That's pretty much all MMO means.
Seriously, EVE. Try it, I'm sure you'll like it. Defiance clearly isn't for you. In fact, avoid shooters from now on. Shtako, avoid any action MMO.
Printable View
Sadly, none of the stuff that "means" something to OP is what a MMO actually is. MMO is actually a very broad and generalized term that lots of games can fall under. All that stuff about engaging story and vertical progression are extra features you only hope are part of the game. Based on my time in several game betas, from what various Devs have expressed, the only things a game needs to qualify as a MMO, is multiplayer functionality and some sort of persistantance of the game world.
It really is just a BS label that a lot of players have misconceptions about. They see MMO, they think WoW, EQ, Rift, dive in headfirst, and feel cheated when their assumptions don't pan out.
Everyone complains about AI. But they don't realize how hard AI is to make. Defiance's AI is atleast 7/10.
As for weapon diversity ... there are different shotguns, saw-off, pistols, SMGs, Assault Rifles, LMGs, BMGs, Infectors, Detonators, missile launchers and sub-types within each. I don't know know how many you expect a game to have, but if you count every sub-type, there are more gun types than most FPS shooters. You have not even consider modding scopes, burst mods or nano mods.
As for perks, sure, they don't directly appear directly useful like most MMORPG would do it. But this is a shooter, and in a shooter we promote skill, not stats. The more skilled player can make better use of the same conditional perk than a novice can. That is how the game is designed, and i wouldn't want it any other way.
If you are not convinced, let me know your ego level, your perferred primary and secondary weapon. I will show you the best build to take advantage of your chosen weapon.
MMO to me means... hmm.. most important to me is multiplayer... yes I see other players I do one my short lists of emotes at them and they shoot at me if they are talking I can't hear them over the gunfire which doesn't really encourage me to steal my cats favorite toy dust it of and see if I can still use it as a mic chat needs an overhaul text and voice... um... blah blah wall of text /NERDRAGE
EDIT: No weapon diversify.. letf out infectors.. or would that spoil that argument.. just saying...
seriously though why do SMG's assault rifles and machine guns all use the same ammo?
That, and a lot of the other points you mention, are generally true in most MMORPG's. But not all MMO's are MMORPG's. Defiance isn't, and it's not trying to be. It's something different, as others have pointed out. It's first and foremost a shooter. It's massively multiplayer, and takes place in a persistent, open world online. But it's a shooter, and your enjoyment of the game is going to be heavily dependent on how much you like the actual core gameplay of running around and shooting enemies for the pure fun of doing it. And how well you do in it is going to be based largely on your own shooter gameplay skill, as well as the choices you make with regard to powers, perks, and weapons.
Having said that, perks and the combinations of them in high-end loadouts can make a lot more difference than you may realize. Where player skill level is equal, a 3000+ EGO player who has optimized his perk loadout to match his playstyle and weapons is going to have an edge over a similarly skilled player whose lower EGO level restricts his number of active perks and total perks he may have unlocked. But it's not going to be so prohibitive that the lower EGO player feels totally left behind, or hopeless vs most of the game's content. And that's the point behind why they did it this way, imo.
If you're looking for an online game that rewards you by making you feel godlike due just to your 'level', esp vs lower content as you describe, then you've got lots of games out there which follow that traditional approach. Most of them, in fact. But Defiance isn't one of them, and it's never claimed to be. That fact that it isn't like that is one thing quite a few players like about it.
maybe to force you to use different guns that work different on a mechanical level. let's be honest here, smg's, assault rifles and lmg's mechanically work just the same. so, the game basicly forces you to equip a different gun mechanic on your second weapon slot, so it doesn't get boring for you. some people don't get this and the game has to give those players an incentive to use different guns.
People say that this game is skill based, but how? I mean everything in this game is so easy that it requires no skill, just run and gun and maybe stay behind a wall for second for your shield to recharge. Even powers don't take any skill to be used at their full extend.