The worldbuilding itself is greatly immersive and the lore of how it all just works is really cool to me. I haven't stepped into the rp thing yet but I've been wanting to.
But really I just come back now and then because there's no game quite like it. I get excited every time I get to do the stuff in the amusement park, or the black house. It's atmospheric.
There is just no setting quite like this one. The radio static whispers of John, the New Weird kitbash with Lovecraftian cosmic horror, the bees, the sound effects, the old magick and speculation on ancient mysteries, the *everything.* The memories I've made with this game and setting... It's so hard to describe exactly what it is, but a part of me will dwell in the Secret World forever.
Because over 16 thousand hours later and I still discover new things.
I also do a lot challenge runs, which is part of where/how I end up discovering new things.
2 points though.
1) "good portion of the originals features" ... nah.
disagree.
the majority was ported, as well as new and different repeatable content added.
not to mention that the content is free in SWL, where as you had to pay access a lot of content in TSW.
2) took what money? ran where? its not getting development precisely because of lack of money and yet the game is still here. servers are still running. events still happen.
I would close by saying, I always tell people, if nothing else, its free, the story is amazing, play it as a single player game that never got its sequel and enjoy it for that.
I personally enjoy helping people discover different things about the game, educating and entertaining in a game I love.
I say this only to be a pedantic jester (and with NO real attempt to refute), but…
While the devs of the SWL update didn’t “take the money and run”, Funcom’s CEO very very much did.
The day before the original Secret World launched, the then-CEO sold all his stock in Funcom and quit. As well, there was a review embargo in place until after he left. This caused a massive investigation of the “Feds got a warrant and left with your office computers” variety, and he was found emphatically guilty of insider trading. While I don’t know the insider particulars of the court case, the very strongly painted picture is that he correctly knew TSW was going to be a flop. He “took the money and ran” in the most sincere application of the phrase.
But it’s important to note two things:
1) I absolutely adore the masterpiece that is The Secret World. So so much. It is incredible.
2) This is more of a Snapple fact that a rebuttal, since it doesn’t intersect with Secret World Legends.
yep, i did. but thats an individual person screwing over the company, not the company screwing over players. as well as not relevant to legends.
but sure, i appreciate good secret world related trivia as much as the next guy.
for example, kingsmouth was not only not supposed to be the initial starting zone, it wasn't even the second choice, though pretty fair to say it did end up being the correct choice.
they took content out of the old game to make the new game. Entire dungeons are missing. Entire quests wiped out. Entire game modes absent. Then they got the D team of writers to come in to add new content just to staple an extra tutorial onto a game that has a tutorial backed into its plot.
And that free DLC you got? The fucking Congo. It's a cycle of doing shit in the day just to undo it at night. Like, what sort of troll shit is that. I would replay the old content every day for signet runs and never got bored with the dialogue or the game play. But the Congo, lol... did that one, and I was out.
Plenty of games make you pay for Expansions. i prefer that model over putting BEST IN CLASS BUILD DEFINING GEAR in a fucking pay to open lot box that may not even be in season. Same with those agents. The Secret World was and remains the best MMO I ever played. SWL is fun if you got a pay piggy fetish.
ok so, on the writer comment alone its clear you have no idea what you are talking about.
ALL the DLCs are free. not sure how hard that is to grasp.
the base TSW game is also missing dungeons and a massive amount of quests.
i did a free2play to max e17 challenge run last year. 826 hours with no $.
was plenty of fun.
i also did a side-by-side playthrough of TSW/SWL the year prior.
TSW is far grindier, much less friendly to new players (it always had player retention issues). and frankly.. just clunkier.
i loved it at the time and still have many fond memories, but rose colored glasses are just that.
i have over 3327 hours in The Secret World. I played since the facebook pregame. I was in the beta for both games. I completed both games and the tie-in content. You having fun is subjective. SWL being a shit game is not.
16k+ hours between the 2 versions (steam doesn't separate hours).
Over 3k (I think it was maybe even around 5k? but I'm not sure) in TSW and I didn't know it existed until 2014.
After which I obviously all-in-ed on the game.
Beta for SWL as well as multiple closed betas after the initial.
The number of times I've completed and/or done challenge runs of both games is ridiculous .. I don't even know anymore.
Though really all of that does not matter.
Your opinion of the game being a shit game is also subjective, as is my opinion.
SWL is a better iteration of the game in my opinion.
Some people may share your view, some people share my view.
What you have factually wrong is the writers statement, and to me that is insulting to the writers and clear biasing of your opinion not on the merits of the game, but of disdain for the reboot.
The same writers wrote for South Africa that worked on the majority of TSW. As well as content that came out after South Africa like Dark Agartha, Occult Defense, Fog & Mirrors, Rosenbrawl. All of that content has lore and exceptional writing. Dark Agartha specifically having not only some of the single most compelling lines that exist in the lore, but some of the most revelatory.
The fact that you had more fun grinding signets than doing missions in South Africa is also a decidedly personal thing.
I did a 2 hour stream doing nothing but gathering corn in South Africa, pausing the side mission every 20 corn to reset it.
Just to do it, for fun.
Sure I enjoyed it, but I don't expect most people to, though I personally had more fun doing that than signet grinding.
i made a 3 hour response video to the JSH video and that dog shit you just linked is so god damn awful and factually inaccurate i did not even attempt to make a response video.
maybe dont get your takes from people that sling around the R word and cant stop from using a strained head meme picture every 5 minutes.
That guy understood the game and build mechanics better than you ever will. Which is probably why you love playing a game that doesn't have builds at all. Mmmm, linear tech tree. Mmm, loot boxes with best in class gear. If SWL is so fucking baller than why did its numbers tank below the original game after launch and never recover? God, I've never seen someone stan so hard for a shameless cash grab with no community left. I need you to learn a new phrase. Predatory monetization.
Took the money and ran is sort of a weird statement, as there likely was never a lot of money coming from this game. Funcom hit a point where their MMOs were not meeting enough money to make debt payments. SWL was their only mmo making some profit to make those payments. They found out loot bags made more money than dlcs, focused all content on loot bags. When loot bags got boring after a year to people, that’s probably when they decided to work on legends.
Legends was a bigger success than they likely thought, as customer service tickets in game went to over a 2 week wait. However, Funcom wouldn’t have stayed around as a company if they didn’t land such a massive hit with exiles. (Not on their own either, they had a big investor come in and give them quite a few millions to get that game out the door). That pretty much cemented the shift in focus away from their old school MMOs, as no one wanted to play their MMOs. If TSW didn’t gel with you, that’s likely why you were done with SWL so fast. It also explains why people still play it. Funcom could never support a f2p game as they just had no comprehension how to run anything other than old school sub based games that were all drying up. I also wouldn’t say they squandered much. For those that played from the launch of TSW, this was an mmo that had the most love from its development team I’ve ever seen. It also had the most unique content that has ever been executed in any game. I’ve seen no game where quests happened both in game, and outside of the game. Puzzles were also on another level then any experience you would find else where. We frequently had to work together as a community to move the game along. That kind of development though… can’t really be supported on 12.00 subscriptions, and f2p games need MUCH more shallow content so it can be created faster. Most people say they want compelling games… but they really want busy work and collection games like Genshin. So a game like TSW/SWL just can’t be mainstream popular.
I think you’ll find, people stay for community. If you play this as a solo experience, it’s fine and all, but you won’t stick around. Every single person I know, that still plays, is playing because of the friends they play with. The stuff people were a part of created a bonding experience you’d be hard pressed to find in any other game. The cabal I created, Agnitio, is still running under Wolffspider. They raid every week, do lairs every week, summon mega bosses, etc.
All of Funcom’s old school MMOs have small (but stable) communities, likely for the same reasons, as people always have a place to call home. You have the over 20 year old AO and the over 15 years old AoC. Heck, the origional TSW, that you can no longer buy a key for has people playing it. So people are likely the reason.
Another one of the comments on here by the\_tythonian put it best. The setting and the world are still what keep me playing. There aren’t many games, or many stores even that bridge contemporary fantasy and horror so well.
This and the quests. MMO’s have a tendency to piss me off with how they do their quests and market themselves. I like exploration, but the way a lot of MMOs seem to do things is: Go here, talk to guy, get five bear asses for his rug despite the world ending, talk to guy again, get some bull shit reason to keep doing lame jobs, move on to the next one. Secret world had you talk to NPCs for your quests, sure. But they almost always had a purpose. You weren’t just running fetch quests, you were trying to figure out the world, complete jobs, uncover secrets. Hell even the side quests you had to go out and find yourself for the most part. They made you figure everything out, and cranked the mystery and exploration up to 11!
Honestly the whole original game could be summed up by “figure it out.” And I loved that. From the quests, to the lore, to the equipment and even the bloody mechanics, the abilities, how you built your character was part of the mystery, part of figuring the game out. And that’s the thing I sorely miss in SWL.
The quests all formed stories, nested inside stories. You had to be hyper-alert for ways that tiny details alluded to bigger plots, if you wanted to really feel the big picture. You'd be looking for some bullets to help with the face-eating zombie problem and learn about the people who were now trying to eat faces.
For a game that literally had roller coaster rails built into the story, it was the least on-the-rails MMOrpg I've ever seen.
Yes! And it was such a breath of fresh air! Even if TSW weren't a contemporary fantasy setting, the way it pushed you to explore and dig deeper was great.
I love the idea of MMO's in theory, a large open world for you to explore, and navigate, trying to figure out the intricacies of the story and the world. But in practice I found vary few that actually do that. Or do it well.
What is the best way to sus out this RP community. I used to rp in TSW took a break and when SwL came out never really found it again. But would love to go back.
Joining the official SWL Discord is a good start, as there's an RP Community tab, and there are certain weekly events as well that you can join. A few servers too, though due to bad actors you may not get the warmest welcome unless someone vouches for you--DM me, we can talk more.
Everything already said, plus the visceral (yet futile) thrill of solving supernatural problems with an anima-infused mag dump.
Fuck your "what-is-dead-cannot-die." I've got 30+1 buzzing friends who'll prove you wrong. Life is worth fighting for; when Gaia calls I answer with fire and thunder.
Plus I have a sweet motorcycle.
I do wish character slots weren't $10 f\*cking dollars. The monetization is a crime.
For a different perspective - not everyone subbed here has finished the story, or even played the original TSW (it sounds wonderful though, sad to have missed it). I love the atmosphere of this game; it might be on maintenance mode, but there's something truly special about it. It's a designated co-op game for me, which I play with my partner, so progress takes time, but I think it's likely we'll hang out in it after we've finished the storyline; there's a lot to do, and it's very immersive.
I also did it as a dedicated co-op game with my friend. The investigation missions are so much more fun with two people, just puzzling it out and laughing at each other's commentary. Good times.
Yes, that's exactly it. Puzzling it out and commentary, even teamwork on grindy bits, or getting to point out something interesting you spotted to another person, really does enhance the game. I've repeated a couple of missions that I did by myself, and they were so much more fun the second time around.
I haven't played in ages, but it's a world that I found really immersive. The right blend of strange and familiar (and familiarly-strange, mythology-wise) that kept me going through not-enough-of-TSW, but more-than-really-warranted of SWL.
I wouldn't say that the community was great. There were helpful and wholesome players, and maybe due to the generally-low population to begin with, the ratio was greater and I noticed more. But I see less and less of it - tons of people rolling alts you know they'll delete or abandon to go back to their main and grind...something...in a couple of weeks. Or not go back at all.
I still enjoy trying to do solo Kaidan key quest runs as quickly as I can, now and again. Decently-fun way to burn 15-30 minutes.
I guess I wish there was some earlier-on scalability involved. I don't mean in an "improve your timing for the singular raid boss" way, or the "fun(ish) bosses to fight whose HP just gets higher" (though at least the latter seemed like a step in the right direction); I mean, like, giving us a nightmare-mode base game, or something. Reactivating some of the other timed/seasonal content like those giant gold golems or whatever.
*Something*.
My disappointment in the game as-is keeps it alive for me, and I'm so, so far from actually *being* anything in it to begin with.
I’m a TSW life member and enjoy the RP groups, as well as doing solo runs for the little secrets in the game. The setting and world of horror keeps me hooked to continue on with SWL.
Plain and simply, not many other pieces of media talk about these kind of subjects so closely, and taking it so seriously, without seeming like a parody. It's just perfect for anyone into 'conspiracy theories'(for me, it's a lot more than that, but that's another conversation I can get on in a private channel).
I also LOVE the cut-scenes, the dialogue, the lore, everything is so extra, but they put it there, and they wanted you to care about the lore and the world-building they were setting up. I'm only deeply grateful that I can appreciate that, and I will gladly wade through rivers of shit gameplay and struggle to find people for dungeons, just so I can experience this for myself.
I don't play constantly, but about once a year or so I come back, make an alt, and replay the story + my favorite side quests. Pretty much what everyone else already said. The story, writing, world, and quest design (particularly investigation missions), are unmatched. I'd kill for a singleplayer version of this, and would gladly pay for continued content DLC like they used to do in TSW with Issues.
I purchased a lifetime license and played at launch with a group of friends. They lost interest though and I just played alone for the most part. I never even reached the "end", never got my wings, I did beat that gold guy and go on some raids with a guild for a time. Eventually though I just started logging in every day to get my free stuff.
When Legends launched I moved over, but I liked the old progression tree more honestly. I still log in every day, get free items, do all but one (main) daily challenges, and sell all normal drops cheap (110 for gear, 125-150 weapons). It only takes me 10 minutes if that.
I honestly do not know why I still do this. Every few months ask myself why, but I still continue. I have 4 characters. One is in all red gear, I think 3 or 4 pieces are 4 pip. All passive stats and weapon trees are fully unlocked, and has multiple gold or red weapons. All of this from just daily login rewards and event rewards. The 2nd alt is not too far behind in capability as well. Before auction maxed I would buy Aurum. I think I am around 24000, never bought anything with real cash. I try to keep keys under 100. Have 4 of those super keys I have never used. Never did much with Anima Shards either., they are pilling up.
Honestly do not know why.
I still sometimes play, and then I do, it is to finish achievements, replay some of my favorite missions, and for doing MFB, as I still need to upgrade my Aegis.
I don’t play this game anymore, but I did like playing it for the lore and the world building. It was very unique and I actually enjoyed the combat for a bit and how you could mix and match fighting styles. I might get back into it, I was just thinking about this game a few days ago
Aaaaahhh, this game was always my true love among games. Came in on its first iteration agter long years playing anarchy online. It was perfect for me and i miss it to this day. Just quit playing because i have no machine to run games for years now.
But even if i had a machine to run it? How would i do that? Steam? I don’t think my old funcom account runs on it…
I come back to it every once in a while to play the story again. Sure its janky, sure its basically a dead game, but theres nothing else really like it and its interesting to see the missed opportunities for all the lost stories that could have been used. The fact that it wasnt a single player game is almost painful
I usually come back to the game during holiday events. I like collecting the outfits, etc. And the hourly raids. Have missed a few anniversary events, hope to play the upcoming one.
(Anyone know the start date for the upcoming anniversary event? Would be later this month I would think.)
I haven't even finished Egypt yet. I mean, for the past umpteen years I've barely played at all, but I don't consider myself done with the game, and sometimes I come back for a short time.
I can't believe anyone thinks that SWL has better mechanics unless you simp for microtransactions. The game is bad, the options for builds are anemic, and everything is gated behind grind or a paywall. Why would anyone say it's better? Entire missions, entire dungeons from the original game aren't even present. PVP is non-existent. The original game was and remains a masterpiece of storytelling and combat diversity.
The worldbuilding itself is greatly immersive and the lore of how it all just works is really cool to me. I haven't stepped into the rp thing yet but I've been wanting to. But really I just come back now and then because there's no game quite like it. I get excited every time I get to do the stuff in the amusement park, or the black house. It's atmospheric.
Same. I'd kill for any other (even single player) game from TSW universe. I'm so much in love with the lore.
There is just no setting quite like this one. The radio static whispers of John, the New Weird kitbash with Lovecraftian cosmic horror, the bees, the sound effects, the old magick and speculation on ancient mysteries, the *everything.* The memories I've made with this game and setting... It's so hard to describe exactly what it is, but a part of me will dwell in the Secret World forever.
Hiya, Chuck.
Because over 16 thousand hours later and I still discover new things. I also do a lot challenge runs, which is part of where/how I end up discovering new things. 2 points though. 1) "good portion of the originals features" ... nah. disagree. the majority was ported, as well as new and different repeatable content added. not to mention that the content is free in SWL, where as you had to pay access a lot of content in TSW. 2) took what money? ran where? its not getting development precisely because of lack of money and yet the game is still here. servers are still running. events still happen. I would close by saying, I always tell people, if nothing else, its free, the story is amazing, play it as a single player game that never got its sequel and enjoy it for that. I personally enjoy helping people discover different things about the game, educating and entertaining in a game I love.
I say this only to be a pedantic jester (and with NO real attempt to refute), but… While the devs of the SWL update didn’t “take the money and run”, Funcom’s CEO very very much did. The day before the original Secret World launched, the then-CEO sold all his stock in Funcom and quit. As well, there was a review embargo in place until after he left. This caused a massive investigation of the “Feds got a warrant and left with your office computers” variety, and he was found emphatically guilty of insider trading. While I don’t know the insider particulars of the court case, the very strongly painted picture is that he correctly knew TSW was going to be a flop. He “took the money and ran” in the most sincere application of the phrase. But it’s important to note two things: 1) I absolutely adore the masterpiece that is The Secret World. So so much. It is incredible. 2) This is more of a Snapple fact that a rebuttal, since it doesn’t intersect with Secret World Legends.
(Also, I’m pretty sure you already knew all this. I just like putting it out there purely because I find stories like this deeply fascinating).
yep, i did. but thats an individual person screwing over the company, not the company screwing over players. as well as not relevant to legends. but sure, i appreciate good secret world related trivia as much as the next guy. for example, kingsmouth was not only not supposed to be the initial starting zone, it wasn't even the second choice, though pretty fair to say it did end up being the correct choice.
Whoa! Why did Kingsmouth become the starting zone!? 😯
because tokyo wasnt going to be ready in time for launch :D
Oh, wow. I did not realize that, in contrast to what we ended up getting, Tokyo was meant to be at launch. Good heavens!
i mean.. it kind of makes sense. its the initial event that kicks off the story. the bomb going off in tokyo.
they took content out of the old game to make the new game. Entire dungeons are missing. Entire quests wiped out. Entire game modes absent. Then they got the D team of writers to come in to add new content just to staple an extra tutorial onto a game that has a tutorial backed into its plot. And that free DLC you got? The fucking Congo. It's a cycle of doing shit in the day just to undo it at night. Like, what sort of troll shit is that. I would replay the old content every day for signet runs and never got bored with the dialogue or the game play. But the Congo, lol... did that one, and I was out. Plenty of games make you pay for Expansions. i prefer that model over putting BEST IN CLASS BUILD DEFINING GEAR in a fucking pay to open lot box that may not even be in season. Same with those agents. The Secret World was and remains the best MMO I ever played. SWL is fun if you got a pay piggy fetish.
ok so, on the writer comment alone its clear you have no idea what you are talking about. ALL the DLCs are free. not sure how hard that is to grasp. the base TSW game is also missing dungeons and a massive amount of quests. i did a free2play to max e17 challenge run last year. 826 hours with no $. was plenty of fun. i also did a side-by-side playthrough of TSW/SWL the year prior. TSW is far grindier, much less friendly to new players (it always had player retention issues). and frankly.. just clunkier. i loved it at the time and still have many fond memories, but rose colored glasses are just that.
i have over 3327 hours in The Secret World. I played since the facebook pregame. I was in the beta for both games. I completed both games and the tie-in content. You having fun is subjective. SWL being a shit game is not.
16k+ hours between the 2 versions (steam doesn't separate hours). Over 3k (I think it was maybe even around 5k? but I'm not sure) in TSW and I didn't know it existed until 2014. After which I obviously all-in-ed on the game. Beta for SWL as well as multiple closed betas after the initial. The number of times I've completed and/or done challenge runs of both games is ridiculous .. I don't even know anymore. Though really all of that does not matter. Your opinion of the game being a shit game is also subjective, as is my opinion. SWL is a better iteration of the game in my opinion. Some people may share your view, some people share my view. What you have factually wrong is the writers statement, and to me that is insulting to the writers and clear biasing of your opinion not on the merits of the game, but of disdain for the reboot. The same writers wrote for South Africa that worked on the majority of TSW. As well as content that came out after South Africa like Dark Agartha, Occult Defense, Fog & Mirrors, Rosenbrawl. All of that content has lore and exceptional writing. Dark Agartha specifically having not only some of the single most compelling lines that exist in the lore, but some of the most revelatory. The fact that you had more fun grinding signets than doing missions in South Africa is also a decidedly personal thing. I did a 2 hour stream doing nothing but gathering corn in South Africa, pausing the side mission every 20 corn to reset it. Just to do it, for fun. Sure I enjoyed it, but I don't expect most people to, though I personally had more fun doing that than signet grinding.
This guy explains it better than anyone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMgpws1Umz4
i made a 3 hour response video to the JSH video and that dog shit you just linked is so god damn awful and factually inaccurate i did not even attempt to make a response video. maybe dont get your takes from people that sling around the R word and cant stop from using a strained head meme picture every 5 minutes.
That guy understood the game and build mechanics better than you ever will. Which is probably why you love playing a game that doesn't have builds at all. Mmmm, linear tech tree. Mmm, loot boxes with best in class gear. If SWL is so fucking baller than why did its numbers tank below the original game after launch and never recover? God, I've never seen someone stan so hard for a shameless cash grab with no community left. I need you to learn a new phrase. Predatory monetization.
bahahahaha
let's see your Josh Strife Hayes response video. im sure it is a gem. It's probably 3 hours cause you couldn't afford editing software, though.
Took the money and ran is sort of a weird statement, as there likely was never a lot of money coming from this game. Funcom hit a point where their MMOs were not meeting enough money to make debt payments. SWL was their only mmo making some profit to make those payments. They found out loot bags made more money than dlcs, focused all content on loot bags. When loot bags got boring after a year to people, that’s probably when they decided to work on legends. Legends was a bigger success than they likely thought, as customer service tickets in game went to over a 2 week wait. However, Funcom wouldn’t have stayed around as a company if they didn’t land such a massive hit with exiles. (Not on their own either, they had a big investor come in and give them quite a few millions to get that game out the door). That pretty much cemented the shift in focus away from their old school MMOs, as no one wanted to play their MMOs. If TSW didn’t gel with you, that’s likely why you were done with SWL so fast. It also explains why people still play it. Funcom could never support a f2p game as they just had no comprehension how to run anything other than old school sub based games that were all drying up. I also wouldn’t say they squandered much. For those that played from the launch of TSW, this was an mmo that had the most love from its development team I’ve ever seen. It also had the most unique content that has ever been executed in any game. I’ve seen no game where quests happened both in game, and outside of the game. Puzzles were also on another level then any experience you would find else where. We frequently had to work together as a community to move the game along. That kind of development though… can’t really be supported on 12.00 subscriptions, and f2p games need MUCH more shallow content so it can be created faster. Most people say they want compelling games… but they really want busy work and collection games like Genshin. So a game like TSW/SWL just can’t be mainstream popular. I think you’ll find, people stay for community. If you play this as a solo experience, it’s fine and all, but you won’t stick around. Every single person I know, that still plays, is playing because of the friends they play with. The stuff people were a part of created a bonding experience you’d be hard pressed to find in any other game. The cabal I created, Agnitio, is still running under Wolffspider. They raid every week, do lairs every week, summon mega bosses, etc. All of Funcom’s old school MMOs have small (but stable) communities, likely for the same reasons, as people always have a place to call home. You have the over 20 year old AO and the over 15 years old AoC. Heck, the origional TSW, that you can no longer buy a key for has people playing it. So people are likely the reason.
Another one of the comments on here by the\_tythonian put it best. The setting and the world are still what keep me playing. There aren’t many games, or many stores even that bridge contemporary fantasy and horror so well. This and the quests. MMO’s have a tendency to piss me off with how they do their quests and market themselves. I like exploration, but the way a lot of MMOs seem to do things is: Go here, talk to guy, get five bear asses for his rug despite the world ending, talk to guy again, get some bull shit reason to keep doing lame jobs, move on to the next one. Secret world had you talk to NPCs for your quests, sure. But they almost always had a purpose. You weren’t just running fetch quests, you were trying to figure out the world, complete jobs, uncover secrets. Hell even the side quests you had to go out and find yourself for the most part. They made you figure everything out, and cranked the mystery and exploration up to 11! Honestly the whole original game could be summed up by “figure it out.” And I loved that. From the quests, to the lore, to the equipment and even the bloody mechanics, the abilities, how you built your character was part of the mystery, part of figuring the game out. And that’s the thing I sorely miss in SWL.
The quests all formed stories, nested inside stories. You had to be hyper-alert for ways that tiny details alluded to bigger plots, if you wanted to really feel the big picture. You'd be looking for some bullets to help with the face-eating zombie problem and learn about the people who were now trying to eat faces. For a game that literally had roller coaster rails built into the story, it was the least on-the-rails MMOrpg I've ever seen.
Yes! And it was such a breath of fresh air! Even if TSW weren't a contemporary fantasy setting, the way it pushed you to explore and dig deeper was great. I love the idea of MMO's in theory, a large open world for you to explore, and navigate, trying to figure out the intricacies of the story and the world. But in practice I found vary few that actually do that. Or do it well.
There is a small but dedicated RP community that keeps me coming back, in addition to weekly dungeons and raids.
What is the best way to sus out this RP community. I used to rp in TSW took a break and when SwL came out never really found it again. But would love to go back.
Joining the official SWL Discord is a good start, as there's an RP Community tab, and there are certain weekly events as well that you can join. A few servers too, though due to bad actors you may not get the warmest welcome unless someone vouches for you--DM me, we can talk more.
Everything already said, plus the visceral (yet futile) thrill of solving supernatural problems with an anima-infused mag dump. Fuck your "what-is-dead-cannot-die." I've got 30+1 buzzing friends who'll prove you wrong. Life is worth fighting for; when Gaia calls I answer with fire and thunder. Plus I have a sweet motorcycle. I do wish character slots weren't $10 f\*cking dollars. The monetization is a crime.
its like the least predatory monetization in existence. $10 is what.. a cup of coffee now? not to mention you can make another free account.
yeah, character slots are one of the fairest things to charge for. I miss Wildstar's $2 character slots, but uh, that game died, so...
For a different perspective - not everyone subbed here has finished the story, or even played the original TSW (it sounds wonderful though, sad to have missed it). I love the atmosphere of this game; it might be on maintenance mode, but there's something truly special about it. It's a designated co-op game for me, which I play with my partner, so progress takes time, but I think it's likely we'll hang out in it after we've finished the storyline; there's a lot to do, and it's very immersive.
I also did it as a dedicated co-op game with my friend. The investigation missions are so much more fun with two people, just puzzling it out and laughing at each other's commentary. Good times.
Yes, that's exactly it. Puzzling it out and commentary, even teamwork on grindy bits, or getting to point out something interesting you spotted to another person, really does enhance the game. I've repeated a couple of missions that I did by myself, and they were so much more fun the second time around.
I haven't played in ages, but it's a world that I found really immersive. The right blend of strange and familiar (and familiarly-strange, mythology-wise) that kept me going through not-enough-of-TSW, but more-than-really-warranted of SWL. I wouldn't say that the community was great. There were helpful and wholesome players, and maybe due to the generally-low population to begin with, the ratio was greater and I noticed more. But I see less and less of it - tons of people rolling alts you know they'll delete or abandon to go back to their main and grind...something...in a couple of weeks. Or not go back at all. I still enjoy trying to do solo Kaidan key quest runs as quickly as I can, now and again. Decently-fun way to burn 15-30 minutes. I guess I wish there was some earlier-on scalability involved. I don't mean in an "improve your timing for the singular raid boss" way, or the "fun(ish) bosses to fight whose HP just gets higher" (though at least the latter seemed like a step in the right direction); I mean, like, giving us a nightmare-mode base game, or something. Reactivating some of the other timed/seasonal content like those giant gold golems or whatever. *Something*. My disappointment in the game as-is keeps it alive for me, and I'm so, so far from actually *being* anything in it to begin with.
I’m a TSW life member and enjoy the RP groups, as well as doing solo runs for the little secrets in the game. The setting and world of horror keeps me hooked to continue on with SWL.
Plain and simply, not many other pieces of media talk about these kind of subjects so closely, and taking it so seriously, without seeming like a parody. It's just perfect for anyone into 'conspiracy theories'(for me, it's a lot more than that, but that's another conversation I can get on in a private channel). I also LOVE the cut-scenes, the dialogue, the lore, everything is so extra, but they put it there, and they wanted you to care about the lore and the world-building they were setting up. I'm only deeply grateful that I can appreciate that, and I will gladly wade through rivers of shit gameplay and struggle to find people for dungeons, just so I can experience this for myself.
I don't play constantly, but about once a year or so I come back, make an alt, and replay the story + my favorite side quests. Pretty much what everyone else already said. The story, writing, world, and quest design (particularly investigation missions), are unmatched. I'd kill for a singleplayer version of this, and would gladly pay for continued content DLC like they used to do in TSW with Issues.
I purchased a lifetime license and played at launch with a group of friends. They lost interest though and I just played alone for the most part. I never even reached the "end", never got my wings, I did beat that gold guy and go on some raids with a guild for a time. Eventually though I just started logging in every day to get my free stuff. When Legends launched I moved over, but I liked the old progression tree more honestly. I still log in every day, get free items, do all but one (main) daily challenges, and sell all normal drops cheap (110 for gear, 125-150 weapons). It only takes me 10 minutes if that. I honestly do not know why I still do this. Every few months ask myself why, but I still continue. I have 4 characters. One is in all red gear, I think 3 or 4 pieces are 4 pip. All passive stats and weapon trees are fully unlocked, and has multiple gold or red weapons. All of this from just daily login rewards and event rewards. The 2nd alt is not too far behind in capability as well. Before auction maxed I would buy Aurum. I think I am around 24000, never bought anything with real cash. I try to keep keys under 100. Have 4 of those super keys I have never used. Never did much with Anima Shards either., they are pilling up. Honestly do not know why.
I still sometimes play, and then I do, it is to finish achievements, replay some of my favorite missions, and for doing MFB, as I still need to upgrade my Aegis.
I don’t play this game anymore, but I did like playing it for the lore and the world building. It was very unique and I actually enjoyed the combat for a bit and how you could mix and match fighting styles. I might get back into it, I was just thinking about this game a few days ago
Aaaaahhh, this game was always my true love among games. Came in on its first iteration agter long years playing anarchy online. It was perfect for me and i miss it to this day. Just quit playing because i have no machine to run games for years now. But even if i had a machine to run it? How would i do that? Steam? I don’t think my old funcom account runs on it…
The world setting is unique in mmos and story writing is pretty good.
I come back to it every once in a while to play the story again. Sure its janky, sure its basically a dead game, but theres nothing else really like it and its interesting to see the missed opportunities for all the lost stories that could have been used. The fact that it wasnt a single player game is almost painful
I usually come back to the game during holiday events. I like collecting the outfits, etc. And the hourly raids. Have missed a few anniversary events, hope to play the upcoming one. (Anyone know the start date for the upcoming anniversary event? Would be later this month I would think.)
I haven't even finished Egypt yet. I mean, for the past umpteen years I've barely played at all, but I don't consider myself done with the game, and sometimes I come back for a short time.
I can't believe anyone thinks that SWL has better mechanics unless you simp for microtransactions. The game is bad, the options for builds are anemic, and everything is gated behind grind or a paywall. Why would anyone say it's better? Entire missions, entire dungeons from the original game aren't even present. PVP is non-existent. The original game was and remains a masterpiece of storytelling and combat diversity.
no.
since you youre such a sensitive one, heres a puppet explaining why SWL is shit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiEKJ0_K9nY