The Secret World

[Nexus6]

Having put now at least 30+ hours in to TSW, I'm happy to report that I'm still enjoying it very much. The two things about TSW that are really clicking with me are first of all, the great story that at no time feels forced and irrelevant to gameplay. Most importantly though, I really, really like the skills/leveling system. In STO, for example, the skills sets become more specialized and confusing the higher you go, and if you put skill points in to areas that don't fit your play style, then you will mostly likely find yourself paying real money to do a respec later. In TSW though, there are no bad point allocations, only bad weapons/skills builds. The worst that can happen is that you put skill points in to a weapon that you later decide you don't like very much, and this will delay your becoming the really good fighter you're trying to be. Indeed, if you play TSW long enough you will eventually have all available weapons and skills, though my gut feeling is that you will be playing a long, long time to do this. I would also mention that it is greatly satisfying when you finish one of their puzzle quests with little or no help, and the combat quests are seldom your typical go to location A and kill bad guys; they usually have some twist.

Scott, the occasional occult angles in TSW might possibly offend your Catholic sensibilities, but then again, probably no more so than Elder Scrolls. I will admit, however, that there was one side quest where you have to gain access to a vault by deciphering a pentagram, and I dropped it. Not only was it extraordinarily difficult, but it was giving me the creeps.

Latest great TSW quote: "History isn't written by the victors anymore, it's written by the Wikipedia vandals." lol

[Nexus6]

Uh, ahem, well guys, I gave up on this one. I loved it for about the first week, but my enthusiasm dropped rapidly after that. To make a long story short, for all the game's lofty ambitions, at the end of the day it's just another grindy WoW clone. I would also mention that as it happens the innovative leveling system has issues as well. When it comes time to add a second weapon as everyone must, it felt like a case of one step forward and two steps back. Between the plethora of confusing weapons skills and the enhancement talismans, it can be extremely complex and confusing creating a good 'build', and the game is totally unforgiving if you have a bad one. Also, the crafting system is absolute rubbish. I've also come to realize how much I loath the so-called MMO 'holy trinity' of the tank, dps, and healer. After experiencing it in STO, SWTOR, Neverwinter, and now Secret World, it really has gotten rather tiresome. I wish someone would think outside the box and come up with something different. Anyway, I can't think of another game where I started off with such enthusiasm, only to crash and burn. Oh well, it happens I guess. With Secret World I'm reminded of what someone wrote about EVE Online: "Great idea, badly implemented." And no, it's not because I'm too lazy or stupid to figure it out as Mr. Scarven would claim. Many other people have echoed the same sentiments about Secret World.

[Talon_XbmcX]

That's about my experience as well. Even starting a new toon in a different faction did little to keep me as all of the base missions were exactly the same and there isn't enough faction specific missions to make the grind worth the effort.

So much potential ... the Egypt setting was interesting ... but so much of the same mission grind.

[Nexus6]

That's about my experience as well. Even starting a new toon in a different faction did little to keep me as all of the base missions were exactly the same and there isn't enough faction specific missions to make the grind worth the effort.

So much potential ... the Egypt setting was interesting ... but so much of the same mission grind.

Sorry to say I never made it to Egypt. I did most of the Kingsmouth and Savage Coast missions, and that was as far as I got. Again though, I think what discouraged me more than anything else was that when I brought a second weapon into the mix (at a low level), it dawned on me that I was probably going to have to go back and do some repeat 'grinds' to get my skills rating up in the new weapon, and I just didn't feel like doing that. I can also see that just like Star Trek Online, all there really is to do after finishing all the story missions is proving you have the biggest baddest builds in the meaningless one off PvP's and PvE dungeons. I agree with you totally though. TSW had so much potential, what with it's extremely compelling milieu and atmosphere, but at the end of the day Funcom wasn't brave enough to think outside the box.

I didn't delete my account, so I guess I can go back to it anytime if I feel moved to do so. The trouble is, TSW takes up a huge amount of space on my solid state gaming drive, more than any game I've ever played. Anyway, I'm about to try Guild Wars 2. From what I've been reading, it breaks of the mold of the old and tired WoW paradigm in a number of ways. I'll give GW2 about a week and then post some comments on it.

[Talon_XbmcX]

Yup, backtracking to build up your experience in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th weapon is not much fun ... especially when you find out you didn't pick the right one for your style of play.

I also am in GW2. It does break the mold of DPS, Tank, Healer to a point. The random events can be quite fun and challenging. Some of the classes are a bit more support and can struggle on their own ... but smart play often wins the day. The writing/storyline isn't anywhere near the quality of TSW, but it moves the story. The one feature I do like is that you are sidekicked to the level of the area you are in. So, even if you are a maxed out lvl 80 toon, you can find yourself in trouble in a starting area if you aren't careful.

[Nexus6]

I'm with you all the way Talon about the weapons builds. It can be hard finding the right 'build'. and changes and/or mistakes in your build can necessitate serious delays in progressing through the story. I think it was at that point that I realized that Secret World was, after you remove all the fluff, just another grindy WoW clone. I would add though that many of the SW cut scenes and dialogue were great, especially with Illuminati boss Kristen Geary, and that one scene with the Native American and his daughter texting away on her smart phone as she's talking. lol

Yes, I like GW2 quite a lot thus far. You are right in that the story is maybe not quite as strong as Secret World, but it's not bad either, and at least you can hear you character speak rather than just being mute in the Secret World cut scenes. My only minor quibble about GW2 is that after progressing through the first 5-6 acts of the story, I can see that I'm going to have to step back, learn how to craft, and look at making a better weapons 'build', though I"m guessing this will be no where near as difficult as it was in TSW. And yes, it is refreshing to play an mmo where no one ever posts chat messages like this: Tank LF healer and two dps for jabberwalk dungeon. lol