Opinion on Wizard101 (My first review)

Thephenom6

I played Wizard101 for a about a month before leaving until very recently or so and although it wasn''t a great deal of time, I feel that I played enough to gather an opinion on it.  My character was Ice/Storm combination and was in the mid thirties somewhere. Anyway, that is not the point.

The good points of this game in my view are the unique way of combat, the card idea is a popular type of game for me and I was happy to find one which could be played online with others, as a player of Atlantica Online, I took a quick liking to the turn based  system and played it to death for a while. The story is pretty simple but none the less a joy to take part in as the game goes on, ( As I said before ), I did not actually finish it. The drop in, drop out battle system in also a plus, debatable I am sure but I like it, lending a hand is what my new life/death character does, so aiding an injured player is something that for me is important. Alright, it can be a pain in the backside when someone enters your fight, draws in an enemy and leaves but it is simply something that you have to put up with.

This game is not perfect though,  I find the chat awkward at times and it can be difficult to get your feelings across and say what you mean. I understand the need to keep swearing to a minimum and to keep children from it but I find it difficult talking to people properly instead of using internet slang but that might just be me. My main grudge with this game is the constant  baiting people in to becoming subscribers or to buy crowns, the most blatant example is the icon on the players screen itself, which I swear I still had after I became a subscriber in my previous time playing it. The quests as well, sending you to areas such as Cyclops Alley where all you are going to get is a message in front of you saying simply, " Pay or you cannot proceed any further." I understand that KingIsle need to make a profit and judging from the amount of players, I assume that they are. Giving a nudge in the direction of subscription is nice but stopping people mid quest and coercing them in to becoming a paying member is beyond belief. The grind curve is alright for the first few levels but once you finish the non member quests, it magnifies unless you pay, I experienced this myself the other day. I completed the last quest I could and from there it was agony to level up, I myself was convinced whether I wanted to commit by paying but I doubt all players will be. So, what should be done? Simply adding in a few high level monsters for free to play characters to level up with, I am aware of the fact you can kill free to play bosses over and again but the grind is insane.

I hate to say this next part because it sounds like the only reason I am writing this is to have a go at the game, which is not true, I just want to get my views across. Despite its down sides, I am a fan. I and other players from forums scattered around seem to have problems when it comes to subscribing, credit cards entered are appearing as incorrect despite the fact that the details are perfectly fine. The visa card I used before I left the game worked alright but now it comes up an error on not only one of my cards but also a family member of mine. I have looked around for solutions and not much is appearing, I also sent a support ticket using the games website. I sent it saturday night and received a reply on the sunday saying that they would deliver it to there billing department directly. I sent a reply with the details they asked for and have not been given a reply since, it has been two days now. This is where I would like to make one final negative point, it seems difficult to contact someone from the help section on a one to one basis,  for a game which seems to push people in to paying. There is very little communication between the players and the administrators. Allowing a small portion of the message boards for people to discuss problems such as mine would be a nice addition.

Anyway, enough with the rambling about my own issues. I am sure you are sick of it by now. So, to conclude, this game has a great turn based style of play and a storyline which you can get in to, however, the free to play section is lacking and the customer support may be questionable. Would I suggest that a someone start playing Wizard 101? Yes, if you either get bored with games very quickly or that you are willing to pay. Keep in mind though, this is still a game in progress with many new features to be added. If a fun, colourful, game of tactics is what you want then Wizard 101 is for you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

rhinok

Originally posted by Thephenom6


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My main grudge with this game is the constant  baiting people in to becoming subscribers or to buy crowns, the most blatant example is the icon on the players screen itself, which I swear I still had after I became a subscriber in my previous time playing it. The quests as well, sending you to areas such as Cyclops Alley where all you are going to get is a message in front of you saying simply, " Pay or you cannot proceed any further." I understand that KingIsle need to make a profit and judging from the amount of players, I assume that they are. Giving a nudge in the direction of subscription is nice but stopping people mid quest and coercing them in to becoming a paying member is beyond belief
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Wizard101 is not a F2P game.  KingsIsle isn't baiting you.   They're letting you try their game for free (a non-expiring free trial, too). if you want to keep playing, you need to pay.  It's that simple...

~Ripper