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No Elves???!
Anslem
Member CommonPosts: 215
Hi!
Looking for a new time sink that isn't in Azeroth, where I spent the better part of the last 7 or so years. 
About to seach for a FAQ on the game but am wondering - are the 3 secret societies like Factions from WoW?
This game looks like a totally different spin on the MMOs I've played (not "high epic" fantasy driven).
How's the community, over all?
It's B2P - is there an subscriber mode at all? Is the cash shop a necessary evil for a viable toon?
TIA.
Played: Ultima Online - DaoC - WoW -
Comments
the 3 factions can all play together and all share the same quest areas and quests, choice only affects what costumes you can unlock and some parts of the main story mission, and the PvP (no open world pvp).
Cash shop is not needed, there are some missions you can buy that are nice tho,
Community was nice, usually helpful.
Once you get to the higher end content (nightmare mode dungeons) some people can be kinda elitiest, but thats in any game really.
There is a sub option, but that wasnt really worth it for me.
Hi there!
The 3 Secret Societies have unique starter zones - the Illumanit are in New York, the Templar are in London, and the Dragon are in Seoul, South Korea. There are several missions that are faction-specific, though they also inter-relate with each other. Clothing pieces, pets and 'flavor text' are also unique, depending on the faction. Kirsten Geary of the Illuminati FTW!
As for setting, yeah this is about as different as it gets - present day world, with a strong undercurrent of the occult flowing through it. Many of the enemies you'll face are pulled directly from present-day mythologies, with heavy influence from literature from Stephen King to H.P. Lovecraft (and others), not to mention current movie entertainment - the New York raid was mainly inspired by Cloverfield while the newest content has Indiana Jones written all over it, and proudly so. Ever imagine you'd be playing a character trying to activate 200+ year old warding runes around a Church while fighting off the zombies that have risen from the Church graveyard? Yeah, me neither - but that's just one example of the 'flavor' that TSW offers.
The community by and large is friendly and helpful - there are jerks, just like in any game, but they are the exception, rather than the rule.
There is a subscription model that gives you a certain stipend of Funcom points every month, along with certain items in the cash shop. Playing without subscription will allow you to access most of the content, though I imagine that'll change over time.
Oh, you should definitely check your PC stats against TSW's recommended specs - TSW is absolutely beautiful, but it takes more 'oomph' than a lot of games do.
PS - OMG a Clippit avatar!!!
Hey hey!
Thanks for the reply... I was worried about TSW being hard to run on my PC. I play on a laptop, not specific to gaming, and it runs WoW, LotRO, and a few others with no issue, but it's certainly by no means state of the art. I am going to try it, however, with hopes that it can run.
The content sounds promising, especially because it's so different from what I have played. I love anything and all about Indiana Jones and the lure of traveling around the world sounds exciting -- kinda like an MMO version of my old favorite PC game from high school "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?"
No world PvP though, right?
Hoping it can run for me so I don't have to take a virtual walk of shame back to Azeroth!
PS. A clippit avatar is only as good as the Beowful fan who remembers it!
Played: Ultima Online - DaoC - WoW -
In TSW, Everything Is True.
Which means there are elves. They're just not what you're used to. They're short, ugly, have bad teeth, and are attempting to start a Marxist revolution in Romania.
As to the Factions - nothing like WoW. You can group up for dungeons and raids, you can chat with them, you can do anything except PvP, join a cabal (those are faction-specific) or bring them to your Faction's headquarters. Well, unless you're a sicko who likes watching bug lanters, that is.
The Cash Shop is not necessary for anyone. There is almost nothing in the cash shop that you can't acquire in game and what little there is still isn't Pay 2 Win. There are boosts that get you skills faster, but you can do that just fine by playing the game. There is literally nothing in the cash shop you'll need to spend money on. Most of it is fluff - vanity pets, the more unusual clothing, coupons to the barber shop or the plastic surgeon (both of which can also be paid for with in-game currency) and the usual 'server' transfer stuff (which only matters if you're a hardcore Fusang player as that's literally the only place your dimension matters.)
But with plenty of achievement-based clothing unlocks, plenty of clothing at the in-game vendors, and easy access to the materials to make all the consumables, there really isn't any need to get into the cash shop if you can't afford it.
There is one exception - the DLC packs are sold through the cash shop and cost points. If you are a free player, you have to buy points to get them. If you're a member, either by subscribing or by owning the Grandmaster Pack, you get a stipend of bonus points to spend on them. Or on something else, that's your choice, but you don't have to spend real cash on the DLCs unless you already spent your month's stipend on something else. And since DLCs are not monthly, those other months you'll have some extra for fluff or boosts.
My experience of the community is that it's the best mmo community I've seen since pre-dubloon Puzzle Pirates. YMMV.
If you want a 72-hour trial key, feel free to PM me your e-mail. I've got a bunch. That would give you the best idea of how your machine will handle the game. Plenty of people run the game below spec, with their graphics on low settings.
I'm Cressida in game, feel free to message me if you have questions.
I recently started playing this game for the first time since beta. I meant to buy it and sub for a few months but never got around to it. I'm very glad I did! I won't tout it as the second coming, but it is well written and well done. I've always been a fan of Tournquist (writer for The Longest Journey and Dreamfall), whose previous single player adventure games were done by Funcom, and the writing here doesn't disappoint.
It is [i]very[/i] different in setting and gameplay from WoW. Combat is more akin to GW2 than to WoW with active dodging and a limited number of abilities or loadout at any given time, but it's very easy to grasp, so not to worry if, like me, twitch gaming isn't your thing.
As for lore, if you're a lore freak like me, it doesn't get much better. It's based around 3 ancient orders that have been around for centuries here on earth. In other words, human history is your basis for lore. It doesn't get much more in-depth than that. They are factions, btw, and there are 3. All 3 cities are open for all factions to explore. These factions are not openly hostile to one another. The "war" between them is very much an undercurrent that tends to happen by way of suterfuge and manipulation. If PvP is your thing though, there is a very healthy PvP community and the battlegrounds can be very exciting with near limitless possibilities of how best to set up your character to be the best.
Some notable deficiencies:
It can be pretty linear, especially if you're used to WoW. Questing isn't linear. You can do whatever you want whenever you want, but understand that the game does follow a central story. Ragnar Tournquist wrote it this way, and the player is most certainly guided in a general path via the central storyline.
The zones are VERY large, and not "walled-off" like SWTOR, for example, but they are zoned. I have felt less confined in this game than I did in AOC just for a point of reference.
This game can be a bit confusing at first with the ability wheel. It is not intuitive at first glance and it rewards those that aren't afraid to experiment. There are plenty of cooki-cutter builds out there (called decks), and even some great starter and more advanced decks included by the developers, but one is truely rewarded when you put in the time to unlock lots of abilities and finally find a few that match your playstyle. In other words, Like moving around a lot while gaming? Fine, there are ways to do that with both melee and range. Prefer to plant yourself and enjoy a laid back rotation during combat? That's possible too, but you may have to die a lot before you find it.
At any rate, I bought it for 20 bucks on steam and have access to all of the original content without dropping a c-note in the store. I even got 1200 funcom points to spend how I wanted just for finishing the first little bit of the game. Overall, the store is done well. I have one concern . . . You can purchase ability points once per week, but even though the total amount would come to like ~170 or so, you can earn many more than that by just playing the game, so not Pay to Win, but rather "pay to not grind."
I definitely recommend this game. If you have the 20 dollars to spare, it's a worthy investment.
No Elves of the Tolkein or generic-fantasy kind, although there is a scary fairy in one of the Transylvania zones, of a species which has some affinity with the original Alfir (sp?) of Norse myth.
iiikkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!
No elves!!!???!!!
The Ultimate Breakdown
The three societies are essentially factions, yes. They are rivals rather than enemies, though. There are a few faction-specific missions, but most content is faction-independent. Your in-character motivation for doing the mission will vary based on your faction, though.
The setting is a wonderful change of pace. Essentially, all of earth's myths and legends are true. I recently solved a mission puzzle by researching Romanian mythology. Investigation missions will often require you do online research to solve them. Sometimes on websites created specifically for the game and sometimes on "real" websites. There are, of course, other sites that just have the solution if you really get stuck.
I find the writing good to excellent. Both in the missions and in the snippets of lore hidden throughout the world.
Overall, the community is good. There are, of course, exceptions, but I find most people to be friendly and helpful.
The cash shop is unnecessary for a viable character. The DLC are certainly worth picking up, mostly for the enjoyable content. The final mission of both issue 5 and 6 (the most recent) does give a random useful item, which is nice, but not necessary.
Most of the cash shop is cosmetic items. A subscription gives you both a certain amount of cash shop credit and a discount on cash shop purchases. If you find many of the cosmetic items appealing, a subscription may be worthwhile. You also recieve "veteren" points for each month you subscribe. There aren't many items to purchase with veteren points yet, but I expect more will come with time.
There are some items in the cash shop that might give you a head start in some cases, but you can obtain better items in-game. It is also possible to buy some skill points once per week, but with the way the skill system works, it is more of a convenience than an advantange and would really only be noticable in the earlier parts of the game.
I heartily recommend The Secret World. If you decide to give it a try, feel free to look up Kataphract in game.