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UnOrthOdOx
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Hello....
Jun 2002
time: 22:19
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quote:
Originally posted by paramir
Thanks for a cin depthish review, I almost always just get yes or no |
You want in depth, ok, but be warned.
PVM (player vs monster, aka 'roleplaying):
This is quite comparable to Dungeon Siege. The limited skill selection insures that no one build will be able to go waltzing through the territories.
Spellcasters get owned by melee folks, Warriors learn to hate archers (damn piercing damage), everyone hates groups of spellcasters, and chances are if there's more than 1 healer in a group, you won't be able to deal enough damage solo to even kill one of them.
So, it encourages interaction with a group. Yes you can hire henchmen if you don't want to group with various idiots as are bound to propogate these things, but by and large most folks are pretty nice, even if some are somewhat stupid...(I've had a "healer" in a group that didn't heal anyone before for instance)
The story line is fairly interesting, and there are TONS of sidequests if you have the patience to deal with it. Personally, if the quest doesn't offer me anything I want and is not on my way to my next goal, chances are I'm not going to be doing it especially if it's through low level lands where I won't be getting exp for kills.
This brings up 1 minor annoyance. I'm level 11, gotta go to some temple or another, and trounce through a field of level 3 monsters. They really need a patch to make these guys realize they are doing 0 damage to me, and not attack high level folks.
The Item system:
Weapons actually matter fairly little. But, they can be found everywhere. Your damage is based more on skill levels than your weapon though.
Armor, however, makes a big impact. And, you must craft armor. This entails gathering the raw materials and paying someone to do it. At first I was annoyed with this, but after seeing how big an impact armor makes, I approve.
Eventually you'll start getting enhanced weapons with a low level requirement in some skill. Adding points beyond the minimum requirement in that skill will raise the damage of those items. So, an 8-12 damage axe with 0 requirement and an 8-12 damage axe with 3 axe mastery requirement, take the one with axe mastery, and pump 7 into axe mastery you suddenly are hitting for 20+ damage a swing whereas you're stuck at 8-12 with the 0 requirement one. (real example I tested with my warrior, but might be a bug in the game to be fixed)
Items are automatically assigned to players in a group. So, no fighting over who gets what. Gold is split equally. What's more, unlike other MMORPG's, you only deal with the full community when in town. Once you leave, the map it your group's alone. So, no dealing with folks looking to off that boss you weakened.
PVP:
This is the real meat of the game. Competitive missions and PVP are a riot. This is where that strict limit of 8 skills comes into play. It forces people to make specialized characters. These have weaknesses to be exploited. It comes down to who has the better team dynamic.
These are just short little 3-5 min missions such as last man standing, king of the hill, and a version of capture the flag pitting multiple 4 man groups against each other.
There are both random groups and groups who form beforehand. And, I must say there is nothing more satisfying than having the counter show your group's name with 6 straight victories. Too bad I had to go to bed at that point.
Stability:
I play on dial up.
If there is lag, I have yet to see it.
Great game. The first to replace Diablo II as my favorite RPG. I think I might actually uninstall that now...
Last edited by UnOrthOdOx on 17-05-2005 at 19:18
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16-05-2005 07:37
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