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First Beta Weekend Impression - Level 30 Rogue
kithran
Member Posts: 39 Arc User
Hello everyone! For the first beta weekend, I played the “Trickster Rogue” to level 30, and would like to give my feedback on the experience.
Before I start, I would like to add a few clarifications:
1) I know this is a BETA test and as such has had the content limited. That being said, this is still my impression of the content I was exposed to.
2) This is MY opinion. You may agree with it, or not – that is your right. However, I ask you to remember that your opinion carries no more weight than mine, so let us all be civil.
3) This will be long. I will try to put in a TL;DR at the end, but that will probably be long too.
So, without further ado, let’s get down to it!
Pros (aka – things I liked)
1) Combat:
I cannot express enough how much I enjoyed the combat. The fluidity of the rogues attacks, the way he would seamlessly switch from one enemy to the next practically mid-swing was incredible. For me, this is truly where NWO stood out. The combat skills were fun to use and all had fantastic animations.
In regards to the comments I have read concerning the “root” effect that takes place during your attacks – I don’t necessarily like it, but I understand the necessity of the mechanic (please feel free to read some of the other threads out there that go into greater depth as to why this mechanic is in place).
2) Graphics/Environment:
I thought the game was gorgeous. Don’t know what else I need to say about this – pretty self-explanatory. Well done.
3) The Foundry:
While I only got to experience content that had already been made, and did not get to actually make any myself, I can only speak to half of it. However, what I did experience was a blast and I can see that it is going to give rise to some great content and some great opportunities for fun in creating said content. This COULD go a long ways in alleviating SOME of the pressure for Devs to constantly deliver new content and potentially help feed the content locusts out there.
4) Companion System:
I know this is a controversial area, but personally I love the companion systems. I especially like the way that they can level with you. Additionally, the fact that you can have a “stable” of companions to pull out what you need when you need it is great. For me, this was a win.
5) Invocation System: While I understand that this was not fully fleshed out yet, what I did see showed a lot of promise. I like the concept, I like the awards, and I like the potential it has to grow. For me, little things like this are what give a game flavor.
6) Dungeons:
I thought the dungeons were a blast. Even in “Beta” status, I thought they were fun, engaging, beautifully designed – though they were a bit easy. Definitely on the right track here.
7) The Game was FUN!:
Obviously, this is not something that I can quantify and is PURELY a personal perspective, but I had a blast playing it. It had that intangible “something” that made the time fly by and really drew me in.
Before I start, I would like to add a few clarifications:
1) I know this is a BETA test and as such has had the content limited. That being said, this is still my impression of the content I was exposed to.
2) This is MY opinion. You may agree with it, or not – that is your right. However, I ask you to remember that your opinion carries no more weight than mine, so let us all be civil.
3) This will be long. I will try to put in a TL;DR at the end, but that will probably be long too.
So, without further ado, let’s get down to it!
Pros (aka – things I liked)
1) Combat:
I cannot express enough how much I enjoyed the combat. The fluidity of the rogues attacks, the way he would seamlessly switch from one enemy to the next practically mid-swing was incredible. For me, this is truly where NWO stood out. The combat skills were fun to use and all had fantastic animations.
In regards to the comments I have read concerning the “root” effect that takes place during your attacks – I don’t necessarily like it, but I understand the necessity of the mechanic (please feel free to read some of the other threads out there that go into greater depth as to why this mechanic is in place).
2) Graphics/Environment:
I thought the game was gorgeous. Don’t know what else I need to say about this – pretty self-explanatory. Well done.
3) The Foundry:
While I only got to experience content that had already been made, and did not get to actually make any myself, I can only speak to half of it. However, what I did experience was a blast and I can see that it is going to give rise to some great content and some great opportunities for fun in creating said content. This COULD go a long ways in alleviating SOME of the pressure for Devs to constantly deliver new content and potentially help feed the content locusts out there.
4) Companion System:
I know this is a controversial area, but personally I love the companion systems. I especially like the way that they can level with you. Additionally, the fact that you can have a “stable” of companions to pull out what you need when you need it is great. For me, this was a win.
5) Invocation System: While I understand that this was not fully fleshed out yet, what I did see showed a lot of promise. I like the concept, I like the awards, and I like the potential it has to grow. For me, little things like this are what give a game flavor.
6) Dungeons:
I thought the dungeons were a blast. Even in “Beta” status, I thought they were fun, engaging, beautifully designed – though they were a bit easy. Definitely on the right track here.
7) The Game was FUN!:
Obviously, this is not something that I can quantify and is PURELY a personal perspective, but I had a blast playing it. It had that intangible “something” that made the time fly by and really drew me in.
Post edited by kithran on
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Comments
I am actually going to separate this into two sections – little fluff things that weren’t a big deal, and big ticket items that really bothered me.
The”little” things:
1) Rogue idle stance/run animation:
I hated this. Anyone who has looked at the rogue while he was standing still knows what I am talking about: Head tilted down, body slightly hunched over, and hands cocked out, trying to (I guess) look sinister. I guess I can maybe understand this stance when in a dungeon or about to fight (despite the fact that I think it looks aesthetically ridiculous), but in town it is just uncalled for. The run animation is just as bad, it looks like I am sneaking in fast forward, can I get a simple run animation please? At least in town?
2) Cleric Weapon Proportion:
I know I said I played a rogue to 30, but I did dabble with a cleric and this drove me nuts. I loved the look and proportion of almost every piece of gear I saw. It was balanced tasteful, and looked good. Then, enter this huge….THING…that clerics have to carry around. I had made a small, female teifling cleric and it looked so bad (especially attached to her belt) that I just could not play it. It looked like an anime weapon.
3) Weapon Variety:
This may fall under “It’s only Beta,” and I hope it does, but can we get some more weapons? I am not asking every class to use every weapon, but some variety would be nice. I jumped for joy when I looted a hand axe that my rogue could use (at around level 16 I think), and proceeded to get more and more irritated when I out-leveled it and never saw anything but a dagger ever again. Again, I hope this is simply a Beta issue.
1) Dungeon Queue/Events:
As I said above, I loved the dungeons. That being said, it seemed like above level 20, the only time I could get into a dungeon was during an event. I don’t know if this was WAI or not, but I sincerely hope NOT. I want to be able to run/queue for a dungeon when I want to run a dungeon, not when the game says “it is dungeon time”. Additionally, I should not be able to “out-level” a dungeon to the point that I am unable to run it. Make it trivial, make it so that I get no exp/loot/rewards/etc., but don’t prevent me from running it. What if I unintentionally out-leveled it? Do I not get to go back and experience it? Not cool – hopefully an only beta thing.
2) Leveling Speed:
I have heard that leveling was sped up for the beta (something like 4x experience or something) and I TRULY hope this was the case. I should not be able to get to level 30 (i.e. halfway through the game) in one weekend (basically one day of playing for the hardcore). Again, probably a Beta thing, but this is game-breaking IMO if it is not.
3) Too Easy:
I have not seen anything official (or implied official) that has addressed this (such as mob health/damage being reduced or player health/damage being increased), but I may have missed it. That being said, this is a big deal for me. This game was way too easy – way, way, way…..and one more…WAY too easy. I don’t claim to be a gaming god, but I did not die while soloing with my rogue one time – and that is without using the “Bait and Switch” (i.e. decoy) ability that they get. This is including the times before I got a companion or when my companion was off training. I can sort of understand that if I were a cleric (which, I understand from talking to friends who were testing, is a bit OP) with self-heals, but a straight up dps with only heal pots? The fights should be a bit tougher – where is the satisfaction in facerolling area bosses?
This is probably another one of those pure personal preference things, but this did not feel like an MMO to me. Absolutely ZERO open world feel to it and was completely scripted and on rails. This is a tough one to attribute to simply “being Beta” as this is a design thing.
To me, it felt like Diablo. Granted, a much better looking, more fleshed out Diablo with better combat; but still Diablo. Or maybe a better description would be Guild Wars 1 – a central hub where people congregate, then they go off to their instanced quests and areas, where they can bring someone if they want. There was no world to explore as everything I saw was extremely scripted and shaped. This does not change it from being a fun game, but it severely limits the degree to which I am “drawn in” to the game/setting/universe.
So there it is. TL;DR version?
In my opinion:
Neverwinter Online it is a fun, good looking game with a great combat system. The Foundry System will potentially mean an endless amount user generated content and allow a constant influx of “new” material. AT THIS POINT IN DEVELOPMENT it has some easily addressed cosmetic and gameplay issues that may, or may not, have an impact on a players ability to enjoy the game. It has a lot of potential in the partially revealed (or barely hinted at in some cases) features such as companions, invocation, and crafting.
In regards to overall gameplay systems and mechanics, it feels far more like a single player game with Co-Op than it does a truly fleshed out, interactive MMO world. This is purely in the eye of the beholder as to what you are looking for, but lacks the depth and meaning that I think many were looking for in a D&D MMO.
Best of luck to all, and I look forward to seeing you in Neverwinter.
*I apologize for breaking up the post....forum was being wonky...*
Pros
3. I have a minor problem with number 3. I totally agree with the potential the Foundry presents, but, coming from a STO Foundry player myself, I couldn't help but find too many instances that the Foundry was used as a copout by the Devs to making quality content themselves. "hey devs, when are we gonna see some new content?" "Have you ever looked at the foundry?"
But it's still too early to know if that would ever happen.
Small Cons
2. I want the Gourd back. At least it would look better on a belt!
Big Cons
1. That sounds concerning.
2. That sounds like a big concern, one I have heard before in STO. Pre Season 5/f2p, it was well know that leveling speed was already quick, the Community Manager at the time "stormshade had even made the comment that it was indeed to fast, only taking "a weekend and a 6pack of Redbull" to get a character from start to max, and it was a problem the Devs were looking into.
BUT
It didn't get fixed, it got worse with Season5/f2p, in a couple of ways. One was at the experience gained from doing the story missions was Increased to were you level up at nearly every mission completed. Plus the Duty Officer system was added, with it's added xp gain from running assignments. Those two things combine to having you hit max level long before you even finish the main story line missions, long before you get to End game stuff.
In the end, the they didn't fix it, they instead went on to say that they would work on more End Game stff instead, since it is the place that every character (presumably) ends up.
Sooo, who knows.
Neverwinter Wiki
Thanks for reading it!
Devs reading this: pay attention to the comments on being overly scripted. We need open areas, at least in the foundry.
https://soundcloud.com/nathankilgore/i-wanna-see-you2
Otter ~~~~ on Beholder
However, in my opinion, Neverwinter Online is NOT a deep, engaging MMO world at the moment.
What it IS, on the other hand, is a beautiful, scripted, Co-Op game with room to grow.