126553-1st-month-feedback

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Okay so my first month's subscription for Wildstar is ending so I want to create a feedback thread for any devs who may read this. As a completely new person to the game, I think I might have some opinions that often don't get stated as a lot. I reached Level 15 in my time (It's been finals for the last two weeks so I've been working on final projects and assignments so I haven't been able to play as much as I wanted to this past month) and also, I don't power level in games (never been into the whole “end game” thing) I've been going quest by quest in my area around and beyond Lightreach so this is what my feedback is based on. I'm on the PvE server and I brought my best friend and boyfriend to play with me.
 
 
I will start with areas of concern so I can end on a positive note! 
 
	Leveling is very very slow and questing is underwhelming. I've been through the large map around Lightreach and I am only Level 15. Only just unlocked Rune crafting. For how much I've had to do, how many quests I've accepted and completed, NPC after NPC, kill this and kill that, it's been incredibly time-consuming. I get that there is a big environment for players to explore but I never really felt like I could do quests out of sequential order because there's no way to tell or gauge how drastically stronger the monsters are slightly to the left. The reason why I think this is an area of concern has to do with Wildstar's combat. If Wildstar had the combat of a lot of MMOs, the point-and-click or the one button mash, then perhaps grinding wouldn't feel so bad but because it is action-orientated, every monster is an individual battle that takes effort and dodging. Which, the first time is lots of fun. The 50th time in less than an hour, not so much. The auto-attack of a lot of monsters is over whelming at this stage that I really am nervous about seeing it later on in the game. I'm very much missing that relaxed vibe that I normally associate with MMO leveling.
 
	I decided to pick Dominion! Love it but outside of Illium, I have not seen more than 15 people in one zone. This is playing at all times, some mornings, some nights. On a Saturday night, I could not find a 5th for my Protogames group. I understand that there is a specific user-made chat channel that keeps being recommended to new players. However, it should not be excepted that a player relies on a private chat channel just for queues. The population has been an issue for me personally because I am a Settler. I enjoy my path a lot, I like making a visual difference. But my path relies on not only other Settlers picking up where I left off when I move on but it relies on people USING the services I create. I was in Illuim and built something and actually had someone in the zone said something along the lines of “Holy ****, there's a Settler here!” This is just an observation of how it directly affects other parts of meaningful content as I know there isn't an immediate solution to this problem...	 	
	On the topic of dungeons. Tried Protogames and posted my feedback on that specifically elsewhere. I will say that this is also the very first MMO I've played where dungeon difficulty was not scaled based on the amount of people in your party. Scaling not only accommodates for those with schedules outside of peak times but also creates a gradual difficulty scale so a person can practice and learn the combat in a group to developing the skills to solo it.	 			There is not nearly enough time explaining the interface of Wildstar and the game expects you to assume things. There are many things in Wildstar, like the chat system, like salvaging that are new or different than other MMOs. I spend a lot of time being confused about something, only having to go look it up, to just be slightly less confused because some fan guides are very vague. Barely any time was spent on Tradeskills or how to find things. These are key aspects of making gameplay different so I really think the first levels, this needs to be more interactive and shown how important they are.	 			Effort and reward are terribly off balance. I understand that it's the early levels so you won't be swimming in gold but some things I just don't want to retry or do (like challenges) because the rewards don't feel worth the time.	
 
To summarize everything: Leveling is not fun, pushing players to rush towards endgame and essentially miss the game in the process, the lack of population of Dominion in these areas is incredibly noticeable, these early levels do not have enough introduction elements, reward and punishment are off balance.
 
Now for the positives!
 
	I LOVE the holo-wardrobe! Excellent game design decision in how to handle costuming. I have only positive things to say about this feature! It's easily the best costuming system I have experienced in a game. The arrangement is very nice and not confusing to figure out. Saving your dyes as well is a great added bonus. I hate playing games that make you have to rebuy dyes over and over again. The addition of armor is great too because there's a joke that circles around “if you think I'm going to wear ugly armor for better stats, you are dead wrong” hahah. My boyfriend plays a Draken and has these skull bracers that he absolutely loves so I'm glad he was able to maintain them.	
	The ability to store your collectibles is fantastic. Saves a lot of storage space and increases convenience. Storage space is one of my biggest pet peeves in MMOs and I think Wildstar does it pretty well, especially with the Bank system. It also has a quick and easy way to review your collection. I honestly can't wait to start collecting and being able to use it.			The lore is pretty good. Despite the marketing for Dominion, I greatly appreciate that there is a great deal of gray area and internal conflict that drives it rather than them being full fledged evil. I was concerned about this because I had a difficult time making an Exile I liked so I went for Dominion but no, I love this side of the fence! The music, the environments, I love the anesthetic and that there are NPCs I like to be around/grab quests from.			I like the quests that let you do something different, like doing puzzles! I wish there were more of this nature in the form of mini-games” to add questing variety.			HOUSING! Wow! Amazing! Easily my favorite feature! I can't wait to make some more gold so I can start expanding and decorating! I'm so excited to see where this element of the game goes.	
To summarize: Everything having to do with customization-based content is excellent and well-enjoyed. The story is solid and well-thought out with subtle complexities that makes me interested in story developments.
 
Anyway, I will be resubbing for another month! Summer vacation has started so I'm looking forward to continue playing! 	
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			Rewards from Challenges are definitely worth your time. If you are staying in zones slightly above your current level and completing the challenges you come across, you will get a ton of usable gear.	
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Glad to hear you're resubbing for another month and I love this kind of feedback.  It's great to read the kind of experiences you're having, both positive and negative.    I understand how frustrating playing during non-peak times can be but I can only say your decision to be Dominion was definitely the right one ;)  (The Exile aligned Devs in the office will pvp me in the halls for that I'm sure).
 
I'm happy you're sticking with it.  Protogames Academy is definitely fun and good training for Stormtalon/Kel'Voreth and I'd love to hear your feedback once you've had a chance to run some more dungeons (and gotten out of our level 15 zones).
 
Good luck in Nexus!	
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Glad to hear you're resubbing for another month and I love this kind of feedback.  It's great to read the kind of experiences you're having, both positive and negative.    I understand how frustrating playing during non-peak times can be but I can only say your decision to be Dominion was definitely the right one ;)  (The Exile aligned Devs in the office will pvp me in the halls for that I'm sure).
 
 
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			Man... I must be really weird. I felt like levelling was about 25% too fast at release.	
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Glad I was able to contribute some feedback in a positive way! :D
 
 
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Rewards from Challenges are definitely worth your time. If you are staying in zones slightly above your current level and completing the challenges you come across, you will get a ton of usable gear.
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Okay so my first month's subscription for Wildstar is ending so I want to create a feedback thread for any devs who may read this. As a completely new person to the game, I think I might have some opinions that often don't get stated as a lot. I reached Level 15 in my time (It's been finals for the last two weeks so I've been working on final projects and assignments so I haven't been able to play as much as I wanted to this past month) and also, I don't power level in games (never been into the whole “end game” thing) I've been going quest by quest in my area around and beyond Lightreach so this is what my feedback is based on. I'm on the PvE server and I brought my best friend and boyfriend to play with me.
Try joining a guild. Each faction has at least one very casual and easy going guild that I'm aware of that will help leveling players with quests, questions and qu..., asi-problems!!
 
 
I will start with areas of concern so I can end on a positive note! 
 
	Leveling is very very slow and questing is underwhelming. I've been through the large map around Lightreach and I am only Level 15. Only just unlocked Rune crafting. For how much I've had to do, how many quests I've accepted and completed, NPC after NPC, kill this and kill that, it's been incredibly time-consuming. I get that there is a big environment for players to explore but I never really felt like I could do quests out of sequential order because there's no way to tell or gauge how drastically stronger the monsters are slightly to the left. The reason why I think this is an area of concern has to do with Wildstar's combat. If Wildstar had the combat of a lot of MMOs, the point-and-click or the one button mash, then perhaps grinding wouldn't feel so bad but because it is action-orientated, every monster is an individual battle that takes effort and dodging. Which, the first time is lots of fun. The 50th time in less than an hour, not so much. The auto-attack of a lot of monsters is over whelming at this stage that I really am nervous about seeing it later on in the game. I'm very much missing that relaxed vibe that I normally associate with MMO leveling.
IMO, the issue is more that there are TOO MANY quests and some just aren't worth your time for the XP rewards you get, but nothing explicitly tells you so. Once you hit the level required for a quest, or worse, surpass the level for a quest, it just isn't worth your time to do it and you should drop the quest and move on. Does this count as power leveling?
	I decided to pick Dominion! Love it but outside of Illium, I have not seen more than 15 people in one zone. This is playing at all times, some mornings, some nights. On a Saturday night, I could not find a 5th for my Protogames group. I understand that there is a specific user-made chat channel that keeps being recommended to new players. However, it should not be excepted that a player relies on a private chat channel just for queues. The population has been an issue for me personally because I am a Settler. I enjoy my path a lot, I like making a visual difference. But my path relies on not only other Settlers picking up where I left off when I move on but it relies on people USING the services I create. I was in Illuim and built something and actually had someone in the zone said something along the lines of “Holy ****, there's a Settler here!” This is just an observation of how it directly affects other parts of meaningful content as I know there isn't an immediate solution to this problem...
Population is an issue, more so on the Dominion side. Since we can't so much about that, the LFG chat channel is there to help with this issue. It's your choice not to use it.
	 	
	On the topic of dungeons. Tried Protogames and posted my feedback on that specifically elsewhere. I will say that this is also the very first MMO I've played where dungeon difficulty was not scaled based on the amount of people in your party. Scaling not only accommodates for those with schedules outside of peak times but also creates a gradual difficulty scale so a person can practice and learn the combat in a group to developing the skills to solo it.
I certainly haven't played tons of MMOs, but of the ones I have played none have adjusted dungeons for you bringing in a smaller party than needed. In WildStar, veteran Shiphands actually do so I believe.
	 			There is not nearly enough time explaining the interface of Wildstar and the game expects you to assume things. There are many things in Wildstar, like the chat system, like salvaging that are new or different than other MMOs. I spend a lot of time being confused about something, only having to go look it up, to just be slightly less confused because some fan guides are very vague. Barely any time was spent on Tradeskills or how to find things. These are key aspects of making gameplay different so I really think the first levels, this needs to be more interactive and shown how important they are.
An alternative to googling is to ask in chat. People are almost always willing to help you out and explain things. Could things be explained better in game? Maybe, can't really say, since I didn't have many issues with the UI.	 			Effort and reward are terribly off balance. I understand that it's the early levels so you won't be swimming in gold but some things I just don't want to retry or do (like challenges) because the rewards don't feel worth the time.
As mentioned, lots of challenge rewards are definitely worth it.
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Glad to hear you're resubbing for another month and I love this kind of feedback.  It's great to read the kind of experiences you're having, both positive and negative.    I understand how frustrating playing during non-peak times can be but I can only say your decision to be Dominion was definitely the right one ;)  (The Exile aligned Devs in the office will pvp me in the halls for that I'm sure).
 
I'm happy you're sticking with it.  Protogames Academy is definitely fun and good training for Stormtalon/Kel'Voreth and I'd love to hear your feedback once you've had a chance to run some more dungeons (and gotten out of our level 15 zones).
 
Good luck in Nexus!
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I don't know if you did any Shiphands but they are certainly enjyoyable. You've got one at level 6, 12 and one around 18 as well. You can get into the Shiphands through LFG if you can't find them in the world. 
 
Regarding questing I highly recomend that you skip the "Task" quests, these are the most boring quests that are there as an option if you'd like to do more quests in that specific area. Personally I enjoy the task quests because sometimes I just wanna kill stuff and get rewarded for it. (Task quests have a lot of kill x amount, just because). (I would love it if Task quests were of a different color so people could see that they are different and maybe also realise they don't have to do the Task quests to progress. I skip a majority of those while I level).
 
My leveling often consists of doing story quests, challenges, shiphands and dungeons. I find leveling in Wildstar very fun  ^_^ (But pleease, make Path quests give regular exp too).
 
The only problem I have with leveling is the lack of dungeons throughout all levels, but they are working on that. Currently there's a dungeon on level 10, 2 on level 20, 1 on 35 and that's it. But in the future it's going to be a level 10, 20,25,35 and level 40 dungeon while leveling.
 
When I leveled recently I didn't really have any problem finding people to do dungeons with. I just did a /who command and saw everyone in my level range and sent them a whisper. I even got 50s that wanted to help me as well. I did use the LFG/Global channel though. I know you said you shoulnd't have to use them and that's true but this is unfortunately the case now. Our community is very small and we have to work together to help eachother.	
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Man... I must be really weird. I felt like levelling was about 25% too fast at release.
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I can imagine duoing in this game is just easy mode for world content.  Even the group+3 world encounters are doable so....or have been so far.  Soldier weapons help.
 
This game DOES feel like its missing something.  I have had ZERO desire to even attempt a dungeon as it simply sounds like a Nightmare.
 
I hear using the LFG tool is Laughable, and the game is strangely missing a good looking for guild/players tool.	
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Dungeons are not nightmares. They're fantastically satisfying, most of the time.
 
The LFG tool is laughable until cap, basically.	
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			I forgot to add one thing... If you want to level faster without missing any lore, the default quest tracker will group everything for you. Do everything in the Zone Lore and World Quest categories and skip the tasks. This also happens to be the most efficient way to level!	
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