TSW does something unique

We’ll write more in Sunday’s Adventure Log, but I want to hop on an give you all a quick update on where we’re at with TSW.  I think we’re both finally happy with our characters.  It took remaking a few times, but we’ve finally settled on me being a Blade/Hammer spec, and Graev going Assault Rifles/Blood.

What I want to post about is a quest we did that required some thinking.  Spoilers ahead for one of the side quests, so if you’re totally into having one of the very first “thinker” quests all to yourself then stop reading this paragraph and skip to the next.  We took a quest that told us to go to the point of the pyramid, which turned out to be a location on the map.  Then we had a riddle about fairies and it turned out to be the wisp wood.  Then we had to find the buzzing and flowers blooming out of season, which turned out to be the location we first entered the zone.  The quest lead us throughout the zone with tons of riddles and we spent at least an an hour thinking through the clues.

The thinker quest was something completely different from what I have -ever- experienced in a MMORPG.  It was immersive, fun, and had us forgetting that we were playing a game about progressing/leveling up.  I can’t speak for anything about the game beyond this point, but at least in this one particular moment we had a good time.   I hear there are many more quests like this, and even better, to look forward to as we progress.

I’ll have more to write in the coming days, but if you have nothing else to do you should pick up The Secret World.  I can’t believe I’m saying that.

  • TSW is just another generic MMO with your kill 10 rats, fetch, and go to google research painter because of a vague reference on a plague, recognize his style, find his painting, look for a message and then try and pin point the area on the map that it refers to quests. Just your standard shit.

  • @wufiavelli

    I always see people like you complain, but nobody ever actually suggest something “new” for MMOs to do for their quests. Please, do enlighten us with your industry changing ideas.

    Remember: It cannot involve killing things, fetching things, escorting things, gathering things, or crafting things. Annnd go.

  • I would try it if it weren’t a sub. Nowadays I will need massive positive feedback to justify spending money for a box plus $180/year to play a video game.

    • TSW has its issues – big ones – but I’ve come to respect the things it does well.

      For me the sub won’t kick in until August. That’s one month of sub and the box price of 49.99. Graev and I decided it was worth the money for the amount of entertainment we can get atleast until guild wars 2 launches.

  • Ha ha, sarcasm fail, Wufiavelli.

    Anyway as my impassioned defence of TSW not being standard stuff is now moot I’d like to recommend something else. Don’t read too much about it and don’t spoiler it. Play it until you get stuck and if you get stuck just take enough info until you can get past the point you’re stuck on.

    I’ve been using Youtube vids when I’m stuck and just pause them once I’ve seen what I was meant to do.

  • Enjoying TSW so far. Yes there are a ton of the usual “Generic” quests, and you will find even more in the coming areas, but there’s a ton of adventure in this game. Investigation (green computer screen icon) and Sabotage (yellow dynamite icon) are brilliant quests to do, quests you don’t find in MMOs.

    The atmosphere is also great, albeit very creepy and it gets creepier as you go further. However nothing beats using a shotgun to shoot the crap out of these creepy things :).

    What i do like alot, and something i have to remind myself constantly, is the exploration. This game DOES reward exploration , alot. You will miss so much if you don’t go that extra “what is around that corner” or “can i get up there?” mile .
    Trust me, there are quests all over and then “generic” MMO’er coming from WoW will most likely bee-line straight for the hubs
    (and miss the more interesting quests in the process).

  • It really is something special, the treehouse quest line in Savage Coast actually evoked my childhood. I think Im slowly turning into a fanboy ><

  • I got stuck on the third clue for Agartha (the bees didn’t make an impression on me until I went back and looked).

    Of course, the main reason I appreciated this quest was because it forced me to ask people. To communicate with people.

    It gets better and better as I keep playing, especially upon finding out that if I follow a deck I get a badass Templar uniform.

  • My favourite investigation quest in the first area was Kingsmouth code, you get it at the church. Also Something Wicked from the old woman with the shot gun requires a leap of logic 🙂

  • I can’t believe it… I’m being pulled into… liking what I hear about TSW!

    As much as I thought this wouldn’t work, and despite Funcom’s track record, I think they did something right (and fairly new to mainstream MMOs). As much as I want to dismiss it as a fluke, I can’t help but respect them for spicing up quests.

    Also, I realized a strange thing…

    – If you took WoW, and removed all the level progression and gear, would anyone still play it?

    We instinctively cry “NO! of course not, levels and gear are the exclusive reason for playing WoW’
    but when you think about it, take away the gear treadmill, and all that’s really left are the quests.

    TSW doesn’t need the gear grind, because it still keeps people engaged in the areas and stories they are experiencing. Perhaps we don’t need some of the features that were considered ‘integral’ for over a decade. There IS room to grow the genre after all.

    Who would have thought.

  • I’m surprised it took you this long to find one of the investigation quests. As you can learn every thing, I didn’t see much point in remaking my character, despite jumping between weapon combos 3 or 4 times.

    My only hint which may help with a few investigations without spoiling them. You have to treat the game as if it’s part of the real world.

  • Wait till you go down into the Deep Shaft Mine in Blue Mountain. I made sure I turned off all the lights and immersed myself in the pitch black creepy claustrophobia to it’s fullest extent. Most fun I’ve had in an MMO in a great long while.

  • The parking garage was pretty damn creepy too. Actually anywhere the filth shows up makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

  • I think the game’s one of the game’s best features, in terms of immersion, is that dying makes sense.

    Unlike SWTOR, where it’s always “if you don’t kill them NOW, RIGHT NOW, EVERYTHING WILL BURN”, dying (and then being rezzed, which is in itself rather jarring) and then being able to go back and try again really reminds you that you’re playing a game, with a scripted outcome.

    In TSW, the impetus has, thus far, virtually never been “NOW NOW NOW”; it encourages you to go in and see how the hellspawn fly. And, if you “die”, so be it; the planet and your anima will keep you wholesome.

  • I like the way the quest sounds and think they should have made ALL the quests similar.
    The only problem is that you compete with other players and therefor people in general use google —> Answer! Reward xp!!

    Fast.. faster!! Stay ahead of people and sell them wares they can not gather themselves yet for premium prices.

    Hell I’ve even seen guilds that told its members to be at a certain lvl at the end of the week or they get kicked.

    Glad you are enjoying it. Myself I’m hoping to get into the Mechwarrior online beta soon. Meanwhile I’m playing blacklight retribution (f2p shooter)
    GW2 getting nearer goood…

  • Graev and I just spent 2 hours solving this insane riddle. It was great fun but the quest writers made a huge error in logic with one of the quest clues.

    *Spoilers*
    Kingsmouth Code quest. All clocks in the whole town locked at that time? modern clocks, ancient riddles?
    */spoilers*

  • The more I read your posts on TSW, the more interested I become. I would like to give the game a chance and see if it will last me more than a few weeks, but I really hate plunking down $50-60 on a title to ‘try’ it. I was on their beta list for over a year and surprisingly never got the chance to join in. Maybe once the title drops a few bucks, I’ll pick it up and give it a whirl.

    It definitely sounds like the ‘leveling’ and ‘questing’ part of it isnt meant to be played through on multiple alts. Is that the right impression I got from it? Do all of the factions have their own storylines and zones, or is everything shared, just with different main characters and chat?

  • @Joe: Same here. I really want to try it now, and I’m eating up gameplay videos like crazy. I just haven’t heard anyone comment yet on what rolling an alt is like. Actually, no review I’ve read so far mentions a second play-through. Odd. Maybe the first play-through is so engaging that people aren’t really rolling alts yet.

    I mean when you think about it, what other MMO keeps people engaged without a gear grind or overarching level cap target? It’s almost like a single-player game again, where the fun is actually in the journey. And of course on the other hand, it’s also seems like a single-player game in that you can only replay it so many times.

    Time will tell, but I honestly hope for the best. They’ve got a good thing here.

  • @Machination: Take my word for it — little to no replayability. Your main character can have every skill, every ability. You can do every quest, solve every puzzle, craft every item, and see every dungeon on one character.

  • keen and gave, u 2 need to go up the lighthouse in KM(or was is savage coast..lol i forget) ..a very interesting questline with some GREAT writing.

  • For the 60 bucks your getting a game which can compare to most single player content wise. Worth it