The Secret World

Everyone seems to plan to come back "sometime." :(

I hear you, if it didn't cost me $15 a month I'd be more willing too. I float between so many games that if I plopped down the $15 a month to play Secret World I'd feel more compelled to play it over other games. Then I'd feel like I'm in the MMO rut that I don't want to be in. So until I get some of these free games out of my system... just don't have the will power to do it!

I'm still there. Just taking a Mechwarrior break, *and* my blasted regular playing guild has pulled me back to LOTRO for the Rohan expansion. But I just downloaded the half a gig update and plan to dive into it this weekend.

I've lost interest, partly because of the miscellaneous nature of the skill system. I have no idea what I should be doing, despite some research into builds, and as a result I solo fine but stink in groups. My cabal was gimping me through elites and I just got irritated that I needed gimping. And I don't have a high enough interest level to pour more mental energy into fixing whatever's wrong.

I downloaded the 3-day 15gig demo/trial, then got bored watching an hour of fucking cut scenes. I subsequently logged out and uninstalled. What a ridiculous game.

Have they improved the quality of the cutscenes? Because it seriously felt like I was watching something made in Second Life when I tried the beta weekend thing.

I can help you with that if you want. If your cabal is some ragtag bunch of dipshit pubbies then their advice is probably terrible. What weapons do you use?

One thing you can do if you're concerned that your DPS isn't up to snuff is be the one who brings a bunch of group buffs to the table. I usually run AR/Shotgun when I DPS now, but I ran Pistols/Shotgun for a while just so I could bring both Deadly Aim and Breaching Shot, plus Cleanup for Nightmares. Elemental brings Short Fuse/Final Fuse as well.

One common issue people have in all MMOs I've ever seen is that they don't focus their builds/rotations on optimizing their performance at the job they're supposed to be doing -- you see a lot of people running stuff that only really makes sense in a solo build instead of running abilities that will improve their BIG NUMBERS which is essentially what DPS' job is. You don't need four utility abilities most of the time in group play. If you are trying to use the same build for groups that you're trying to use for soloing you are going to have a bad time. You should also be running full DPS gear, which should leave you at 1970 health, unless you know for a fact that you should be wearing an HP piece for a particular fight.

Don't forget that you can and should draw passives from any weapon tree. I'm not using an Elementalism focus, but fuck if I'm not abusing Live Wire and Social Dynamo.

This is not an experience that exists in the Secret World. Sorry you didn't like it but that literally does not happen at any point in the game.

I kind of like the cut scenes, so I might be their intended audience. I don't know if they have "improved" them since you saw them; they haven't changed since release.

As someone who spent way too much time in Second Life, I know what you mean -- dudes mostly stand around talking with unsynced lip motion and occasionally walk a few steps, wave an arm around or smoke a cigarette -- but I didn't think they were THAT bad. :) I'm not much of a gamer (mostly EQ and WoW) so the rampant NPC cursing and the BJ-cutscene amuse me just because of novelty, I suppose. (Alas the BJ-cutscene is pretty much the only sexy thing in the game, and that assumes that you are the type of person who finds that sort of thing sexy to begin with.)

Once you get into the game, there are a lot of amusing things, pop references, funny names for quests and achievements, etc., but the pace of the game is odd, and the plethora of cutscenes is part of that. You're watching a story unfold as much as playing a game. Definitely a different feeling than any other game I've played. I enjoy that aspect of it more than the combat parts, really, but it would surely not be everyone's cup of tea.

Also, they occasionally throw in quests where you have to do precision jumping, which pisses me off.

The intro where you first eat a bee and get recruited is not literally an hour of cutscenes, but it's pretty close. I recently re-did it on a diff. faction just to see how it differs (spoiler: if you're Illuminati, no BJ-cutscene, dunno about Templar) and there's not much to do until you get ported to Tokyo to shoot zombies in the subway system.

I like the cutscenes too, but not for the visual aspect. I like the writing and the delivery. I enjoy hearing ranting about ze strigoi in a heavy Romanian accent.

I'm pretty sure I'm a dipshit pubbie. LOL.
http://chronicle.thesecretworld.com/character/Vi-Cat

Thanks to being defaulted all the gear in the elite dungeons I have Blue Q10 in virtually every slot now, with a couple of random exceptions. This includes all weapons except Shotgun (Green Q9 I believe).

If I remember right, I have only one or two elites to go before I am eligible to try Gatekeeper. However I am pretty sure I need more skillz to actually beat him/her/it. :)

I have 10/10 skill in Assault Rifle, 9/9 skill in Pistol, Fist, Shotgun, Blade, and Blood; 9/4 in Chaos. This is mostly because I ran out of things to spend the skill points on; I've never touched a Chaos weapon and have limited available skills in most of those areas (filled out the basic decks for the jackets :D)

I have this build available to me, it is the closest to a "real" dps build I have
http://tsw.diebythearrow.com/assault-rifle-decks/

I also have various healy options including this one:
http://dulfy.net/2012/07/14/bloody-assaultan-arblood-healer-build/

However I don't have much practice with either, nor do I know the proper optimization of gear with glyphs or signets. In groups I have been running with 1 health item and the rest dps or heals as appropriate.

98% of the time I'm running around with a half-assed survival AR build and not really bothering too much about the other weapon - lately fist for Impair (http://wiki.crygaia.com/view/Muzzle) although the freaking NPCs seem to cast too fast for me to interrupt anyway. This has gotten me halfway through Carpathian Fangs, with some randoms or guildies helping with a couple of the storyline missions.

So, those decks you linked mostly look terrible, heh.

I agree with them about the tradeoffs of AR builders (but don't ever use Anima Shot in a group DPS deck unless asked, your job is to DPS, with the exception of NM Ankh where it will be handy to have Reap and Sew available for Dr. Klein). I use Safety Off but it does get me killed occasionally if I don't account for the slowed movement. (as they say, Hip Shooter is a viable alternative.) If you go with Safety Off, take the passive that buffs it. None of their decks do this. I think the passive that buffs Hip Shooter is good too but I don't know offhand as I don't use it.

Don't use fucking Red Mist. It's a horrible ability, absolutely horrible. It has a long cast time and in full 10.4/10.4 it still only does about 3k damage. It has exactly one use outside of PvP and that's pulling a couple of very particular mobs in NM Hell Fallen thanks to its extreme range. Taking Red Mist also prevents you from taking an elite skill that's actually useful, like Do or Die. Red Mist is a pubbie trap in almost all situations.

Speaking of Do or Die, if you don't need a different elite, that's your elite. No exceptions. Examples of elite active you might need to take instead: Cleanup (shotgun), Reap and Sew (AR), Slow the Advance (AR). If you aren't running Do or Die, it should be because your group needs you to run a different one for mechanical reasons.

I'll have to look at the passives when I'm home and not on an iPad. Nearly every DPS build will want Live Wire, though.

Some of those decks only have a resource consumer for one weapon, it looks like. That is bad 100% of the time. Pretty much all offensive resource builders build for both equipped weapons. That means you can use a builder 5 times, then consumer #1, then consumer #2. Consumers are generally very powerful. If you aren't using two consumers, you're leaving significant damage on the table. (If you haven't picked a second weapon, I heartily advise making both weapons ranged. Being melee is a huge disadvantage in a LOT of fights.)

If you're DPS, don't worry about interrupting unless asked. Bosses can usually only be Impaired or Hindered three times before they become immune for a while. In some cases this can wipe the group if something important doesn't get interrupted, and the job is usually left to the tank. The only time I've ever used Muzzle in a group context was while healtanking the last boss of elite Darkness War. (You go with no healer, and your tank mixes tanking and healing spells and abilities, which offers a few advantages -- mostly you get 4 DPS so things go faster. This only works in some dungeons and only with good enough gear and builds. I did it in that case because made made it a boss and a half before we realized I had neglected to invite a healer. Still aced it. :D)

You should get your skill with all talismans and your two weapons to 10 ASAP. Not being capped will result in unusually high glance rates. You only need to get one of the paths for each weapon to 10; going down the other path as you have will give you the small passive bonus but will not affect your skill level. The bonuses are mostly insignificant so don't worry too much, just pick whichever one sounds more useful to you. I filled out one track for every weapon type, then went back through and got the other tracks up when I had no real use for more SP.

Getting the inner ring completed as you have is a good idea, since it's cheap as hell and often includes some important stuff; it also means that when you find you want to go into a deeper tree you don't have to come up with like 40 AP before you can even think about it.

I didn't bother with customizing glyphs or signets until I started buying custom gear (with Black Bullion from NM dungeons). It didn't seem to be a big problem. Elites are mostly a joke once you have your sea legs, it isn't worth stressing about your exact ratios of crit chance and crit power and hit rating and all that.

Gatekeeper is challenging. The thing about Gatekeeper is it's a test of Nightmare preparedness. When you do NM dungeons you will be expected to have very specific abilities available; as such, Gatekeeper will expect you to have particular abilities. I think DPS Gatekeeper requires purges? I forget. I did the tank one, which requires at least two impairs (I did Art of War and Chaotic Pull) and if you have a tank set available I think it's much easier. DPS was a pain in the ass. I haven't tried the healing one. You only have to do one of the three.

I've never done AR healing so I can't speak to that. It's efficient at high gear levels as you do nontrivial damage at the same time, but with inferior gear it's weaker than some of the alternatives, and it has some severe limitations -- it's impossible to heal NM Hell Fallen because everything has barriers and you won't be doing enough healing. Fist is generally regarded as the strongest healing tree; you can either pair it with Blood for full on healing, or sub in a support weapon like Pistols or Shotgun to bring bonuses like group buffs (Deadly Aim, Breaching Shot) or utility spells (Cleanup, etc.). Either way Fist is usually the bulk of your healing bar.

Hopefully I haven't missed anything. It's hard to keep track writing in a tiny box on a tablet. I will be around tonight some if you need help; voice chat is preferred.

Thanks!

I forgot to mention the misc trees; I believe Do or Die was my next planned purchase, but I hadn't yet gotten there. I had been under the impression that you didn't get a benefit from going to skill 10 until you had purples, thanks for that, I'll prioritize it.

Muzzle I've just been using solo, and just recently. There are a few specific mobs in Transylvania with casts that hurt. I've been trying to stay at range lately. Muzzle seems to be my main on-demand Impair at the moment, and it has a bit of range; but then I can't make use of a Fist consumer unless I'm in melee range, so there's that...

I would like a good cookie cutter build to fall back on, I guess, and the game is not really set up that way. Like I said, I don't have the mental energy to learn all the ins and outs I would need. I am kind of wanting to at least finish up that story line now though. :)

I don't think I'll be online tonight, though, movie plans. Thanks for the offer!

ooh, and I forgot reason number 1 why I lost interest. With the story line just about done, there is nothing left to do but group, and even if I became the hotshot dps or healing star I long to be, my current computer crashes and lags enough that I would be "that group member" that everyone grumbles about taking. (I know I've been the grumbler in other games, and I don't want to be the grumblee!) It doesn't matter when I'm soloing, I just run back after death, but in groups it's embarrassing and inconsiderate.

Man. I spent a fair bit of time writing that. :(

And I do appreciate it!

Mr W just mentioned that he wants a new computer so maybe the computer issue will clear up soon :)

@ Kerzain and Thoro.

Yep, the cut scenes are still there. I like them myself. You can always skip them if you're in a big hurry to get to wacking Whamadoodles, but honestly, you're right. You might as well just play a game that puts you to wacking right away, if that is your style.

The "story" -- cut scenes, setting and all -- is really the main draw for the game, and apparently the main repulsion too.

But that being said, there is the problem that even casual play can exhaust said storyline in a few months, and I really don't have that big an urge to spend my time raiding or PvPing.

So that is also why I'm taking it slow and playing some Mechwarrior and LOTRO.

NYC Hentai Boss:

I see no big eyed Japanese schoolgirls in various states of distressed arousal, so it can't be Hentai....

Japanese Schoolgirls Not Included -- you have to bring your own. ;-)

Hi,
Story concerns -
They are adding in an entire new storyline for the next pub. Yeah its in Solomon island but if running -leets- isnt the fun thing to do , there is that. They do not expect their customers to be online day in day out.
They are also allowing folk to repeat investigation missions. I like that because to see some of them again I would have to make a new character.

The start up montage. The dream is the same for everyone. Dragon get kidnapped and tantric type sex to elevate you to the "harmonoic" bit (get you to go back in time and have the vision of what happened in tokyo)
illuminati get bullied to go, then talk to some conspiracy nutjobs before getting whacked and drugged to get their "trip" in vision.
Templar get guilted into going, with a mild threat that everyone else is going to kill you if you don't join us. Followed by listening to a "storyteller/puppeteer" on the street who seems to set you off into visions.
Then you are prodded awake on a curb.

There is more too the above if you stop, listen and look around. Which is kinda pushing one to relax into the world.

.....

Decks
Currently there are the new inner decks that are supposed to help one branch out into understanding how it all fits together. There have been some changes in skills because yes...some really were working out better than others. I hit the wall of wth am I doing in the city of the sun god.
I really strongly recommend joining the ooc channel if you can tolerate rpers. Demonite there is running things regularly and is a wealth of information, there are others too.

...
Why I am not playing but still buy clothes almost daily.
The world frankly scares the piss out of me. I can only take so much before I have to go do something bright and flashy. City fo the sun god has me in tears most the time. The story encourages me to buy into it, and I do.. but I pay the price in not being there as much as I would like to be.

TSW: Still the coolest MMO.

Okay, so for "recruiting," the Illuminati use drugs, the Dragon uses sex, and the Templar use... rock and roll? I'm not too clear on that last one.

I don't know about the Illuminati or the Templar, but that is not an accurate characterization of the Dragon.

Templars use visions. Well, "use" is probably wrong word here, it sort of just happens to you at some point.

The "sex" part of the dragon intro is very brief. Mostly you are meeting mysterious people. It is voluntary, more or less. (Been a while since I did it.). Voluntary in the story, that is, you as player are mostly an observer in that portion.

I've been playing a bit again. I seem to have found a combo of setting and screen resolution that has resolved my problems.I've taken Inigmas advice & it is helping. I also located some solid-seeming dps cookie cutter builds which do seem to work better, although the dps meter I downloaded is still discouraging and soloing the last few missions in Carpathian was mostly an exercise in corpse-hopping.

I don't know about you guys, but I totally joined the Dragon for the tantric sex.

Anything that you're still seeing marked as "Hard" once you're in QL10 gear is a "Nightmare" mission. They are tough and are best done with help until you have very good gear. On the plus side they award signets (most of which are terrible and you won't even want).

Anyone else sign up for the ARG? I'm beginning to wonder if the whole 'End of Days' thing will also apply to the game as we know it.

I did, I think its a prelude to the xmas event.

I did. They didn't get my cell number though. I get enough cracked texts as it is, and I sure as hell don't want to be called up at work by undead Mayans or something...

what ARG?

I signed up, but no cell phone number, same dealio. I guess the earlier ARG folks were getting calls?

Link (note: has sound, so don't click if freaky chanting is inappropriate for your circumstances)

I signed up when it launched. I didn't give my phone number or my Twitter but I wish I had. People are reporting getting creepy phone calls in a little girl's voice, and it sounds awesome.

They've said the holiday event won't be Christmas-related. I was thinking Solstice originally but it would be baller as heck if it were some kind of Mayan apocalypse prophecy deal.

Mayan apocalypse was my guess. It's the right day and all.

Yep. It's Mayan Apocalypse, although who knows what spin Funcom is going to put on it? Remember, they've already had evil, bug controlled Mayans in game (or were those Aztecs? I always get them mixed up...).

On a side note, I think it's hilarious that some folks on the forums don't think that the Mayan Apocalypse is a "serious" enough conspiracy plot for the secret world...

Really....


EDIT: Here is the text of the email invite I got, minus graphics and all:

Mankind has been warned. On December 21st there will be a cataclysmic event that marks the end of time as we know it. It is time to prepare.

Leading up to this world-changing event is a brand new alternate reality game (ARG) set in and around The Secret World universe, which will allow you to better prepare for what is to come. If you have never participated in an ARG event before, this is your perfect chance.

And quite possibly your last.

This might be your one chance to save yourself from this inevitable cosmic event, and we encourage you to pre-register to take part in the ARG. Pre-registration is free and available

on this page

. The ARG will start in a few days and this is one train you do not want to miss.

You do not need to be an active The Secret World player to take part, but if you are, note that exclusive prizes will be offered to all those who participate and that you will be able to enjoy these before everything comes to one last, screeching halt on December 21st.

Sincerely,
FUNCOM

man this is cool, I hope they don't blow it!

I signed up for the ARG even though I'm not a TSW player, just for kicks, haha! I've been reading through the TSW ARG thread, and somebody posted a vid of the creepy girl phone call.



I almost wish that I'd given my number just to hear that over the phone.

AGGGHH!!! I opened this website, left it open when I didn't hear anything, completely forgot about it, and then SUDDENLY OUT OF NOWHERE CREEPY CHANTING AAAHHHHH
i don't like this ARG anymore *sob*

Their args have always been top notch.

http://beta.mural.ly/!/#/shezbeth/1354872817023

In case anyone wanted to see how the ARG is going