There are things that players want to see or need to see when first entering any MMO and The Secret World is no exception, particularly given its ostensible title as the thinking man's MMO.For the Secret World, there are several key areas that players will be looking at right from the start that will either make or break the game.
Character Creation
Character creation is the first thing that any player gets to do when entering a game. For many, me included, it’s a definite “make or break” moment as I generally have a character look that I like to see when playing MMOs. It’s terribly frustrating to me if choices in creation are limited in such a way to thwart that ability. However, there have been some improvements and Funcom has promised to deliver even more. Let’s hope they keep that promise.
Navigation
Navigation in any MMO is an important aspect of the “make or break” notion. If players can’t find their way in the world, it will become a frustrating place and many will quit. That said, most of us do not want to be led around “by the nose” with auto-pathing, etc. Still, it’s important that players be able to get around, if not with ease, at least with competence. Also, you can turn to the secret world power leveling to help.
The Skill Wheel
I have to admit that the vaunted skill wheel with its myriad skill combinations has been troubling to me simply due to its complexity. Many MMO players simply don’t have the time to adequately work the wheel in all its minutia to make effective combinations. MMO players who have not done their homework may become easily frustrated by the inability to make the “right” choices in order to be an effective player. Trial and error may or may not appeal to many.
That said Funcom has tried to help out by creating decks, basically premade character archetypes that guide players in making characters that can survive in the harsh world. They’ve also added a nifty side bonus with the special outfit that players receive on completing the deck according to its plan. As long as new players are aware of the decks and can easily access them, Funcom should score a win in this one.
Some will say that this is catering to casuals and perhaps they’re right to a degree. But even so saying, there’s nothing holding back experimenters and it will be fascinating to see what things crop up on the ‘Net with regard to custom builds.
Grouping
Players like to play together. They like to be able to find their friends and find them easily. Players like to quest together. Funcom has made The Secret World accessible to players of all stripes in that it can be played by a single player but I found it to be infinitely more fun when playing in a group with the secret world power leveling. In the Transylvania area, we were in a group of six and no battle we fought was a walk in the park. And there are compelling reasons to want to group: Dungeons, lairs, investigations, etc.
Some have expressed dismay that a group finder tool will not be implemented at launch. Funcom has promised a post launch add so we can only hope. Even given the ‘classless’ nature of The Secret World, players will probably still fall into archetypical roles when entering dungeons.
Questing
Questing is the meat and potatoes of any game and The Secret World is poised to set the MMO-niverse on its collective ear. Not only is Funcom fundamentally changing the way quests are accepted and play out, they are including never-before-seen ways of completing quests.
Players will only be able to take on five quests at a time: three area quests, one daily quest, and one story mission. In many ways, Funcom is striking at the heart of MMO questing by eliminating ‘quest hubs’ and a player’s natural desire to gather all quests and run out to complete them. But even limiting players to five quests isn’t a bad thing as most quests are tiered to contain a whole bunch of “sub objectives”. Additionally, players won’t have to run back to the quest giver to get the reward. This is a game set in the modern era and players will receive quest rewards via PDA, a really nice touch. So, it is better to turn to the secret world power leveling.
If that’s not enough, questing in The Secret World is interesting and informative. Players will actually want to read/hear quest text as many times its critical to gathering the right intel for completion.
Combat Animations
Combat animations have been haunting The Secret World since journalists were finally given the go-ahead to write about the game with the secret world power leveling. Let’s face it: Animations have been downright clumsy though Funcom says that much of it is due to the “untethering” of a player’s upper body which sometimes causes strange looks when in combat.
Funcom has again promised to deliver better than what’s been seen up to now.
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