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Tabula Rasa - Review Part One: Levels 1 - 25
MMORPG.com Community Manager Laura Genender has been playing Tabula Rasa since its launch a month ago. Wanting to be fair to the game, we have decided to break this review into two parts, this one, describing Laura's early experiences in the game as she leveled from 1-25, the next is an account of her late and end game experience, where she will officially score the game.
Overall Impressions
It’s hard to put a flat rating on the overall value of Tabula Rasa. As a casual player, this game will hold a lot of fun missions and gameplay for you; it’s both challenging and accessible, with easy to form groups and easy to solo content.
For the hardcore gamer crowd, though, this game is going to give a rather lackluster experience. There’s no much to do in the high-end, and the closer you get to max level the less polish there is on the gameplay. Don’t give up hope yet – the control point system holds a ton of possibility if they ever add clan-controlled control points, and we never know what will be added in the upcoming updates.
Gameplay
Since my First Look article, the game has lived up to my standards of “fun” though the polish is slowly peeling away as I march through the levels. Levels 1 through 15 were smooth and enjoyable, with one minor bug in a small, unimportant mission. My entire time spent on Concordia Wilderness (the starting map) was a blast.
Things changed, though once I left Wilderness and entered Concordia Divide/Palisades. It almost feels like they rushed the game out after polishing the first map, with intentions of catching up after launch. There were/are issues with control points not triggering correctly, missions with broken steps, and bosses not spawning. A lot of the issues – especially those on Divide – were fixed with the last patch, and I’m sure the Palisades bugs will be next. The good news is, the bugs are getting fixed quickly and developers are listening to what bugs are high priority to the players. The customer service team is also on top of things, and will fix missed flags/bugged missions for you if you petition. If you’re a casual player you should be fine to start Tabula Rasa today; if you’re a hardcore leveler, expect to outpace the fixes and content quickly.
Other than the bugginess, the majority of gameplay is engaging and exciting. Control Points, especially, are absolutely fantastic. It’s hard not to feel invested and immersed when you see that red flag glaring at you off your map, and you know those damned Bane just took over River-base Krimm. Even if you don’t need the attack tokens, it’s hard to resist haring off to retake the Bane base.
;)
Defense is just as fun; the Bane come in three waves of increasing strength, starting with a couple of drop ships and ending with a massive influx of attackers. Base defense is a bit unbalanced now, favoring shotgun hit-and-run techniques, but once the shields are down everything’s fair play. In general it takes 4 to 5 skilled players of even-con to successfully attack or defend a base, but I’ve enjoyed Control Point gameplay whether flying solo or with a large group.
Instances so far have been a bit less exciting – while they’re a great change in pace from “kill 10 of this, bring me 5 of that” they’re fairly uneventful. Most MMOs have used instances as a tool for storytelling, where players can have a persistent and eventful effect on the world since – well – they’re the only ones who see it. In TR, instances feel severely underutilized. I’ve yet to do anything groundbreaking or important, and the largest “effect” I’ve had in an instance is that it doesn’t respawn or something new spawns.
I’ve also had instances that are just obviously badly designed. I spent over an hour this past weekend in the Treeback Camp instance in Palisades before I quit out in disgust.
The first mission in this instance worked fine for me – I had to go in and shut down some machinery. To do this, I had to clear my way past a bunch of nasty Bane, including a daunting boss and his Technician minions. Once I finished this I ran back to the AFS camp and received my next mission – to kill the Bane boss I’d already killed. Who didn’t respawn. And even though I’d killed him, I didn’t get any credit. To finish this instance, I needed to restart – and instead of doing that, I just left to play something else.
The best instance I’ve run (so far) was Eloh Vale on Concordia Palisades. I won’t give any spoilers but if you’re a TR player, make sure you run it and relish it. It’s the best instance in the first three maps.
Enough about missions and maps – let’s talk characters. All players start as recruits, then at level 5 choose between the Soldier or Specialist line. At 15, you get another class choice: Soldiers can become the heavy weapon/armor wielding Commando or the fast and stealthy Ranger; Specialists choose between the Sapper specializing in robotics and shields, or the Biotechnician specializing in biologicals. Players receive another class transfer at level 30, further specializing their skills and abilities.
While I’ve grouped some with the other classes, my specialty is with my own class: the Sapper. There are certainly some balance issues – the Hack skill isn’t working correctly, the Rangers are dominating Control Points with Carpet Bombing, etc – but overall I think the classes have enormous potential for fun and engaging gameplay. I love having my healing and repair tools, and being able to hack robotics, but I also wish I could use chainguns and graviton armor. Every single class has something I envy and something I wouldn’t want to give up.
And in Tabula Rasa, it’s easy to play them all. At levels 4, 14 and 29, and as rewards for certain missions, players are able to “clone” their character. The clone has the same amount of EXP, the same flags, and the same class, but all of their skill points are unspent and you can redo their appearance/first name. If I wanted to go back and try a Biotechnician, I wouldn’t have to reroll from level 1- I just load up my level 14 clone and select the other class. With the clone system, you can experience different playstyles without completely repeating the game.
Mixing class-specific skills and abilities with the standard firearms that all players use from Recruit onward, TR combat is nothing short of fun and engaging. It’s the fast pace of a shooter – with a lot of action and motion going on at all times – but without the need for twitchy reflexes or perfect aim. Battlefields feel realistic and dynamic, with separate NPC factions all pursuing their own goals. AFS patrols will attack Bane and other hostiles; Bane will go after Xanx; Treelurkers will go after Boargar. There’s always something going on, and some way you can interact with and effect it, whether it’s helping the AFS with heals or added DPS, killing the Xanx then turning on the Bane (the enemy of my enemy is not my friend!), or however you choose.
For anyone who’s wondering – crafting is still a snooze. See the First Look for a complete description of the entire system in about one paragraph.
Performance
My Tabula Rasa experience has been technologically near-flawless. In my month+ of playing, I have had one crash – no weird lag, connection issues, or server issues. Going off of personal experience, I’d have to give this a 10/10.
That being said, I’ve seen plenty of complaints on our forums and other areas, and I’ve had several friends discuss zone-specific lag or inexplicable connection issues. I’m not sure why I’ve had such a different experience from other players – or if the issues I’ve heard about are just vocal minority.
Graphics, Art and Sound
At first, I disliked the Tabula Rasa art style. Set in a post-apocalyptic alien world, it’s more about being functional than being pretty – and it’s often about being half wrecked and covered with Bane infestation. Character creation feels very limited, especially for the females. There are no long hair or feminine outfit choices, and a lot of the pieces are a punky sort of ugly.
But after cranking up the graphics (which are rather clean), the world has started to grow on me. The integration of native landscape with destroyed wreckage actually creates an attachment to the world, and I’m angry at the Bane for ruining the obvious beauty and peace that once was. Around settlements and Logos points you can still find curling vegetation and exotic flowers. Out on the battlefield, it’s nothing but dust and shrapnel.
The music is upbeat and one of the few game tracks I didn’t turn off in the first 30 minutes of gameplay. The deviation from average_classical_fantasy_score_001 is refreshing, but that’s to be expected in the post-apocalyptic setting. It’s neither intrusive or genius, and does a good job of fading in and out of the game world.
Community
;)
While I left the music on, General chat was quickly turned off. The single, small box was nonstop ticker-tape of WoW comments, deviating so far as to say “WoW rocks” or “WoW sucks” at least three times in any ten minute timespan. The few people I grouped with seemed cool, quiet, and competent so the General spam can likely be attributed to a very vocal minority. Another added benefit of the mostly soloable content is that you mostly avoid the community if that’s what you want.
Contributing to the community deficit is, assuredly, the clunky UI. It is impossible to shoot your gun, guide your character, or do much of anything in-game while you’re in chat mode. In a world where combat never ends, not even in outposts, there’s just no time or reason to endanger your life with text. Integrated voice chat makes grouping a little easier, but the game’s really screaming for an FPSish hotkey system, with simple keybinds like “Come here!” or “I need shield repair!”
Ethical Parables
The following paragraphs were originally included in the “gameplay” section, but I figured some of you readers might not find this as interesting as I did. Suffice it to say that, if you’re not into roleplaying and storyline, this section is probably safe to skip.
Both inside and outside of instances, players will run into missions that the developers refer to as “ethic parables.” While I haven’t met many TR roleplayers, this has been great for me and the personal development of my character; I’ve mostly chosen a sort of Chaotic-Good personality, where I do the right thing whether or not it pleases the AFS.
These choices normally don’t have much of an actual effect; there are a few differences in reward choices, which missions you get offered after the “ethic parable” mission, etc. What is noteworthy is that these missions actually stand out, and are memorable events for me.
The early drug runner mission has been used as a Tabula Rasa “ethical parable” example plenty of times, so let me give a different one! On the Palisades map, my mission. An Unexpected Test, sent me out to find a squad of lost Foreans in the Deadwoods. I found the squad close to the mission giver, but there was still one squad member missing – a young Forean named Sohrani. They told me that Sohrani had run off toward the caves, and asked me to go find him.
Sure enough, I found Sohrani in the indicated caves. I talked to him and he gave me his Honor Band, explaining that he had run away in fear and was too ashamed to return. He asked me to tell his family that he had died, so that he would not have to return in shame.
I returned to the Foreans, who of course asked me where Sohrani was. I could either tell them the truth, or give them his Honor Band as he requested and let them think him honorably dead. I thought Sohrani was pretty cowardly, though, so I told him where he was holed up, thinking they’d go fetch him.
Instead, they basically blacklisted the poor guy, saying that he brought shame and dishonor down on his entire family. While this little soap opera has little bearing on gameplay, it’s something I remember and have a personal investment in. I actually feel pretty bad for ratting Sohrani out, with the way the Foreans overreacted.
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Thanks for a well-written and informative review.
I am particularly glad to hear the game is relatively soloable. If there is anything I really dislike in MMORPGS it is "grouping choke points" -- places in a mission, storyline, or quest line that absolutely require grouping.
Don't get me wrong; I enjoy grouping occasionally. I just hate being "stuck" and unable to get from Point A to Point B because a group can't be found. Does TR have a good mechanism for finding groups when you need them?
I will be interested in the followup article to see whether the solo-friendly aspect of the game persists at the higher levels.
There is a LFG tab, but you can only have one tab open at a time. The result is that its pretty much a dead tab.
As far as solo aspects, this is a solo game with the ability to group. I have gotten a few characters into the 30s and have zero problems soloing. I have also talked with a few that have hit 50 without having to solo...actually, I dont know of anyone who had to group to get to 50.
Thanks for the props! ;)
The game is basically completely soloable; I have grouped maybe twice in my entire career. Group finding (so far) has been very easy; you just find someone running around the same area as you and they're likely on the same quest/quests! The LFG tab helps, too.
Well written review, thanks for sharing the in depth info, still not my type of game, but glad to hear its fun for many folks
Yeah I've only grouped twice, once for an instance and once for a open-world mission.
I hate the group interface and dynamics.
It's a crap shoot, pretty much.
Very little coordination and strategy, just kill kill kill and move on.
If you are lucky enough to have a specialist who will actually heal, you don't even notice. There is absolutely no down time, just run and gun through and through.
Maybe it's just my inexperience with grouping in TR, or that I am SO used to grouping in WoW, where you have defined roles, must have organization, and where communication is key.
In TR instances, it seems one person knows "where to go" and everyone else just silently follows, killing and killing and killing.
Again, maybe it's just my personal experience... but after a few group runs I just leveled a bit and ran the rest of the Wilderness instances solo.
Besides that, thanks for the great review Taera, pretty spot on. I'm nearly 100% in agreement with you.
My only real problem, and hence why I play so much Mass Effect instead... is that I don't feel like I'm really "working towards" anything in TR. I'm gaining levels to get more points to get more skills... so I can gain more levels to get more points to get more skills.. so I can gain levels and choose my next class. I just feel like I'm just grinding levels just to get more levels. I don't "feel" as if I'm working towards anything.
I dunno how much sense that makes, but that's the only way I can describe it. Ya know?
There is SOME strategy in how you fight different Bane - what resists you use, how far you need to be, etc. For example, I shotgun hop with a Kael, and snipe off the Lightbenders. The fact is, though, that most creature types are the same after the first 15-20 levels. You learn all the strats and there's no adaption later on.
Heerobya, I'm not sure how far you got through TR but Eloh Vale created that first sense of "moving toward something" for me. If your subscription is still active, check it out; it's wonderful.
Fair review, Taera. I spent a few weeks on this one in beta, and for the most part these are the same things I experienced. But, the one thing that turned me away from Tabula Rasa is the same reason why I don't bother subscribing to Hellgate London. There really is no need to interact with the community. Maybe that's just how I am, but player interaction is one of the most important things to me in an MMO.
I am curious to see why no mention on the MIRES zone was talked of. In the performance department hehe.That being probably the biggest problem in-game to me and many atm.
I think to give this game a fair chance you have to look at it from a 30+ perspective. Lets face it, levels 1-30 are just a learning curve. Granted, levels 30+ at the moment has no value besides if you take a strong interest into a PvP flagged clan.
30 is a big level in the game, it is when you unlock the skills you've been working hard to get. Hopefully more good things come into your gameplay 30+. But if you do not like PvP i predict a sour review to come :(
There is just nothing more to do....at all. WTB content.
Hard to resist, indeed.
This is only the first part of the review... levels 1-25.
Until the first Operation that is scheduled for January there really isnt much 30+ content. That is in fact why I stopped playing my level 30 Guardian and started playing some of my clones that are still in the teens which is nice. That way I can wait for the content to catch up and have a chance to play other classes and see how fun they are.
While I heard about the Mires lag, I haven't been there yet (and I hear they fixed it), thus why it wasn't included in my 1-25 review. I'll be looking at 25-50 content, next :) And yes, I am massively looking forward to 30 skills!
Dangit Taera, I was gonna write my own two reviews 1-25 and 26-50 in my blog but you pretty much said everything I was going to say!
Although, I wouldn't let the TR community off the hook as easily as you did though. General chat is awful... much worse than Barrens chat, even. Seriously.
Anyway, nice review, you summed it up nicely and I feel pretty much the same way.
Nice to see a fair review, thanks Taera! So, nothing really changed from beta... I'm with you in hope that one day some content will be added.
what server was the reviewer playing on.
On the Eu server the chat is usually pretty mature and fun and friendly all night the ocasional pvp rants carry onto it but for the mostpart its a nice healthy community
Hi all,
I haven't played this game, but my years of experience in the industry has taught me this...
Community is everything. If TR has a lack-luster community the way the reviewer is saying, TR will just end up dying after the newness has worn off. The reason I say this is because TR is a niche game, kind of like Auto Assault was. It has potential to keep a good crowd from what I've read about its mechanics, but a low population and/or bad community will just doom this game. If I was one of you good TR community members, I would take control of your game now and drive away those bad apples while you still have a chance. I'm still playing and trying to beat Guild Wars right now, but when I am through, I am hoping TR will have a Free Trial for me to play in order to decide for myself. However, I won't bother if I keep hearing about a lack-luster community. Bad communities has a way of driving off potential players.
Anyways, have fun TR players. Good review by the way. Really gave me a feal for the game.
It is my pleasure to give credit where it's due, Ms. Genender: this is a thoughtful, well-written, and even-handed review. Thank you SO much for writing something helpful about a rather controversial game!
I do have a question for you TR players, though.
You refer to "instances." Are these mission/quest areas that are designed for groups or for individuals? Or can both individuals (solo) and groups complete them because they are somehow scaled to party size?
In WoW, of course, you really *must* find a group for the dungeons/instances, so I am curious as to how TR handles this issue. Frankly, I like the Guild Wars feature of offering players a choice: (i) solo the instance by taking along henchmen, (ii) go in a group of players, or (iii) go in a mixed group of both players and henchmen.
Are instances in TR designed specifically for group play (like in WoW)? If so, that'd be a real turnoff for me, as it sounds like some of the instances are pretty fun. I would also like to know if these instances/missions are reasonable in terms of being time-consuming -- WoW's dungeons, assuming you could even find a group, always struck me as being just too long.
I note that TR is now being offered at 50% off at Amazon so, pending your answers, I may just give this puppy a try. :-)
In terms of instances, it's the one thing I disagree with the review writer about. I've found the lower level instances to be quite fun and manageable in say 30 minutes to an hour. I also like the multiple objectives - not to give too much away, but in the Crater Lake instance you have to establish a comlink to receive additional orders to blow a shield generator, which in turn allows you to break into the facility and rescue the hostage scientists. Very well done, although I can't speak for higher level content.
Oh and instances are completely soloable, although you'll want to be slightly higher level if that's your plan. Some classes do get "henchmen" of a sort - the ranger can call in support soldiers, the engineer can create bots, and exobiologists can rez dead Bane to fight for them.
Well, from what I've heard, they're *supposed* to be group content - I'm a very stubborn soloer though and I've been finding ways to solo through em. My general tactic once I arrive at a new public map is to do all the non-instanced missions, then head into the instances; that puts me slightly above con for the area and I can clear through with relative ease. :)
Originally posted by Taera
"I'm a very stubborn soloer though and I've been finding ways to solo through em."
Haha. A kindred spirit!
Thanks for the answer. :)
If you like large fire-fights take a group through the instances. Spawn sizes are increased.
I completed tree-back camp recently. This was always one of my favourite instances. Annoying to see they have changed the mission rewards - you used to be able to get almost a full set of lvl 20 armor with some nice stat bonuses from the treeback camp instance.
Personally I like the U.I - I tend to keep general chat on (Orion server) and keep an eyeball on it so I can answer the occasional player question.
I am playing with two work colleagues and its a blast. We use Skype for always on voice chat rather than the in-game voice.
Bases defenses are fun and can be intense. Fort dew at palisades is cool, if the base falls you can fallback into the tower, get upto the 2nd level and snipe. If you have someone else with you, you can provide cover fire as they sneak out to retake the control point from inside the base.
Also Hydro base is fun for assault, you can fall back to the hydro generator area if you are defending the base and its being over run. For assault you can get up on the hills overlooking the base and snipe the bane with a rifle. If you have a ranger you can carpet bomb into the base.
If you are assaulting a base - shooting the forcefield will piss-off the bane and they will send a bunch out to attack you. Take these out, then shoot the forcefield again to get another bunch to play with.
Tactics wise - I shoot linkers first (I hate these critters), then caretakers, then technicians. Caretakers and technicians will ressurect dead bane/droids.
At higher levels - palisades and up - shield drones reflect most attacks (except EMP). Always fun to watch someone kill themselves attacking a drone.
So far, the only instance I haven't been able to solo was the Raging Patriarch one... which just bites as it is all that is preventing me to completely finishing out Palisades.
Good review, though. I thought it mostly mirrored my impressions of it (I'm currently a level 29 Ranger).
As to those who have said there's not much strategy, that's not entirely true. As you get into Plains and Incline (where I am now), Bane are usually found in groups... really squads. Often, they have droids floating around with them that generate energy fields that not only protect the squad from most forms of damage, but *reflect* the damage back at you. If you try to take them out, a technician will restore/revive them. If you try to take the technician out, a healer will come and rez him. So, you need to know who does what amongst the Bane, prioritize your targets, and use the right sort of firepower against the right sort of Bane.
Really, there is a good deal of tactical aspects involved. Not only what I mentioned above, but also using terrain, your weapon loadout (you can have only 5 weapons on your hotbar at one time), and special attacks (like using EMP bombs on Predators). What you see at the early levels does change as you advance. How things work past level 30, I don't know, but I suspect (hope) that the game will continue to grow more difficult.
Lastly, yeah... bugged missions. Very annoying. I've come across a few of them (I'm a quest-completing fiend), and there are still some bugs that need to be fixed. Still, I don't mind spending my money on it and so don't regard the game as in some sort of "advanced beta" but as a released product that still needs some fixing. YMMV.
The community comment is one of the thing i dont agree on in Laura's review. Perhaps she is used to community in "My pony online" ? However TR community is simply NORMAL. It is in no way horrible like GW one , or anti CHAT like LOTRO's "stop spamming boys"
If i would have to define it - it is closest to Anarchy Online community
Not much RP , ocasional witty comments ( can skip the WOW comments in new MMOs ... that is the fact )
Some politics , jokes about duch and lot of weed ... etc
And by the way
I am talking EU server
That's a darn good write up of TR, right down to the comment about general chat. The general chat actually gave me a real, honest-to-goodness headache and will almost certainly be the reason why some new players leave this game.
That aside, I've found the game to be an over all enjoyable experience. Considering that I'm in finals week at my university I also have next to no time to play, so the ability to pick up a 30 minute to one hour play session and actually do something has been very appealing.
In short, the only area that my opinion differs is with the comment about the Divide. Due to the aforementioned community I found the starting map to be a nightmare. Pretty much no one worked together for anything, and would many times actively work against me (attempting to out damage a mob, especially quest mobs, while flat out ignoring polite requests to team up so that everyone gets credit).
Once I moved into the Divide, though, I began running into players with higher level characters who work with you as a team even when you're not grouped. I've now experienced other players covering me (while not directly attacking what I'm attacking) if they see too many bane around me, and that's just cool. I also experienced that the other day when I got into a tangle with too many Xanx.
I also find it interesting that critters attack one another on the map, though I actually allow them to take each other out. Like those annoying flying bugs that shoot some sort of energy attack at you. I hate those things, but they'll thin the size of the bane squads for you and then you can pick off the weak.
It's also pretty wicked to see a Xanx run over and begin feasting on the corpse of a freshly killed Xanx.
Anyway, speaking of finals I gotta get going, but that's one article that I agree with almost word for word.
Laters.
I enjoy this game and for the most part agree with the comments in this article. The biggest disagreement I have is regarding customer service. IMHO it sucks. The article mentions that GM's will help with in-game petitions that are bugged etc. The four times I have petitioned a GM, I have never even been acknowledged. Not even a response. Even a hey, go screw yourself would have been welcomed just so I would know there was some one on the other end. The first four times I petitioned I was very pleasant, however, I have to admit that after the fourth time and no response, I started getting frustrated and sent another asking them if they outsource GM support from SOE, but then I thought CS from SOE was never this bad. I doubt I will ever get a response now that I was rude one time. I figure it is like being pulled over by a cop for speeding, if you're rude, you are more likely to receive a ticket. In this instance I have probably been blacklisted by CS and will now never receive help.
Also in reponse to the article concerning bugged intances. The rakasha droid factory disconnects me from the server nearly every time I have tried to complete it. The first time I was on my way back to the mission giver at the beginning of the instance to turn in his two missions when it crashed! When I logged back in it failed my missions, and while I could restart them, all the objectives were dead or destroyed so I had to leave the instance. The only other one I have had problems is treeback as the article mentioned. There are also plenty of bugged missions the further you progress as the article mentions.
Overall I enjoy this game, but the lack of CS and bugged missions is frustrating. Although I do enjoy just exploring and finding a nice hill top overlookign control points I can snipe from. It is a nice game for the casual player, but I am starting to wonder if it is worth 15 bucks a month. I am sure they will add more stuff as time goes on, and I am not even close to finishing all the missons in game yet.
Nice read, but i have to disagree on the comunity
The Eu server got a nice Community with some jokes here and there.
I enjoy reading the chat while doing my missions, and throw a note here and there or help newcomers.
To be real the General chat makes a good part of the amusement.
We will see if the game can keep me, im easily scared off when games get changed to much and to offen.
Nice review Taera, I think you were pretty much spot on with the good and bad points of the game that you mentioned.
The instances are fun but as you said some of them could do a better job of filling you in on the lore of the game and personally I find the bosses are pretty weak and I sometimes find that we've killed a boss in a crowd of bane and not even realised he was there. They also don't seem to drop any higher grade loot than the standard which is disappointing, as it's always nice to get a new shiny something for taking down a boss.
I would definately recommend you go back and go through Treeback Camp again with a full group(even though you say your a stubborn soloist) as it's my favourite instance action wise. I did it with 5 others in a group and had a blast carpet bombing the enormous waves of bane that came at us in the battlefield in the centre of the map. The final battle against an army of bane backed up by lots of caretakers was great fun too. Eloh Vale was my favourite from a storytelling point of view though.
I have to agree to this post regarding the community. I have played TR since the last beta, the preorder and now i have bought it. Most of the game mechanics has changed and it's more playable then it was during the beta. The problems with the network lag has gone and i have a ping of 30-45 on the European server and it's great since i live in South-Eastern Europe.
I haven't seen much anoying comments in the chat on the European server. People there are mostly friendly and mature. It seems not every server in TR has a community problem.
I played TR for a few months in beta. Then, about a week before launch, they nerfed every class and suddenly all the instances were unsoloable. Bam, that did it for me. I quit within a week and cancelled my plans to purchase it. Has this changed since launch? Can I solo ALL instances with any class? If yes, I'll rejoin in a heartbeat. If not, enjoy your yet-another-forced-grouping MMO.
I havent had any problems soloing any instance I havent found a group for as a ranger so far. (Level 28 atm) I can't say anything for the other classes and any time I've tried to solo the instances I've made sure I'm at the upper end of the level bracket for that instance.
Dunno what has changed that much you where unable to solo instance's? what lvl did you want to solo them? From my exp. it's soloeble at lvl 10...maybe 9 if you really into the game and know the game. Maybe even sooner but have no exp in lower then 9 so far. The game since launch has become challenging, the game in closed beta and nearing the first few weeks of open beta where far to easy and if the game would remain the way it was in beta i wouldn't have subbed to such a easy game, now....... the game isn't really hard ....but you do have to REALLY play it and seek the challenge within.
Running around on Palladines at lvl 6 in beta and killing most things i encountered there without being killed was for me something they really needed to change and thankfully it has changed in allot of good way's
Can't give you a full answer about if all classes are able to solo at lvl 10 for example as with my Sapper i returned to finish a few instances in Wilderness and was lvl 16, my soldier has done them all it at lvl 9/10, but also have done some of the wilderness instances grouped and duo as it's a different kind of fun when going in grouped or duo and sometimes escorting a group that is new is also fun regardless i have done the instance's already
Moving onto Divided i have not done a single instance yet, but as far i can tell every other quest in divided is done, the instance's in divided are something to look forward to this sunday...for me
I beta'd this and got the pre-order pack. Both of which I enjoyed but sadly the EU server was prone to lag due to overcrowding during the pre-order advanced play and release dates. I died due to lag more often than anything else during this time.
Is anyone playing the EU server (or servers perhaps if they added a second one)? Is it still laggy as hell or have they fixed it?
The two times I petitioned I got answered within 3-6 hours; as none of my bugs were gamebreaking, just flag etc. related, this was fine for me. I'm not sure why you got such a bad response; was your email entered correctly? They might be answering to the wrong email...check your play NC account.
Now, on community - judging a community in a game with multiple servers is a tough thing, and I had to go off of personal experience. From what I experienced, any question I asked was immediately "stfu noob"'d or given a sarcastic, snarky answer...that is, if anyone had time to read it between the WoW and guild recruitment flood. I'm not on the EU server and I'm happy to hear that you guys have a better community, there.
Other than the usual garbage you hear in general chat, I have had good experience with the community. Although more of a solo player, I have pleasant conversations with players I run into. I usually don't join clans because they seem to be more work than they are worth to me.
The questions I have asked over general chat have all been answered, and I have not gotten any stfu noob comments yet. I have only grouped once for an instance and I thought it was rediculous how much the mobs increase in number inside the instance. I woud prefer they scale the difficulty of the mobs rather than ramp up the number of mobs in instances in response to group size. In the instances that are narrow halways etc, it is just a stupid sea of bane and there is no strategy or tactics used just everyone spam shotgun and run through the instance as fast as you can.
Of course there is little validity with an N of 1, and the group I was in was likely crap, but that one time was enough to convince me that soloing the instances is more to my liking. I prefer sneaking around and picking off the bane one or a few at a time. Others may prefer the shotgun spam techique of the group, and of course it may be more fun with wider open instances like treeback etc where a sniper can snipe for instance. I guess in a group of fellow clan types there could be more coordination etc, especially if voice is used.
Dont know if i missed it but just incase no one mentioned it..
You say you can clone at 4,14 and 29.This is wrong. You get clone credits at 5,15,30. Technically its when the exp bars are full like 14.99999. You can clone at ANY time you want. Just hit logout and go to char select screen. Hit clone :P
What you really mean is its BEST to clone at those levels (Except 4 cause you can skip the whwole bootcamp start by talking to a npc and bypassing straight to 4.3). BEFORE you fill your exp bar at 14, clone. Then you and your clone can both get a little exp and get that tier advance message. When you get advance message chars get clone credit. So now both have a credit to clone at 29.99. When the exp bar hits the end of 14 and you get the advance message you are rewarded a clone credit.If you wait till now to clone then your clone wont have a clone credit to clone.
Anyway i digress , good review imho. I feel the games a little bland in places. Its all good blasting away at first ,shotgun here ,shotgun there but by the time youre 15th and in Divide its all annoying. Also theres no reward for levelling. Yes you can *pump* the skills you got at 5,15,30 but at those levels you can invest one point in each and therefor never get anything new really ,after that. OK sometimes things like crab mines will change their attack type after you invest another 5 points in them but meh its still crab mines.
In other mmos we get rewarded when we level. New stuff is what we play for ,whether thats lot or skills or spells. Here theres some loot, more guns that arent as good as shotgun usualy, but no new spells skills or talents etc .What you see at 5,15,30 is what you get,Nothing more. :( Sometimes it seems like ages till we can increase a skill due to having to save points to afford the skill increase.
Each new area seems like a higher level than the first.Not a lot new to see and do .Run here kill this get killed by a pod dropped thrax arrmy due to buggy medkits not working etc etc. Each area is same as last just high level mobs of what we fought before.
And everywhere i go i hear people going on and ON about PvP. I can see where this PvE game is going now ,wont be long till pvp balance nerfs hit the pve crowd :(
Now, if this was Anarchy Online 2.....
edit :and yes they seem to have sorted the EU server out. Still only got one but hey what do you expcet.We are lucky to get CS and GMs these days :( Ping rates are better for me than they are to a lot of MMO so called euro servers.
Yes, Barrens Chat is bad in that it's the first 'choke point' for pre-teens who figure out they can run their mouths with complete annonymity... But try an online FPS for a true glimpse of how bad these kids in the Barrens will be when they hit 20-25 years old...
Unfortunately TR appeals to both groups, so you get the annonymity driven rtards AND the trash talking jock-straps...
A pretty balanced review Laura, be interested to see part II. For me I can see nothing to keep a casual player beyond a month or two or a more hardcore player beyond a week or two. You point out stuff that has potential, quite right, there even seems to be a decent chance that the potential is realised as the core technology seems OK despite the bugginess you mention. It still remains a fact that you can not play potential.
Really my biggest disapointment was the complete lack of diversity of professions. I am not sure how that can be addressed with out radically changing the game play. All the time a Sapper can blast through most of the content with a shotgun (starting skill) what role is there for a medic (or anything else really)? Again you mention this but the gameplay whilst fun for some time is fundamentaly flawed.
Nice to get a review that is based on more than the first 10 or 20 hours play, which lets face it are a lot of fun. The polish does peel after a while sadly what is revealed is something that needs quite a re-think for longevity.
Cheers.
Very nice review. The only time I have had the chance to play this game was in the early stage of closed beta when it was nearly impossible to get any quests done or anything because of constant bugs (but hey whats closed beta meant for). Anyway I've been tempted to buy this game in interest of how it turned out, but due to a lack of cash flow and the spending of my money on other games (CoD4, Orange Box) and new computer parts I haven't had a chance to take a shot at this game. But as it seems luck was on my side and I have recently won a copy of this game in the recent mmorpg.com contest, so as I wait for my copy of the game and read up on it I stumbled upon this well written review which make me giddy with excitement for the arrival of my copy so I can begin my journey into this game world.
I Have been played this game and i still playing on it.
this game is a lot of fun.
if someone else playing this game contact me in the game.
Surname: Bowers.