Curse

DarkWasp · Apr 28, 2009, 06:34 PM // 18:34

Equipment Pack: **** (4/5)
I like these packs, great place to store hero weapons and what-not. I don't quite understand why its so hard to get though.

Xunlai Storage: **** (4/5)
That's really all I wanted was one more pane, so i'm pretty happy and roomy now. However the term "Live Update" is dieing now that we have to go through NCstore for half the features.

Zaishen Challenge Quests: ***** (5/5)
Gives me something to do, and all day to do it. It almost loses a point because it's almost as unrewarding as the gold at the end of a vanquish.

Zaishen Coins: **** (4/5)
I feel it's much easier to buy most of this stuff from players. The Coin to gold value is really off balance. I really like the new item/font color though.

Zaishen Menagerie: ***** (5/5)
I love this thing! There is no reason to unlock all of the pets but.. I JUST GOTTA! It's awesome.

Nicolas the Traveler: ***** (5/5)
Oh yeah, this is just priceless. A reason to log on every week atleast.

Hall of Monuments: now account wide: ***** (5/5)
I guess it does what it's suppoed to. HoM wasn't much to look at beforehand though....

New character customisation: ** (2/5)
You have got to be kidding... The one feature i've wanted since factions came out, cross campiagn hair and faces, aaand now i'm not even going to be able to enjoy it. Even if I do end up buying 5 makeover credits, it really will be too much stress watching every credit I use. Takes the entire feel out of the feature.

Miscellanious ***** (5/5)
I'm really glad the new tonics given by the traveler arent half as lame/ugly/noisy as the zchest tonics. My friend chased a rabbit down as a white moa and pecked at it... try to do that as a freaking golem....

My final rating: 39/45 stars or 4.3/5.

wetwillyhip · Apr 28, 2009, 06:52 PM // 18:52

Equipment Pack: **** (4/5)
love it, but a grind to get

Xunlai Storage: **** (4/5)
love it, but 10$ was a little pricey, i got over it and bought 4 for the convenience. Also the NC soft site was a buttload of trouble, but got it.

Zaishen Challenge Quests: ***** (5/5)
loving them, i can look forward every day to something replayable that's extra rewarding.

Zaishen Coins: **** (4/5)
love them, although, I wish there wasn't a bug, but should be fixed this week.

Zaishen Menagerie: ***** (4/5)
love it, but i'm not sure what influence it will have for future like GWs2 or further achievements, but i like the flexibility of charming any pet you've had, i just hate having to re-level all the pets i've previously done.... SUCKS! and its a grind.

Nicolas the Traveler: ***** (5/5)
Meh, cool guy, there should be a market for the weekly items for his stuff.

Hall of Monuments: now account wide: ***** (5/5)
finally, goodness something i have been waiting forever for! this makes the HoM x100 times better for my 12 characters.

New character customization: ** (4/5)
really liking it, it just sucks to be reminded that sins, rits, dervs and peras don't have many options and therefore, the makeover isn't as beneficial towards them. only the core professions benefit the most! i've already made over 3/12 of my chars. It's a little pricey too, but w/e.

Miscellanious ***** (5/5)
love the tonics and summoning stones. hope to get them in the future after i get 12 20-slot equip packs, it will be a LONG time unless Anet drops the price.

MithranArkanere · Apr 28, 2009, 06:52 PM // 18:52

- Equipment Pack: *** (3/5)
The greater a feature is, the bigger the letdown when when it takes too much time to get. Those prices need a bit of tweaking, or at least there should be alternative sources to get the packs, like drops in hard mode and things like that. The bag themselves would get a 4, but I appraise things when I touch them.

- Xunlai Storage: **** (4/5)
It's nice to have some more room to hoard stuff, but I still think that unlocking is the real solution to storage problems.
No matter how big storage is, it will get eventually filled.
Make items you usually get once unlockable like Festival hats, and you save tons of space.
Weapon upgrade traders will also help save space.

- Zaishen Challenge Quests: ***** (5/5)
Hard to get people to help you in Aurora Glade? Wait for its day in the Zaishen quests!
This definitely works. Yes, it does.

Zaishen Coins: *** (3/5)
The prices of most items are just fine. For example, pet unlocking prices are just perfect. But others, namely the bags, need some tweaking.

Zaishen Menagerie: **** (5/5)
I played Pokemon when I was a kid, and liked the rules. Yeah, I did, what a fight? Limited builds, being able to capture creatures and use them in fights, instant travel around the world, replayability and game 'after the game', the challenge of getting all skills and try many possible combinations with them, connection new and old games... hm... that reminds me of another game... what was it now...?
I can't feel the grind thanks to the pet unlock pack, though.
I had a different pet in each hero, but most of them where under level 11, so I got the pack instead. Now just 5 pets left to go!
The best part of it is that PvP characters have finally options of pets.

Nicolas the Traveler: ***** (5/5)
The real collector. He's the guy. I hope he has descendants of pupils to take on the legacy in GW2.

Hall of Monuments: now account wide: ***** (5/5)
Finally I can show only the titles I want and female Heroines. I don't want to show Norgu along my favorite heroes!

New character customisation: - (0/5)
What good is a feature I can't use? I need a 'pay once' alternative to use this, otherwise the Stylist is just a feature to show me what I cannot do.

Miscellaneous *** (3/5)
It's nice to see new winds in pre-Searing. The Gift of the Hunter, the Headgear and the small pack will keep people interested in there. I already see more people that I have ever seen in pre.
Not much more stuff done outside the forementioned updates. It's funny to see how they changed the icons for Rurik and Troll miniatures, but forgot to add one for the Ale Keg.
Did I said that FINALLY after 4 years we have headgear in pre? No? FINALLY after 4 years we have headgear in pre.

Silent Coyote · Apr 28, 2009, 07:19 PM // 19:19

Oooh lists and ratings! Always fun.

Equipment Pack: ***** (5/5)
I don't have a problem with the packs themselves.

Xunlai Storage: **** (4/5)
I eventually got my free pane, and the promotion lasts quite a while so I think most people will be able to get one eventually. As for paying for the other four I don't really mind, it's not like they were going to give us that much storage for free. One free pane is good enough for me.

Zaishen Challenge Quests: ***** (5/5)
A nice idea and reasonably well implemented, I have no problem with the quests themselves however...

Zaishen Coins: *** (3/5)
The cost for equipment bags is far too high for anyone that has to work during the week/ doesn't have the time to spend every day replaying the same missions on all their characters. It's obviously a hard thing to balance as I'm sure there will be some players that will have a 20 slot equipment bag within a few weeks, but for causal players it is ridiculous. I suspect it will take a while for the price to drop when people start selling them as well.

Zaishen Menagerie: ***** (5/5)
Great, one of the best additions in the update. The zone is very nice.

Nicolas the Traveller: ***** (5/5)
Along with the Menagerie one of the best parts of the updates. No complaints at all with this one.

Hall of Monuments: now account wide: ***** (5/5)
Again no complaints.

New character customisation: *** (3/5)
Reasonably well implemented (though I still want to be able to use dyes on my characters hair :P), and I don't mind paying a small amount (this feature best be free in GW2 though). However as it stands at the moment the price is far to high for what you actually get. It's good they added it to the game though.

Miscellaneous **** (4/5)
Meh not sure what to include here.

My final rating: 39/45 stars or 4.3/5.

Conclusion:
A very good update overall, just minor problems with the grind and pricing issues.

LoKi Foxfire · Apr 28, 2009, 08:38 PM // 20:38

B-

Needs more things like Nicholas and less things like grinding 7500 copper to get a freaking bag....

Empress Amarox · Apr 28, 2009, 08:52 PM // 20:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Test Me

So much self inflicted misery... for what? for a game when games are supposed to entertain you?

Go play something else if this is not your cup of tea. And looks pretty obvious to anyone who reads your post that this *is not* your cup of tea.

rofl... I DO play another game. No kidding it's not anymore, I'm very displeased with them of late. Alas, I've invested tens of thousands of hours in the game, so I do care a little bit about what happens with it.

Red Sonya · Apr 28, 2009, 09:10 PM // 21:10

Quote:

Equipment Pack: **** (5/5)
Great addition. Stop complaining about the grind, because it's not really the case. I spend 2h-3h online each day, did the quests on multiple toons and have 1/4 of what i need for the big bag. And it was what? A couple of days since the zcoins were introduced? So it's going to take what to get it... some 2 weeks of zquests. I don't find that grind. Specially since zquests vary so much.

Most people have a real life and don't spend the majority of their lives EVERYDAY playing some silly game. Good for you if you get it in 2 weeks most of us won't get it in a year. So stop your whinning about the complaints that it takes too long for MOST of us. It's a crappy implementation and MOST people agree.

Notorious Bob · Apr 28, 2009, 09:34 PM // 21:34

Point of note: This update was much trumpeted and claimed "lots of new content" that had required "significant dev time". That being said, here goes:

Equipment Pack: * (1/5)
No imagination at all, just another 'bag'. What took time here? OK we get a little extra storage but the big bags require ludicrous grind.

Xunlai Storage: *** (3/5)
One free pane - great

How much for extra panes???? You've got to be kidding!

Zaishen Coins: ** (2/5)
Ok, so we're now using up 3 storage slots for keeping our coins.. woot!

Zaishen Challenge Quests: - (0/5)
Rehash the same stuff over and over again. Nothing new and has just added more grind. The poorest part of the whole update due to the lack of imagination.

Zaishen Menagerie: **** (4/5)
I really like the Menagerie. Once the wrinkles about recapture have been ironed out it'll be a fun thing. And is about the only bit of imagination demonstrated in this new update except for...

Nicolas the Traveler: **** (4/5)
Loses a star because it clearly seems open to some sort of abuse. Way to many people selling multiple moss spider eggs for them to be legit.

Hall of Monuments: now account wide: * (1/5)
As many people have primary toons working toward or having achieved GWAMM this update is totally and utterly pointless.

New character customization: *** (3/5)
Average score because this isn't something I could give two figs about.

Final Score: 18/40 or 2.25/5

But overall 1/5 as Anet have totally failed to deliver on this major content update.

FalconDance · Apr 28, 2009, 10:12 PM // 22:12

Equipment Pack: * (1/5)
Nice idea, horrid implementation. Not all of us (or even most of us) care to grind away for the ludicrous amount of time it'll take to get a large one for one character, least of all for a full roster. And charging 2500g for what is essentially a belt pouch? Whatever.

Xunlai Storage: * (1/5)
"Free" pane is a royal pain to claim. Again, nice idea. If it's such a brouhaha to get the free one, what makes Anet think I'm willing to give them my financial info for another? An Alliance member had his account terminated because of their time-outs and ineptitude (they call it fraud because he mistakenly thought all the timed-out attempts to create a NCSoft acct had failed so made one the next day!). Someone's been smoking something and it ain't tobacco!

Zaishen Coins: ** (2/5)
Exchange rate between the three is wobbled. PitA for them to be customized to an individual character (why couldn't they figure a way to tie it to the account so they could be exchanged between 'toons?). Ooh, and now we get to stack them in storage. Guess that means we get to pay for a new storage pane so we have room for them, huh.

Zaishen Challenge Quests: * (1/5)
Same old, same old. Nothing new. I suppose it isn't so bad if you PvP - which not all of us do, Anet.

Zaishen Menagerie: **** (4/5)
At first glance, I think I'm liking this. Pretty though a waste of space on some levels. It'd be nice to be able to take guildies or friends in to 'show off' your pets, but I can understand why keeping it exclusively player would be better.

Nicolas the Traveler: **** (5/5)
Probably the best thing Anet's done for a long while. Both the younger Nicholas (in Pre) and the Traveler breathe a bit of fresh air into the game, especially for those of us who have been around the whole while.

Hall of Monuments: now account wide: * (1/5)
So, I'm collecting titles on some 'toons and not others --- why now? I *hate* going into my HoM and seeing armor sets displayed that I have never purchased for a character just because at some point in time I bought armor at that location on a completely different character and profession!

New character customization: * (1/5)
Not going to do it and can't really see why I should want to do so since I already gave GW my $50 (per campaign). I spend time looking over hairstyles, skin color, faces, etc. before I ever hit the "play" button. Why, when I have put in hours/months/years of play on a character, would I suddenly want to totally change how she/he looks on a whim?

Total: 16/45 - Fail

Oh,and let's add Support. 0/5

Apollo Smile · Apr 28, 2009, 10:16 PM // 22:16

You do know you can toggle it between account and character right, FalconDance?

Ate of DK · Apr 28, 2009, 10:18 PM // 22:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gun Pierson

Hall of Monuments: now account wide: ***** (5/5)
A long awaited feature and it finally arrived.

HoM is definatly a 1/5. I should have been done right 9 months ago.

Apollo Smile · Apr 28, 2009, 10:21 PM // 22:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ate of DK

HoM is definatly a 1/5. I should have been done right 9 months ago.

HAHA... wow. 0/5 you fail.

EPO Bot · Apr 28, 2009, 10:21 PM // 22:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by FalconDance

Equipment Pack: * (1/5)
Nice idea, horrid implementation. Not all of us (or even most of us) care to grind away for the ludicrous amount of time it'll take to get a large one for one character, least of all for a full roster. And charging 2500g for what is essentially a belt pouch? Whatever.

Xunlai Storage: * (1/5)
"Free" pane is a royal pain to claim. Again, nice idea. If it's such a brouhaha to get the free one, what makes Anet think I'm willing to give them my financial info for another? An Alliance member had his account terminated because of their time-outs and ineptitude (they call it fraud because he mistakenly thought all the timed-out attempts to create a NCSoft acct had failed so made one the next day!). Someone's been smoking something and it ain't tobacco!

Zaishen Coins: ** (2/5)
Exchange rate between the three is wobbled. PitA for them to be customized to an individual character (why couldn't they figure a way to tie it to the account so they could be exchanged between 'toons?). Ooh, and now we get to stack them in storage. Guess that means we get to pay for a new storage pane so we have room for them, huh.

Zaishen Challenge Quests: * (1/5)
Same old, same old. Nothing new. I suppose it isn't so bad if you PvP - which not all of us do, Anet.

Zaishen Menagerie: **** (4/5)
At first glance, I think I'm liking this. Pretty though a waste of space on some levels. It'd be nice to be able to take guildies or friends in to 'show off' your pets, but I can understand why keeping it exclusively player would be better.

Nicolas the Traveler: **** (5/5)
Probably the best thing Anet's done for a long while. Both the younger Nicholas (in Pre) and the Traveler breathe a bit of fresh air into the game, especially for those of us who have been around the whole while.

Hall of Monuments: now account wide: * (1/5)
So, I'm collecting titles on some 'toons and not others --- why now? I *hate* going into my HoM and seeing armor sets displayed that I have never purchased for a character just because at some point in time I bought armor at that location on a completely different character and profession!

New character customization: * (1/5)
Not going to do it and can't really see why I should want to do so since I already gave GW my $50 (per campaign). I spend time looking over hairstyles, skin color, faces, etc. before I ever hit the "play" button. Why, when I have put in hours/months/years of play on a character, would I suddenly want to totally change how she/he looks on a whim?

Total: 16/45 - Fail

Oh,and let's add Support. 0/5

Again: The "get something for nothing" mentality at its finest.

Shuuda · Apr 28, 2009, 10:51 PM // 22:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by MithranArkanere

New character customisation: - (0/5)
What good is a feature I can't use? I need a 'pay once' alternative to use this, otherwise the Stylist is just a feature to show me what I cannot do.

I do not mean to offend you, but can you please stop being such an overly principled crybaby. You don't "need" a pay once alternative; you want it, please learn the difference.

Miss Persephone · Apr 28, 2009, 11:50 PM // 23:50

Equipment Pack: **** (4/5)
Great idea, I really like this addition, but like everyone else I think 15 gold coins seems excessive for a 20 slot bag. I suppose its just to keep people interested in zaishen quests for longer.

Xunlai Storage: **** (4/5)
Great that they introduced the feature, and I think it's perfectly legitimate to charge for it. I havn't bought any, because its hard for me to justify spending £6 on 20 slots when I can buy the complete GW collection for £25. If it had been a bit cheaper than buying a character slot I probably would have gone for it.

Zaishen Challenge Quests: ***** (5/5)
Great, love these. My second title hunter character might actually manage to get some titles now that there are plenty of people playing through missions, great way of revitilising different areas.

Zaishen Coins: **** (4/5)
I think its really handy to have a place to get tomes and consumables. I do think it makes things unnecessarily complicated trying to work out how much things from the zcoins collectors are actually costing you, but perhaps this is just something we will get used to.

Zaishen Menagerie: ***** (5/5)
Love it. Really awesome idea. I don't understand why they made this an unlockable pay-for feature; I wouldn't pay for it. I want to go out and hunt the animals myself! It would be nice if you could take friends there and show it to them, but perhaps disable the charm animal skill while they are there?

Nicolas the Traveler: ***** (5/5)
Brilliant. Love the fact he is in pre as well, really great. His new items are a lot of fun, love the mysterious tonics, new minis, new consumables. Love everything about it.

Hall of Monuments: now account wide: ***** (5/5)
Glad they got this sorted. Doesn't make a big different to my gaming experience at the minute, but with GW2 on the way this will be of increasing importance.

New character customisation: ***** (5/5)
Went and bought 5 credits straightaway. Brilliant that they listened to what people asked for, I think its perfectly legitimate to charge for it since it took time and effort to implement. Again not sure why gender changing and name changing are so much more expensive, but neither are things I would pay for anyway.

My final rating: 37/40 stars.
Nothing is ever going to be perfect, but this update makes a pretty good stab at it. I continue to play and love GW after 3 and a half years, because of the beautiful designs and the continued efforts on the part of ANet to improve the gaming experience for as many players as possible. A very big thank you from this happy gamer.

Bekkr · Apr 29, 2009, 12:28 AM // 00:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miss Persephone

A bunch of stuff.

I was just about to add my thoughts here, but this pretty much sums up what I was going to say.

Bonus points for not using "loose" when you meant "lose".

(protip: loose is the opposite of tight and rhymes with goose, lose is the opposite of gain and rhymes with shoes)

Ate of DK · Apr 29, 2009, 12:31 AM // 00:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apollo Smile

HAHA... wow. 0/5 you fail.

Not, it's really 1/5 in my review. If I wanted it to be 0/5 I would have written 0/5. Anyway, your post makes absolutely no sense, +1?

MithranArkanere · Apr 29, 2009, 12:35 AM // 00:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shuuda

I do not mean to offend you, but can you please stop being such an overly principled crybaby. You don't "need" a pay once alternative; you want it, please learn the difference.

Don't worry, only two people are able to offend me, and that's because they are my relatives.

Due to certain situations you don't need to know, I can only have 'pay once' games.
If I want to use the feature, I 'need' it to be 'pay once'.
There are many interesting games I will never be able to touch for having fees or pay-per-use features, and so I avoid them. First I check system requirements, then methods of payment, and then how is the game. That way I only see games I can run and acquire and won't regret not being able to run or acquire a game I like. As they say: "Out of sight, out of mind".
GW was one of the 'pay once' games, and its requirements were under my system specifications, passing that way the 'first step'. So I didn't avoided it, and tryed it. I liked it, so I got all available content since then every year, always under 'pay once', knowing that they refused to add fees and that they claimed they never add fees of any kind.
Every year, I can get once a year (twice if I'm lucky) a new game, expansions for games I own and things like those, but they must be things that can be purchased once and work forever.
It may be a bit obscure as it sounds, but it is like that. Even if I like a game, I can only have it if it is 'pay once', and anything sold online or in game stores that is not 'pay once' was been out of my reach for the last 10 years and will probably stay that way for the next 5 or more.
Weird, eh? But it's like that.

Dante the Warlord · Apr 29, 2009, 12:44 AM // 00:44

Equipment Pack: * (1/5)

Cruddy and you should be able to buy one and at least upgrade it up. I would prefer to have the small one on the merch...

Xunlai Storage: *** (3/5)

Great - if you can afford it. I like the free storage though. It was a hassle to get through but overall i would say its good

Zaishen Challenge Quests: *** (3/5)

Uneven quest rewards, terrible rewards anyways, for pitiful zcoins which are worth nothing... Though I like that it brought players back for at least a few weeks

Zaishen Coins: * (1/5)

Interesting, but bland and grinding. Rewards for them are almost nothing

Zaishen Menagerie: *** (3/5)

Seems ok I guess. Based more for the ranger and I rarely play that so =/ meh

Nicolas the Traveler: ****** (6/5)

FUN FUN FUN! So great and innovative, I can't even begin to explain what a blast it is to collect, farm, and then turn it in for VERY unique rewards. Love my VPS!!! TY ANET!

Hall of Monuments: now account wide: ***** (5/5)

GREAT! Long anticipated and good

New character customisation: */2 (0.5/5)

Great idea, terrible implementation. $10 for something that im going to use 5 times? Not to mention that its $10 for name changes - i mean wow NAME CHANGES. Reasonable i guess since the recession is here, but doesn't make it stink less

OVERALL *** (3/5)

Good update and don't get me wrong im appreciative, but ANET could have gone the extra mile and made it a whole lot better. I love the zquest concept, but its just reusing old missions that some really have discrimination against people without the campaign or people who don't have certain builds or even people without the time. They could have made some extra quests and made some NPCs like in Wintersday or Halloween

reetkever · Apr 29, 2009, 01:10 AM // 01:10

Equipment Pack: (5/5)

Can't see what's wrong with this. Of course, you won't be able to get the greater bags right now, but it's nice to have something to work for since practically everything is easy to get nowadays.

Xunlai Storage: (3/5)

The idea is nice, I could use some extra storage... But isn't it a bit weird that 1 Storage Panel costs just as much as an entire character slot that can be turned into a mule for much more storage room? The free panel was awesome, though!

Zaishen Challenge Quests: (5/5)

Might be very opinion-based, but I love these quests. I get to work towards my titles, my Golden Coins and it managed to make alot of outposts lively again... Oh, and people actually form parties because of this!

Zaishen Coins: (3/5)

I think just doing the Zaishen Quests isn't enough to obtain these coins. Also, I think they should be giving some Silver coins for harder things, instead of ONLY giving copper coins.

Zaishen Menagerie: (x/5)

Haven't really tried this out yet.

Nicolas the Traveler: (5/5)

Great, a new adventure every week, and you can collect some unique loot while you're at it! Oh, and it greatly helps working towards the titles without having to wait on an event.

Hall of Monuments: now account wide: (5/5)

What's not to like?

New character customisation: (3/5)

A bit expensive in my opinion. Well, I don't really care about this one since my characters already are the way I want them. Still, I think it's a bit too expensive, and it would've been better if they gave us like 1 change for free.

Miscellanious (4/5)

The update still came with some bugs and getting the free storage was kind of a pain, but all in all it's a good update.

Conclusion: This is the best update we've had in a while. Not only did A-Net provide us with alot of people's wishes (More storage, being able to change names/appearances of our characters), they also put in some content that will keep me interested for a long while.