Hasla Herald: Launch Week in ArcheAge .

Head start is over, launch is upon us and boy has it been an interesting experience. Over the past couple weeks the hype machine has been churning and the internet trolls have been out in force. Cries of pay to win and the games longevity have been called in to question. Everywhere from faction chat to the forums you can find people complaining about almost anything. The negativity has drowned out a lot of the positive reactions to the game. If you only read online posts, you might get the idea that the launch has been nothing but a hot mess. Yes, it’s had its issues, but those of us who have been playing for months now know better than to let the vocal minority speak for us.

The internet is full of cynics; anonymity has a tendency to do that. People feel like they can be keyboard warriors and have a tendency to state their opinion as if it was undeniable fact. Some of the concerns expressed hold validity; others just fall under their weight. MMORPGs as a genre can be hard to judge for quality due to their scope and breadth. Sometimes we want to judge things by our first session without taking investing the time needed to form a true critique. I’m sure I myself have been guilty of this at some point in the fifteen or so years I have been playing MMOs.

There is no doubt that the launch has been a bit rough. This has frustrated the existing player base as well as those trying the game for the first time. It still doesn’t stop me from wanting to pull my hair out every time I hear the Chicken Little’s crying that the sky is falling on Trion. Server stability and uptime was an issue during head start, fortunately Trion added additional Patron time to those accounts to compensate. While the server stability issues have been managed, the game is still currently prone to long queues. There’s no doubt that it’s annoying but many games have gone through this exact issue and lived to see another day.

Running trade packs can be Risky business…

Some are saying Trion had a “poorly planned” launch and should have opened up a bunch more servers to eliminate the wait times. I would argue that the amount of servers was an intentional action. If we look at games from the past we can see that queue times almost always dissipate after the first month or so. While queues are a problem, MMOs face a much larger issue In the long run, player retention.

We have seen other titles that have had pitch perfect launches, with plenty of servers. What often happens in these games is unfortunate. After the initial wave of players dies down many of the servers become ghost towns. Due to some of the games mechanics such as open world housing, a merge would be an absolute nightmare. When looking at it from this perspective, the cautious approach makes logical sense. Trion has said to help alleviate this issue they will upgrade the servers to hold a higher population.

Player housing has also been an issue for some, myself I’m not overly worried about it. Right now farms and houses are packed in like sardines in most of the zones. In the long run I don’t foresee land being a huge issue. As players don’t pay their taxes housing spots will become available. More importantly, the big land rush hasn’t even happened yet. Aurioria, the end game continent, will open up massive amounts of land. Spots in Auroria happen to be some of the most desirable in the game.

Look at all those unfinished houses….I wonder how many haven’t paid their taxes?

One of the valid concerns pre-launch was Archeum shard supplies. The drop rates were abysmally low, shortages in late alpha/beta were rampant. Trion stated pre launched that they would “significantly” raise drop rates. At this point the acquisition rates seem more than reasonable. Archeum is still a coveted commodity, but by no means is it impossible to get. Although it is possible to get crystals from cash shop boxes, the main supply of Archeum comes from in game methods. The cash shop is an incredibly inefficient way to get Archeum crystals, people buy the gamble box for things such as exclusive outfits, gliders and mounts.

I understand ArcheAge isn’t going to be a game for everyone. No game will appeal to every player, and it would be naïve to think people won’t quit. For me though, ArcheAge has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had with an MMO in a very long time. Sure there’s the normal themepark style questing, but if you simply look at that aspect of the game, you haven’t even scratched the surface. I have a disdain for traditional quest mechanics, I haven’t quested since the two starting zones. ArcheAge rewards its players in so many different ways; there hasn’t been the need to focus on that aspect of the game.

Nothing quite as rewarding as running trade packs…

Since launch I have been in massive battles protecting illegal farms, escaped from pirates on the high seas, died to pirates on the high seas, relaxed on my farm, went on dangerous trade runs across the world and in essence created my own experiences and “quests”. What I choose to spend my time on in ArcheAge is my decision and most of all I have had a blast doing it. The game harbors a diverse community and you should have no issues diving in to it.

This isn’t a “WoW killer” it doesn’t try to be. ArcheAge succeeds gloriously in mastering the fundamentals of the genre. It doesn’t try to pretend it’s something it’s not. There are no gimmicks, no tricks and no frills. What ArcheAge does have is tons of solid mechanics and a feature set many players will find appealing. I have very little doubt that Trion will find its audience with ArcheAge. As long as they continue listening to the user base they will do just fine.