Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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Max Peck
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

Post by Max Peck »

I had forgotten how much I enjoy the writing in this game.

Headmaster Montag: We possess an Illuminati war golem, from the sixteen hundreds. Purely for reference purposes. The school records of its last activation make for a gruesome, albeit entertaining, reading. Such an activation would require... a full faculty meeting.

Annabel Usher: So, this could get worse? Before it gets better?

Montag: Oh, no. I shouldn't think it would get better.
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

Post by Madmarcus »

TSW was the only MMO I have ever subscribed to for more than a month so I had to jump on the new version. I haven't had a subscription in years so all I got from the transfer was clothing and weapon unlocks.

After a few hours getting two alt to Solomon Island and starting the quests there I have mixed feelings. The atmosphere is as terrific as I remembered but I miss the old ability wheel. Without the synergy stuff the abilities just don't feel as interesting. Plus I get the impression that even a level 50 character can't max out two weapons. Even if that isn't completely true it is the impression I'm getting from the rate of AP/SP versus levels. Which means I'm much more worried about gimping even within my two weapons.
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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Madmarcus wrote:TSW was the only MMO I have ever subscribed to for more than a month so I had to jump on the new version. I haven't had a subscription in years so all I got from the transfer was clothing and weapon unlocks.

After a few hours getting two alt to Solomon Island and starting the quests there I have mixed feelings. The atmosphere is as terrific as I remembered but I miss the old ability wheel. Without the synergy stuff the abilities just don't feel as interesting. Plus I get the impression that even a level 50 character can't max out two weapons. Even if that isn't completely true it is the impression I'm getting from the rate of AP/SP versus levels. Which means I'm much more worried about gimping even within my two weapons.
I assume you continue to gain AP/SP when you hit the level cap, but stop "leveling up" in other ways. Otherwise there are character build mechanics (like the tiered weapon ability capstones) that would never come into play.

My impression after the first week is that SWL is the better option for someone who is primarily interested in the story content (combat is balanced to be easier and the various game-mechanic systems are streamlined), while TSW Classic is probably still better if you want intricate build-crafting and crafting mechanics.
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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Max Peck wrote:My impression after the first week is that SWL is the better option for someone who is primarily interested in the story content (combat is balanced to be easier and the various game-mechanic systems are streamlined), while TSW Classic is probably still better if you want intricate build-crafting and crafting mechanics.
I may have to give this a look then. I enjoyed TSW's story, but couldn't quite wrap my head around some of the builds and game systems.
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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Don't let my (and other's) fondness for the ability wheel fool you. There is some depth to the new combat system and it works well in play. The only thing missing is the offline theorycrafting that really wasn't that well balanced anyway.

I'm still in Kingsmouth due to a RL sinus infection that has slowed me down. With a 4th party and then a trip out of town I'm about to put this on the shelf for two weeks and see what the patch does.The game has already moved from a mixed to a thumbs up for me with the realization that it would be a bigger thumbs up if I hadn't played the earlier incarnation.

I just wish I could get some trinkets other then neck and waist!
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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Madmarcus wrote:I just wish I could get some trinkets other then neck and waist!
The other trinkets seem to be rarer drops, but they do start to show up. I think they may be gated by character level or maybe area/quest in order to ease you into the gear/crafting system. I'm currently L31 and just finished off the Savage Coast, and have max-level head/neck/waist trinkets and at least trash items in all but one of the other slots. You burn through a lot of trinkets/weapons in order to empower/fuse items, so limiting the variety of trinkets in the early game may forestall a degree of analysis paralysis (and inventory management headaches) for new players while they wrap their head around the crafting system.
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

Post by Madmarcus »

I am enjoying SWL but I keep finding little issues.

While playing today I realized that I'm slowly messing up. I'm used to TSW and the idea that currency comes from quests but SWL uses the idea that currency comes only at specific chunks of quests. So for my level and number of days played I don't have a lot of MOF and I'll probably drop farther behind as time goes on. Luckily I have a legacy account so I don't have to unlock weapons. I guess I won't be buying cosmetics.
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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You get anima shards as quest rewards, but so far as I've noticed the main source of Marks of Fortune from playing is the rewards for the daily challenges. I haven't been doing dungeons or PvP, so there may be other sources that I haven't seen. Or you can get them from selling loot in the auction house.

Or you can exchange Aurum for them, if you're rich IRL. :)
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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This review from the RPS folks isn't exactly encouraging. Seems like a fun game behind a really awful F2P model.
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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Skinypupy wrote:This review from the RPS folks isn't exactly encouraging. Seems like a fun game behind a really awful F2P model.
It's a typical F2P model, in the same vein as Cryptic's games. From what I've seen, you can pretty much ignore the F2P premium stuff and just play the game without any problems. You won't have the best-in-class gear, but you don't really need it to enjoy the content, and that's where the game shines.
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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Patch notes for 2.0.1, wherein we learn that the awful F2P model is a work-in-progress.
As part of today’s downtime we have issued refunds on certain in game purchases. You will notice that you have more Aurum or Marks of Favour if you did the following:
  1. We have changed the way unlocking Weapon Pages work. From now on all unlocks will include both the Actives and the Passive page for the weapon. Anyone that purchased both the Active and Passive of the same weapon for Aurum will have 400 Aurum reimbursed per set of pages they bought. For example, if you bought Shotgun Active and Shotgun Passive for Aurum then you will have 400 more Aurum when you log in. If you bought both Shotgun Active/Passive and Pistol Active/Passive you will receive 800 Aurum.
    • If you only purchased the Active OR the Passive you will not receive a reimbursement, instead after the patch you will receive the associated page you did not purchase for free.
  2. The price for Sprint 2 has been reduced from 10,000 Marks of Favour to 2,500 MoF. If you unlocked Sprint 2 for 10,000 MoF you will have 7500 MoF reimbursed.
  3. Finally, we have also reduced the price of your first weapon unlock from 20,000 Marks of Favour to 5,000 MoF. Anyone that purchased 1 Weapon page for MoF will have 15,000 MoF reimbursed. Players that purchased 2 or more for MoF will have 30,000 MoF reimbursed.
You will automatically have these reimbursements applied to your account when you log in. Thank you!
PATCH HIGHLIGHTS
Dungeon Highlights
  • Introduced phase 1 of the Elite Dungeon System
  • Adjusted the loot table for chests in story dungeons to provide a higher chance of receiving an item over a distillate – Rougly a 50/50 split.
  • Significantly increased the rate that rare chests will spawn in story dungeons.
  • Rare chests in story dungeons will now give both a distillate and an extraordinary item.
  • Players will receive a guaranteed extraordinary item for the first dungeon they complete each day.
  • Added glyphs to Scenario chests.
  • Increased the signet drop rate in lair chests.
  • Added XP to the repeatable dungeon missions.
General Highlights
  • Increased the base inventory size to 35.
  • Reduced the cost of Sprint 2 to 2500 Marks of Favour.
  • Quickened Anima has been renamed to Sprint Upgrade.
  • Unlocking a weapon’s active or passive page will now unlock the other page for free.
  • The price of the first weapon unlock has been reduced to 5000 Marks of Favour.
  • Increased the rate at which players gain AP and SP at level 50.
  • Attaching glyphs and signets no longer costs Marks of Favour.
Patron Highlights
  • Patrons will now receive 1 bonus AP whenever they gain an AP through XP.
  • Players will now receive 1 bonus SP whenever they gain an SP through XP.
  • Patrons now receive 20% more Marks of Favour from Challenges.
  • Teleporting no longer requires Anima Shards for Patrons.
  • All players can now initiate a trade with any other player as long as they are either a patron, or have reached level 15.
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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I started downloading this last night at 5.30pm and this morning at 7.30am it was finishing off the patching, this on a 200mb line :O).
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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Reemul wrote:I started downloading this last night at 5.30pm and this morning at 7.30am it was finishing off the patching, this on a 200mb line :O).
Yeah, their servers seemed to be derping out again yesterday. The patch downloaded for me at dial-up speeds, about 60kbps.
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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Funcom has published a development roadmap, sketching out their plans to the end of the year(ish).
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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So, I downloaded my Steam version of Secret World (the one I bought a couple years back) and it appears to be the exact same game. I guess that means this new Secret World Legends version is not available through Steam and I need to DL it from their site?
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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Skinypupy wrote:So, I downloaded my Steam version of Secret World (the one I bought a couple years back) and it appears to be the exact same game. I guess that means this new Secret World Legends version is not available through Steam and I need to DL it from their site?
According to their Steam page, SWL will be available on Steam sometime around the end of July.
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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Skinypupy wrote:So, I downloaded my Steam version of Secret World (the one I bought a couple years back) and it appears to be the exact same game. I guess that means this new Secret World Legends version is not available through Steam and I need to DL it from their site?
I tried starting my non-Steam client of TSW and it automatically downloaded SWL.
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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Alefroth wrote:
Skinypupy wrote:So, I downloaded my Steam version of Secret World (the one I bought a couple years back) and it appears to be the exact same game. I guess that means this new Secret World Legends version is not available through Steam and I need to DL it from their site?
I tried starting my non-Steam client of TSW and it automatically downloaded SWL.
Yup, the old launcher will autopatch to the new game. You can grab a new installer for TSW Classic from your account page on the original site. I've heard some people complain that one was also switching over to SWL, but it worked fine for me and I've got both versions installed and playable now.
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

Post by Smoove_B »

Free version is now live on STEAM.
Maybe next year, maybe no go
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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So whats the diff in this Steam Legends free version and the normal game? What am I missing by playing the free one? Also are free players and paying sub players all in the same game?

May try it if its not super limited like most free versions of pay sub mmos.

EDIT: Found this. Looks like it nickle and dimes the crap out of you. Upgrade weapons? Costs. Want to go to a dungeon? Key cost. Yadda yadda.
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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The only game currency that can be purchased directly is Aurum. The currencies used for weapon/gear upgrades are Anima Shards (primarily gained as mission rewards or from selling loot to NPCs) and Marks of Favor (primarily gained from daily challenge rewards or from selling loot to other players via the auction house). You can also trade MoF for Aurum via an exchange -- the system is pretty much identical to Cryptic's games (Neverwinter, Champions Online, Star Trek Online), if you've played any of those.
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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Played them all...but except for Neverwinter I was always sub'd.
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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If you sub to it, the main benefit is a daily allotment of keys (with a cap on how many dungeon keys you can accumulate) and an XP buff, along with a few other convenience things like free fast-travel teleports (the plebs have to pay a fee in anima shards). However, for me at least, the best part of the game is the actual content (setting and missions), and none of that is gated behind any sort of paywall. I've been able to earn enough AS and MoF from playing the game to cover all my needs for gearing up, and have also exchanged some MoF for a few hundred Aurum that I've never needed to spend (I have a permanent patron account, courtesy of my lifetime sub to the original game, so I just use the free keys instead of buying any). From what I've seen, as long as you're not worried about having the absolute best gear, you can play the game just fine without ever spending a cent on it.
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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You make it sound playable. I beta'd it and wasn't impressed but I hear they have worked their butts off on improving it. And the setting is one I 'should' love.
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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I just installed and created a character in the free Secret World Legends and it already get a negative mark from me....one character slot. At least let me have one alt to test other stuff with. Sheesh.
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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Secret World Legends Devstream: Feb 23 (Agent Network)

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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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It looks like the trigger to activate the Agent Network system may be a little bugged. It appears that you should get a text message from your faction to activate it, probably when you hit level 15, but in my case (at level 48) I didn't get one until after I submitted a GM petition.
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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Ive reinstalled and ma giving it a better go. But the controls are fighting me the entire way. Im on the first main mission now and i ma shotgun user. I pickup up the hammer at the mission start as my alt weapon and I can switch to it. But when I left click to swing it my character rips out her shotgun and fires it instead. I dont know how to use the hammer or anything other than my gun it seems. Also I cant figure how to add hotbutton skills. Very confusing controls even when I rebind them to work the way I want they refuse to do it that way..hence hammer out ..click..shotgun fires lol.
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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The game automatically uses the weapon associated with the active ability that you trigger, so if it switches to the shotgun it's because you used a shotgun ability rather than a hammer ability.
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Re: Funcom reveals 'The Secret World'

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"What? What? What?" -- The 14th Doctor

It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
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