I wrote off Defiance as another weak shooter MMO attempt built on a gimmick and pushed out to match a deadline not based on the games progress. I finally picked it up with some extra funds on Steam. I have rarely if ever been this surprised.. and wrong. As a Disabled Combat Veteran with tons of time to kill I play almost every, probably 85%, of all new major game releases.
I love this game. I won't go in to too much for details, you've all played it. They've found a way to make a shooter an MMO and in a way that is all it's own. The largest issue with most traditional MMO's is keeping combat fresh, here it's fast and fun with a variety of tools and skills. Shooters have trouble bringing the world to life and with all of the dynamic content of open missions and arkfalls they've done it there too. The Co-op and the multiplayer bring it all together with a sustainable way to keep constant progression and fresh challenge for the player base. My favorite thing so far is the achievement system with the clothing/vehicle rewards. I have yet to fully explore the contract system but from what I've seen it's a similar system with periodic achievements with time limits. The reputation system is a nice typical MMO carryover that promotes longevity. The racing and challenges are awesome for distractions and the leaderboards give us a reason to keep coming back.
I've never been a fan of clothing or non tactical gear in any game. I'd go so far as to say I hate the different outfits and clothing over armor but by having it completely replaced with clothing and having a huge variety and incredible designs I absolutely love it in Defiance. I can play for 12 hours straight just to earn headgear or an outfit. I never saw that coming but I love it.
The one thing I'd like to see a lot more of is exploration and rewards. I'd like to investigate a shack somewhere and find a chest with money, it could be $5 but I think it'd be enough. I liked what they did in Rift with all the little collectibles that were tradeable found all over the maps. Also I'd like to see some of the achievements have some crazy high goals like driving in the millions of miles on certain vehicle types etc. Things that take months or even years to complete so we have some major investments in the long term.
The fact that they have a season pass and expect content to be delivered regularly has me extremely excited for the future of Defiance. The show sucks, I tried so hard to watch it but the direction is really bad. The actors are giving community theater performances but in some scenes they prove to be capable of so much more.
The right company got the job on this one and they got it done. I'm really excited for Trion. I've been a fan of everything they've done but I think in this case they have a chance to really bring it home. I honestly believe no one else could have pulled this off, it's just a perfect fit for their style.
I was wondering about some of the other players opinions from people who enjoy the game and it's elements but have ideas of where it could be built on or improved. I'm not talking about the "It's broken and sucks unless you do it my way" crowd. I don't love everything in this game but I can see where others might enjoy where I don't and we all need to love something in this game or it dies. I'm really interested to see how end game is handled; will it be constantly pushed back by new content or just expanded? Either way my gaming backlog is going to be growing for the foreseeable future. For a Disabled Veteran fun like this means a lot and I'm so glad I gave this game a chance, something I rarely deny even the worst reviewed or rumored games and for that I'm grateful.
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Originally Posted by theyeti
