120836-what-is-the-essential-wildstar

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This a question I started to muse over after reading another post and now I'd like to hear other opinions. Basically ask yourself, what aspects of the game are essential to WildStar remaining WildStar? Remove everything you can until you are left with only the elements necessary for the game to keep its identity. 
 
So for example, for me one essential element is combat. You could take away raids, dungeons, battlegrounds, quests-- all the specific applications of combat, but as long as the combat itself keeps the same feel, you'd still have WildStar. Obviously I don't mean the game would be fun without those things, only that it would still maintain a key aspect of its identity. I have others but I'll keep them to myself for now, I want to hear your opinions! 
 
Why pursue this question? I think how each individual answers will reveal a lot about why they play, why they defend certain aspects of the game but are indifferent to others, and because I'm curious to know which elements will be similar across the board and which ones will differ most. 
 
I do have one request, I think it will be a more fruitful thread if the focus is on posting your own opinion rather than criticizing someone else's. But definitely ask questions! Why do you feel that way? Have you considered this implication, etc. In other words, we can help one another arrive out our individual list of essentials, but let's not set out to tear them apart.	
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What is WildStar without housing?
 
Nothing! There is nothing else!	
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Personally I see it as follows:
 
Combat
Lore
Art style
Difficulty 
Housing	
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Artstyle - Housing - Combat
 
;)	
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combat
difficulty
housing
Esper
grindy (yeah, I enjoy that)	
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Telegraphs
 
As someone who has PvP'd a bit in other mmos, if you didn't play another class or were familiar to some extent, you really had no idea wdf was going on out there >.>
With wildstar, the telegraphs acted like training wheels.
 
Don't stand in the red.	
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			Combat, LAS and hard group content	
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Setting/Lore
Style/Tone
Social (as with all MMOs)
Immersive (as with all RPGs)
Customization
Fluid combat
Diverse (Solo/Small-group/Teams/Large-group/PvE/PvP)
Housing
Challenging
Challenges/Paths
Crafting
 
Also: OP, very nice and constructive thread. Good idea, thanks for putting it up.	
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- WS's sense of humor. I still have lol moments when playing. The npc dialogue is still funny, still like the cab driver, still find Carbines world they created a fine place to spend my free time in.
- The combat system still feels really fluid to me and engaging. I hope they keep the essence of it intact long term.
- The art design is the best I've seen to date. 
- THE MUSIC. Please sell this! Or I wouldn't be mad at a Soundcloud DL. Just a quality recording made available would be awesome.
 
Also: Highfive OP, good to see some positive posting on here. 	
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This char :)  level 41 ATM, making this char after rushing to 50 made me realise what I'd missed out! It's all the little things you never see the first time round.  	
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			Combat and dungeon/fight design	
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I do love the combat in this game. For me the combat system is one of the things that can keep me playing a game even if I dislike almost everything else. Wildstar's combat isn't my favorite combat system (That honor is still held by Warframe, followed closely by ME3 multiplayer), but it is the best I've ever experienced in an MMO.
 
That said, there are a lot of other things that help hold my interest, they are:
 
Housing system, and isn't it glorious. (Shameless self-plug https://forums.wildstar-online.com/forums/index.php?/topic/119928-custom-spaceship-galens-insight-warning-many-many-many-pictures/ )
 
Worldbuilding: The characters, humor, tidbits and references in this game are great. My only qualm here is that I wish they'd gone even further. It feels like we only got half the world they were promising.
 
Hard content: There isn't much point to a great combat system if you're not doing something hard with it. This is why I love the difficulty of the game as well. I actually have to fully utilize the game's combat system in order to survive. That's definitely a big big big deal. 
 
People!: There's a reason i prefer mmo's over almost any other form of game, and its because of the people! Playing with other people is vital to the game and I wouldn't have it any other way :)	
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Having fun, that is the most important thing in, well, any game actualy.
For me, the combat system in Wildstar is great, and the lore is pretty neat too.
Exploring and discovering new things is also part of the fun in my case.
 
What i also love with Wildstar is the humor and the artstyle. I played quite a few MMO games in my life (Started with Meridian 59), but none so amazing as Wildstar.
 
All this packed into a game, is what makes it fun.
Though i wish they could have added more classes for the Aurin.	
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+Fluid movement (separate from combat). This one is a biggie to me. Double jumps/sprint/lots of climbable objects etc really make me feel connected to my character. A lot of MMOs get this wrong.
 
+Active combat thanks to telegraphs.
+Art style.
 
That's it. I excluded difficulty because while it is what the game was built around, lack of diverse tiered content is what I personally think pushed many people away (well, in combo with large raid minimums set in an extremely low pop game), so an exclusively high difficulty design standard isn't something I consider core or healthy.	
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			https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPwKOXI2xQ0  how many other sad sacks are taking time to watch the none interactive NCP  :rolleyes:	
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPwKOXI2xQ0  how many other sad sacks are taking time to watch the none interactive NCP  :rolleyes:
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Lopp
Chuas
Aurins
Dodge ;-)	
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			Lore, combat system and art style. I'd add housing, but like mostly everything else, I feel that's not really a definitory trait of Wildstar. It's just that I really like it.	
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It seems like there are a lot of similarities in responses, that's pretty interesting. Combat and art style/ setting seem to be mentioned by the most people. Difficulty as well. 
 
As I mentioned before I think the combat style is definitley an essential aspect of WildStar, although I'm not sure about whether the difficulty level is. personally I like the difficulty level, but I think it would be recognizable as WildStar without. Maybe, I'm still thinking on that. 
 
 I also think the "tone" of the game is essential, that blend of art style, humor , music, and story that make the setting of WildStar so distinct. A game with the same combat mechanics but without that setting and character wouldn't be the same. 
 
I hadn't really thought of housing before but I have to agree, it's an important element. However I'm inclined to believe it's important because of what the players have done with it more than what the developers put into it. That's not to belittle the fantastic system they set up-- it's top notch-- I just think the way players have run with it and made it so integral to community in the game, especially those that RP, that I think it's the players that bring the real value to housing.	
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I do love the combat in this game. For me the combat system is one of the things that can keep me playing a game even if I dislike almost everything else. Wildstar's combat isn't my favorite combat system (That honor is still held by Warframe, followed closely by ME3 multiplayer), but it is the best I've ever experienced in an MMO.
 
That said, there are a lot of other things that help hold my interest, they are:
 
Housing system, and isn't it glorious. (Shameless self-plug https://forums.wildstar-online.com/forums/index.php?/topic/119928-custom-spaceship-galens-insight-warning-many-many-many-pictures/ )
 
Worldbuilding: The characters, humor, tidbits and references in this game are great. My only qualm here is that I wish they'd gone even further. It feels like we only got half the world they were promising.
 
Hard content: There isn't much point to a great combat system if you're not doing something hard with it. This is why I love the difficulty of the game as well. I actually have to fully utilize the game's combat system in order to survive. That's definitely a big big big deal. 
 
People!: There's a reason i prefer mmo's over almost any other form of game, and its because of the people! Playing with other people is vital to the game and I wouldn't have it any other way :)
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Ordered list -
1. Combat (telegraphs included)
2. Music
3. Graphical style
4. Difficulty
5. LAS
6. Paths
7. Circles	
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Telegraphs
 
As someone who has PvP'd a bit in other mmos, if you didn't play another class or were familiar to some extent, you really had no idea wdf was going on out there >.>
With wildstar, the telegraphs acted like training wheels.
 
Don't stand in the red.
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