So ive hit Blue Mountains. But i was hit too. Hard!

no way i can advance there. I mean, its possible. but i need to change my deck for some much less fun, even being more efective.

The Game dificulty scales too much.

sad i was having some fun until now

Edited February 2, 2014 by CarlosTrevisan

Blue Mountain is the first big jump in difficulty and you certainly aren't the first to hit a wall there. Don't give up though, learn from it. Adjust your build, even go back and earn some more AP/SP if you need too.

 

Study the mobs, find a build that works against them and move on. You will find you need to do that fairly often in the game. It is trying to get you to adapt and learn new ways, a skill you will find very useful later on.

 

If you are mainly soloing, there is no real 'one build to kill them all', even changing one skill or a passive can make a big difference.

So ive hit Blue Mountains. But i was hit too. Hard!

no way i can advance there. I mean, its possible. but i need to change my deck for some much less fun, even being more efective.

The Game dificulty scales too much.

sad i was having some fun until now

 

If you think BM is too hard, just quit now. You'll never get through the later zones. It's the filter of the game really because if you can't be bothered to rethink your deck then you have no reason to play the game.

So ive hit Blue Mountains. But i was hit too. Hard!

no way i can advance there. I mean, its possible. but i need to change my deck for some much less fun, even being more efective.

The Game dificulty scales too much.

sad i was having some fun until now

 

It might also be a gear issue, what's your overall QL?

So ive hit Blue Mountains. But i was hit too. Hard!

no way i can advance there. I mean, its possible. but i need to change my deck for some much less fun, even being more efective.

The Game dificulty scales too much.

sad i was having some fun until now

 

Don't give up Carlos, it's a great game. Blue Mountain was always a notorious step up in difficulty but use it play with your build and really learn what your build can do. Use it as a teacher and it will set you up nicely for the later areas. I think I was lucky as I started playing assault rifle/blood so had some great leach and heal abilities and had no issues there at all. I must have just stumbled upon a lucky build.

Ty for the suport guys. Ive find where i can buy new weapons (http://www.tswtraveler.com/blog/2012-08-13/sequin-of-solomon-island-vendors) and equipment, ill try reorganize my passives and actives and use more oriented leech build.

The game its awesome, the "buffy", "angel", "Grimm", and other movies/series like atmosphere its really cool. Ho doesnt love shot zombies with a shotgun?

The game its awesome, the "buffy", "angel", "Grimm", and other movies/series like atmosphere its really cool. Ho doesnt love shot zombies with a shotgun?

 

If you think that Buffy/Angel feel is there already... wait until you hit Transylvania!

More Tokyo news and other upcoming updates btw: http://www.thesecretworld.com/news/game_director_letter_january_2014 .

Edited February 4, 2014 by Callaron

i really loved Secret World... well Kingsmouth.... but Blue Mountains were seriously hard. Kinda turned me off the game. I like a challenge, but i don't have lots of time to invest in "finding my ideal build."

its true what they say about BM... once you get there you decide whether the game is for you or not. You can run around Kingsmouth indefinitely tho i suppose... just a bit dull after you've done all the quests repeatedly.

I do think the game is breathtaking to look at... animations on character models are so smooth... i sometimes would just watch my toons run around.

i love the modern almost WoD feel to the setting as well. it was just the difficulty spike that killed my interest. I'm glad i was patient and didn't subscribe (tho i did buy the disc game for like $10 and a few items from the store)

Hi,

 

Still play TSW alongside with SwToR and I suggest you do some PvP too. With Black marks you can buy second best purple gear ingame. I've noticed it helps in a tight spot .

Just be prepared to die A LOT on your PvP journey.

 

I'm not really into zombie theme myself, but looks like I'm hooked in the feel of clear and present danger that game gives.

Hi,

 

Still play TSW alongside with SwToR and I suggest you do some PvP too. With Black marks you can buy second best purple gear ingame. I've noticed it helps in a tight spot .

Just be prepared to die A LOT on your PvP journey.

 

I'm not really into zombie theme myself, but looks like I'm hooked in the feel of clear and present danger that game gives.

 

What Huge coincidence!

After wall hitting in Blue mountains ive started doing some PvP. And at first i only sit and crie, lying, i fight to the death.. for my 10 or 20 seconds that i was alive in fights.

Im kinda good on PvP in SWTOR, but in TSW its other thing! The booster its far behing SWTOR one, and fights can get pretty frustrating.

But we can discuss this on another post, the fact its that with the good white marks of venice comming, i can change for black marks and buy awesome items! until now ive just bought one, but its 2k more HP, with make a big diference in blue mountain. and the XP rate its good, so ive gained many AP and SP. and another thing: i love the Templars PvP armor, so soon ive got 5PvP coins i buy one uniform to play with.

so my TSW saga continues! until now ive got Major Talisman lvl 10, rest abopu 5-7

What Huge coincidence!

After wall hitting in Blue mountains ive started doing some PvP. And at first i only sit and crie, lying, i fight to the death.. for my 10 or 20 seconds that i was alive in fights.

Im kinda good on PvP in SWTOR, but in TSW its other thing! The booster its far behing SWTOR one, and fights can get pretty frustrating.

But we can discuss this on another post, the fact its that with the good white marks of venice comming, i can change for black marks and buy awesome items! until now ive just bought one, but its 2k more HP, with make a big diference in blue mountain. and the XP rate its good, so ive gained many AP and SP. and another thing: i love the Templars PvP armor, so soon ive got 5PvP coins i buy one uniform to play with.

so my TSW saga continues! until now ive got Major Talisman lvl 10, rest abopu 5-7

 

You can also buy some blue items on the Auction House in London for relatively cheap prices if you ever get bored of the PvP and want to continue the storyline.

I bought some blue QL10 weapons for my second alt when I first made him; it took a while before I could wear them, but it was a very noticeable improvement - and it made some of the harder zones a lot more manageable than they were on my first character.

Been playing TSW all weekend and am about to log back in. Haven't touched SWTOR in a few days because I've been there.

 

What TSW has taught me is that it's aimed at a more experienced gamer. If it's your first MMO, you might not like it. (Though some do, to be sure.) Customizing your own decks (or builds) really gives the game a sandbox feel and I feel being able to be a true caster/melee hybrid that I've always wanted in an MMO.

 

That's not to say the game doesn't have its drawbacks. It does. Chief among them being you don't have a mount of any kind. Neither does GW2, but in that game you have waypoints that you can just click on your map after you've discovered them and instantly teleport there. Kind of like Skyrim.

 

But in TSW you have to run everywhere. You do have a sprint which you can upgrade, but a vehicle - especially in a modern setting - would be great.

 

The other thing that it can improve on is getting more info out to new players. Funcom admitted this recently in a great thread over on their forums about player retention. You're essentially just thrown into the game and it does not lend itself to figuring things out on the fly. You have to do a LOT of reading and RESEARCH. I made the mistake of not doing that when I first rolled my toon, and as a result, I had SP all over the place and didn't put any into talismans, which is your freaking gear.

 

It wasn't long before I noticed that every single quest in my log was either hard or very hard. And that was because I basically didn't have any gear on. But once I took a break from the game to do some research and went back in and fixed my build and all my talismans, I FELT INVINCIBLE! And it was a great feeling!

 

Until I left Kingsmouth.

 

Then the difficulty takes a sharp turn and you gotta stay on top of your gear and your skill and ability points. This all leads me to the second and final thing TSW taught me: MMO'ers are liars. Seriously. They are.

 

How many times have you heard the cries not only on this forum but on pretty much every forum/blog/website out there that players "want something different"? How many times have you heard the cries that players are sick of elves and orcs? That they are sick of theme park games and want a sandbox? That they hate classes and levels and want a skill-based game?

 

Well, guess what? That game exists, and it is called The Secret World. There are no elves and orcs, or spaceships and aliens. It takes place in the modern world. There aren't just two factions, but three. There are no classes or levels, just skill points and you can literally play in whichever way you want. It is ENTIRELY up to you. That is called a sandbox.

 

And how about questing? People talk about how SWTOR is fully voiced and the single player game is excellent. I tend to agree with that. But wait till you get a load of the voice acting in TSW. It's organic. It's real. It's adult. And the story? Engrossing.

 

People also talk about how modern MMOs are too easy and they want difficulty. Like I said above, TSW will kick the crap out of you repeatedly if you don't consistently stay on top of your gear and your build. It can be freaking brutal.

 

I know that the MMO community is inherently negative, but no game in my humble opinion has ever so glaringly shown how full of crap MMO'ers are than TSW does. While it is certainly not perfect and has its flaws (like all games do) it makes a strong effort in pretty much giving gamers EVERYTHING they claim to want.

 

And for its effort it is largely ignored. Enjoy your theme park games because that's what we are going to get more of as a result.

Here is a tip for you, type /release and you die, then choose a spawn point from the list that pops up, bam, fast travel

 

Oh and, you know nothing of difficulty till you hit the last 2 zones of transylvania. At the end of Egypt, you feel like you can take on anything, then you hit the Dark Forest and get your teeth kicked in SO hard it's not even funny.

 

Mobs that reflect DOTs. Mobs that stun your if you slow them. Mobs that AoE stun and drain your hp. Werewolves that, without slows, will maul you to death. Mobs with flamethrowers that do such nasty dots that you die from them alone, even if you kill them. Mobs with immunity shields that give the immunity to the mobs they are with, so you have to root the other and kite the other away, kill it before the root ends.

 

That's just off the top of my head.

Edited February 17, 2014 by Jandi

not all MMOers want brutal difficulty. some just want to have to have slightly more challenge that looking at the mob and it falls over .

 

I thought sandbox was about being able to go anywhere, any time? not just character customization.

 

yes, secret world is not fantasy, but it still has leveling after a fashion (you have to keep gaining xp in order to keep unlocking abilities), its visuals might not work for everyone (I'm ok with the way the game looks, but my SO cannot stand the palette and how character models look/move - to e honest, I'm not a huge fan of TSW movement animations either)

 

as for voice overs... one of the major reasons cutscenes and voice overs work so well in TSW is becasue they are not interactive. your character is a silent observer, who is being told a bunch of things. it allows for pre rendering smooth animations instead of using in game movements to set up your scenes and smoother dialogue since you are not worried about any pauses/waiting for player replies. but.. its not interactive. its strengths are also its weaknesses for someone who enjoys the role playing aspect of being able to define your character through in game dialogue. I haven't gotten far in TSW, but as far as i know - there aren't any choices to make either. you get quests... you complete quests. the fun of the quests is in their often puzzle nature, but in TSW there's literally no reason to have more than one character. its not a game for altoholics.

 

TSW is a good game at what it does. but its a niche game. its a game that will not work for everyone even within the niche its filling. its not be all end all. so no, MMOers are not liars when they ask for things that TSW ostensibly provides, but that still don't work for them.

 

P.S. another issue I have with TSW and why I play it rarely, mainly for change of pace. I find the combat extremely clunky. it doesn't flow smoothly for me. I'm pretty damn sure, I'm not the only one who has similar experiences. I'm sure some people actualy enjoy that particular style of combat. I don't. so I can take it in very small doses only. the only reasons I keep coming back is I'm still interested in a story, and other than my character's animations, i like the way she and the world around her looks/sounds. TSW has really good music.

So they want to be tricked by the game into thinking that it's difficult without it actually being, gotcha. The key is to pay attention as when you meet a new mob you haven't seen before, look at their buffs. It usually says something like "reflects damage over time effects" That's a good indicator that, if your build relies on dots, you better rethink your strategy. Edited February 17, 2014 by Jandi

Exploration is a part of the sandbox experience, sure, but not all of it. Sandbox also means having robust character customization. And TSW, you not only have the freedom to build any kind of a deck you want, but are encouraged to do so. Especially early on.

 

And yes, I'm standing by what I said about MMOers being liars. Games like TSW, EVE and Darkfall were specifically made for gamers that are looking for a hardcore and by and large brutal experience. While games like SWTOR, WoW, LOTRO and any number of other traditional theme park games were made for general consumption by the masses. Yes, they are more massively multiplayer online games. The other titles, as you said are more niche.

 

But that's my point. They exist. And what really grinds my gears are people that are constantly criticizing the SWTORs and the WoWs for being too easy and for appealing too much to casuals when the games these hardcore players claim to want are out there waiting for them, if they dare to play them.

 

Stop trying to make theme park games into something they are not or were never meant to be. They have a completely different target audience. I love both SWTOR and TSW and play them both regularly. They both fulfill different gaming needs for me.

yes, secret world is not fantasy, but it still has leveling after a fashion (you have to keep gaining xp in order to keep unlocking abilities), its visuals might not work for everyone (I'm ok with the way the game looks, but my SO cannot stand the palette and how character models look/move - to e honest, I'm not a huge fan of TSW movement animations either)

 

If you want to be technical about it; every MMO has "xp".

Even games like UO where your sword skill goes up depending on how many mobs you whack with it and/or the difficulty of the mobs whacked with it have a form of xp. You just don't get to see it, it all happens in the background.

The only difference between games like that and TSW is that in TSW it all goes into one "pool" and you decide where to allocate it, while the other games automatically assign it for you depending on what actions you took.

 

I'm not too happy with the looks of the character models and their animations either; it was in fact one of the original reason I didn't buy the game after a brief beta test.

I suspect the devs themselves aren't entirely happy with it, but they have to make due with the software they got to work with- and which are not state of the art programs due to the small budget they have (something mentioned by Joel himself on the forums at some point - and part of the reason I've learned to respect the man's honesty in dealing with the players).

But the game has so many other great things that I can deal with the less than optimal looking avatars.

 

Exploration is a part of the sandbox experience, sure, but not all of it. Sandbox also means having robust character customization. And TSW, you not only have the freedom to build any kind of a deck you want, but are encouraged to do so. Especially early on.

 

I'd say a lot of the sandbox fans would want the following features, and designate a game as sandbox or not depending on how many of them it has:

 

- Extensive freedom of character customization.

- Robust crafting system; which leads to a player controlled economy.

- A huge world to explore.

- Housing - and preferably non-instanced housing for most it seems.

- A wide selection of vehicles; both land-based and seafaring.

- Open world PvP also seems to be on many lists.

 

I believe Darkfall has most of those, EVE probably too - but TSW kinda only has the first point on the list (character customization).

It'd be a hybrid at best IMO (and closer to a theme park in most aspects) - which is not something I mind at all since I enjoy the game.

Edited February 21, 2014 by Callaron

Im playing a lot this game. And im happy and sad at same time. Since the game doesnt have much space for casual gameplay, my old cool and fun build became a little stress and disaster. So I changed it. Radicaly. Ive started new weapons combo: chaos and sword. And im building a glance/evade tank character. Much much better results. Both on PVE and PVP.

The sad part its I dont like the sword skills Fx (I like the animations, but realy hate those huge fx halos/rings).

In the begining I was hating, I had droped my beloved Assault rifle and shotgun for some medieval/oriental build, but the gameplay has improve so much that im getting used to my new look.

Ive also learned how to farm Black Venices in PVP (im a templar on a Fusang Iluminati server, so im doing mostlty the Eldorado map, and im start really adding some kills to my statistics on this harsh pvp world). By earning some Black Venice and by buying items on Auction House im enable to use lvl 10 major talismans (so far the only lvl10 itens that I can use, besides my Assault rifle, but I dont use rifles anymore).

So, drawbacks aside, im learning how to play this game. And now that im stronger, I can pay more atention to game content and quests. And im having some good fun on it!

TSW is my alternate game also, and I like it for 2 main reasons

 

1) While its freee-to-PLAY its not free, you stil have to buy it, which almost totally eliminates the gold spammers that haunt us in TOR

 

2) As mentioned, the HUGE no-class-required ability setup.