The Secret World

[bylam]

Norfleet I sent you a key to trial the game. You should be able to find answers to your questions pretty quickly.

IMO if you like grinding, then Scenarios and Signets are perfectly capable of filling that need. Those systems were developed to be "long term progression" which means 1% of people will grind the hell out of them to get the best stuff as quickly as possible. I think the thought that goes into creating builds for grinding nightmare camps and scenarios might appeal to you.

And you can make money selling augments and signets, for sure.

 

[Zombra]

Feeding the RMTs? Zombra no like. Baaaad medicine.

 

[Drakron]

He is talking about multiboxing.

Sorry, don't speak farmer

Multiboxing is running multiple characters at once, can and usually means running multiple accounts at once.

Meaning he would have to buy extra keys since B2P.

 

[Norfleet]

Feeding the RMTs? Zombra no like. Baaaad medicine.

I actually just farm for the sake of hoarding lots of stuff. Ask Drakron about my compulsive hoarding and accumulation.

 

[Zombra]

Soooo I misread it when you said you'd prefer to use in-game assets to recoup the real world cash price for the game?

 

[Gord]

Is this weekend the golden weekend? Figures, we've got the appartment full with guests and I won't be able to play till at least sunday afternoon.

 

[flabbyjack]

Funcom has never been the same since they cancelled Midgard

That sounded fun. Almost like Blizzard's recently cancelled MMO crafting simulator.

Midgard was a persistent single-world Norse-themed simulation. Villages and towns would raid each other, each player would have their own home and craft.

 

[Hoaxmetal]

So, I've become bored by my fist/chaos build and its variations and I need something to spend all those APs for. Anyone know any good survival (as in solo content) build? Preferably something ranged.

 

[Gord]

I have been told that AR works great for solo since it comes with healing.

 

[J_C]

Sigh...I tried to get back into the game today with a friend of mine. And again, after 30 minutes I realized that despite the great atmosphere story and artstyle, the MMO mechanics fuck up the game. I just can't bear with all the respawning enemies, the grinding, to skill spamming. I can't possibly enjoy it.

It was nice knowing you Secret World, but you should have been a singleplayer game. Adios.

 

[Norfleet]

I dunno, man. The grinding and farming seems like what MMOs are all about. It goes way back, when there were these text "MMOs", we called them MUDs, and gameplay revolved around grinding...I must admit that farming is a somewhat more recent innovation, back then we didn't have farming, just grinding.

 

[bozia2012]

So, I've become bored by my fist/chaos build and its variations and I need something to spend all those APs for. Anyone know any good survival (as in solo content) build? Preferably something ranged.

A few pages back I linked a blade/ar build I used to solo campaign.

Fuck Midgard - I'm glad they made TSW instead

 

[Humppaleka]

I played with a friend a fair while, enjoyed the game, but felt it lacking in a way. Then much later I started a new character solo, and the game really started to shine. I had all the time in the world to wander around, read the lore, explore the world and listen to the NPC's, not even speakin about all the content in the game. I just can't imagine playing this with a friend anymore. Other players are a nuisance too, but a bearable one I guess.

 

[Zombra]

I dunno, man. The grinding and farming seems like what MMOs are all about. It goes way back, when there were these text "MMOs", we called them MUDs, and gameplay revolved around grinding...I must admit that farming is a somewhat more recent innovation, back then we didn't have farming, just grinding.

And then developers realized that while a Skinner box is a great way to keep paying customers subscribed, it doesn't actually create a fun experience that the creators should be proud of.

As far as MUDs go, I wasn't lucky enough to be part of that culture, but none of the mudders I know have ever waxed nostalgic about the grinding - the social aspects and the creativity in world designs are what they remember most fondly. There's a difference between a part of a game design, even a substantial one, and its raison d'être.

Now that the subscription MMO model is going away, building in the need to keep players 'hooked' indefinitely with empty, repetitive gameplay is becoming less important.

TSW is an interesting case on the cusp here ... great writing, great story, great character system, fascinating to play through once, but only repeatable in the sense that you can reread a good novel and get more out of it. There certainly is content designed to be immediately repeatable, but it almost feels like an afterthought added because that's "what's done" in MMOs. You'll see lots of people (myself included) saying that TSW would have been better as a single-player game ... the MMOness of it sometimes gets in the way of its true strengths.

 

[bozia2012]

For me TSW was always a solo game - I just can't play games with good writing in co-op. But I joined parties whenever I wanted to do group content and that just pure value added.

The only MMOness aspect that actually gets in the way is the general MMO gameplay design - areas filled with mobs and rather dull combat. I minimize this by simply avoiding monsters, especially when many quests either don't require killing or have like 2-3 mobs to kill.

 

[Norfleet]

And then developers realized that while a Skinner box is a great way to keep paying customers subscribed, it doesn't actually create a fun experience that the creators should be proud of.

Wait, that has never happened. They've just learned to churn them out more efficiently.

As far as MUDs go, I wasn't lucky enough to be part of that culture, but none of the mudders I know have ever waxed nostalgic about the grinding - the social aspects and the creativity in world designs are what they remember most fondly. There's a difference between a part of a game design, even a substantial one, and its raison d'être.

Okay, to be fair, what I remember most fondly about MUDs was the quality of the player-slaying. But THAT, obviously, is not a part of the game anymore. A man can no longer enrich himself and climb to the top of the heap merely by slaying his enemies and taking their stuff, at least not in a way which rewards the skillfulness of slaying rather than the numbers of the slayers. To slay another player on a MUD was more often than not mano-a-mano. You, against him. Your wits, against his. Games these days, well, are mostly about numbers: How many hundreds of your guys can be pitted against how many of theirs. How OP your equipment is. Unfortunately, even I cannot manage a hundred computers at once, although if a means of pulling this off could be found, this would immediately interest me.

TSW is an interesting case on the cusp here ... great writing, great story, great character system, fascinating to play through once, but only repeatable in the sense that you can reread a good novel and get more out of it. There certainly is content designed to be immediately repeatable, but it almost feels like an afterthought added because that's "what's done" in MMOs. You'll see lots of people (myself included) saying that TSW would have been better as a single-player game ... the MMOness of it sometimes gets in the way of its true strengths.

I see it a bit more simply: That as a latecomer to the party, everyone else has more than me, therefore, I must grind harder, longer, and more efficiently than them, putting in increasingly 24/7 efforts until I win.

 

[Zombra]

And then developers realized that while a Skinner box is a great way to keep paying customers subscribed, it doesn't actually create a fun experience that the creators should be proud of.

Wait, that has never happened. They've just learned to churn them out more efficiently.

We've covered this. There is no joy or fun in your life, only numbers - therefore you think that joy and fun do not exist for anyone, and are 100% cynical about game developers - their only goal is to milk the customers for money, any attempt to imbue their work with merit is just another ploy to sell more units, and they chose to become game devs in the first place because clearly that's the easiest road to becoming a millionaire in this day and age. I officially pity you.

The odd thing is that you're so defensive about having standards in your "work" as a grinder ... how is it that you can take pride in what you do if integrity doesn't exist?

 

[Siveon]

I forgot I bought this, just starting it now for kicks.

Is it good for a solo run? It seems like it.

 

[Zombra]

Yep, great for solo play.

 

[bozia2012]

I forgot I bought this, just starting it now for kicks.

Is it good for a solo run? It seems like it.

First area is basically lots of zombies - don't get turned away by this. The game is glorious.

 

[bert]

The missions are fun, the puzzles are great. The setting is interesting.

But holy shit if the combat isn't fucking tedious as fuck.

 

[Norfleet]

In what manner is the combat "tedious"?

First area is basically lots of zombies - don't get turned away by this. The game is glorious.

Zombie rats, by any chance? Rats are traditional.

 

[bert]

I don't like the combat because it uses a build-up and expenditure system like Champions Online. You have to get points with your build-up power and then spend them on abilities. The problem is that it gets particularly dull hitting 1 over and over and spend it on a nuke, cc, aoe, heal, or utility. Then you keep hitting 1 again.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

I don't like the combat because it uses a build-up and expenditure system like Champions Online. You have to get points with your build-up power and then spend them on abilities. The problem is that it gets particularly dull hitting 1 over and over and spend it on a nuke, cc, aoe, heal, or utility. Then you keep hitting 1 again.

So I assume there aren't various ways to build up besides the builder 1 attack? Since in CO you can also use Blocking, Energy Unlocks, Passives, and one of Force Shield's Advantages to build up energy without Energy Builder. If there isn't a list of alternate means of building up, yea it must be dreadfully dull.

 

[bozia2012]

In what manner is the combat "tedious"?

It's as tedious as in any MMO. Plenty of mobs, most of them are pretty tough (and require special care) and you get to use like 8 skills total (most of the time you press 2-3 buttons). This is why I just avoid combat, only kill pack mobs which die from 1-2 consumers (preloaded if you go melee).

Zombie rats, by any chance? Rats are traditional.

Can't remember any rats. There are zombies, ghosts, drowned dead... then you run into Filth and things start to become interesting.

So I assume there aren't various ways to build up besides the builder 1 attack? Since in CO you can also use Blocking, Energy Unlocks, Passives, and one of Force Shield's Advantages to build up energy without Energy Builder. If there isn't a list of alternate means of building up, yea it must be dreadfully dull.

I don't find the builder/consumer system worse than cooldown oriented - both are crap compared to proper action or TB combat. Pressing builder several times and then 2 cosumers is not intrusive, but also not very engaging. There are still challenging and exciting fights later in the game, because there's a lot of focus on movement and special methods of killing mobs (f.e. mobs can become immortal if you don't handle them properly, heal up when you miss etc.).