144065-a-running-log-of-experiences-by-a-returning-player

== Content ==
			
Due to the recent 'reboot' of Wildstar going F2P, I've decided to give it the full range of experience in order to re-evaluate where the game is at. To this end I've started a completely new character, and I will not give any support from other characters in terms of loot or plat. I intend to play almost exclusively solo from level 1 to 50, with only the occasional forey into group instances if the queue pops while I'm in the correct level range.   I'd stream or record video for Youtube, but honestly I'm not sure my computer could handle it on top of the strain that WIldstar puts on it.  I haven't upgraded in a couple years. So text log it is!  
 
What I'd like to see is how well the F2P model holds up for a solo player of moderate skill and experience with MMOs.  Everything from leveling speed, to gear aquirement, to customizing the UI and addons.   I'll keep a log of anything I see that merits noting, but if you guys see anything I've missed, or would like me to try something specific out, please drop a post.  
 
I'll be playing as a Chua esper, because insane rodent space wizards are pretty damn awesome.  The last time I played Wildstar with any kind of seriousness was back during...drop 3, I think?  Anyway, it's been awhile, so I feel like I'll have something of a clean pallette to base my experiences on. I'm sure some of the muscle memory will kick in after awhile, but I'll basically be re-learning the game almost from scratch.   
 
I don't intend to read quest descriptions, because I feel like the strength of Wildstar is in it's gameplay, not it's story. The setting is background for what's really fun, IMHO.  And if I REALLY want the lore and story for context, there's always the wiki.   
 
Anyway, here we go:  
 
Level 1: 
Character created on 10/18/2015 at ~12:20pm PST, Sunday.   
 
Novice Tutorial.  The first thing I noticed was the info on the bottom right side of the screen: Nearby Players and Events. Not much explanation of what it is, but it's pretty clearly a quest/task tracker of some kind.   I also immediately had to change my camera settings to my liking, but couldn't find them immediately.  I figured the camera settings would be under controls, but they're actually under Video.   
 
I also turned off 'Double-tap to Dash' almost immediately due to the twitchy nature of how I move using WASD. Happy to see the default dodge-dash key is V, the same as GW2!   Had to change the A and D keys to strafe left and right instead of turn left and right. Not really sure how anyone could survive this game by keyboard turning.   But I guess it's a thing for some people? Regardless, it shouldn't be the default.    
 
Noticed the flashing icon on the bottom left, near the options bar. Takes you to the cash store, which is nicely laid out. No real explanation for what cosmic points are, but I guess it's a reward system for buying stuff.  
 
Madam Fay's fortunes is some kind of gambling similar to lockboxes from other games? Props for having a confirmation to make sure you accidentally buy more coins if you don't want. Cons:  No real obvious way to get out of the Madam Fay screen other than a tiny X in the top right of the screen, and the ESC button on your keyboard. 
 
Took me a little bit to remember what the keybind for the character screen was(it's the P key). I'm immediately assaulted by a giant list of attributes.  The mouseover tooltips are mostly useful, and many of the character attributes are pretty self-explanitory. Strikethrough still doesn't make sense. There's no way to know how much you need just from looking at it on the character screen. No explanation of what Focus does.
 
One thing I immediately noticed was the lack of enemy healthbars or nameplates above their heads.  Again, I expected it to be under "Combat", but I guess it has it's own section below. The interface for it is nice and clean, very easy to understand and change settings.  
 
Tutorial pop-ups were up out of the way in the top right of the screen. I didn't even notice they were there until I was level 4.  
 
Overall I really do like the new intro.  It serves as a quick refresher on movement and basics if you're a returning player, as well as a better story intro to give the player context for the beginning player experience. And if you're new to the game, it covers the basic concepts of the gameplay pretty well. 
 
Levels 2 and 3 get dumped on you very quickly for completing tutorial missions on the Arcship.  Total time to complete was probably around a half hour, given all the initial messing around with the settings to customize it to my liking. After completing the opening tutorial area on the Arcship, I chose to go to Crimson Badlands, which is where I'm at during the time of the post.    	
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