. Last (at level 10) I choose the healing tree, which turned out to be one hell of a combination. You'll get a skillpoint every second or third level, and at level 5 and 10 you'll get 3 (I believe this to be correct, but don't quote me on this though). Same goes to your armour and weapon choice, you can use any type of armor and weapon to any of the skill strees.

 

Check out an English Skill Calculator here, originally created by a russian fansite, but  translated by  Termy on ArcheAge Source Website.

 

Okay sorry about that spin off, and back to the game.

 

Trough level 1 to 25 the game have been really on rails, or a Quest Hub or whatever you'd like to call it. Small Zones, (no loading between them though), go from one quest giver 'til another until you've finished the zone and then on to the next one to do the same. I've been told by guildmates that the game is pretty much this until cap level, but I don't have any experience after level 25 so I can't really state that as a fact. You can however go around harvesting and earn XP through that, but it's really slow that way.

 

The Battle system is not one of ArcheAge strongest points, while I don't really mind the basic TAB 1+2+3 battle system, it can get boring, especially with the enormous amount of kill x amount of this and that quests. While you have access to a wide viariety of skills, it's still TAB based combat. And as ArcheAge doesnt have any evade system like Guild Wars 2, it's pretty much a button masher. But you can move around while attacking. the Character does not stop to swing his or her sword or to shoot an arrow. You only have to stand still to cast spells that requires a casting bar to fill up.

 

Gathering in ArcheAge is as gathering should be, you can gather special plants, cut down trees (not every tree though) and mine rocks for ores, Crafting on the other hand I didn't reallt get into. But some guildmates told me it wasn't anything spesial, and quite simple.

 

Mounts and traveling is something ArcheAge has done right in my opinion, while there's not a wide selection of different mounts,

(the racial mounts, horses and Yata's)

(My Character and her Yata)

 

there are plenty of other ways to get from point A to point B. There are wagons driven by an npc you can jump on aboard, there are the kite wing-thingies which can carry you from high places (a really fun way of traveling if you ask me, think a little more complex system of the Aion gliding), and then we got boats. Boats are a big thing in ArcheAge, there are boats from the little rowing boat you get for free from a quest, to really huge ships.

Trying out one of the bigger ships, I've heard you need to actually have lots of players maneuvering it.

 

Biggest boat I've seen so far in ArcheAge, not sure if it's even for sale, but it's got a music player and two jacuzzi's on top ;P

 

Every now and then you'll run into a portal in ArcheAge, and if you go through it you'll end up at the shopping market where you can buy everything sandbox related in ArcheAge. From houses, to castle walls, to siege weapons and boats. You'll buy this with a special currency. The horses and boats you'll get to buy with coins you'll get through the story quest, and the houses and siege weapons and such was bought with a currency I haven't gotten to yet, but it was overwhelming, looking at the houses and boats. It was at this point, when I got to this place, I knew that ArcheAge had so much more to offer than I originally thought.

 

As of PVP I've allready mentioned I haven't really gotten around to it yet, the closest thing I've encountered was when I started playing on my Nuian and was level 3 I believe, I suddenly met a level 40 Ferre. I didnt know if he could attack me or not, this being the starter area, but I wasn't about to find out so long story short, I ran around the place for 15 minutes, going from one speed buff station to another, with him riding after me yelling in korean. He gave up eventually... :P I've also done a few duels, but with the delay, I got raped hard....

 

Anyways, I feel like this "review" is getting all too long allready, and I'm sure those of you whom actually have read the whole thing can agree, so I'll just end it with the experience I had today, an hour before the open beta ended.

 

I ran around doing some quests when suddenly someone in the guild chat asked if any of us were crazy enough to go along and face the Kraken before the beta enden. Brave as I am, I accepted the challenge and met with one of the other guys who decided to tag along. His name was in korean so I called him Captain as he was the boats owner.

For almost an hour we sailed away to the middle of the map, passed cities and shores, and I tell you, it felt like only minutes. This is one of the feelings I haven't had in an MMO in more than 7 years, The feeling of excitement and exploration, watching the beautiful graphics as the sun goes down over the horizon, meeting the guildmates on their boats and, together, sail to what was (for me) unknown. I had a blast, and I can't explain how rare this is for me, having a good time exploring an MMO.

Here are some screenshots of our adventure:

 

  

 

  

Sailing past a City                                                                       Meeting up with the other Guildmates

  

Sun going down :)                        Getting Close to the middle of the map       Kraken 0.o

  

 

 

1 hit D:                                       Dead End.

 

 

It's been quite the ride, and it's sad to see the Open Beta end.. But if I don't get to play anymore (due to not being my account), I'll just have to wait for the western release like so many others :)

 

Last words about ArcheAge.

While I dont think this is the revolutionary title some want it to be, it's still a very good game. it might be a little casual (guildmate's words, not mine), but it does bring back the satisfaction of exploring, I haven't seen in a MMO for a long long time.

I think a lot of people are going to fall in love with this game if they give it a chance, and if it's not for them, so be it.

I am looking forward to playing with all of you who are just as excited about the western release as I am.

 

Thanks for taking your time reading this, I'm sorry it's so long, and I am sorry if you feel it was time wasted. I apologize in advance for any typoes and for my not-so-exceptional English, but I tried to make it as readable as possible.

 

If you have any questions about ArcheAge, I'll do my best to try to answer them. Again, thanks for your time.

 

 

 

Really appreciate the review.  I like the fact that it was long and got into the details.  It gave me a good (better) idea of how to set expectations for this game.   I agree with both of your pros and cons.   Seems like I will love the world, and the combat as Im a fan of tab target.  The added nuance of movement and large skill tree is all that I need.  Few questions though.  When killing trash mobs does it happen fast or does the battle draw out?  As long as they die fast I wont mind the grind.  In terms of skills is it like EQ2 where I will have 3 rows of skills?  Or will I have a limited number I'll have to swap?  I prefer the latter.   Agree with classes I dont think any of the ones you mentioned stand out to me and would prefer more options can work with what I have.  The main draw for me is the exploration.  To me that is what an MMO is (supposed to be) all about.  Give me that wonder.

Like others I secretly compare this to GW2 which I thought was an excellent attempt but just didnt do it for me.  I like progression and didnt like the (strafing) action combat.  But loved the art style and the world though felt it was a bit cramped.

Add in the sandbox features which seem take awhile before you can really dig in and I think this game will be for me.  I will at least be there day 1, pre-purchase, whatever they offer to play early.  Its not perfect and there will be SOMETHING someone will complain about but I will probably be able to overlook as I see the benefits outweighing the problems.

I dont like the open world PVP but does add a level of excitement I haven't had in an MMO in years.  I just hope there isnt an obnoxious amout of gankers just waiting to kill newbies.  Also hope the jail system I have read about provides a nice balance.

Cant wait to get my hands on this.

Originally posted by Lobotomist

Originally posted by BadSpock

Originally posted by Zierrity

Also, keep in mind that this is only an low level experience, and the true joy of ArcheAge starts at level 40, (or so I've been told), and that level 1 - 40 is basicly a long tutorial for you to learn the game and to prepare you for what to come at the end game.

And when will devs learn that the "average" MMO player in 2013 is not playing their first MMORPG?

We don't NEED or want 40 levels of tutorial.

I don't even want 5.

If a game doesn't capture my interest in the first couple of hours, chances are it won't be any better at the mythical magical "end game."

If AA truly does have 40 or so levels of mostly solo quest hub grinding as you and others have attested to - it will fail horribly in the west.

Why waste all that time and effort developing such useless content for a game?

Agree

All in all i am terribly dissapointed. Another hope for sandbox MMO smashed.

Its basically themepark + "i dont know what to do , so i just go around craft&farm" endgame

I say this all the time.  Not everyone is going to enjoy every MMO.  I'm not going to debate your points because they are honestly conjecture based on what you read and not from actual experience.

But the bottom line is if you try the game and dont like it - dont play it.   I dont like GW2.  I dont play it.  But I dont call it a wasted effort because there are gamers who do enjoy it.

I would recommend evaluating a game based on all of its features rather than just one (that is in the beginning).  But being on this forum for awhile now I already know I'm asking for too much.

Questhub driven progession

I will be bored to tears before I get to max level to be able to experience the "sandpark" features.

Originally posted by BadSpock

Why oh why do all the "sandbox" activities have to be reserved for end-game?

This saddens me. Will have to wait and see for myself in a hopefully English open beta at some point, but man...

How hard is it for these devs to understand that most people are tired of grinding boring stuff to get to the good stuff?

Themebox / Sandpark is a valid idea - but it's not "themepark leveling than sandbox end game" that we want - it's a fusion from the very start with NO FINISH.

 

First, ty OP. This is the type of info I was looking for. The ability system looks interesting for a max level character.

Spock, I couldn't agree with you more. This paragraph bothers me, alomst to the point of intrest lost.

"Trough level 1 to 25 the game have been really on rails, or a Quest Hub or whatever you'd like to call it. Small Zones, (no loading between them though), go from one quest giver 'til another until you've finished the zone and then on to the next one to do the same. I've been told by guildmates that the game is pretty much this until cap level, but I don't have any experience after level 25 so I can't really state that as a fact. You can however go around harvesting and earn XP through that, but it's really slow that way."

That sounds like the same ole same grind to level cap. WTF are there levels for?! I'm starting to feel like levels are nothing more than a way to mask a bad design, and a way to extend game play due to a lack of meaningful content. Get rid of the levels and let people advance skills. I just don't think I can stand another grind to level cap, in any mmorpg.

The thing that bothered me the most is XP from quest and harvesting only?! I hope that's not true. Coming from Age of Wushu, where I can do whatever I want and still progress my toon (I haven't did a quest since the first 2 hours of the game) the thought of grinding quest after quest is unthinkable. 

Great post Zierrity. I really liked how you approached your review and what you covered. I hope you do more reviews.

I was not surprised by your review. I knew an eastern developer wouldn't be making a revolutionary sandbox game. Which isn't a bad thing. The hype and misinformation was making it difficult to understand what AA really is or isn't. Your review cleared that up for me. I was on the fence about playing the game. After reading your review, I have decided to play. 

Originally posted by darkhalf357x

Really appreciate the review.  I like the fact that it was long and got into the details.  It gave me a good (better) idea of how to set expectations for this game.   I agree with both of your pros and cons.   Seems like I will love the world, and the combat as Im a fan of tab target.  The added nuance of movement and large skill tree is all that I need.  Few questions though.  When killing trash mobs does it happen fast or does the battle draw out?  As long as they die fast I wont mind the grind.  In terms of skills is it like EQ2 where I will have 3 rows of skills?  Or will I have a limited number I'll have to swap?  I prefer the latter.   Agree with classes I dont think any of the ones you mentioned stand out to me and would prefer more options can work with what I have.  The main draw for me is the exploration.  To me that is what an MMO is (supposed to be) all about.  Give me that wonder.

Like others I secretly compare this to GW2 which I thought was an excellent attempt but just didnt do it for me.  I like progression and didnt like the (strafing) action combat.  But loved the art style and the world though felt it was a bit cramped.

Add in the sandbox features which seem take awhile before you can really dig in and I think this game will be for me.  I will at least be there day 1, pre-purchase, whatever they offer to play early.  Its not perfect and there will be SOMETHING someone will complain about but I will probably be able to overlook as I see the benefits outweighing the problems.

I dont like the open world PVP but does add a level of excitement I haven't had in an MMO in years.  I just hope there isnt an obnoxious amout of gankers just waiting to kill newbies.  Also hope the jail system I have read about provides a nice balance.

Cant wait to get my hands on this.

I am glad you liked the review and I will try to answer your questions as good as I can :)

First of the trash mobs, Killing trash mobs are pretty fast, at least it was for my build, which is excellent for one on one, more than one at the time, not so much. There are a couple of "bosses" or harder mobs to kill, which takes a little longer, but not too long in my opinion.

When it comes to skills and skillbars you can have up to five skillbars at one time (two of them are a little shorter than the main three), and you can pretty much have how many skills out at once as you prefer, so no need for swapping skills I'm afraid. It's more like EQ2 (or WoW if you prefer) and less like Guild Wars 2 or Secret World, where you only have so many skills out at one time.

When it comes to skill trees, they're not really that unique by themself, but more unique as that you create classes by combining 3 of the 10 skill trees. To get a better idea of the skill tree system, check out the English Skill Calculator I linked in the review or simply click  here (While it's not 100% accurate, it pretty much shows you what the different skill trees are).

If you're not a fan of the open world PVP you probably won't be a big fan of the end game, as it's pretty much focused around PVP, while there are plenty of other stuff to do, the Zerg Groups might ruin the fun for you. (or so I've been told, don't quote me on this though.)

And Thank you bcbully, Jalitan and chilltime99 for your kind words :) I am really glad you found my review worth you time :)

Originally posted by Tayah

Originally posted by Zierrity

The zones takes about 7 - 15 minutes to ride through, then again, no loadings between the zones, only change of maps.

And I am glad you liked it :)

Good, glad there are no loading screens between zones. Question, was there a dye system for your clothing?

No, I don't think there were any dye system in the Beta at least, but there might be now as the game have officially launched, but I have to get back to you on that one.

So basically its a WoW clone? 

LOL and so many people here claim that certain other soon to be released MMO's are clones of WoW and yet AA shares WoW's Combat and Questing system, arguably the 2 biggest systems in an MMO and its not a clone.  Yea right.

Originally posted by azzamasin

So basically its a WoW clone? 

Lineage2 clone with some Ultima Online elements, not much to do with WoW, questhubs and tab-combat was present before WoW, you know...

Originally posted by LlexX

Originally posted by azzamasin

So basically its a WoW clone? 

Lineage2 clone with some Ultima Online elements, not much to do with WoW, questhubs and tab-combat was present before WoW, you know...

I think alot of newer players dont know that before WoW there were MMOs.

Good write up. Cant wait till it hits NA. IM looking forward to this one.

For dissappointed people - read

http://archeagesource.com/topic/1275-after-playing-archeage-what-are-your-thoughts/

it has opinions from the people who actually played beta. Every one of them has their share of positives and negatives to say, but pretty much ALL will play ArcheAge on release, some won't even wait for English version, but will play Korean version with some translated stuff.