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[Folly]

http://www.reddit.com/r/archeage/comments/2d84dg/it_is_official_cbe3_partner_giveaways_will_start/

Keys will be available tomorrow, for beta event starting Thursday.

[Zangi]

Apparently, since I used the keys that were given away before, I got invited to the next one.

[Moogie]

Well, I was ready to dismiss this game, despite waiting and longing for it for months before I heard how bad the f2p restrictions would be.

However, after receiving an invite to CBT, I decided to do a bit of research and try to get an accurate idea of just how slow/annoying it would be to play as a non-Patron. In other words, should I even bother downloading the game?

What I discovered is basically this: in the beginning, you will be so starved for Labour points, that there's no point doing anything other than questing and being a bodyguard for traders. Forget about crafting, forget about farming, and forget about trading. Even looting dead enemies will cost you LP.

When the game finally goes live, AFKers will be automatically kicked. However, this is as easy to circumvent as occasionally tabbing back into the game to jump/move. The client reportedly consumes very little resources while minimised, so you can stay logged in and do other things/play other games when not playing AA.

But there are some things you can, and should, do. Some guilds happily accept F2P players, and have systems set-up where Patrons doing LP-heavy activities can offload some of the lesser tasks, such as gathering, for you to spend your meagre amounts of LP on. In return, they can craft stuff for you and supply you with what you need to progress. So joining a guild early on is a very very good idea.

You can also gather materials/wood from the wild, or steal if you're so inclined. Eventually, if you're frugal enough, you should have earned enough gold after 3-4 weeks of casual play to buy yourself an APEX (Patron status for 1 month). Theoretically, you should be able to continue a cycle from there, earning your APEX with the added benefits higher player level and Patron status affords you. Of course, spending your gold on this means you'll never be as 'rich' in the game as people who buy their Patron with real cash.

And we can look forward to some improvements...

There is talk of the loot system being tweaked in a future update, which would eliminate the requirement to spend LP to open Purses. This was in an official company post, so it's fairly safe to assume it will happen at some point.

So... yeah, I guess I'll hop in and play around with it. I kinda like the idea of earning an APEX, as long as it doesn't end up being TOO expensive. Ultimately, if it feels more like a job than a game, I'll get bored of it very easily.

Will there be a Bay12 guild?

[Neonivek]

Will there be a Bay12 guild?

Goodness I hope so... that might turn the game around for me.

Since otherwise this game is just another slog.

[Urist McScoopbeard]

Will there be a Bay12 guild?

Goodness I hope so... that might turn the game around for me.

Since otherwise this game is just another slog.

"The BAY12 People are easily startled, but they will soon be back, and in greater numbers."

kinda, but we flock to games and then leave, sometimes returning, and other times abandoning them like gold mining towns in California in 1849. My suggestion is that if you want to play long term then you should find a guild IN GAME, for if a Bay12 one starts it will quickly vanish (probably, only a few games remain going strong for long periods of time.)

[Jack_Bread]

I hope I can actually play this next beta. I crash at the character select screen usually after a few seconds of being able to mess around(except the characters are just floating eyes and hair). I get sent to a page about how to stop their hackshield thing from crashing my game. None of the solution worked. I sent in a support ticket and only got an automated message sending me to the same page it sends me when I crash. I even poked the ticket once while the last beta was going and still got no response.

[Moogie]

Been playing casually the past few days, just questing and exploring. I haven't needed or particularly desired to do any crafting, so I haven't encountered any Labour issues. I am, of course, ignoring coinpurses, as they largely worthless, but the Labour cost for opening them may disappear at Release? So I'm hoarding them, just in case.

I'm enjoying myself. A lot. Even while limited to mostly mindless mob hunting, the game is fundamentally fun to play. The controls are great, the visuals are pleasing, the animations are smooth and flow into one another, and you have absolute environmental freedom. No invisible walls, no dumb design limitations-- jump, climb, glide wherever you please.

The character creation is powerful. I did >this< just for funsies, but warning: Uncanny Valley territory.

Most of all, I love that exploration beyond the beaten paths is encouraged. I've always been an explorer at heart when playing MMOs, always throwing myself up steep cliffs hoping to find some secret place or unfinished map edge. And in this one, you're often rewarded for reaching difficult spots-- and then you can have even more fun gliding back down to earth.

The sheer amount of skillset combinations is really fun, too. I went with Auramancy, Vitalism and Withcraft-- aka Hierophant, a CC Healer class. Leveling solo is a little tougher than other classes, but I love group play, and Healers are always in demand! I love the mounts, too. I love that we get one so early. I love the variety of colours and types.

Even if I stay as a Free player, I think I'm hooked. And to think, I was ready to turn my nose up at this one. My only worry now is that it's going to completely dominate all my free time...

Btw, this is my girl. She's less 'cat' and more... 'moogle'. Oddly fitting, I think.

[Malus]

The servers will be wiped before full release so hoarding coinpurses is kinda pointless (though you don't usually get much from opening them, either).

I picked up the Archeum pack back when it was first released and had some fun with the alpha. I got to maybe level 30 or so before I kinda got burned out. It's definitely fun, and I enjoyed it a lot -- the crafting and PVP is great. I'm not a huge fan of the grind (later levels are slooooow but that's typical of most MMOs, I suppose) which is the only thing keeping me from playing more. Once release rears its head I'll get ready to jump back in.

[Moogie]

Yeah, crafting looks to be downright essential for gear. The trading/sailing stuff interests me a lot, too. I watched a lot of Bikeman streams/videos when I was first learning about AA, and he did a lot of high seas shenanigans. My favourite thing was watching him grab an air tank from his ship and go deep-sea diving for treasure, floating lost chests from sunken shipwrecks up to the surface with balloons. The water effects are the best I've seen in a MMO.

[Neonivek]

haven't encountered any Labour issues. I am, of course, ignoring coinpurses, as they largely worthless, but the Labour cost for opening them may disappear at Release?

I don't remember where I heard this but I may be wrong.

But apparently they are thinking about removing the labor requirement for both identification and opening purses. (well specifically enemies will start to just drop coins)

Also to my knowledge coin purses are the only way to gain effective cash per time unit outside the market. Since selling equipment drops cost 5 times the equivalent amount of labor and MANY FREEKEN times more then selling crafts. Sure they start to actually cost a lot of labor though.

My guess as to why they did this? Because they are having trouble keeping coins in circulation... and making drops less effective then what you can craft AND costing labor for a chance that it might not be good, just also convinces people not to do it.

[Folly]

Closed Beta 4 begins Friday!

Beta key giveaways:

http://www.mmogames.com/giveaways/archeage-conflict-conquest-closed-beta-keys-giveaway/

http://mmohuts.com/giveaways/archeage-closed-beta-code-giveaway-4-conflict-conquest

[Neonivek]

I have a theory that these Beta Tests are just there to convince people to buy founders packs.

[Levi]

I have a theory that these Beta Tests are just there to convince people to buy founders packs.

You are probably completely right.

[Moogie]

I would be inclined to agree, if they weren't also patching and localising content during CBT. Since they are actively working on getting the game ready for release, I think the fact that it works as added advertisement is just a happy coincidence. But, who can really know.

Has everyone got their keys?

[Neyvn]

Was Excited...
WAS...

Seriously don't know if its cause I fell in love with the action styles of other games where you over the top sword swinging hits more then one guy or something but ffs the combat in this feels fucking boring. Then there was the farming tutorial. Looking around and seeing all these "samey" looking private plots did not interest me anymore...