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PAX East 2013: Hands-on with WildStar's Spellslinger and Warrior
When you start following a game, you always worry that it won't live up to your expectations. It's inevitable, really. I didn't fall in love with WildStar after years of playing; I fell in love based upon a trailer and a design philosophy that appealed to me. The game itself could be far removed from my first impressions, or it could be a cocktail of half-finished systems and unsatisfying gameplay. Without some personal experience in Nexus, all I could to do was wait for the game and hope that it matched my hopes. Of course, WildStar hit the ground running at PAX East 2013. I wrote on Friday about my experiences with the new housing video and some of the game's zones, but that's no substitute for playing the game. So it was with a slight sense of apprehension that I found myself standing behind the demo station controls and jumping in for the first time at PAX. Would I be satisfied, or would this turn out to be a love affair that didn't survive contact with the game itself?
The fine art of PvE twinking from level 1-35
I'm sure most of you are familiar with the concept of "twinking" in WoW for PvP. It generally entails decking a low-level character out with all the best possible gear available to them and then tearing up the battlefields. In these post-experience locking days twinking is more straightforward than ever, and our own Olivia Grace has already covered a lot of the gearing aspects of twinking, for both PvE and PvP. PvE twinking is a bit of an unusual idea. Mostly it refers to locking experience at one of the former level caps - 60, 70, 80, or 85 - in order to enjoy the challenges of old raids or to accomplish something limited to players of a certain level, such as the Herald of the Titans title. These are fun and interesting ways to spend time in the game, but what about PvE twinking at even lower levels? Say, level 20? Or 40? Why on earth would anyone want to do that?
City of Heroes lets low-level players go Drowning in Blood
Designing a low-level instance is a challenge that's rarely discussed. High-level challenges are of course the marquee elements of any game, but the low-level content needs love. How do you introduce the concepts to players? How do you make the rewards meaningful while still making room for later improvement? City of Heroes is tackling precisely those problems with the new Drowning in Blood trial, a level 15-30 trial in Bloody Bay coming with Issue 22. In a recent developer diary, world designer Cord Carney explains how the team tried to balance both storytelling aspects and gameplay elements, keeping the second lower-level trial as engaging for new and returning players as the recent introductory trial Death From Below. Carney also explains how the trial will offer players a chance at obtaining a buff that lasts up to level 30, giving everyone a reason to participate with lower characters without unbalancing the endgame. It's an interesting look at making lower-level content engaging, epic, and fun.
Wings Over Atreia: Hunting Haramel
Your hands/claws -- untested by war -- yearn to prove themselves. You have faced neither wings of foes nor patrolled the Abyss. You are too young, unskilled, as yet unblooded by the true conflict that rages beyond the safety of the lands you roam. Some would have you believe that life in Aion begins at level 55. Others say endgame is at 50 (to dominate in Dredgion) or at 35 (to maximize the rifting experience). Content may even seem geared only toward these higher levels; this can leave Daevalings little but to hope they acquire levels and power at a break-neck pace in order to participate, a concept that may not be appetizing to newer players just starting the game. Well hogwash and poppycock! Don't listen to those nattering old naysayers -- NCsoft has not left the lowest-level players out in the cold when it comes it content. In fact, of the three solo instances introduced in Assault on Balaurea, one was designed specifically for the freshly ascended crowd. Catering to levels 18-22, Haramel offers the same benefits of the other instances -- namely, loot and XP sans group -- with the added bonuses of small time commitment and helping new Daevas become more comfortable with the game. Zone in past the cut for Wings Over Atreia's guide to a Daeva's first instance: Haramel. %Gallery-131906%
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Linger
So I was originally going to dive into the matter of the next archetype on the list when it hit me that there were two big issues I didn't talk about in my last column, issues that were brought up on or around the PAX panel but weren't directly addressed. And if there's one thing that I'd like to think I'm known for in the City of Heroes community, it's darting off like a hyperactive badger whenever something catches my eye, regardless of what that means for the overall flow or pacing of a column. Being known as a good writer would be nice, too, but I like to keep a broader perspective. So we're going to take a second to talk about two matters that have stuck with us as an overall community -- the low-level game revamp and the mysterious Issue 20 NDA. The latter is especially mysterious because we now know what's in Issue 20, and it's certainly nothing that will rock City of Heroes to its foundations. Far from it -- the issue, while shaping up nicely, is pretty much standard stuff. Why the obfuscation?
Champions Online looks back and ahead
After the anniversary earlier this month, it's been fairly quiet within Champions Online. Shannon Posniewski, the game's executive producer, recently sat down to talk a little bit about the game's past and future. It includes some interesting tidbits about the game, such as Posniewski saying that the game wasn't quite ready for launch a year ago, and he would have preferred for the game to be either delayed or to cut out some features and polish more vital elements. Moving beyond the past, however, he outlines some of the plans the team has for the game as a whole moving in to the next year, which includes a general re-evaluation of all powers and an ongoing expansion to lower-level content. Coupled with the continued focus on adventure packs that can be played at any level, it looks as if Champions Online players will have plenty of things to enjoy over the next year of service.
