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So, is it really worth it?

AuthorMessage
Hero
Feb 26, 2012
709
After stalling toward the end of Khrysalis, and not playing much W101 for a long time, I started back in recently. Mostly, I play lower wizards, and help my youngest daughter off-and-on (my oldest no longer plays, except very rarely).

But yesterday, I decided to give my big wizard Finn another go, and see if I could get any further in Khrysalis, so as to maybe make it to Polaris.

But let me tell you, it was still no fun. Gloomy, bug-infested, depressing slog-fest. Had to go into the Pit of Despair (or something like that) which turned out to be yet another long dungeon with ridiculously repetitive fights that take too darn long to finish -- especially since Finn is now pretty much a solo player, since the friends I had way back when are long gone. And again, I did not have enough free time to actually finish the dungeon, so after fighting a long time, I had to just quit so I could attend to family responsibilities.

So, is it really worth it to go through all this to get to Polaris? Or can I just expect more of the same long tedious battles and frustration? Especially now that my critical and block have been shot all to pieces by the new "improved" (cough, cough) update.

Does the game get fun again? Is it possible to play enjoyably without having to run after each new set of impossible dungeon gear? Or is it more of the same uphill trudge that seems to get steeper and gloomier with each step?

I really miss the old days.

Squire
Jul 18, 2009
545
I agree completely with your thoughts on KH! Khrysalis was miserable and desolate, and the bug NPCs were just not doing it for me. Those millipede ones were downright gross and it got to the point where I couldn't eat while playing if those things were around. The departure from the more lighthearted stuff was cool until the pace of the gameplay couldn't keep up with the story and it felt like living in agonizing slow motion. I still have 3 or 4 pages of KH quests I plan on never completing because I hate it there so much.

Polaris gets way better and is actually interesting though, so I would say yes- it's worth it. I wasn't bothered by the crit/block adjustment, partly because I never bothered trying to participate more than absolutely necessary in that little rat race, but also partly because they scale that aspect of the difficulty wayyyyy back so that you can focus on other aspects of challenging gameplay, thank goodness. I think they were trying to shift the main focus of play away from crit/block alone so that it was more all-encompassing, which was wise. Enemies don't critical as much as they did in KH or AZ and their block is down too- at least from my experience, maybe someone will scream at me in disagreement lol.

Archon
Feb 07, 2011
3175
FinnAgainWindrider on Feb 22, 2016 wrote:
After stalling toward the end of Khrysalis, and not playing much W101 for a long time, I started back in recently. Mostly, I play lower wizards, and help my youngest daughter off-and-on (my oldest no longer plays, except very rarely).

But yesterday, I decided to give my big wizard Finn another go, and see if I could get any further in Khrysalis, so as to maybe make it to Polaris.

But let me tell you, it was still no fun. Gloomy, bug-infested, depressing slog-fest. Had to go into the Pit of Despair (or something like that) which turned out to be yet another long dungeon with ridiculously repetitive fights that take too darn long to finish -- especially since Finn is now pretty much a solo player, since the friends I had way back when are long gone. And again, I did not have enough free time to actually finish the dungeon, so after fighting a long time, I had to just quit so I could attend to family responsibilities.

So, is it really worth it to go through all this to get to Polaris? Or can I just expect more of the same long tedious battles and frustration? Especially now that my critical and block have been shot all to pieces by the new "improved" (cough, cough) update.

Does the game get fun again? Is it possible to play enjoyably without having to run after each new set of impossible dungeon gear? Or is it more of the same uphill trudge that seems to get steeper and gloomier with each step?

I really miss the old days.
welcome back :)

i agree~ khrysalis was depressing and boring, like the marleybone of the second arc. and don't get me started on the "improved" crit/block system, because that's something else we agree on and i could write a novel about how much i hate it.

i didn't quest for about 3 months after polaris went live. when i finally did, it only took me a few days to complete~ it's very short, compared to previous worlds, and i'm a bit confused as to what exactly is going on, as it feels rushed and there's no real plot. is it "fun"? eh, it's all right.

how i did: i made do with my "new" stats on one wizard, who's lucky enough to have a full set of darkmoor gear. i don't have any of the level 110 elite gear, and i have 2 others at exalted, who *don't* have darkmoor gear and are in waterworks/kh crafted combos. i guess the only real way to know is to try taking one of them through and seeing how their stats hold up.

(i'm nervous about questing with storm, since her 70% block is now 36% and will be around 25% by the time she's done. so i'll probably take life or death first)

-von

Historian
Nov 28, 2010
614
The part of Polaris I played I enjoyed more than most of the last few worlds, but there are still some boring dungeons.

I never made it to the end, though I've heard from others you need a team to fight the final boss.

I'm like you. I don't have any friends that still play the game anymore. I'm solo. So that's why I let my membership expire. If I can't finish worlds without a team, there's no point in me continuing to invest in a membership. Yeah I could do Team Up, but at this point the game has been pushing me away for so long that I have very little desire to find a reason to pull it back.

If you still have a membership for a while, it's worth playing through to get to Polaris to check it out. Polaris was designed alongside the new critical system, so honestly it's not too bad once you get there.

It didn't happen for me, but maybe you'll get the fire back again once you get there.

Illuminator
Oct 22, 2011
1304
Try to get one character through KH. Polaris is definitely worth the effort. It's gorgeous! The graphics are fantastic, the NPCs are enchanting, and I enjoyed every aspect of it (well, except the crit/block fiasco). A friend and I paired up and went through Polaris slowly, enjoying the scenery, and listening to every NPC we talked to. It was a blast. Granted, the world is pretty short, but it's worth doing the main as well as the tiny amount of side quests.

It's a 'polar' opposite compared to KH. I took my Storm through first. He's only got crafted gear and a pack wand, but he did just fine, including the final fight with Rasputin. My Ice went next. Pretty easy with her. She's got crafted gear and a pack wand only. None of my wizards have been through Darkmoor, because I can't find friends who will help me through it (I really hate team up for this one), or other wizards go part way through and leave, or finally, I get told I'm not good enough because of my gear (which is funny, because I have better stats than most that have DM gear).

Please, complete the KH slogfest just to get one character into Polaris. It's worth it!

And, if you need help with Rasputin in the end, Von and I would be glad to help ya out with that one :)

Hero
Feb 26, 2012
709
Thanks all for your responses. I suppose I will try to slog on through. Although it looks like I may need some help just getting there. Brynner and Von, When do you all tend to play again, and what is the best way to contact you if I would need some help just getting through Khrysalis? If I do go forward, I may need to ask for help to finish the dungeons/bosses toward the end of KH.

That said, after having a server disconnection on the second attempt to solo the Black Hole (which I mistakenly called the Pit of Despair), I am once again feeling pretty yucky about even trying. KI was great in their customer care regarding the incident for me (thanks KI); but it re-awakened all my feelings of disappointment and frustration with the direction this game has taken since the second arc came out. I'm close to where High Five Ghost says he is.

Anyway, enough whining. If you guys would be willing to help, let me know, and also when/how is best to reach you with enough time to set up a "play date."

Thanks folks. You have been the shining stars of the message boards for a long time!

Archon
Feb 07, 2011
3175
FinnAgainWindrider on Feb 25, 2016 wrote:
Thanks all for your responses. I suppose I will try to slog on through. Although it looks like I may need some help just getting there. Brynner and Von, When do you all tend to play again, and what is the best way to contact you if I would need some help just getting through Khrysalis? If I do go forward, I may need to ask for help to finish the dungeons/bosses toward the end of KH.

That said, after having a server disconnection on the second attempt to solo the Black Hole (which I mistakenly called the Pit of Despair), I am once again feeling pretty yucky about even trying. KI was great in their customer care regarding the incident for me (thanks KI); but it re-awakened all my feelings of disappointment and frustration with the direction this game has taken since the second arc came out. I'm close to where High Five Ghost says he is.

Anyway, enough whining. If you guys would be willing to help, let me know, and also when/how is best to reach you with enough time to set up a "play date."

Thanks folks. You have been the shining stars of the message boards for a long time!
aww, thank you :) your presence has been missed as well.

(perhaps the pit of despair is a more-appropriate name for it all, since the second arc (esp. darkmoor) was a huge fun-suck and ki has disappointed me, time and again, with regards to the direction this game has taken. the only reason i've stayed is because the wonderful people i've met have made this all worth it.

like high five ghost, i'm mostly solo, since a lot of my friends left and the ones who stayed are 4 hours behind me, which makes it really hard to meet up with them. the main reason i did polaris at all was because brynn and i tackled the first few quests together and she made it significantly less boring than it would have been, had i attempted those first few quests alone.

i'm on leave from work right now, so my schedule is pretty open, though i'm usually on in the evenings (between 10pm-3am atlantic time); if somewhere in there works for you guys, i'd be happy to join in.

(a team of brynner, finn, ghost, and von sounds like the most fun i've had in a while, lol)



-von "mally is love, mally is life" shadowsong
prodigious

Illuminator
Oct 22, 2011
1304
Hey Finn,

It would be great to meet up in the game! Von and I met up in-game and we've been good friends ever since. We have a few friends that are friendly adults that play when we can and help each other out.

We are not a 'perfect team' for dungeons like others. We're just a bunch of goofy people that like to play and have fun doing it. So, if you (and HighFiveGhost) want to figure out a time and place to meet in the game, we can make that happen!

WOOT!

Brynn

Explorer
Jul 01, 2009
87
I am friends with Brynn and Von and would also love to team up with Finn and Ghost to help too. :) Would be great to meet you guys as I have read and admired both your posts for a long time. I know the struggle. I also hate the direction this game has taken, and I was also a solo player for a long time. I don't post much on these boards because I'm a crowns player and can only post when I have recently bought crowns.

I think KR was my least favorite world. it was just dreary and boring and hard if you are solo. Its so much better to have friends to help you get through it ASAP. Its sad that one has to feel that they need to fly thru a world, just to get it over with, because they hate it so much. I used to love this game and practically lived here. I had 4 accounts and played all my wizards. I just loved the atmosphere and couldn't wait to level up and go to the next world. Now I am pretty much down to one wizard, one account. Its just too much of a dismal slog fest for me to farm those tedious dungeons to gear up the way I would like. I don't have one piece of DM gear, but I have made it thru, even the rat, with my friends (Brynn, Von, and others) and we have done just fine. Having said that tho, I really wish KI would make it easier for us to get really good gear without having to rely so much on RNG in tough dungeons. Crafted gear is falling further and further behind, and don't even get me started on bazaar gear lol. I like the first arc model for gearing up, but of course there are those who will say its too easy ( not enough beating of the head against the wall I guess)

I am of the old school of Wizzy player who liked the low key, family atmosphere of the game back in its beginning years. Those days are gone. I must say tho, that Polaris, as far as 2nd arc worlds go, brings a bit of that magic back. Its a really fun world. Push thru KR and give Polaris a try. I think you will like it.

Archon
Feb 07, 2011
3175
ro (black pearl) is totally right; i used to hate marleybone because it was so dreary and depressing. but, now that i've been through kh enough times, it makes the former look happy and cheerful by comparison.

at least there were things to like about mb~ even though the sidewalks were truly awful, i only got pulled into battle once. kh was just dreary, very boring to solo, and full of disgusting creepy crawlies. someone on another board said that she couldn't even eat while questing there... and, when i read that, i was like, "that's me".

last night, i took my myth and fire babies (levels 30 and 36, respectively) through mt. olympus. i had a rough go of it, but it got done... at one point, i turned to my other half and said, "whoever looked at this game and decided that level 30 instances need more cheats should be fired".

i used to look forward to leveling up as well. now, i just dread what lies ahead~ mind-numbing hours of farming, only to have everything you've worked so hard for taken from you. what ki doesn't realize is that the message they've sent is, "don't put too much effort into anything because it'll be worthless in a few years".

the only reason i'm still here is because of the friends i've made~ brynn, ro, and i (as well as a few others) have been friends for many years now; we just do what we can, when we can, and we have a lot of fun together. if you like fun, you'll enjoy hanging out with us. :)

-von