"The Secret World", Funcom's (Anarchy online, AoC) new MMO. - Page 2

I cannot wrap my mind around crafting in this thing. I can't even complete the tutorial, fer chrissakes. I managed to make a sword, but now it's just perplexing.

Not even messing with crafting. It's the one big failure in the game, in my opinion. The good news is that i continually get awesome gear drops so it's really not an issue for me.

It's not that complicated, it's just got a terrible interface.

 

You put a kit in the Tool box, then drop materials into grid in the shape of the item (the images from the tutorial quest stay in your quest log under "Completed"). Metal for weapons, Elements for jewelry, and Runes for glyphs.

 

To upgrade your materials for higher-quality, just drop the entire stack in the grid and press Assemble.

 

At some point, I'm sure the interface will get an overhaul, because all it really is, is, "Pick item to make, press MAKE" with the need for a notebook and about 30 extra mouse-clicks added for no reason.

I figured it out when I sobered up this morning, it was just the glyph part that was confusing me.

 

Really enjoying this thing, getting sucked in big-time.

In case anyone's missing them, there's three miscellaneous skill trees that give some very cool options, and are not limited to weapon type. Two of them are based around group play (cause more / less aggro) while the third seems designed for PVP, however you'll probably find use for some of the stuff even in solo. I'm using the self heal from the pvp tree which is not affected by heal stats so comes in very useful for dps / tank characters.

Has anyone been to the school yet? You've got Gentlemen from Buffy wandering around with the Human Beings from Community. Scary!

That's Jeffrey Combs in the Innsmouth school, right? Who are the others? I can't seem to find a cast list online.

THANK YOU. I knew that i recognized his voice from somewhere. Please tell me that Barbara Crampton is in there too.

Getting my ass kicked doing the missions in The Savage Coast. Trying to play around with builds and switch over to blood for more heals. It's challenging.

 

Here's a handful, it can'tbe all of them though:

 

http://www.giantbomb.com/the-secret-world/61-21369/credits/

 

QUARK!

 

Heh, that's exactly what I'm doing.  I'm at tier 11 of 18 on the main quest, and it seems like I alternately kick major ass or just die instantly on main and side missions. I earn APs out the yin-yang, but SPs seem few and far between. I need to get my talismans up at least one more level for the gear I'm finding. And I haven't seen a new weapon drop in ages.

Damn, Jacob ...i could have written that exact paragraph myself. I need to do Dead in the Water again and get a blood token of a decent level.

Enjoying the challenge, though. More fun than just killing everything no problem...that gets boring, and is a primary reason why i dropped TOR.

I hope you've both been spending your sequins in Blue Mountain and not Savage Coast? You can buy blue weapon drops (233 damage) there for 50 sequins, plus an additional 12 (I think) for the glyph. They also sell top talismans there.

 

If you need directions, follow the road all the way out of Savage coast to the west, then continue following the main road (it meanders all over the place) until you hit the arts and crafts store.

I haven't spent a single sequin yet, I don't think. I can't recall any weapons vendors anywhere. I've only earned that one type, though.

The weapon vendors are called merchants of Venice or something. They're usually clustered with a bunch of other vendors. There's one in Kingsmouth by the police station and one in the Savage Coast on the western side over by the Indian trader. I haven't spent any sequins yet as i figures that the Blue Mountain would be the top tier dor the area.

Just ran over to Blue Mountain. Those weapons are QL6, beyond my abilities at the moment. Back to Savage Coast!

Downloaded and installed the game a few days ago and aside from the occasional crash, I'm really liking it.  The story-telling is top notch, and the level-less advancement is a long overdue idea.

The first post-launch "State of the Game" announcement came from Ragnar Tornquist today. Over the course of the rest of 2012, look forward to additional mission content, a new weapon type, the announcement of a raid dungeon in New York, new merchandise in London and new shops in New York and Seoul for cosmetic outfit gear, seasonal events, a group finder tool for dungeons... and they're already adding one new roleplaying server, Leviathan, due to player demand.

Resistance is futile!

Glad you're digging it. What server are you on? Should we consider claiming a CHUD server for all of us and forming a cabal?

I get the feeling that this game is going to make it (unlike TOR which feels doomed).

 

I'll have to check when I get home.  It was the first US non-RP server on the list when I signed on.

Ha, and funny, you guys mentioned TOR, and I just got an email talking about server transfers (never a good sign) and inviting me back for a free week of play.  It is a dark time indeed.

 

The first time I cancelled TOR they immediately sent me a free month if I rethought my decision.  So I stayed, because hey it's a free month.  Then I quit at the end.  Then they sent me an email with Khem Val with a sad face saying that he missed me.  A few weeks later I got the server transfer email.

 

The thing is, the server I was on needed to open server transfers a month in.  The place was packed for 3 weeks and then a ghost town.  The idiots in the guild I had joined (for no other reason than to have people to chat with while I FINALLY took an MMO at a casual pace) all burned through to max level and then made fun of me for taking so long.  Nearly all of them had quit by the time I did hit max level.  Bored with the end game, the part of the game I never intended to see to begin with.

 

I did have fun with PVP on TOR though, I'll say that.

 

I am itching to try this though.  I really thought I was through with MMOs.  I've been signed up for the newsletter for this game for about 3 years and like an idiot didn't log in during beta...but I want to believe...

No ghost towns on here, man. Hell, they almost feel overpopulated. Groups are easy to form regardless of faction, and the chat is healthy with people who seem to be enjoying the game. In short: dive in, the water's fine.

Everyone can group up regardless of server, so this game will never face the kinds of population problems that hit games like TOR.

 

If you're struggling, there are four likely causes:

 

1) Not recognizing the "tricks". A lot of enemies require strategy to defeat, which is unusual for an MMO. I've died a LOT before recognizing what was even happening. One fight had near-instant-death if I moved too far away from the boss, while another guy dropped rings on the ground that you had to stand INSIDE (opposite of the norm). I watched an entire group wail away on a boss for 10 straight minutes doing no damage, with none of them realizing something might be off (in this case, you had to separate the boss from her "minions".

 

2) Relying on random gear. You get "sequins" from every mission, and they buy the best weapons and glyphs you'll see. Drop an item + a glyph in your crafter and you get a better item. Then do about 100 tedious clicks and you can craft an item to fill a hole you might have. 

 

3) Lack of focus. Early on, all skill points should go to your primary weapon's primary role, and your talismans. Your action points should go to your primary weapon. Wait until you've unlocked everything you want before diversifying. Also, as you unlock more abilities, pick a focus for them. I'm focused entirely on critical hits, and get a cascade of bonuses, damage and heals for every crit. By grabbing a secodary weapon that included more crit bonuses, I jumped in power even more.

 

4) Not realizing dying is normal.  Everyone dies a lot in this game. It has some challenge to it. It's okay. Other than some occasionally tedious corpse runs, the penalty for death is light (I've never felt crushed by repairs), so don't worry about it.

 

My favorite death so far was during a stealth mission. I had navigated a minefield and a dozen enemies that basically pulp you if they see you. I was alone on a catwalk far above the ground, where any enemy who sees you will just drop kick you. I see someone running right at me and think, "Dammit, I'm spotted! I have to outrun him!" I turn to run and immediately step on a landmine, obliterating myself and the human player that was running towards me while on the same quest.  We shared a laugh, grouped up and finished the remaining hour of the quest.

Does death send your body back to a spawn point, or is there ghost walking back to your corpse? The old Molten Core attunement process involved talking to a questgiver who could only be seen while you were a ghost, and ghost world Easter eggs would be really appropriate in the Secret World's setting.

 

You can res at the spawn point (for no penalty) or ghost walk back to your body. It's funny you bring up the Molten Core attunement...

 

Another tip for anyone struggling - you can replay any quests other than story mode or investigations. If you've really hit a brick wall then back up a bit. You'll still get tons of XP, tokens and the added satisfaction of measuring your progress by obliterating zombies in a couple of hits.

Take advantage of Fusang (the PVP world area) as well. We tend to log into it ever half hour or so, pick up the quests, capture a facility and a well, then log out of it again. You get stupid amounts of XP there. It's also great fun, feeling like much more of a street brawl than the two more traditional battlegrounds.

Still having a blast with this. Constantly tweaking my builds, and now I'm healing during battles and not dying as much. I repeat quests all the time, trying to build up my two weapons to QL5. Slow going, so far.

 

I'm tempted to try the pvp stuff, I'm just scared I'll suck at it and embarass myself.

 

Have a bash at Fusang, what's the worse that can happen? There's so many people playing there that you should be able to find a big gang of your faction zerging around to hang with while you get to grips with the map layout, etc. On my shard (Arcadia) there's been virtually no queue to get in Fusang so it's easy to pop in and see if your in the mood for it, if not log out and try again later.

Sounds like fun, somebody mentioned CHUD getting on one server.  Are there "guilds" in the game or some equivalent?

Right. "Cabals" are Funcom's jargon for TSW guilds.

If this becomes a thing, I'll definitely want to be at least on the same server as the Seoul Sewer Inseminoids, or whatever you end up calling yourselves. I'm ordering a couple of computer parts a month due to the budgetary restraints of being a full-time college student, but I anticipate having my new gaming rig put together by Christmas.

I have this weird thing where, in a fantasy or sci-fi setting, I want to play the most inhuman thing available, but in a real world setting I'm more comfortable playing a New Englander than a Brit or a Korean; It's just a matter of feeling like I have a way in to the role due to familiarity. I'll almost certainly play an Illuminati character for that reason. I'll be able to cooperate across faction lines with Templars and Dragons in PvE content, if I understand how this works, but I'll be competing against you guys in PvP.

The first content update is scheduled to arrive on July 31st.

Started a new character last night. I'm going blades at the moment with the idea of adding assault rifle later. I've been throwing all of my points into the blade skills and I'm pretty much instoppable...definitely doing much more damage than my other character did. Very fun.

I've been blades from the start, and now that I have the ability that also heals me while my buff is active, I've become a bit of a buzzsaw.  Leap into a group of zombies, hit the multi-target attack, watch them go down.  So cool.

The Steam sale has distracted me from this, hope to get some time in over the weekend. I'm pistols and blades, level 5 in each. And I'm sitting on 62 unused action points.

I think that they need to improve the dojo area so that you can really see how the different weapons actually work. Getting two skills and a practice dummy doesnt really show you how you're gonna be in battle.

Agreed.

I was pistol and blades in the beta and did well. I should have stuck with that for launch as I've gotten progressively frustrated with the claws. They simply do not fit my playstyle.

I'm not sure you really need to be rolling a new character. I filled out the soldier (assault rifle and pistols) deck just to get the uniform, then started up on a tank spec of sword and hammer. I haven't noticed a much slower progression in terms of AP points so I think the idea is that you should be able to have several completely different builds. I swap from melee to ranged every now and again when you get wanker mobs that keep knocking you down, etc. it's a very fluid way of handling situations.

 

For pvp I use ranged for Fusang and melee for Stonehenge, it's working out pretty well.

Yeah, the game's designed to eliminate the need to reroll. You can unlock as many abilities as you want just be playing or replaying missions. Levelling is linear, so there's never any punishment for changing your mind or wanting to expand the roles you can fill in groups.

 

There's even significant bonuses to mixing passive abilities from numerous weapons. I think I play with passive boosts from at least 4 different weapons to maximize the style I enjoy.

I know I don't need to re-roll...I just felt like starting fresh with a character that I wasn't frustrated with.

 

Makes sense, providing you rolled a Templar!

Had a nice marathon session of this yesterday, really enjoying it. It kinda sucks that the crafting tools seem to rarely drop, and when they do, they're always a couple of levels too low for what I can make. I can finally take on missions in Blue Mountain without getting my ass handed to me, but the balance still needs some work. My next tier in the main story mission is listed as "Easy", but fighting to get to the mine still seems way over my head. For now, I'm just repeating the fun missions on the Savage Coast and building my guy up.

I've been out of town for a week so i haven't been able to play. I've legitimately missed playing this in the interim. It's rare that i can say that about a game.

I may restart with a new character.  I feel like I've worked the kinks out, but don't want to rehab my current toon.

 

Agreed. This game has a kind of indefinable quality that just appeals to me. I'm always looking forward to what's next, yet still don't mind repeating quests like "The Black House" over and over.

In addition to the content update coming this Tuesday, July 31st, from Friday, August 3rd at 4pm GMT until Monday, August 6th at 7am GMT, the game will have its first free trial weekend to invite more players on board. Whether you're on a trail account or subscribed, if you manage to solve 30 in-game missions during that time, you'll score an in-game t-shirt and 1200 Funcom bonus points for use in TSW's item shop.

Sources: The Secret World official site and Massively.

Cool, I guess I'll get a chance to try this then.

Looks like a LOT of people are giving this a go this weekend  Gotta give Funcom credit on this one, I think this was a smart move: have people try out the game while the population is still high and enthusiastic.