Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted Forum » General Discussion » Why I Didn't Subscribe

Just to offer my input as to why I never subscribed to Istaria. Hopefully my feedback will come across as constructive (as it was intended). Obviously, I used the 14 day trial and know next-to-nothing about the game. But that in itself should be fairly valuable as far as feedback goes.

I liked the rich skill system. However, I found the need to change schools to add an unnecessary level of complexity. I wished I could just train what I wanted, whenever I wanted, and didn't have to go change schools. I didn't understand why I had to do it.

And all those tools. So many, many tools. Again, I understand with a rich skill system you'll have lots of tools, but I found that having a different one the various aspects of each skill, and having to actually equip each one, was overly tedious. The challenge of a skill should be gathering the materials and crafting them, not switching tools.

And I figure that I'd get used to the 2-4 levels of processing that it took to get from raw material to finished product (and a new tool each step along the way), but I got the feeling that pursuing each skill would get very, very grindy. Maybe it would have seemed less so as I played longer, but that was the impression I had early on.

The game is very rich and complex, which I liked. However, I really didn't have time in 14 days to get a proper feel for it. There were all sorts of aspects to this game that I'd read about that I never got a chance to even see. Folks like me, who are currently playing another MMO which I'm heavily invested in, aren't necessarily going to abandon the old one for two weeks to learn a new game to see if I like it enough to abandon the other one yet. For a game as rich as Istaria, 14 days of a trial really isn't enough to do it justice.

A lot of my early impressions may very well be off-the-mark, but that could be in large part because I didn't have enough time to really get the full impressions.

Overall, despite my not subscribing, I was left with a positive impression of the game. I think it has potential (even if it is 5 years old and fairly well-baked), and think it would benefit greatly by taking a look at the route DDO went with a Free-to-Play model with the option to subscribe for more advanced content options.

If I could learn this game at my own relaxed pace and decide, in my own due time, I'm fairly certain I'd like it enough to ditch the game I'm currently spending $15/month on. I just can't abandon what I've invested time and money in if I'm not certain about the game.

Just my two cents. I hope you all at Istaria keep having fun, and don't take my comments too personally.

Every aspect of the game is a grind.  This brings both good and bad implications.  The good is that you see a more mature playerbase than other games.  The bad is that crafting is  too extremely tedious and boring.  In the beginning years of the game the crafting was worth the grind because you could sell your crafted items to a large player base.  I have been trying the game again after having been gone for  a few years.  I notice that there are very few items on consignment now when in the glory days, every town was loaded with items for sale.  If the crafter has been reduced to selling items "on demand" , I do not see the reward for such an intricate grinding system.  Probably this is a result of a low player base, I don't really know. 

The crafting really should be streamlined.  I never understood why you had to grind so hard just to be one type of crafter.  At the very least, the whole gathering system should be made more interesting.

All that being said, I still think it is a very interesting game with a good storyline.  It is fairpriced also.  I guess my biggest concern is that there just doesn't seem to be a lot of people playing. 

If you need more playing time to decide, why not try a one month sub?

They have added a free-to-play account type now. If you play as a Human character, you can play for free. The only limits are you can't own a plot of land to build on and you are only able to sell a few crafted items. There are no other restrictions.

IMHO the crafting was purposely set up to be tough to master so you have to work with other people to achieve things. For example, a Tinkerer can create Cargo Armor that increases your carrying capacity, but is reliant on a BlackSmith to make high-quality tools to craft with. Having said that, there are a few super-dedicated types that have got to Grand Master Crafter status, having levelled all crafting schools to the maximum of 100!

The sale of items is something that needs to be addressed, because as pointed out it drastically affects the economy.

I agree -- the free to play account is really an excellent choice for someone who is new to the game and needs enough time to get a good feel of things. You can play for as long as you would like for free -- the only stipulation is that you can only have one character slot and play a human. But that human can master all the adventure and crafting schools in the game and plays fairly similar to other bi-ped races in the game.

So, in essence, you can try the game for as long as you please with no strings attached, and then when you feel the itch to roll another character (Dragon!)... or you've just decided Istaria is going to be your next game-home and want to buy a plot to build up... the option is always there to upgrade that account at a later time. Anytime.

Sadly, the only way to get to trail a Dragon character is the 14 day trail. And the Dragon-play is significantly different from non-Dragon races.

Maybe the playerbase will grow again with the free play offer.  I suggest  people give it a try, they may be surprised.  I am happy that the lag I suffered in the early years is no longer there.  I wonder though about the lack of mobs.  I have done a lot of running through the map and I notice that there are much fewer mobs now. I also noticed the "urban sprawl".  Most of the original land plots are now vacant but many new land plots (since I left) are littered across the map.  I still think there is great potential for this game.  It really is a multi-layered work of art.  There is more than enough content to entertain a person for a very long time.

I agree with your comments about sparse mobs and open plots across the land. I think that's why the Devs are hard at work in redesigning the world from ground up, one tier at a time. I haven't gone to the Blight server to test out the new T2 changes yet -- maybe someone who has and clue us in to whether or not this is being addressed with the re-design.

They've done an excellent job on reworking the T1 areas -- I felt the quest lines were smooth and that I advanced my character as a comparable rate to any other game I've played out there from level 1-12. So I have high hopes to see what the T2 changes can bring to the world! 

On a positive stroke -- there's lots of plots out there for new players to make their home! Some of them have great sea-side views even. I've been eyeing some myself. ^_~ 

after reading this thread, I decided to try Istaria and although I have only played till level 2 and I am still in the tutorial island, I like what I am seeing and how the game feels.
From looking at the site, the in game options and such,it looks like a very complex game, similar to what Eve Online is.
I am planning on staying and if I still like what I see probably subscribe.

One question though. When would my forum account be activated?Or do I need to be subscribed to post on forums?

Originally posted by lovechiefs

after reading this thread, I decided to try Istaria and although I have only played till level 2 and I am still in the tutorial island, I like what I am seeing and how the game feels.
From looking at the site, the in game options and such,it looks like a very complex game, similar to what Eve Online is.
I am planning on staying and if I still like what I see probably subscribe.

One question though. When would my forum account be activated?Or do I need to be subscribed to post on forums?

Hello and welcome to Istaria!

When I registered for the forums there, it took about a day or so before my account was fully activated. I received an email that alerted me when the administrators activated it. So you can probably watch for something similar.

Which server did you choose to play on? If you are on Chaos, please feel free to look me up if you need anything at all. I can often be found playing my hatchling dragon, Kudako. :) 

About that lack of mobs...

It was changed some time ago, to this version of spawning...

The character has to wait a few secs for the mobs to be loaded.

Its always this way.  Lessens the lag and the chance that the mobs may hit you if you only want to ran through that area.  ;)

I am not talking about the slow draw time.  I am talking about the miles of running before finding any mobs.  I am sure that these areas will be populated evenyually but for now, I see vast areas with no purpose...