Early impressions of WotG?

[Eldelphia]

It was worth my $30 just for the fact that it made me feel like a little nub in a huge new world again.

Exactly

I've often wondered what some of these zones were like before they were trashed. I love seeing the changes. I'm interested to see whether we can unlock access to the three new zones in the present. Either something fairly large happened there and cut them off or maybe they will get released.

And someone needs to tell Cid, that the ramp has to stay in Gusta!

[Lovian]

The new expansion is better than ToaU when it was released, i'm liking the new jobs lots (dont get me wrong i like blu and cor) they bring novel ideas and tactics to the party. The zones are changed just enought to make you get lost but still feel at home. The 3 new zones are HUGE! this would be a pain in the ass if it wasn't for the boots that help cover the huge distances needed. The new mobs are cool, and the old mobs have new tp moves and skins to add that little bit of extra variation. The pixies/fairies are awesome they alone make the expansion worth while. The new music is great expecially the starting screen, though campain music does get abit repetative quickly. Over all a thumbs up and its only been out a week with the new job additions coming in january and more content added over time i see it turning out to be a good move by SE.

[Isiolia]

There are some aspects of the expansion that are nice, but it feels a bit sparse as well.

Obviously, the lack of new gear/spells/etc was shown with dat scans and all. If, like me, you were looking forward to new stuff for old jobs there's just very little.

New areas are interesting, though how truly useful they are I'm not sure. There are some areas where VT Beastmen and all are, but the zones tend to have a very wide range of mobs. Running around at 75, you will find EPs (if not higher) in every zone. Sometimes mixed in with mostly Too Weak mobs, other times mixed in with higher level stuff.

Makes me somewhat wonder what the thinking is on that. For instance, the past newb zones like Saruta apparently have (mostly) low enough level mobs that Dunes or Kazham or someting parties could go there. But then there are what seem to be level 60-70 range beastmen there too. I'd hate to be the puller that accidentally brought one of those back to camp.
Though one potential thing is that with EP mobs all over the freaking place, 75s will have alternatives to competitively pulling Lesser Colibris outside of Whitegate if they want to get a little XP in solo.

Sigil is like Signet and Sanction combined, but then you need to do Campaign to get Allied Notes to pay for bonuses I think...

Campaign seems to be pushed a lot. Could be good or bad, I dunno. Personally, I never cared much for Besieged. I was hoping for something a bit more like Assault. It might grow on me, or they could tweak it, but I'm kind of hoping for a bit more. If you didn't care for Expeditionary Forces, Garrison, Besieged, etc already...would you like this? I dunno. SE sure seems to think you should. But then again, they figured we'd love Chocobo Racing and Pankration too.

Outside of Campaign-related stuff, the new areas are rather sparse. It's not like with ToAU where we got a bustling city that was the new place to be. There are really few quests or notable NPCs outside of that, and again, short of participating in Campaign there's little reason to stick around in the past. Explore, run a few errands, and then try to farm Gobbie-bag items I guess.

I don't doubt SE will be tweaking lots of aspects of WoTG over the patches. Personally, I think they could have given us a little more to start with since, unless you're itching to go fight enemy forces with NPCs or level SCH or DNC, you've got maybe 3-5 hours of content to do. And only that much because of the amount of running around needed (might be less now that you don't need to wait around pointlessly for quest NPCs to reappear for 10 seconds until Campaign starts again).

There's stuff to like, but I can't honestly say I wasn't hoping, and perhaps expecting, a little more out of the box. While some might say that we should expect an expansion to be like this out of the gate, I say it's SE's fourth time out...they could have tried to raise the bar.

[SephYuyX]

Im more dissapointed that SE rushed to get this out. What, 3 months ago they said the expansion was 30% complete, and a few weeks later it was 50. Im sure the updates will add to it nicely, but im just really dissapointed that it was rushed, everything just feels so incomplete.

[Dense]

Im more dissapointed that SE rushed to get this out. What, 3 months ago they said the expansion was 30% complete, and a few weeks later it was 50. Im sure the updates will add to it nicely, but im just really dissapointed that it was rushed, everything just feels so incomplete.

I just have to comment on this train of thought (not particularly on your specific comment):

In ToAU we got an expansion that was almost as incomplete as WotG, but the most under-developed part seems to have been the new jobs. They all were quite thrown-together at that point, and there were (and STILL are) a lot of questions regarding them. The jobs introduced in WotG seem to be more well-rounded (well, judging from the thought behind Dancer, and the complications of the job that work right out of the box). There is a small glitch with SCH, but the job itself seems very well thought-out and quite useful. In that respect I really see WotG as ahead of the game as compared to ToAU. It seemed like COR and PUP were really just ideas when they were released, and the concepts weren't fully fleshed out until after they already had released the expansion. I don't feel that this time, and I'm happy for that...

[Isiolia]

In ToAU we got an expansion that was almost as incomplete as WotG, but the most under-developed part seems to have been the new jobs. They all were quite thrown-together at that point, and there were (and STILL are) a lot of questions regarding them. The jobs introduced in WotG seem to be more well-rounded (well, judging from the thought behind Dancer, and the complications of the job that work right out of the box). There is a small glitch with SCH, but the job itself seems very well thought-out and quite useful. In that respect I really see WotG as ahead of the game as compared to ToAU. It seemed like COR and PUP were really just ideas when they were released, and the concepts weren't fully fleshed out until after they already had released the expansion. I don't feel that this time, and I'm happy for that...

I'm not sure I particularly agree with that. The new jobs require time to see how they play out. DNC has the ability to be strong early on. So did BLU. COR had uses as well. Rolls gave buffs, maybe not as powerful as now, but they worked.
PUP was the odd one out IMO, and really it's still kind of like that. I would say that your comments ring true for PUP, but not really for BLU or COR.

Dancer does seem to have a bit going for it. However, few players have gotten it even to AF levels. Does that really give us a comprehensive look at the job? I don't think so. We have the same problems that ToAU jobs faced. In a couple weeks or so we're going to start seeing non-Haijin players hitting 50+ on it and wondering where the AF is. We're going to see more people hammering at the job and finding shortcomings. Every job has them, it's only a matter of time.

SCH, IMO, is worse off. I think this job is more a "we need to see..." case. It could be great, but the spell list now is weak. JAs may help it, but few have access to them. Right now, it's a job for optimists. Figuring that SE will add more spells and/or that the JAs will make it all worthwhile. Seems like it's going to otherwise have many of the same types of issues that PUP had/has. Can't wear a lot of applicable gear. Has low skill caps all around.
I think there's an expectation that SE will boost/fix/balance SCH over time. What we have now will be a third-string mage.

[Yutuyu]

Like others said, it depends on what your priorities are.

Missons/Storyline: 7/10

I wanted to give this a higher rating because I like how they returned to the nation-specific storylines affecting missions, but did it in a way that anyone can see all of the missions.

However, a lot of stuff just plain doesn't make any sense. They haven't filled out the time-travel thing very well. The consequences of our actions on the present is kind of confusing and poorly thought out (plus never explicitly mentioned).

Gear: 3/10

Some useful lower level items, a nice spear for DRG soloing, and boots which are useful for movement speed if you're not getting aggro. However the boots' effect is cancelled by flee and aggro. They're nice, but they're not that nice. On the whole there's a lack of gear for endgame people. Nothing that really enhances party or HNM combat significantly.

New jobs: 6/10

Dancer is great. Scholar is OK. No native sleep or gravity on scholar however makes it a much less attractive choice. There's a few other problems with the design of scholar, but for the most part it's okay.

I only gave them a 6/10 because they're pretty incomplete. One would think they would've learned from the problems in ToAU, but they still launched without artifact armor quests (even the level 40 one), G5, or useful items for them. Dancer's selection of weapons is pathetic.

New Areas: 8/10

The music is great, the graphics are wonderful.

However almost all of it is very rehashed. There wasn't much in the way of a "new" feel. Vunkerl, Grauberg, and the Fort use pre-existing textures/graphic builds from previous areas/expansions. Vunkerl is Tavnazia 2.0, Grauberg steals from Gustaberg and Konschtat, and the Fort steals from Tahrongi/Meriphataud. There are new bits and pieces, but it's nothing like the "newness" we saw ToAU's areas.

New Camps: 4/10

There are new camps, however the monsters in them are not merit-ideal mobs. Sure they're good for manaburning probably, but there's no equivalent of Colibri or anything. That's the real problem. Meriting will still be better in ToAU for the most part.

Campaign: 7/10

Good basis. The whole xp capping out thing is idiotic considering you can just turn in your tags and get another set then build towards the cap again. Furthermore the ways of gaining points seem really off, especially after the latest adjustment during the emergency maintainence. Things're poorly explained too.

I gave it a 7 out of 10 mostly because it sets up a good atmosphere, fighting alongside the NPCs is fun, seeing unique NPCs with Relic weapons is cool, and the underlying system is very, very good. They just need to do some minor tweaks badly.

Campaign Ops: 2/10

Utterly fail.

The solo ones are basically just glorified quests. The XP rewards are pathetic. The Allied Notes rewards are pretty sad too. The group ones are hard to get access to. They just did an exceptionally poor job here, it doesn't even begin to stand up to the assault system.

Overall: 6/10

There are a lot of good features but it's just not done. They got the basis of most of the activities in; but forgot that no matter how fun something is, unless there's a good reward behind it, people won't want to do it.

It's really too bad how much they butchered the rewards for doing things in WotG.

[Krenna]

Im absolutly loving the campaigne battles~ Its really fun to get together with a few friends and move from zone to zone via either running or teleports to participate in the fights. I use my lower tier jobs too, the fights surprisingly give a decent amount of exp. Gotten 1 third of my Lv. 70 PLD's level already :3

[Volken]

wtf this Cavernous Maw just spit me 4 years into the past when exploring Meriphataud was fun and everything was VT to me.

[Tarage]

wtf this Cavernous Maw just spit me 4 years into the past when exploring Meriphataud was fun and everything was VT to me.

PROTIO: You're a lot farther back then 4 years.

Am I the only one who was thinking that each zone would be in a different time period, and you couldn't zone into other zones the 'normal' way, you'd have to go to the future, change zones, then go back to the past?

That would have been highly annoying, but kinda nifty being able to see the war at different points in history, instead of just one.

[BRP]

PROTIO: You're a lot farther back then 4 years.

I don't know whether to lawl at the woosh or PROTIO.

[Isiolia]

But that would be a logical extension of time travel ability. Go back to before the war was dire, fix a few things, and boom, jump back to a war that Mithras are dominating. Or maybe it's like Timeline where we have a wormhole going to only that particular time/place, though Caith Sith said she could control it...

It also doesn't explain why you're not like "hey, I'm from the future, guess what...we win"...or why NPCs you meet in the past wouldn't have -already- recognized you in the present for things you did but yet haven't done yet...

I mean, wouldn't Campaign be a pretty uh, -stupid- utilization of a time traveler? "Oh, no, don't bother going and bringing back 20 years worth of tactical information on the war, technology, weapons, additional supplies, or whatever. Lets not try and use the maws for troop movements in the future that the beastmen could never detect. Nah. Grab you a sword and lets protect this empty fortress!".

I'm sure SE will come up with some story with it, but c'mon, it's freaking time travel. It should be good for a lot more than jumping back to participate in an event or finding glowing pebbles.

[Kyreth]

That is one thing I really hope we get to do- see more of the past.

I want to see the rest of Windurst, even if I'm going to be sad seeing Heaven's Tower. Ditto San d'Oria and Bastok. Likewise, I'm hoping that when they add the beastmen strongholds we'll have area access to other locations in the world.

I will never, ever look at Crawler's Nest the same way again after my first WoTG visit. Or Garliage. Or even the Necropolis.

The only thing sadder than kitten spanking is finding out why the kitten was being so bad to begin with. Awwww.

I'm a story junkie. If it's like ToAU, I think I have a source for my new "fix", and Campaign can literally be like 24/7 Besieged fighting if you hop around- I come out ahead most times since I go /BLM and simply warp back to Windurst under my own power.

And as far as bringing in support- well, that would be if the maws allowed everyone in. I get the feeling they may be a mite picky, and without the feather there's no way to pass through, methinks. We ARE the support and extra supply lines, the strategic advisors, the guys who boost production with expert knowledge of synthesis, who sneak behind the lines to bring back critical intel, the backup to the regular armies that appears like a literal Goddess-send to the Allies.

That translation "God-Soldiers of Altana" doesn't sound too far off at this point, storywise. Glowing white feather and all.

[Septimus]

wtf this Cavernous Maw just spit me 4 years into the past when exploring Meriphataud was fun and everything was VT to me.

PROTIO: You're a lot farther back then 4 years.

Am I the only one who was thinking that each zone would be in a different time period, and you couldn't zone into other zones the 'normal' way, you'd have to go to the future, change zones, then go back to the past?

That would have been highly annoying, but kinda nifty being able to see the war at different points in history, instead of just one.

He means 2003 back when NAs started playing the game...

[Isiolia]

That translation "God-Soldiers of Altana" doesn't sound too far off at this point, storywise. Glowing white feather and all.

Yeah, cue the end-of-missions shocker to Cait Sith, who went off looking for the Divine Warriors or whatever. ZOMG, THEY WAS YOU!

Shocker.

And as far as bringing in support- well, that would be if the maws allowed everyone in. I get the feeling they may be a mite picky, and without the feather there's no way to pass through, methinks.

Yeah, but yet we're dealing with characters who have some level of control, and we're interacting with characters that are supposed to be masters of magic and all that. Yet are we shown explaining the maws at all? Nah. We just sign right up to be grunts in the army. Makes no sense.

[Yutuyu]

wtf this Cavernous Maw just spit me 4 years into the past when exploring Meriphataud was fun and everything was VT to me.

PROTIO: You're a lot farther back then 4 years.

Am I the only one who was thinking that each zone would be in a different time period, and you couldn't zone into other zones the 'normal' way, you'd have to go to the future, change zones, then go back to the past?

That would have been highly annoying, but kinda nifty being able to see the war at different points in history, instead of just one.

I think that's exactly what they'll be doing with subsequent updates.

[S] means start.

[Teakwood]

Campaign Ops: 2/10

Utterly fail.

The solo ones are basically just glorified quests. The XP rewards are pathetic. The Allied Notes rewards are pretty sad too. The group ones are hard to get access to. They just did an exceptionally poor job here, it doesn't even begin to stand up to the assault system.

This is kind of like saying that Assault sucks because Tier 1 sucked, isn't it? I mean yes, even Tier 1 Assault had more visible potential, had Yigit/Amir/Pahluwan gear, etc., it's still kind of... weird to be judging Campaign Ops by what's released already, the first tier out of god knows how many, and people don't even have them all unlocked yet. >>;

[Yutuyu]

Campaign Ops: 2/10

Utterly fail.

The solo ones are basically just glorified quests. The XP rewards are pathetic. The Allied Notes rewards are pretty sad too. The group ones are hard to get access to. They just did an exceptionally poor job here, it doesn't even begin to stand up to the assault system.

This is kind of like saying that Assault sucks because Tier 1 sucked, isn't it? I mean yes, even Tier 1 Assault had more visible potential, had Yigit/Amir/Pahluwan gear, etc., it's still kind of... weird to be judging Campaign Ops by what's released already, the first tier out of god knows how many, and people don't even have them all unlocked yet. >>;

Tier 1 assaults were awesome.

[Kyreth]

That translation "God-Soldiers of Altana" doesn't sound too far off at this point, storywise. Glowing white feather and all.

Yeah, cue the end-of-missions shocker to Cait Sith, who went off looking for the Divine Warriors or whatever. ZOMG, THEY WAS YOU!

Shocker.

[quote:1wzvhxj4]And as far as bringing in support- well, that would be if the maws allowed everyone in. I get the feeling they may be a mite picky, and without the feather there's no way to pass through, methinks.

Yeah, but yet we're dealing with characters who have some level of control, and we're interacting with characters that are supposed to be masters of magic and all that. Yet are we shown explaining the maws at all? Nah. We just sign right up to be grunts in the army. Makes no sense.[/quote:1wzvhxj4]

Explanations would sorta be useless, since we have no clue either.

Is this really the past? Would explaining things cause a paradox? Would we end up scaring the crap out of the three nations, distracting them from the really bad stuff? Or maybe they'd just call us crazy.

"Oh Hi. We came out of those maws, we're from the future and here to win the war we know we won against the Shadow Lord anyway. Oh, and the Archduke is secretly manipulating you all to destroy the world by killing the Shadow Lord. W00t!"

They have nice places with padded walls for people like that. I'll stick to being the anonymous adventurers who save the world for my imminent childhood and Red-magery-to-come, thanks. It's bad enough I'm working for Nahaa Mihgo's mom.

[ronin sparthos]

Im pretty sure that ranking campaign ops based on what we have right now is pretty silly, Assault started off very slow and some of the missions were boring as hell (Excavation Duty comes to mind) but later SE added some more fun assault runs (Blitzkrieg and all the FL missions come to mind) so judging the incomplete campaign ops before the full content is released is naive.

Storyline wise, id like to see more cutscenes in the present from people that actually recognize you >.> and an explanation of both sides of the spectrum. We know what the allied forces of altana are doing, lets get some beastmen confederacy screentime.