What's wrong with AO? Is it me?
As many people may have realized, Anarchy Online has its faults. I can accept that as I have lived with faults in many such games over the years. However, I find that once you have a somewhat "established" character in AO, the game is just plain boring. Someone posted today on another board that for the past three days, he hit "log-in" and said "forget it, I'll go read the boards instead". Here's how I feel, and I know many of you may feel the same way.
From level 1-50, this game is great. Whether you are a fresh player figuring out the game (which makes it particularly fun - as you don't know what you're in for in the latter days) or re-rolling that "mis-spent IP" character, the 1-50 game is a joy. You level at a steady pace, you make friends who level with you, you're constantly upgrading gear, looking ahead to "the yalm", and exploring the world as a whole.
After level 50, something changes.
Here are the faults I see:
1) You almost *have* to team.
What insanity is this? I realize it's an MMORPG, but sometimes I just don't have the three hours it takes to get to a city, join a team, find a spot, wait for everyone to get there, kill one mob, and go home.
2) There is no room for "different" characters.
While you can still find a group if you are not the "norm", groups go the uber route when picking teammates. Why take that MA Trader when I can have that level 80 trader with his QL200 Vektor? I don't want us all to be the same, but I do want us all to be useful in one situation or another.
3) The "Twinks" win.
Rather than killing over-equipping from the beginning when it became a problem, you allowed the twinks to win. What you done is made the NPCs uber, which is fine for the twink. However, the casual player, such as myself, cannot compete. How you solve this problem, I do not know, but at least you are thinking it over.
4) The story in this RPG.
I bought the game for two reasons: it was an RPG and it had a story. The best RP I have ever seen in the game so far has been "What shotty U usng, dewd?". Sad, sad, sad. While I realize there are various nightclubs that are supposed to support RP, I don't buy it. If you really want to let our characters RP, at least give us missions that relate to our classes! (ex. Okay Trader, go kill everything in this building! - huh?). The story is almost non-existant, and I have yet to feel emmersed into the grand plot that you promised last year.
5) Lack of tradeskills.
I love tradeskills in online games! This game likely has the best and most interesting tradeskill system in the RPG universe. However, most of it doesn't work, is half implemented, requires that you spend 100x the credits for the final product (I love the med kits - 200k for a 12 credit sellable item), or is totally useless to the average (read - uber) player. Your trades are useless.
6) Missions are meaningless.
During my first few levels, I read the mission description, studied the reward, and "RPed" the missions. However, what's the point now? They're all exactly the same - Go do cave X, either KILL, LOOK AT, REPAIR, or PICK UP item Y, and go home...That's it! There is such potention for real missions - even multi-tiered missions - that I can't believe you have yet to implement anything better than the Ultima I (copyright 1980 - Origin) mission system.
7) Static Dungeons.
These are a joke, as well. You battle your way through a barrage or enemies for two hours straight just to find a player 100+ levels above you killing the boss for his uber gear. It's like this in all the static dungeons, and they're a waste of space.
8) Static Missions.
These are yet another joke. There is no substance to the plots of the two mission (one actually - they're both the same) that I have found. KILL creature X, PICK UP item Y rears its ugly head once again. However, this isn't my biggest issue with statics. My real issue is the fact that the casual player can't take part in them. The last time that I tried to get "the mission", I waited for the NPC to spawn for 1.5 hours. When he did, another player (100+ levels above, I might add), jumped in with preset macros to get the quest, killed the spawn, and walked away. Another 2 hours later (of sitting) and I finally got one quest. I spent the next week gathering "item Y". When I returned to the NPC, I had 13 hours left on my mission. I waited through 2 more spawns (that was about 3+ hours this time), watched other campers take it, and finally gave up. These things make me sick...
9) The "conflict" and PvP
Let me start by saying - I don't PvP. Now, why don't I PvP? Three reasons:
s1) There is absolutely no reason to. Due to a lack of story, why bother? Omnis team with Clanners all the time. They buff each other and trade with each other. We're all players, and just arbitrarily saying "go kill the other guy!" without a good reason is just plain moronic.
s2) The twinks win. As I've already stated, you've allowed twinks to slaughter the casual gamer due to your design flaws (comp lit buffs, wranglers, cars with +100 str, etc). While you are taking steps to curb this, it's still not working properly. Bear in mind that there are certain groups of players, and every game will have the "ubers", it's up to you to ensure that everyone has, at the least, a fighting chance.
s3) It's grid-camping. Be honest, how many times have you seen an omni out at the Stret West outpost when a clanner walks by. It doesn't happen (at least a fight doesn't break out). What PvP is in this game is "[XXX OOC] - I see a green gridding in! Root him so you can exploit kill him" (if you don't know what I'm talking about, don't worry about it . There is no tactical combat, only people seeking easy kills to get uber titles.
10) Attainable goals and progress.
Once you have your yalm and your gear in order, it's time to level up! But to what level? 200? Well, 200 is the "end of the game", and any level between 50 and 200 is the same. You group, kill monsters that spawn (as they spawn), and gain a new level so you can be less powerful than you used to be. Think about it, most people can solo pretty well at 50. How many can solo well at 100 (yes, I know some classes, particularly pet classes, have it easier). So I have to level as part of the game, but leveling only makes me weaker. If I stop leveling for a little while, all my friends will pass me, and I'll have to make new ones (I average "new friends" about every 2 weeks).
What's the point? What's the goal? What am I striving for? If I'm going to spend 5 hours gaining ONE level during the weekend, shouldn't I get better, not worse?
I started this game in July, 2001. I will be a "veteran" when this game's storyline (if it ever happens) reaches its climax. If I'm around, that is. You have my "Top 10 List". You might want to read it. Players, if you agree or disagree with me, feel free to hit the "quote" button and join in to let Funcom know how you feel. However, please do not turn this thread into "Save Over-Equipping" or "Remove Statloss" (oops, lost myself for a minute there).
Thanks folks, and have a great 2002.
Provisioner.
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