Trying to decide if PW:I is my kind of game, A general list of questions.

I would say up until level 60 it was fun, and possible to play without CS. Technically the whole game is playable without, however it will take insane amounts of time, and seeing as you have a life...it would probably get old.
I've played both PW's and after all the time I've never really made any friends, so I can't comment on the player base.
Now you would have to grind for hours to save up for something in the Auction House or shops vs when things were like 1m max.
From what I hear from others on the forums, you'll pretty much get creamed in PVP if you don't spend money.
Uhh I'm scattered, sorry if I missed something.

Im level 77, have about 3 mid level alts and have yet to spen a real life cent on this game.

Cash shop is purely for play enhancement, and the items you get are not in any way 100% nesecary, and even then most cash shop items can be bought purely by saving ingame coin (I have mounts, a tome and a few other things in cash shop bought with ingamecoin) the only downside is the gold to ingame coin ration is a tad off

other than that, id say PWi is one of your best bets for free to play ^^

How is perfect world's item mall design? this question is way too broad, i dont know what you're asking for. design? what it looks like? or it's content? the cash shop sells a lot of different things. all of these things can be traded among players, therefore you can buy them without spending RL money, but it costs a LOT of game coin. there is also a system in place in game where players can sell/buy cash shop currency for game coin, but again, it costs a lot of game coin.

Does the game force you at some point to spend money on the item mall to be competitive? yes

Does it make progressing brutally difficult in some instances irrationally slow if you don't spend money? no. lvling is easy with the various daily quests the game offers, but 2/3 of the quests require you spend in-game coin, which, as a 8 hour per week player, i dont see you having very much in game coin.

As I said I am a 8-10 hour a week kind of gamer, Basically what I am asking here is, Will I be able to enjoy remaining at the very least PvE competitive for my level and maybe pvp competitive with that kind of play time and as a FREE player? pve isnt really competitive.. maybe you meant functional? depending on the class you pick, you can get by and into the high lvls with **** gear and no cash shop tools (like hp charms), and pvp competitive without spending money? no. no way in hell.

How often do you see players around you're level who actually play 100% for free and don't devote their entire lives to playing the game? what? this question doesnt make any sense the way you've worded it. people my lvl, most have spent money. most have also quit by this point because there isnt much to do end-game except spend money to play "keep up with the jonses"

What makes perfect world a better Free 2 play mmorpg game than all the other F2P Asian grinders on the market today? probably nothing. it was rated top mmo in 2008 when it came out. pretty sure they didnt get the award in 09.

Why do YOU play Perfect world International over all the thousands of Free 2 play MMORPG's out there? bcuz i've spent a LOT of money and dont want to see it all go to waste, tho even that has become barely enough to keep me interested in playing

What unique feature does perfect world have that attracts you besides you're friends and the community, but unique game play feature? character customization. this game by far has the best facial customization i have ever seen in any game.


honestly, overall, you seem to be most concerned with lack of time and not wanting to spend money. for this game, you cant really have fun like that. things have gotten expensive in general, and there are 2 kinds of people, those who spend a lot irl and those who have multiple computers running 24/7 to generate in-game coin.

but with that said, i think every MMO reaches this point after a year. my advice would be to bypass games and go to college parties instead in your free time.

I'm a casual player too, a few hours here and there in the evenings. I agree with your point of view and experience... no game lasts for ever!

I have (on PvE server) a lvl 70 barb (ok, it's not end-game), which I thoroughly enjoy and I do not use the cash shop. Quests are no problem, only genuine requirement for help is with the biggies, like bosses, FB's, as is the case for the vast majority but I can still carry out my duty well enough.

Utilise the equipment you can get, use the guides for the best skills to concentrate on and it's happy days! Some people you'll discover you will like to avoid (big population so no surprise) but there are many you'll love to party with and have a great time playing this game with.

PvP is slightly different... being really competitive here, as people have mentioned, would require lots of coins/cash shopping but that in itself is driven by other people using the cash shop to gain the advantage. You can still enjoy it to a point without spending money but for longer term interest, you would benefit from it. That's just the way the human nature makes things roll.

Give a PvE server a go for a few months, no expense, nothing to lose, other than your 10 hours free time! There are plenty of people out there that would be happy to welcome you!

You don't need IRL money at all. I'm level 71, I got nice equips, +3m/s aerogear, many skills up-to-date, 10m/s mount and such. Of course people will out-level you, but it's not end of the world.

Thelas_Carr - Sanctuary wrote: »

No additonal comment above and beyond what others have said... Vinat probably said it best that you'll not likely have fun if you want a chance to compete, rather than just enjoy the game at your own pace not caring who passes you by. However, I disagree that you'll make Level 90 in over a year of you spend no RL cash... you can do the grind quests which will pay for Crazy Stone plus the occasional Bounty Hunt and both Frost Covered City runs and World Quest are free... those are your huge EXP makers and will get you to L90 in 4-6 months (or less) of steady play without spending a dime of RL cash.

Exactly.

+1

This is coming from my experiences thus far, which I think meet your bill.

How is perfect world's item mall design?
The item mall's design is really nice. Items are categorized so they can easily be located, there are frequent sales, and many of the items early on are entirely unnecessary and only exist to make your gaming experience more enjoyable or maximize your character's abilities. If you need further examples, just ask.

Does the game force you at some point to spend money on the item mall to be competitive?
Competitive on a PvE level, not so much. Most classes can easily get by without spending money and remain a competitive member of their class (Barbarians, Clerics, and Venomancers probably have the hardest time doing so, in my personal opinion). However, for the PvP spectrum, you will find that it is near-impossible. This is not because you as a player need to spend money, but rather because they as PvP-oriented players have sank so much money into the game to refine their gear it will be hard to match them. There are still more casual PvP players that you can easily go toe-to-toe with, and depending on your class you could be well-suited to taking on even some of the stronger PvPers.

Does it make progressing brutally difficult in some instances irrationally slow if you don't spend money?
You should hit level 20 in about 3 days if you take it nice and slow, closer to 1.5 days if you power it out given your schedule. From there, you should easily be making 1-2 levels per day. At level 40+, the game turns from various world quests into more daily quests (completable a certain number of times per day) which can keep you moving along. As many just do their daily quests, if you keep up with those, you should be fine. It isn't until level 80+ that you will see a quantifiable disparity between the people who access cash shop items and those who do not.

As I said I am a 8-10 hour a week kind of gamer, Basically what I am asking here is, Will I be able to enjoy remaining at the very least PvE competitive for my level and maybe pvp competitive with that kind of play time and as a FREE player?
As I said above, PvE yes, PvP doubtful. Your best bet in this is to join a newer server, with Archosaur being the newest. Joining older servers puts you on a power disparity due to the server's duration alone. To maintain level with friends, you'd want to find a faction that has about the same playtime as you, as many others tend to play more and thus level more.


I would like to hear from a player close to the level cap for this next question if possible.

How often do you see players around you're level who actually play 100% for free and don't devote their entire lives to playing the game?
It is rare to find someone that hasn't dropped a dime into the game. This isn't because they were forced in any way to get there, but rather because of personal choice to make their lives easier instead of spending the extra time getting the in-game coin to make the purchase they wanted. While 100% free players are very rare, people who have only made perhaps 1 or 2 transactions aren't uncommon at all. Many around my level play this game a lot, but it's not because they devote their lives to it. It's more because we enjoy playing with one another, coordinate in a way to maximize our in-game time, or have balanced the work/school and gaming dynamic. I am a full-time student myself, but I'll often do homework or study while running an instance I know by rote.


My last questions are

What makes perfect world a better Free 2 play mmorpg game than all the other F2P Asian grinders on the market today?
Many of the Asian Grinders don't have the graphics that this game has (those who don't agree probably prefer a more cartoonish feel to their games or haven't turned graphics up to full). This game also promotes devoting your class to a path at first, but allows you to access all of that class's capabilities towards endgame instead of holding them to their earlier decision (i.e. A Cleric usually goes support or Full-Attack, but at end-game, they are usually capable of either roles just by setting up their skill bar to what the situation calls for). The game is very quest-oriented early on, and although quests are little more than a cover for grinding, the amount of exp quests provide you with at early levels allows you to ascend far faster than a grinder would. Later, your daily quests will ascend you farther than normal grinding would as well. Lastly, it is very faction-oriented, which to people that like to make friends such as myself means that the social dynamic continues to make the game fun, moreso than games that have factions feel more like an add-on.

Why do YOU play Perfect world International over all the thousands of Free 2 play MMORPG's out there?
I came here after nearing the level cap in another game, and stuck to this game because it was far deeper. The PvP isn't just tacked on to a PvE game, it is very much a field of skill and oftentimes coordination with others. As I said, the social dynamic is important to this game not just to keep you going forward but also with the great number of instances making this game more squad-oriented than solo-oriented. It's a break from the MMO attempt to be the 'top player' as you will often have a counter to your build, which makes the game more about the 'top faction,' the best group of people, which I find holds itself much closer to how reality actually plays out.

What unique feature does perfect world have that attracts you besides you're friends and the community, but unique game play feature?
As I've played a great many MMOs, there aren't many features here that are 'unique.' I would say instead it's the great blend of cliche features used in a very good fashion that makes this game great, not some proverbial secret sauce that makes it any better than another.