Re: Neverwinter
My partner and I have been playing it for the past week.
I'm enjoying the fresh combat and I like the pvp and foundry. Still, the game has some huge issues.
Lag. This has been the biggest problem for us. As exciting and fresh the pvp has been, it's usually ruined because of lag. My melee character has one hell of a time fighting ranged opponents. They easily dodge and outrun my attacks even though the game visually shows me hitting. The problem isn't limited to pvp though. Just running from one side of the city to another will frequently cause my character to 'rubber-band' back to somewhere in the middle.
MACROtransactions. I know this topic has been beaten to death but it's still a big deal. The game isn't shy to ask you for zen or astral diamonds where ever possible. I sprung for the Founder's pack and I still feel like I am required to drop more money.
Here is just a brief example of their microtransaction strategy:
I purchased a key (125 zen) to open a lockbox. The item inside was a purple (highest quality) rank 7 enchantment that could be used to enhance a piece of armor or weapon. However, the enchantment is actually upgradable to rank 9 which gives even greater benefits. In order to do this, you require four of the same quality items. Then, you have a 1% chance to succeed in the upgrade process. If you fail, you lose the item. The Zen store offers two alternatives to prevent this. For another 100 zen you get 10 chances which will prevent you from losing the item if you fail. Or, you can blow 1000 zen to have a 100% success rate. Yes, $10.
The entire cash shop is full of overpriced items. The fastest mounts available are 4,000 zen each. They can only be used on one character. They are not account unlocks unlike starships in STO. They also offer healing stones which will heal you in combat. The most expensive one is 1,500 zen for 200 heals. And worst of all, resetting your character's powers (abilities) is only possible by spending 600 zen.
Bugs. I realize that the game is in open beta. Still, they have basically made this a soft launch by allowing players to keep their characters and permit money transactions. Saying 'this is a beta' simply isn't a valid excuse in this situation. There are huge problems with foundry missions not working correctly. In fact, my foundry mission which I created several days ago still isn't publically searchable. I've also had errors entering instances, parties, receiving credit for kills and quests. The Auction House is barely usable with several filters not working at all. The queue system needs to be addressed. If someone leaves your party, 95% of the time you'll never get a replacement. In pvp this is detrimental.
The biggest known bug to date has been an exploit which instantly kills and respawns boss encounters; rewarding the player with end-game items. The exploit has existed for this entire week, persisting through several patches. Because there will not be a character wipe after open beta concludes, these cheaters have effectively ruined the economy. Even now, you can purchase the best gear in the game for a few thousand astral diamonds (dilithium).
Despite my gripes, the core of the game has a lot of potential and I really hope Cryptic can turn things around. I love the foundry, gameplay and really want to give them more money. But I won't be able to bring myself to do it until they actually fix these problems.
I'm enjoying the fresh combat and I like the pvp and foundry. Still, the game has some huge issues.
Lag. This has been the biggest problem for us. As exciting and fresh the pvp has been, it's usually ruined because of lag. My melee character has one hell of a time fighting ranged opponents. They easily dodge and outrun my attacks even though the game visually shows me hitting. The problem isn't limited to pvp though. Just running from one side of the city to another will frequently cause my character to 'rubber-band' back to somewhere in the middle.
MACROtransactions. I know this topic has been beaten to death but it's still a big deal. The game isn't shy to ask you for zen or astral diamonds where ever possible. I sprung for the Founder's pack and I still feel like I am required to drop more money.
Here is just a brief example of their microtransaction strategy:
I purchased a key (125 zen) to open a lockbox. The item inside was a purple (highest quality) rank 7 enchantment that could be used to enhance a piece of armor or weapon. However, the enchantment is actually upgradable to rank 9 which gives even greater benefits. In order to do this, you require four of the same quality items. Then, you have a 1% chance to succeed in the upgrade process. If you fail, you lose the item. The Zen store offers two alternatives to prevent this. For another 100 zen you get 10 chances which will prevent you from losing the item if you fail. Or, you can blow 1000 zen to have a 100% success rate. Yes, $10.
The entire cash shop is full of overpriced items. The fastest mounts available are 4,000 zen each. They can only be used on one character. They are not account unlocks unlike starships in STO. They also offer healing stones which will heal you in combat. The most expensive one is 1,500 zen for 200 heals. And worst of all, resetting your character's powers (abilities) is only possible by spending 600 zen.
Bugs. I realize that the game is in open beta. Still, they have basically made this a soft launch by allowing players to keep their characters and permit money transactions. Saying 'this is a beta' simply isn't a valid excuse in this situation. There are huge problems with foundry missions not working correctly. In fact, my foundry mission which I created several days ago still isn't publically searchable. I've also had errors entering instances, parties, receiving credit for kills and quests. The Auction House is barely usable with several filters not working at all. The queue system needs to be addressed. If someone leaves your party, 95% of the time you'll never get a replacement. In pvp this is detrimental.
The biggest known bug to date has been an exploit which instantly kills and respawns boss encounters; rewarding the player with end-game items. The exploit has existed for this entire week, persisting through several patches. Because there will not be a character wipe after open beta concludes, these cheaters have effectively ruined the economy. Even now, you can purchase the best gear in the game for a few thousand astral diamonds (dilithium).
Despite my gripes, the core of the game has a lot of potential and I really hope Cryptic can turn things around. I love the foundry, gameplay and really want to give them more money. But I won't be able to bring myself to do it until they actually fix these problems.
