The Secret World

Obviously I'm not subscribing to the right newsletters. How is information on these events propagated? Sounds like just the sort of thing I'd have loved to drop in on.

I tanked a few elite dunegons last night, and had a lot of fun doing so. Quick question for those doing elites: Can you get any Q10 weapon in any elite dungeon? I have been having a hard time finding a hammer.

First

/chat join ooc
This is an rp oriented , but out of character gather channel. We do everything from dungeons to events announced here.

Second..
Go to funcom forum , go to events I think it was.. Radio Free Gaia lists there.

Third
http://radiofreegaia.com/
They list what they are doing and when.
It is the borderline rp event that brings folks together ...for a provided excuse that anyone can use to build something else off of.

Meet folk there, wander off to pub or if they are in pub wander off to park so on.. babble lots. Meet next day for rp missions , suddenly you have a personal story going.

My rp is considered sub-standard by the elitists but perfectly serviceable for anyone looking for a hook to join others. However, been in marathon rp for a few days probably not going to get my head above water til this weekend. Marathon equals five or more hours of character development. Since talking and emoting takes far more time than running ones mouth, the real time effect can be significantly smaller.

I believe each boss has a specific loot table. I am almost positive I remember hammers from... Polaris and... maybe Ankh? Not positive.

Polaris absolutely has a hammer reward. I don't know about Ankh, though it wouldn't surprise me, I've seen several Orochi style hammers.

http://tempest-at-tr.guildlaunch.com/gwiki/index.php?page_name=TSW_Weapons&gid=201507


Every dungeon has a full set of thematic weapons. They may resemble to some degree weapons from earlier dungeons. For instance all the hell weapons are similar, but there are distinct differences between them. The sword is a good example in one hell instance it doesn't have a circular bit at the hilt, the other it does.

That link show most the weapon skins available at this time.

So unless I'm reading this wrong...

http://www.funcom.com/news/funcom_reduces_operational_costs_following_the_secret_world_launch

50% layoffs at Funcom. Ouch.

I saw that too. Doesn't bode well for their stated intentions of new content every month.

90 percent were on temp contracts
they are trying to retain as many as they can
if TSW had done better , sure they could have kept more. It didn't more go..
most of them were already in the pipeline to go. Customer service so on.

This happens to all the games, no news here. It isn't going anywhere but Dev might slow down to some degree.

I'm not certain it really matters to me, in the end - at this point, the painstaking work that went into creating The Secret World largely serves as a foundation for myself, and others, to create our own personal content within that context. What worries me more is all the people who will never try this game, never become part of our community, because of negative word of mouth and bad reviews. I find that deeply disappointing.

I splashed out for lifetime and I will be bummed if it dies quickly. That said, I've spent close to ten full days in it already, virtually all of it actively doing something. That's almost 240 hours. Still not bad bang for the buck if it closed down tomorrow.

The Secret World: A Game You Can Log Into(tm)

I have been having a really fun time lately doing some more investigative missions instead of the "kill a bunch of stuff" missions I had been doing. I really like the ones where you are sneaking around empty buildings, peeking through doors and occasionally getting jumped. I did one the other day that I particularly liked in BM, in an asylum. I also joined a Cabal and while I'm still mostly lurking there (very new), it is nice to have the green spam.

I just did one where I spent the entire evening deciphering coded Latin to Demonic. Apparently, Funcom is aiming at the remaining living King's Quest players as its target demographic...

I have spent the last week actively working my own personal plots. I don't think I have had a decent night sleep at all. When I get time I convert cyphers to make things glow in egypt.

I love the world. I love the atmosphere. If they can keep working on the game I will keep throwing money at them as I can.

I'm taking a hiatus to play GW2, but fully intend on coming back to the Secret World.

Yeah, everybody's over in GW2 -- lower level zones in TSW are pretty depopulated.

But I've found that to be an interesting opportunity. I've taken to cruising my main through the lower level zones when I play, and responding to all calls for groups. Now I hate twinking, but the non-level based mechanic of TSW means that you can start working on a new deck, slot your beginning skills, and presto! you're a newb again. I like the fact that, by slotting the proper skills, you can avoid trivializing the content for yourself and the rest of the group.

And speaking of skills, you guys probably already know this, but boy is TSW gear centric. I was having a bit of a problem doing the later Blue Mountain and heading into Egypt quests, so I sat down and spent about an hour sorting my talismans while reading online guides. I managed, while neither buying any new gear nor even building my own, to reorganize my build to the point of easily being able to solo content I was having to ask for help with two hours before.

In other news, Ragnar has published the August State of the Game where he, of course, promises to support and continue the game if he has to do it from his parent's basement. Okay, a little overstatement, but not much. One thing I have to say about Funcom is that it has always stood beside even the rockiest release and continued to work on them and keep the servers going. Even Anarchy Online is out there still, somewhere. Only other company I can think of that seems to see their virtual world(s) as something a bit more than a discard-able product is Turbine (and they closed AC2), although I suppose Cornered Rats should get honorable mention, even if they do just have the one game...

I am actually in EQ2, and on that note..
SoE generally stands by their games. The state of Eq2 isn't that far different from the state of Anarchy Online. SoE does stand by their marginally profitable products.

Either way I know I am heading back to TSW for the sept. update.

You know, I had never even heard of this game before today, and only did so because of these layoffs. How that's possible? I don't know. I live and breathe gaming during my free time, and am a fan of the subscription MMO model (instead of the F2P models most adopt now days). But, after seeing a few gameplay videos (wow, looks right up my alley, dayum), remembering all the good stuff I loved about my years in Anarchy Online (and I was there during the terribad launch, but also the subsequent expansions), and reading up on this game, this is certainly a title I think I'll plan to spend a good deal of time (and money) on in the future -- once certain other games currently on my plate wear out their welcome.

As crappy as this news is, one thing it's doing is putting the game on a few more people's radars. FWIW the August producer's letter (same as linked above) at least makes it sound like the game will be around long enough for even newer players to get their fill.

I wish I had heard about this game before just recently picking up Guild Wars 2 and Planetside 2 (both within the last 1-2 days) -- because I'm itching to try it.

Welcome aboard hope to be playing when you head in.

Yeah. As much as I'll credit Funcom with actually putting out a fun and different game at launch (yes, there were substantial tech issues, no argument) their pre-launch buzz was nonexistent. If Lum hadn't commented on his Facebook page (which he seems to have abandoned us old school forumites for) I would have kept thinking it was some crappy Facebook social networking game.

How the hell Funcom expected to sell a million units under that atmosphere I have no idea. And apparently neither did they.

They did a pretty neat slow-burn buzz campaign where they had online events to help set the game world in motion (pick your faction, participate in games on their web page to help determine which factions held what at launch, etc). But it was never a really big push.

2 patches have gone in since I was back here.

First it seems there is an event going on, there was a stealth issue released today. The Cat God. We have no idea what it is about at the moment I typed this.

Second, surgeon and barber are in. Crucible is open in London. You can buy coffee, fish and chips and generally rp with them if that is your interest. Nice flavor none the less.
Several actual content additions with Digging Deeper (patch 1.2)

So if you haven't been back recently time to visit.

1/2 off the game right now! Get in.

Still pugging along, still enjoying the game. Not even close to having finished all the content or maxing a character, but then I'm the definition of the "casual" player. And speaking of PUGs, most have been composed of some pretty cool folks, definitely more than I'm used to from other MMOs.

On the other hand, TSW is having the standard MMORPG litany of broken crap, fixed crap that breaks other crap, and some crap that you know will just never be fixed. Whatever. My latest Investigation quest seriously expects me to translate Arabic into Hebrew to figure out how to work a device, and I'm loving it.

Half off on Steam

Really good podcast interview with Game Director Joel Bylos over at Oceanic Gaming. Nice to hear an interview pretty much devoid of market speak. He talks about the mistakes made by Funcom, as well as what went right. He doesn't sound beaten at all, but instead sounds like he's got a lot of energy to put into the game's future.

Also, another interview with both him and Ragnar over at Gamasutra. Well, more of an article really, but there are quotes...

Finished up the Halloween content today. Good times.

Almost done myself -- I still have to find that Incognito guy, but that's just a matter of being in the right spot when he spawns. And the servers being up. That would help.

The Cat God was a fun investigation quest. I have to say that, even though I did peek at a spoiler site once (or twice), when I found the answer it was always facepalmingly obvious in hindsight.

Also, that filthy cat "pet" bothers me.

I love the pet, except its all-too-realistic sad/distressed sounds put me on edge.

Here's a map of where Incognito can spawn: http://www.cabalfair.com/IncognitoMap.jpg

Just wander around in those areas. He spawns pretty regularly.

Woo, I'm knocking out Master Planners with some friends left and right. Did Ankh and Hell Fallen last night; did Hell Raised and Hell Eternal last night. Just Polaris, Darkness War, and Facility left, until they get around to adding NM Slaughterhouse, at which point I'll probably kill myself when I see what they're demanding I do.

The Ankh outfit is great. The Hell Fallen one is a bit boring. The rest are pretty good.

Master Planner complete for Polaris and Darkness War. That just leaves Facility.

Fuck. I don't want to do Facility.

Hey, Facility is fun! I just wish it had an Assault Rifle.

No. Elite Facility is fun. Nightmare Facility, particularly with Master Planner, is a story used to frighten small children into behaving.

1.4 is out. Patch notes: http://www.thesecretworld.com/news/update_notes_issue_4_big_trouble_in_the_big_apple_game_update_1.4

I should maybe stop posting in this thread since almost no one seems to read it.

I'm reading it, Inigima! I just haven't logged on in a while, so I haven't had anything to say. I'm planning to fire it back up soon, however.

I do still read it. Taking a break due to other things, but I'll likely pick it back up again at some point.

Well, if people are really still reading it (you should be playing it, shame on you), here are some highlights from patch notes:

• Chainsaws added as new aux weapon
• New missions, as is usual for new issues
• New lair missions
• Speed while dead now equals your current sprint speed
• Total PvP overhaul with battlegroups, no word yet on how this is working out but I'm not holding my breath
• Nightmare Slaughterhouse added. We tried this tonight and went 1/6 and then we ran out of time and went to bed
• Reticule targeting mode, I don't know what this means because I haven't tried it
• Signet quests changed a bit
• Blood, Elemental, and Rocket Launcher buffed
• Albion Theatre added
• Starter decks added (including costumes, but they're just complete outfits of the previous inner-ring rewards, some look nice though and hopefully teach some synergy)

There's more, this looks like a good issue so far. The NYC raid isn't out yet, it's still being tested.

I'll be back someday, I think. I still want to see the zones I never made it too.