The Secret World

[rhoenix]

I didn't see another thread on this game, so figured I'd do the honors.

This game is available for a one-time purchase, similar to games like Guild Wars 2. This game is an MMO you pay for once, and then don't pay a subscription fee for, so that's nice. This game also has one of the most interesting, well-developed game worlds of pretty much any game I've seen so far.

It's set in modern day, and long story short is that there are multiple apocalypi (proper plural for multiple forms of apocalypse?) happening. Also, you get to choose which secret society to be a part of (The Illuminati, the Dragons, and the Templar). All three are trying to stop the multiple world-ending calamities (both large and small, and yes, there is a distinction here in this game), and all three are trying to elbow each other in the face while doing so. The faction you pick determines your mission handler's voice and lines (and they are quite different), and the wording of all your quests, but does not affect your "class," or lack thereof. Instead, you just pick which two weapons you want to wield at once, and can change this pretty much whenever you feel like putting effort into it, so there's no need for multiple characters, unless you want to see what the game is like from the perspective of another faction.

There are also bees. Bees that bring you back to life when you die, and say weird shit.

There are no character "levels" in The Secret World. Instead, you collect AP (enough of which will unlock a new ability with a weapon), and SP (enough of which will make you better at a given weapon or armor type). You equip seven active, and seven passive abilities, and your overall goal is to get those abilities to complement one another well.

I heartily recommend this game. It can be played easily and well as a solo game, and you can take the same character and fit into a group just fine. The writing, characterization, and pacing of this game are all excellent. Because there's no subscription fee, you can basically shelve the game for a month or three, and come back to it right where you left off. There is a huge world to explore (no exaggeration - you'll go all over the world, and each section of the world is pretty damn big if you want to map it), and many, many things to see and do, and kick the ass of.

[rhoenix]

Now, for a good table I found.

1. State Synergies:

Spoiler: show

- Hindered (roots & snares):
. Assault Rifle
. Elementalism
. Shotguns
. Pistols

- Afflicted (DoT's):
. Elementalism
. Assault Rifles
. Fist Weapons
. Blades
. Blood Magic

- Impaired (Stuns, Knockbacks and Silences):
. Hammers
. Fist Weapons
. Chaos magic
. Blades
. Blood magic

- Weakened (Debuffed in any way):
. Hammers
. Chaos Magic
. Pistols
. Shotguns

2. Trigger Synergies:

Spoiler: show

- Critical Hit
. Elementalism
. Hammers
. Pistols

- Penetrating Hit
. Shotguns
. Blades
. Blood Magic

- Hit (as in non-glancing hits)
. Assault Rifles
. Chaos Magic
. Fist Weapons

- Block
. Hammers

- Evade
. Chaos Magic

- Defense (as in glancing hits)
. Blades

3. Attack Subtypes:

Spoiler: show

- Chain attacks (1 attack, jumps between enemies, hits a total of 3)
. Elementalism
. Blood Magic
. Pistols

- Burst (3, or more, rapid hits in one)
. Assault Rifles
. Chaos Magic
. Fist weapons

- Blast (Cone)
. Fist weapons
. Shotguns
. Hammers

- Strike (Single target attacks)
. Shotguns
. Elementalism
. Hammers

- Focus (Channeled abilities)
. Pistols
. Blades
. Blood Magic

- Frenzy (AoE attacks)
. Assault Rifle
. Blades
. Chaos Magic

[Hotfoot]

Just to revive this old thread, there's a Double AP weekend coming up.

You know, in case anyone wants to go and kill evil horrors from beyond or anything.

[rhoenix]

Well! I could certainly stand to thin the monstrous herd for a bit.

[B4UTRUST]

I've got the lifetime subscription to it and honestly after the first month or so ended up dropping the game. Mostly because no one else I knew was playing it at the time... If there's a large enough group on here to play I may jump in again.

[rhoenix]

I think Hotfoot and I both are planning on playing for a bit, but I unfortunately can't play until very, very late. Others might be on much earlier than I, however.

[LadyTevar]

Nitram was playing this while I was at work. I never got into it.

[rhoenix]

Nitram was playing this while I was at work. I never got into it.

This is one of those games you can easily play solo, as one very long and trippy RPG. I'd say give it another try when you can - the voice acting, the writing, the skill system, and character progression are all things to admire. The only real downsides (as White Haven would likely point out) would be lack of real endgame-level raids and such, but if you're playing mostly solo, it won't matter.

Don't worry about which weapon you pick at the beginning, you'll get more than enough SP and AP to get into another weapon type if you like another type better. You can equip two at once, so your options vary widely as far as capability and how well you can exploit the stuff you do to enemies.