148695-fluff-fun-content-tapers-off-halfway-through-malgrave

== Content ==
			
Context: I've been playing MMO's since 1999 and this is the first MMO that has *really* interested me as far as the story is concerned. I haven't grouped very much at all in-game (Protogames Academy *flex*) and have not yet completed the story after getting Genesis Key on both of my level 50 Exile and Dominion characters.
 
As I finished leveling my second character to 50 (one on each faction,) I feel that during questing progression halfway through Malgrave, the story takes you abruptly out of that zone and into Southern Grimvault. From here until the The Defile, I feel like not only are the quests are less frequent and involved, but the thing I love the most about is game is just straight up rare: fluff & fun content. Things such as NPC conversations, side stories, journals, hidden easter eggs, etc. Upon entering Blighthaven, I remember thinking, "Did they run out of money at this point or did they run out of time due to a mandated release date?" My worst fear is that this this vacant-fluff feeling is intended as part of the Strain-focused story. If so, then, ack... That's what got me hooked on the game to begin with!
 
So, I'm wondering... I am just missing the fluff & fun content halfway through Malgrave or is it really not there; or, is the fluff & fun located in the party content that I haven't yet experienced? Regardless, I really do hope to see this type of stuff included in the next drop, as this is what really keeps me involved with the game.	
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If it's there I haven't found it.  I hate Grimvault, the Defile and Blighthaven as I feel these are zones where fun and light won't dare to tread.
 
My concern is that the next update will just give us more of this type of content, as I feel the devs have boxed themselves into a corner with this 'strain = dreary, dark and depressed' approach.  Thankfully I rarely have to head into these zones after hitting 50 (just for contracts, dailies and WB which is usually only every few days).	
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			There's some humor in "Journey into OMNICORE-1." A little. I think Ultimate Protogames was supposed to be funny. And the holiday events are chock full of humor. But ... yeah. Main story and open world zones, not so much. You'd think that when they created Northern Wastes, Crimson Badlands, and StarCom Station, they could have made one of them sillier than they turned out, wouldn't you? That would have been nice. Hopefully Artemis Zinn and Belle Walker will show up and mash more buttons soon. Or better yet, drag Kit Brinney and Malvolio Portius into a story, since they're both hilarious in their original videos.	
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Oh dude, I am with you.
 
Malgrave is my absolute favorite zone. It has everything that makes WildStar wonderful to me. Lopp, Protostar, a ghost town, Freebots, dreg, marauders, a beach party, giant critters, revenge, a robot cult, powerful Eldan artifacts, a mountain to climb and jump off after fighting your way through hordes of Falkrin ... and then ...
 
Eyeballs.
 
Giant, purple, slimy, ugly eyeballs.
 
For the next three zones.
 
Ugh.
 
Seriously, I've leveled two toons to 50 since F2P and both times I just chugged XP flasks until my eyes bled and then just did EVERYTHING I could in Malgrave, so when I had finally run out of stuff to do, I was level 49 and could head straight to Crimson Badlands and totally skipped the boring slog through Grimblightdefilevaulthaven.	
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Have to agree; I almost gave up on the game first time through Grimvault.
 
The horrible dreary sameness of the purple eyeball-and-bone desert, with no fun little quirky stuff to discover, and the quests that are made bland so they can be copy-pasted across the factions.
 
The strain isn't even a credible threat. I mean, this is supposed to be this horrible unstoppable galaxy-threatening brain-washing disfiguring plague, and people happily eat meat and build furniture out of wood from the infected area, and bring back pets by the bucketful to their capital? (How many strain-infected Jabbits do you have?) In the last part of Celestion, you have Grimhold, where people do care about trying to set up a quarantine, but with the strain, suddenly nobody cares.
 
Not to mention that when we meet the Entity, e.g. during Drusera's story arc and the Tree event, he blusters in such an exaggerated manner that he comes across more like a Dick Dastardly than anything; he ought to have a strain mustache to twirl... ;)
			
				
	Edited January 5, 2016 by Tuft Meadowgrass	
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Oh gosh, I hate the strain zones.
 
If you could venture into Blighthaven sooner it could keep up the pace at least as it's not as disjointed and gloomy. But it does keep going on and on, it's like the joy dies when you step foot into Grimvault and onwards. Every time I have to go there, I don't wanna. Actually quit for a while soon after the Defile patch hit, it was so friggin depressing...	
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I don't think WildStar is alone in having end-of-leveling/endgame zones that are a bit too dark and not much fun to play. I didn't like Shadowmoon Valley or Icecrown in WoW, or Stillmoor and Steppes of Infinity in Rift for the same reasons. The developers try to bring the story to a climax and it gets all serious... and it's not very fun until you overgear it and can just blast around nuking stuff and ignoring the grimness.
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			I don't think WildStar is alone in having end-of-leveling/endgame zones that are a bit too dark and not much fun to play. I didn't like Shadowmoon Valley or Icecrown in WoW, or Stillmoor and Steppes of Infinity in Rift for the same reasons. The developers try to bring the story to a climax and it gets all serious... and it's not very fun until you overgear it and can just blast around nuking stuff and ignoring the grimness.
			
				
	Edited January 5, 2016 by Ghyll	
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So, I'm wondering... I am just missing the fluff & fun content halfway through Malgrave or is it really not there; or, is the fluff & fun located in the party content that I haven't yet experienced? Regardless, I really do hope to see this type of stuff included in the next drop, as this is what really keeps me involved with the game.
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The Exile equivalents are literally the same. Just change the Chuas for Aurin. I swear, this game stopped caring about making each faction differ narratively back in Whitevale. Everything's the same or a copy paste with the NPCs swapped by their racial equivalents.
 
But hey! Factions TOTALLY Must Mean Something.
			
				
	Edited January 5, 2016 by Ildur	
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			Y'all are harshing my mellow as I get ready to head toward these areas.... :unsure:	
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Y'all are harshing my mellow as I get ready to head toward these areas.... :unsure:
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Some other players (me included) also got the feeling that the last areas after Malgrave were on a different level of quality and flair. This might have been a result of the change in max level from 60 to 50 (between 2012-2013). The leveling route was changed drastically and due to this some areas were left out and seem to be included now one after another. My guess is, that they didnt have enough time to put that much effort into grimvault. At release some players even had to grind from lvl48 to 50 (worst case) because they skipped some quests at lower levels.
Source: http://www.wildstar-arkship.de/news/wildstar-bis-level-60-das-war-der-eigentliche-plan-zone-flow-map/11078/(only german, but you can see the leveling flow pic).
			
				
	Edited January 6, 2016 by Duke_da_Nuke--3D	
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			I think everyone in the game knows that Malgrave is spectacular, 	
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The Exile equivalents are literally the same. Just change the Chuas for Aurin. I swear, this game stopped caring about making each faction differ narratively back in Whitevale. Everything's the same or a copy paste with the NPCs swapped by their racial equivalents.
 
But hey! Factions TOTALLY Must Mean Something.
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			Aww man, and I just dinged 45....yay for what I have to look forward to....:P	
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I don't think WildStar is alone in having end-of-leveling/endgame zones that are a bit too dark and not much fun to play. I didn't like Shadowmoon Valley or Icecrown in WoW, or Stillmoor and Steppes of Infinity in Rift for the same reasons. The developers try to bring the story to a climax and it gets all serious... and it's not very fun until you overgear it and can just blast around nuking stuff and ignoring the grimness.
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