Recent reviews by Grandhardt

Note: My hours are inflated due to afk fishing and true gameplay is probably more around 150 hours.

My experience with this game has been mostly positive, but there are definitely a lot of things the game still needs to improve. The new player experience is (still) very confusing and difficult to get through without any help. Hell, even just picking a class to start with is daunting bc the game does a crap job of explaining how each class works or feels to play. I highly recommend looking up class picking guides. Blue Squadron on YouTube has a whole "choose your class" series that helped me through that process.

Don't get me wrong. The game has a whole host of problems it needs to work on, most of them centering around the game being able to explain itself to the player without the aid of outside help. That said, this game is also a lot of fun. I find myself coming back once a year just to give it another fair shot bc I know it has potential. I fell off of this game a lot in the past, and I can't say for sure that I won't fall off again. But I still think the experience of playing this game was worth it regardless. The combo system if a combat system that you really don't see often / at all in other MMO titles, and BDO did a fantastic job implementing it in their game. Even on Succession Nova (frequently toted as the worst class to play in the game. Not to be confused with Awakening Nova, toted as one of / the best classes for pvp / pve.), I feel the power and complexity of the combat engine on a visceral level. Pulling off your class's combos feels compelling and powerful. In short, it just feels good to play the game.

Where the game falls short in this respect is the absurd amount of non-gameplay things you are basically forced to do in order to fully unlock the actual gameplay. For example, you essentially unlock a whole new and unique style of combat for you character once you awaken them, but you're also not able to test out your new abilities very much unless you stop following the main story line (typically because you're over-leveled and one-shotting every enemy rather than actually having to use your combos). And even then, shortly after awakening you discover a new quest line that everyone essentially has to do in order to unlock the game's fast-travel system. The sad part is that this quest line is substantially long and has little to no combat to speak of, meaning you end up feeling like you're doing your chores almost immediately after the game hands you a brand new toy that you would rather be playing with instead.

Man, reading this makes me feel like I should NOT recommend the game, but I promise it is worth playing. It requires you (the player) to put in a lot of work in order to enjoy it. But I guarantee that it's worth it. That said, if you aren't patient then you may just want to skip this one.

Only 41 hours in the game and I can confidently say that this is the best MMO I have had the opportunity to play in years. I played BDO. It was OK, but I put it down and never picked it back up. I honestly never really liked WoW. I don't know much about GW2, so that comparison will have to be made by someone else.

What I like:

- Combat system is easy to understand and is based on player skill as opposed to player stats. You won't die in pvp simply because someone else maxed out their stats and you're still several levels below them. If you can hit them, you can kill them. And Vice Versa. It's fun for all ^.^

- Crafting is simple and convenient. Inventory management, while still very much a concern, does not inhibit crafting at all. If your materials are all in the town storage, you can still use them to craft. You need only be in the same town as those materials.

- Factions provide a divisive way to group up reliably and participate in pvp content that somehow manages to unify large numbers of players. As someone who loved the pvp system in Aika, I love this game's pvp. There are so many ways to contribute to your faction. Hell, even knowing the map's geography can be considered contribution if you can get people to use it to their advantage in group fights.

I really don't have any cons right now. The game is fairly new and owned by a company with serious money, so I feel like this will be a safe investment time for any MMO lover. I'll update this review if things turn for the worst. Until then, I hope this helped.

This is everything I wanted Civ 5 to be and more. I am never bored, and I always find new and interesting ways to play the game. There's so much going on at all times, and that can be intimidating. But that's honestly a great thing if you're like me and enjoy strategy games with a lot of moving parts. Despite that, this game is turn-based and is, therefore, extremely relaxing to play. Note: this game is a time-sink. If you enjoy the game then you will likely end up spending countless hours merely researching various strategies that you can implement into your own games. As before, this is actually a plus if you want a game with a tremendous amount of bang for your buck. Speaking of which, DO NOT JUST BUY THE BASE GAME. The expansions are 100% worth the money and, frankly, completely necessary in order to enjoy Civ 6 properly. Please be responsible with your money and know your limits. I love this game, and I hope you will too.

Skip this one. It brings absolutely nothing new to the MMO table. There are better games. Also, you have to deal with this massive tutorial arrow that takes up a tenth of your screen whenever you want to talk to someone / pick up items / interact with something / equip something / breath / exist. It's basically the game's main mechanic. Clicking what the tutorial arrow says to click. I've checked all of the settings to no avail. Can't get rid of the damn thing. The story is fairly interesting I guess. You get to be Mr. Generic Hero and go through a kung-fu kid kind of transition from weak to strong. And by transition I mean like flipping a switch. The only time you can really die while trying to stay alive is during the first tutorial mission. Then the game gives you armor that's 20 times better than your original stuff and you're all like "sup bishes" the next time around. Don't feed perfect world anymore please. Their content just keeps getting worse. Neverwinter was decent at least. This is just unoriginal and uncreative. The only bright side I can see is the 10 different playable classes. Other than that, this game is a quartz stone disguized as a diamond. But don't take my word for it. I've only got like an hour invested in this thing. Please, by all means. Waste part of your life on unfulfillment and boredom. I won't stop you. I will, however, forever see you as a scrub. Scrub.

If you like a game with build-test-and-'splosions, install. 1. it's free with no level cap or necessary purchases (though you do have to unlock tech and this tech can be purchased. fear not, all battles are on an even leveled playing field) 2. The game is frequently updated with new content 3. the physics are always improving (this can be a hinderance at times and can occasionally ruin a robot but typically not a big deal. Just adjust the center of mass on your fliers) 4. the devs give a free day of premium to the community if the servers go down 5. the pvp experience is fantastic 6. you get to laugh as your piolot flies into the stratosphere on nothing but a single block and a couple of thrusters 7. art-able for the creative 8. fun I can't list enough good about the game. just get it. You won't regret it. If you do, uninstall, no probs.