WildStar

 PC
  • Publisher: NCSOFT
  • Release Date: Jun 3, 2014
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 960 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 656 out of 960
  2. Mixed: 129 out of 960
  3. Negative: 175 out of 960
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  1. jay6426
    Aug 31, 2016
    7
    Wildstar was a quirky game that entertained me for a couple months, but lacked the depth to keep me hooked. Not worth paying for, but now that it is free I say if you can find a few friends to play with I think it is worth exploring for about 60-80 hours of gameplay.
  2. Captain_Chaos
    Jun 22, 2016
    7
    A more amusing MMO then most, Wildstar's combination of telegraph-based combat, emphasis on convenience; with a mount available at level 1 if you use their 2-Step authentication and all cash shop items purchasable with currency earned in-game, and a colorful and bombastic asthetic that reminded me strongly of PS2-era platformers like Ratchet & Clank endeared it to me, at least for a fewA more amusing MMO then most, Wildstar's combination of telegraph-based combat, emphasis on convenience; with a mount available at level 1 if you use their 2-Step authentication and all cash shop items purchasable with currency earned in-game, and a colorful and bombastic asthetic that reminded me strongly of PS2-era platformers like Ratchet & Clank endeared it to me, at least for a few hours. However, after trying the beta I passed over the game during its intial boxed release, and did not try it in earnest until it went free. While it's about as entertaining as any other MMO for me, which is to say, not very much, by the standards of free-to-play games its quality is well above average. I am told it has a strong emphasis on end-game content like dungeons and raids, and though I am nowhere near that, such is the point in an MMO at which I usually stop playing, based on previous negative experiences I had as a member of a raiding guild in World of Warcraft: I experience enough drama playing team shooters. But I'd sooner raid then play a PvP-centric MMO, I'd sooner play this then, say, TERA, and I'd sooner play this game with friends then alone. Worth checking out if you have any interest in the genre. I just wish this game, and many others, offered the quality of solo experience that The Old Republic does.… Expand
  3. larrystanke
    Oct 15, 2015
    6
    maybe its too quick to judge, but so far the UI is the biggest clump of text and useless info on my screen. Can I turn it off? maybe yes? i don't know it's too confusing to find out. I was looking forward to this game so much, but I am overwhelmed with the useles stuff like achievements :D come on guys achievements is so 2012, a crappy gimmick for nolifers. The game might be good, but themaybe its too quick to judge, but so far the UI is the biggest clump of text and useless info on my screen. Can I turn it off? maybe yes? i don't know it's too confusing to find out. I was looking forward to this game so much, but I am overwhelmed with the useles stuff like achievements :D come on guys achievements is so 2012, a crappy gimmick for nolifers. The game might be good, but the setting and the time for the game to become f2p isnt the best, it will never become a popular stuff in my eyes. It's like a desperate person tries too hard to get noticed.… Expand
  4. Nikoback
    Sep 10, 2015
    7
    Wildstar is a MMO that has tons of things going for it, like it's combat, it's raids, and it's immense amount of personality. So much effort was put in this game, and it shows.

    What may be off-putting is that what you see here is not much you haven't seen before, WildStar is dangerously similar to tons of other MMOs, and this may make or break the game. The quest design and it's    Wildstar is a MMO that has tons of things going for it, like it's combat, it's raids, and it's immense amount of personality. So much effort was put in this game, and it shows.

    What may be off-putting is that what you see here is not much you haven't seen before, WildStar is dangerously similar to tons of other MMOs, and this may make or break the game. The quest design and it's sometimes cumbersome UI just make it a hard recommend for me. I only truly recommend it to you if you're looking for a good MMO with a good community, because that's what this has.    … Expand
  5. pmart4
    Sep 6, 2015
    7
    I wonder how many reviewers have played up to (or beyond) the level cap.
    Given that Wildstar is an MMO it is essential that the mechanics of the game are introduced gradually. This allows new players to learn the ropes without being overwhelmed. Seasoned MMO players may get frustrated by this, but the game doesn't really come to life until around level 20.
    Once you have a house, a    I wonder how many reviewers have played up to (or beyond) the level cap.
    Given that Wildstar is an MMO it is essential that the mechanics of the game are introduced gradually. This allows new players to learn the ropes without being overwhelmed. Seasoned MMO players may get frustrated by this, but the game doesn't really come to life until around level 20.

    Once you have a house, a rickety mount and basic crafting skills you can head into a dungeon at 20. The dungeons in Wildstar are fantastic! Instances are explosive and demand teamwork. The community are friendly (and thankfully patient) so good communication are important. I remember when WoW was, for me, at its peak and it took our guild many nights of failing before we finally conquered Onixia. This was the top boss at the time and we came away feeling that we'd really achieved something. Even in the smaller scale level 20 (5 man) instances the balance is satisfyingly fun and painful at the same time.

    Combat is fresh and exciting and with lots of movement factored in they can sometimes end up being a close and intense affair with only your wits and choices being the difference between survival and death (or worse - wipe)!

    Overview:
    Don't be put off by the negative reviews. Yes, the subscription is a bit of a bummer, but I believe that as long as they're delivering regular updates (and fixes in some cases) then it becomes worth it.

    The only lost marks for me are that the genre has been done to death and in many cases poorly. Wildstar does not offer much variation on what we've seen before BUT somehow still manages to be enjoyable and an enjoyably effective time sink!    … Expand
  6. Ogbek
    May 25, 2015
    5
    I only played the start, and fell out of love with this fame fast. Great graphics and style, but the game is too quest-y and the intro really left a bad taste in my mouth. On the good side, you can try it for free for 10 days.
  7. Anebriate
    Mar 17, 2015
    5
    I was very enthralled with the game and its promise for satisfying my PvP itch, but after reaching 60, I came to realize that it was neither interested nor knowledgeable in how to implement player-versus-player in an MMO. Coming to that knowledge made for one of the biggest let-downs recent gaming years.

    All the pieces of the puzzle are here, and they couldn't figure out how to put it    I was very enthralled with the game and its promise for satisfying my PvP itch, but after reaching 60, I came to realize that it was neither interested nor knowledgeable in how to implement player-versus-player in an MMO. Coming to that knowledge made for one of the biggest let-downs recent gaming years.

    All the pieces of the puzzle are here, and they couldn't figure out how to put it together. Class balance, matchmaking and equipment are all difficult challenges to overcome, but there are failed attempts and then there is whatever happened to Wildstar.    … Expand
  8. Rigermortis
    Sep 23, 2014
    5
    Wildstar has some truly excellent features including fully packed in-game housing and customisability, tonnes of content, a visceral combat system and a sense of humour so why do I rate it a 5 and not a 10?

    1) The game is extremely poorly optimised. Even 3 months in, the games selling point - "Raids!" play at an excruciating 12 frames per second average on my machine (specs: Devils    Wildstar has some truly excellent features including fully packed in-game housing and customisability, tonnes of content, a visceral combat system and a sense of humour so why do I rate it a 5 and not a 10?

    1) The game is extremely poorly optimised. Even 3 months in, the games selling point - "Raids!" play at an excruciating 12 frames per second average on my machine (specs: Devils Canyon CPU running @ 4.6 Ghz, 16 gig of Ram, AMD R9 290 GPU, PCIE Plextor SSD's). The graphics are cartoony and well stylised but really shouldn't be grinding my system to a halt.

    2) Bugs, lots of them, game breaking ones too. The main Raid attunement questline has multiple bugs blocking progression. Every single adventure and Dungeon in the game has multiple boss bugs and exploits. Every class has bugged skills and abilities. The Medic class currently has an ability glitch allowing Medics to do double the damage of anyone else. This was introduced as a bug fix!

    3) All of the questing content is generic and well boring. The maps and UI are confusing and cluttered and the quests struggle to engage the player in a meaningful way. Most of the content consists of grindy daily quests.

    4) The path system lacks depth and balance across paths

    Part of the problem is that when Carbine have attempted to fix existing bugs and optimise the game the changes they make have made things progressively worse. The game is buggier now a few months on than it was on release.

    The only reason to play Wildstar is for dungeons content and raiding in my opinion. Currently while the Dungeons and Raids are very good and a lot of fun, progression is constantly frustrated by poor itemisation, lacklustre rewards, and bugged progression.

    This sadly isn't working for Carbine as servers are fast becoming ghost towns. They really need to review their Q&A practices as the game is getting worse rather than better with every patch in terms of bugs and overall playability.    … Expand
  9. Tubey
    Sep 23, 2014
    7
    It does an awful job of grabbing your attention off the bat, with laboured starting areas and the same repetitive quests you get in most MMOs. But if you can get through the first hour or two then you will be rewarded with an extremely competent, in depth MMO with a great combat system and some very unique levelling mechanics and dungeons. Just don't expect a gamechanger here; this is theIt does an awful job of grabbing your attention off the bat, with laboured starting areas and the same repetitive quests you get in most MMOs. But if you can get through the first hour or two then you will be rewarded with an extremely competent, in depth MMO with a great combat system and some very unique levelling mechanics and dungeons. Just don't expect a gamechanger here; this is the same thing WoW has been doing for a decade but with some very nice bells and whistles on, and that is by no means a bad thing.

    As an aside, people who criticise the subscription model of payment are missing the point, as having a developing, consistent gaming world is worth paying regularly for, and Wildstar certainly has that.    … Expand
  10. RoofieColada
    Sep 14, 2014
    6
    Beautiful game,Fun combat, Average quests,Grindfest endgame. All n' all not worth paying a subscription for. That being said is it a bad game no absolutely not, the game makes me want to love it. But that charm only caries it so far, just nothing about the game hooks me and makes me say "I want to play this over well...pretty much anything else in my library". And thats the problem, IBeautiful game,Fun combat, Average quests,Grindfest endgame. All n' all not worth paying a subscription for. That being said is it a bad game no absolutely not, the game makes me want to love it. But that charm only caries it so far, just nothing about the game hooks me and makes me say "I want to play this over well...pretty much anything else in my library". And thats the problem, I cannot justify paying a sub for that... oh well it was some fun for about three months anyway.… Expand
  11. bloodyshan
    Aug 30, 2014
    7
    A solid MMO that will take your MMO experience to a new degree...well, this game is really good on nearly all aspects - characters, gameplay, questing, especially end game design - but to be honest, it's just TOO DIFFICULT to master, not only the gameplay style that requires 100% of action technique (oh and a real top-notch computer), but the unbelievable hardcore dungeon (not raid, justA solid MMO that will take your MMO experience to a new degree...well, this game is really good on nearly all aspects - characters, gameplay, questing, especially end game design - but to be honest, it's just TOO DIFFICULT to master, not only the gameplay style that requires 100% of action technique (oh and a real top-notch computer), but the unbelievable hardcore dungeon (not raid, just 5-men dungeon) that would ruin your whole afternoon...if you like challenges, this is the game you definitely don't want to miss, but take my advice: bring four of your hardcore friends with you or this game would be a disaster once you hit level cap.… Expand
  12. necrotheist
    Aug 15, 2014
    5
    3~ months later

    This game was awesome for the first month. The honeymoon phase, afterwards though as the **** seeps through the cracks in the septic tank, the bugs and overall game design flaws come with it. The first issue I'll mention is the PVP, I am an avid PVP player and in most games that have solid PVP this is where you'd find me. PVP in Wildstar is a **** joke and it makes me    3~ months later

    This game was awesome for the first month. The honeymoon phase, afterwards though as the **** seeps through the cracks in the septic tank, the bugs and overall game design flaws come with it.

    The first issue I'll mention is the PVP, I am an avid PVP player and in most games that have solid PVP this is where you'd find me. PVP in Wildstar is a **** joke and it makes me super sad. From the gear, faction population, to classes, the PVP side of the tracks is like **** 8-mile. Included in that is the Little Ricky crack dealers who sell rank boosting services to people who are too terrible at PVP to legitimately secure their high tier weapon.

    I will not into detail at this point, all you have to do is google "Wildstar PVP" and check it's forums or subreddit to find out how abysmal it is. They've lost some of the more well-known PVPers from other games like WoW already because of it.

    So if you're not gonna PVP, what else are you going to do?

    Well, you could definitely PVE, they actually spent some time on that side. Think of this side like silicon valley, this is where all the progress and hype is, and the player base is slowly leaning down to the PVE white meat. Provided that, you are a social butterfly or are coming over to this game with many friends, aound 20~ or so should do it. Don't forget if you're serious, you're gonna have to find another 20 all fully attuned and ran through the 20 man raids, to get into the 40 mans. YOU WILL NOT SEE THE REAL END GAME WITHOUT ANY FRIENDS/GUILDS or even people you can get along with for 3+ hours at a time. Not to mention the attunement process, some people like it, others don't. Aside from the grindy nature of it, I am ambivalent.

    The (Vet)adventures are pretty boring and similar to GW2, the populace have streamlined the content and refuse to do anything but run the fastest finishing adventure, which sucks if you enjoy the journey and not the end goal. IMO they should just take the choices out, I think player mentality can be generalized at this point in the mmo genre to know designing anything with multiple paths (some of them being faster or easier) is going to be a waste of time on the developers part.

    The (Vet)dungeons, goddamn the (Vet)dungeons. They are an absolute blast. Hands down, the best part of the game ( I hear the Raids are fun too, you can find videos on them, google X-89 fight or someting similar). The dungeons are finely tuned, hard, unforgiving, and will keep you on your toes. They are probably some of the best dungeons I've ever played in any game. Even in the lower level versions of the dungeons, test your ability to use your class effectively. Along with the trinity, you're still being tested as an individual player by A) avoiding the (buttload of) telegraphs and B) find the healer or positioning yourself in an advantageous position to the group. If you're a dungeon spelunker and looking for a challenging experience, this is 1 of 2 recommendations I'll give this game.

    A part of what make those dungeons great is the combat system. I want to say with about a 95% certainty, that this game's combat system has ruined every other games combat system for me. Which is why I am reluctant to move onto other mmos. The telegraphs (player and enemy alike) seems rather clunky and annoying at first, but after a little bit the benefits actually outweigh initial impressions and adds flavor to the combat rather than just standing still and taking auto-attacks to the face. The animations for all the abilities are rather plain to be honest, especially for a contemporary sci-fi mmo.

    Along with the bland visuals of the abilities, overall I think the character design and world designs are lacking. This is a **** space themed MMO. Where are all the non-bipedal creatures that would have evolved on vastly different environment. This game presents a false image of a whole new world, but really it's just dragons and fantasy characters in space. As far the the player characters go, the races aren't even varied enough to be considered interesting and really different. Really it's just different textures placed over the same models with different ears. That pretty much sums it up. There isn't really any incentive to pick a different faction, as the same archetype follows, 1 large, 2 medium, and one runt size class. On either side.

    The areas are very beautiful, but if you follow the quest you'll maybe be there for an hour or 2, then you're off to the next never to revisit them. Kind of a shame, they really are magnificent and beautiful.

    Overall, this game is CoD advanced warfare to CoD Modern warefare with WoW. Nothing new and exciting, other than it is one of he most recent MMOs to come out.

    I gave this game a 5 because 1/3 to 1/2 of the game is effed. They could've waited on the release and had some more betas to flush out some more of the prevalent bugs.

    I would not reccomend buying it at this time unless you are a slow level type.    … Expand
  13. Gismo
    Aug 12, 2014
    7
    What I liked about Wildstar

    - Art style - Character creation - Combat mechanics - Exploring - Ship Hand missions - Housing - Challenges - Adventures - Dungeons What I didn't like about Wildstar - Mundane quests - No variety in the daily crafting/regular daily quests. - Not much to do at max level - Attunement grind - Grind - Grind ... etc Overall Wildstar was a    What I liked about Wildstar

    - Art style
    - Character creation
    - Combat mechanics
    - Exploring
    - Ship Hand missions
    - Housing
    - Challenges
    - Adventures
    - Dungeons

    What I didn't like about Wildstar

    - Mundane quests
    - No variety in the daily crafting/regular daily quests.
    - Not much to do at max level
    - Attunement grind
    - Grind
    - Grind ... etc

    Overall Wildstar was a really fun leveling up experiences that fell short of keeping me entertained at max level. However I may be back when there is more content added.    … Expand
  14. Akriam
    Aug 8, 2014
    5
    Updated Review as of 8/8/14:
    Originally I gave Wildstar an 8 out of 10 and I believe at the time, it was worth it. However it seems like now they are doing everything they can to chase away their playerbase so I have had to add a few more negatives to the overall score.
    Original Review 6/23/14: I actually came to this site on a whim because a friend of mine bought me Wildstar because    Updated Review as of 8/8/14:
    Originally I gave Wildstar an 8 out of 10 and I believe at the time, it was worth it. However it seems like now they are doing everything they can to chase away their playerbase so I have had to add a few more negatives to the overall score.

    Original Review 6/23/14:
    I actually came to this site on a whim because a friend of mine bought me Wildstar because he wanted someone to jam with and I was wondering what score people were giving it. I have played many MMOs including: EQ, Asheron's Call, AC2(beta), WoW(beta), Eve, Rift(beta), Guild Wars 1 and 2(beta), DDO, SWTOR(beta), Planetside, Warhammer(beta), FF11, FF14(beta) and many others. Skip the next paragraph labelled 'RANT' to start the review.

    RANT: Before I start I just have to say to all those 'rating a game lower just to balance out the score'; Grow up. You are giving one rating for one game. If someone else feels the game/movie/show is the best thing ever, WHO CARES; Good for them they found their dream game/movie/show. When I see a review with a rating of '0' I don't even bother reading anymore. Giving a rating of '0' says you enjoyed NOTHING about the game and the game had NO merit. Which means one of two things A)You are a moron for picking up a game type you don't like so much that you would rather have your teeth pulled without meds or B) The game had so many flaws that you could not actually play it and neither could anyone else. As someone who has been part of team working to create a game I can tell you which is the more likely choice.

    Wildstar is the new MMORPG by the producers of the Guild Wars series, Lineage series, Aion, and other MMOs. Basically all they seem to do is make MMOs.

    MMORPG means you must expect rpg elements(character leveling, character stats, gear) in a massive environment filled with other people. `IF YOU CAME LOOKING FOR SOMETHING ELSE YOU ARE IN THE WRONG PLACE.
    Every new MMO(that I've tried) seems to try to add something new to the genre to get their own niche in the market(and attract those looking for a WoW slayer). Wildstar is not new in this, but they do have some interesting things that they bring to the table.

    PROS:
    Voice Acting: I have never heard better voice acting in an MMO.
    Wildstar humor: They have their own edgy, odd, but fairly funny humor, Cupcake.(Watch a vid and see if you like the humor)
    Credd: I like subscription games that allow you to exchange ingame gold with subscription time with NO other benefits like pay-to-win.
    Housing: Odd how much time one is willing to spend at your own House running Challenges.
    Telegraph System(system showing area of ground that will be effected by a particular ability): Probably Wildstar's biggest niche MMO contribution. Player Telegraphs don't get too amazing but some of the bosses(and even regular npcs sometimes) get amazingly complex telegraphs.

    CONS:
    Minor annoying bugs- Opening up a "Boom-Box" gift one time didn't show the item(only an empty space) for about 10 minutes.
    I love to PvP in whatever MMO I play. It's my favorite thing to do. Healing in PvP is has now been broken(unplayable) for a week now. You cannot keep yourself alive much less another person. It's not a certain class or spec, but ALL HEALING.
    I have dealt with minor class imbalances before in the variety of MMOs I have played. I am likely using rosecolored glasses in looking back, but I don't ever remember it being this bad before.

    Neither a PRO or a CON, but just some things that need mentioning.
    The skill system doesn't really seem to pick up until about 25. So if the skills and amps seems boring up until there, thats why. They have the same type of skill limit that Guild Wars has. Some people love it, some people hate it.

    Total Points:
    Start with Average 5
    +1 Humor
    +1 Voice Acting
    +1 Credd
    +1 Housing
    +1 Telegraph System
    -2 Bugs(the amount of bugs is getting ridiculous)
    -1 PvP being unplayable for more than a week with no end still in sight.
    -1 Class imbalance getting further and further out of proportion.
    -1 Dev focus being to fix minor issues (fixed Chua-fatter-than-normal and fixed Aurin Males slack-jaw) before broken skills/amps/quests

    Overall:5

    I going to leave out the low population on many servers because that can actually being fixed by the players by switching to a different server. Also going to leave out the caustic forum environments because you don't have to read player forums to gather info.

    Buy/Wait/Not Buy Suggestion- If you are looking for a new MMORPG, currently look elsewhere. Maybe come back in 2-3 months. Though I can't see myself giving it less than 5-6 months if I go back.    … Expand
  15. ce111
    Jul 31, 2014
    7
    After playing the game the last couple months I feel I have a good enough idea about the game to give an informed review. Hopefully by this time all the haters have hated and the fanboys have spurted their collective juices all over the game so we can start getting more honest reviews.

    Let's start with gameplay. Combat in the game is done through telegraphs so you can see where your    After playing the game the last couple months I feel I have a good enough idea about the game to give an informed review. Hopefully by this time all the haters have hated and the fanboys have spurted their collective juices all over the game so we can start getting more honest reviews.

    Let's start with gameplay. Combat in the game is done through telegraphs so you can see where your attack will hit and just have to make sure the enemy is in that little cone/box/etc so they will receive damage. Healing tends to work the same way for most classes so just change "enemy" to friend and "receive damage" to healing. The combat isn't bad by any means. It can make for some really intense combat depending on your foe and each battle feels like it moves at a good pace. The problem for me was in PVP since you can see the enemy player's telegraphs you end up getting swamped with them. Battles tend to devolve into whoever can spam the most.

    In terms of the leveling up process, I felt this was one of Wildstar's weaker points. Quests are essentiallythe same fetch/kill x amount quests that we have seen from games like WoW. More so than that is though is that the storylines for each quest are pretty forgetable. You have some quest chains that can leave you with a smile but none of them were particularly memorable or felt really significant. Towards the end of my leveling I was pretty much just accepting and completing quests without really paying attention to the quest dialogue.

    Graphic wise the game has some really lovely visuals and landscapes. The characters have a cartoony look to them but I think that adds to the game's charm. Its a game that doesn't take itself to seriously in many aspects.The cartoony feel accentuates some of the whacky situations the player will get themselves in.

    End game was sort of the deal breaker for me. Needless to say, without a guild or at least some friends who are somewhat competent end game is a nightmare. If you want to raid you basically have to go on one huge grindfest. You can run the veteran dungeons (harder modes of each dungeon) with pugs but that gets pretty hit and miss since most players seem to leave after the first wipe. Another problem that Wildstar faces is that its overall playerbase has dwindled a bit since launch and servers aren't as full as they once were. This adds to the problem since it makes que times kinda long. Also it sucks if your faction doesn't happen to be the dominant one on your server.

    Carbine made it clear that Wildstar was going to cater more towards the hardcore playerbase and they have certainly kept their word. End game is challenging but as I said it can be a grind. So casual players steer clear of this one! I expect this game to pick up some steam again once balancing has been done and the inevitable server merges happen. Maybe then I'll check this game out again. Until then I'll stick to the "filthy casual" games.    … Expand
  16. SchroederRock
    Jul 20, 2014
    7
    WildStar is a good MMORPG but isn't outright excellent. The agile combat system is a nice improvement over games like NCSOFT's own Guild Wars and World of Warcraft, but the combat system in this game is very deep and a tad complicated compared to other mainstream MMOs out there right now. As a result, PvP is a crap-shoot for player skill and certain servers can get lop-sided (skill wise)WildStar is a good MMORPG but isn't outright excellent. The agile combat system is a nice improvement over games like NCSOFT's own Guild Wars and World of Warcraft, but the combat system in this game is very deep and a tad complicated compared to other mainstream MMOs out there right now. As a result, PvP is a crap-shoot for player skill and certain servers can get lop-sided (skill wise) quickly while the game is still in its infancy. I like the art direction but would have much preferred a more realistic spin that would really tax my graphics card (who doesn't enjoy great graphics?). Things like house building and crafting are extremely deep and take a little time to get the hang of but can be rewarding if you spend enough time with it. Overall I feel WildStar to be a good game that has so much going on that it's overwhelming. Dungeons are interesting in that they feature much more dynamic content than I'm accustomed to. Unlike WoW or SWTOR boss fights are less scripted, meaning you will need to pay a little more attention to a fight since bosses can use abilities or move without any predictable order. Class dynamics are pretty sweet as many let you hybrid play. You can tank or DPS with one class where another can heal or DPS, and you have a lot of freedom with blending your abilities and skill improvements to a way that works well for you and the way you play. This is definitely one of my favorite aspects of the game. This is a game that requires a full month to settle into, and in my second month with it I've found it more digestible. Still, without being proactive and finding community with real life or in-game friends WildStar can quickly be dismissed. It is an MMO after all. Unlike Guild Wars you pay the $60 for the game AND have a recurring subscription of $15/month. You can offset the $15/mo fee IF you play enough to earn cash and use in-game currency to buy something called CREDD, which can be used to purchase more game time. Don't expect to earn it with just a couple hours of play per week though.… Expand
  17. Hashfir
    Jul 15, 2014
    7
    I wouldn't be as scathing towards the game unlike some reviews I've seen, however, I am slightly upset by the increasingly common MMO mentality of; end game (or Elder Game in this case) is where the game starts.

    The more innovative moments come in the form of an expansive crafting system where you feel rewarded for making items that you can actually use, and not make an item just so    I wouldn't be as scathing towards the game unlike some reviews I've seen, however, I am slightly upset by the increasingly common MMO mentality of; end game (or Elder Game in this case) is where the game starts.

    The more innovative moments come in the form of an expansive crafting system where you feel rewarded for making items that you can actually use, and not make an item just so then you can make another item and so on. Consider the Carbine Business Model too, which promotes C.R.E.D.D use; a system which allows you to "play to pay" or sell C.R.E.D.D for gold, marginalising gold farmers and appealing to both casual and hardcore gamers.

    The housing isn't the first seen in MMOs, and might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I found it a pleasant distraction and a wonderful dimension to the game. If you don't share the same sentiment however, it can be a nuisance as it's where you'll need to go to be granted your rested XP.

    The combat is dynamic and fluid, whilst the environments are excellently designed and not too demanding on your graphics card. Above all, it was the humour that I found exceptional. It's refreshing to be greeted by a serious MMO that disguises itself by not being serious. The over-zealous narration when you level up, congratulating you that you made it to "club badass" in the midst of the excessive "vwoosh" sound we're familiar with and a Level-Up splash looking like an 80's glam rock logo broke up some of the arduous elements.

    Speaking of which, the questing. As I said, it's becoming increasingly annoying that MMO gamers are obsessed with the endgame content. I admit, it's the meat of the game, but it makes me question why you journeyed through all the preceding elements. In WildStar, the questing and PvE is, for want of a better word, typical. A mixture of fetching, killing, exploring and then handing in etc. Rinse and repeat and you'll progress through the game. No frills, just get on with it.

    Fortunately, dungeons, adventures and PvP allow you to choose how you level up. You're not entered into PvE and obligated to stay there. You can find other avenues of interest which reward your character with loot and more.

    Finally, a special mention to the setup of the skills. This has to be one of the best ways I've used a skill tree. Firstly, it was refreshing to say the least that I wasn't bombarded with skills. Instead, at certain levels you can purchase the ones you like the look of. The confusion that used to come with skills, and whether or not they were good for your build, makes this innovation something that will appeal to newcomers to MMOs and ease them in gently, whilst giving needed flexibility to more seasoned players. Further to this, the AMP system. Making little tweaks to your build can mean the difference in any given scenario. It compliments the fact that there are a variety of scenarios, so this is most certainly a well thought out addition which doesn't reek of change for the sake of change.

    All in all, this game may ever so slightly be a victim of its marketing success, but not to the point where it shouldn't be considered as a welcome addition to the MMO genre. It's fun, and isn't that why we play games in the first place?    … Expand
  18. LiquidFrostbite
    Jul 13, 2014
    6
    An otherwise enjoyable MMO ruined by it's own clunky features. The telegraph system is interesting for the first 30 levels or so and quickly becomes tedious and chaotic, not in a good challenging way. You'll find that questing to max level is done through extremely tedious and repetitive questing. Yes, 99% of MMO's have repetitive questing, but this is far worse than most. With theAn otherwise enjoyable MMO ruined by it's own clunky features. The telegraph system is interesting for the first 30 levels or so and quickly becomes tedious and chaotic, not in a good challenging way. You'll find that questing to max level is done through extremely tedious and repetitive questing. Yes, 99% of MMO's have repetitive questing, but this is far worse than most. With the atrocious telegraph and MoO system, end game dungeons just are not fun, nor is the combat fulfilling or exciting, especially when being restricted to a select number of keybinds. I had fun with it for the first month or so, but I don't expect this to be a revolutionary MMO, nor do I expect it to keep it subscription based model for very long. I was very disappointed with how the game turned out, albeit after enjoying the first month of play. I tried hard to enjoy this game, with it's incredible housing system and enjoyable hover board mounts.. But overall, balance and key functionality are just not up to par and I don't expect them to be fixed without a total system revamp.… Expand
  19. Squirrelific
    Jul 11, 2014
    6
    It's just a frustrating game: Jump here, swim there, watch your breath meter then search this area while avoiding monsters on a time limit. 15 of the 30 days I had this game were spent talking to support trying to get the game to recognize my video card, but in the end I had to deal with the problem myself and even then I barely got 20 frames per second. I love the look of this game andIt's just a frustrating game: Jump here, swim there, watch your breath meter then search this area while avoiding monsters on a time limit. 15 of the 30 days I had this game were spent talking to support trying to get the game to recognize my video card, but in the end I had to deal with the problem myself and even then I barely got 20 frames per second. I love the look of this game and I really, really wanted it to work. Unfortunately they did some crazy things: A Disney style (but not user friendly) sold as an mmorpg (actually a 3d platformer), and did not release when fully optimized for laptops.… Expand
  20. Unstoppabull
    Jul 8, 2014
    7
    The game overall is fun, but the customer support is really bad.
    The endgame is challenging and you're gonna need a guild to get through the attunement progress (pugging silver runs @ vet dungeons won't work).
    The game is very buggy which leads to support tickets. Don't be surprised if you buy a weapon or armor from the auction house and you equip it + zone to a different continent that    The game overall is fun, but the customer support is really bad.
    The endgame is challenging and you're gonna need a guild to get through the attunement progress (pugging silver runs @ vet dungeons won't work).
    The game is very buggy which leads to support tickets. Don't be surprised if you buy a weapon or armor from the auction house and you equip it + zone to a different continent that it literally dissapears. That's frustrating to happen, but what's even more frustrating is the fact that customer support won't be answering your ticket any time soon.

    Overall I'd rate the game 9 out of 10 because of the 'new feel', it reminds me alot of World of Warcraft back at launch day. Sadly I'll have to take 2 points off because of the fact that it is very buggy and customer support is very slow.    … Expand
  21. MrBrioche
    Jul 7, 2014
    7
    OK don't get me wrong the game is fun, it has depth. Housing is awesome, world is great. Everything shine in this game but I don't have the urge to play this game maybe it's just me and mmo.
  22. aatassi
    Jul 4, 2014
    6
    It is have some original aspects. It reminds me of SWTOR for the environment. It could make the difference with the housing, jumping puzzle and the combat system with telegraphics. It is more for kids like WOW then others MMO. The cartoon-ish style more and less. It needs subscriptions which I d' ont like.

    MMO RPG that I find better overall : 1- Guild wars 2 2- Guild wars    It is have some original aspects. It reminds me of SWTOR for the environment. It could make the difference with the housing, jumping puzzle and the combat system with telegraphics. It is more for kids like WOW then others MMO. The cartoon-ish style more and less. It needs subscriptions which I d' ont like.

    MMO RPG that I find better overall :
    1- Guild wars 2
    2- Guild wars (prophecies, factions, nightfall and eye of the north)
    3- Vindictus
    4- DC Univers Online
    5- Final Fantasy XIV
    6- Blade & Soul

    Game play : 6/10, Graphics : 7/10, Background : 5/10, lifetime : 6/10    … Expand
  23. triplep17
    Jul 4, 2014
    5
    I was looking for something like CoH, at least as far as the community. There really is little need to team up, except for the dungeons, which are decent. Definitely feels like too much of a grind and not very satisfying. City of Heroes fans,,, keep waiting.
  24. Xanatar
    Jun 25, 2014
    5
    Positive:

    - Yes, it has some strengths - lots of features, lots of thoughts put into the endgame, really tough enemies. - Combat feels more interesting than standard wow "tab target" but still doesn't come near to Tera (which unfortunately ONLY shines in its combat)... to much stepping out of red templates on the floor. - Graphics look polished and the "overall" atmossphere of the    Positive:

    - Yes, it has some strengths - lots of features, lots of thoughts put into the endgame, really tough enemies.
    - Combat feels more interesting than standard wow "tab target" but still doesn't come near to Tera (which unfortunately ONLY shines in its combat)... to much stepping out of red templates on the floor.
    - Graphics look polished and the "overall" atmossphere of the game feel very polished - if you like the comic style
    - Sound was mostly good, though music was really annoying in some areas
    - Tons of possibilities to sink time into (skill trees, talents etc)
    - Tons of itemization slots
    - Focus on multiplayer experiences

    Some need it, some do not:

    - Questionable release features like housing
    - Introduction of gamble elements into crafting (woah, I see FTP incoming)

    Negative:

    - Both tutorials and starting areas are not very imaginative. Especially the imperial start was boring as hell.
    - Mini quest boxes with walls of texts and no synchro (or some random sentences)
    - Quest hubbing is soooo 2007... and for a western mmo it starts feeling like a grind fest early on with the quests becoming increasingly boring and highly (kill that many of X) like - while at the same time the game annoys some highly disgusting mini mini games
    - World felt extremly generic - In my opinion one of the worst flaws of the game. Together with a non-existent coherent story (apart from "ow we found Nexus! And now we are here and fight... the others) the game does not manage to actually "draw" you in, zero immersion.
    - Animations often way too comicy and actually "overdone" - at one point it became really annoying to watch the hopping and sliding of my character waggling with every limb like some electro-shocked cat

    Fazit:

    If you like fuzzy looking MMOs in comic style, a more action based combat system, tons (and tons, and tons) of features and the promise of a fleshed out end game experience, you should give it a try.
    If you actually want to have fun playing - say, the first 40 hours of the game - you might want to skip it and go for other games that really offer a unique experience, like The secret world. Maybe they introduce a "skip leveling" button soon.    … Expand
  25. Chomag7
    Jun 25, 2014
    6
    This game has some, if not THE, most boring and tedious leveling experience I have ever seen in an MMO, and I have played most of the MMOs released in the past 10 years.

    Quests are really generic and bland (AND THERE ARE TONS AND TONS OF QUESTS) and the mobs take a long time to die which adds a grindy feeling. Oh, and if by some force of will you have made it to level 50, guess what,    This game has some, if not THE, most boring and tedious leveling experience I have ever seen in an MMO, and I have played most of the MMOs released in the past 10 years.

    Quests are really generic and bland (AND THERE ARE TONS AND TONS OF QUESTS) and the mobs take a long time to die which adds a grindy feeling. Oh, and if by some force of will you have made it to level 50, guess what, EVEN MORE GRIND!

    Horrible UI, horrible **** battleground pvp and lacking any tactics, the classes have bugs that still stand to this day.

    The talent system is retarded. It seems some of the most important talents aren't gotten through leveling but through some low rate dropping items. Especially if you play a Spellslinger you will run into this: spellslingers have a really important talent called Trigger Fingers, now this thing is given by an item with a very low world drop rate and an insane price in the auctionhouse. Good luck with that.

    My highest character level is 22, it's the highest level I was able to reach in this horrible game. I just entered the Whitevale map, looked at it and said to myself "You know what, **** this!" and deleted the game.

    I see the servers went from heavy (the prime servers) to moderate and even low these days and I'm expecting server mergers really soon. Yeah, there goes another "wow killer". Too bad, the game did get a lot of the right ideas but the execution is poor.    … Expand
  26. Troublewalking
    Jun 24, 2014
    5
    This game is very average. People will say it's the best on the market now. But that is because the MMO market is bloated and about to die off. Wait a couple of months until it goes f2p. Even at that point you will probably be done with it within a week.

    Initially people were excited because of it's space theme, combat, sense of humor, new housing approach and paths. The space theme,    This game is very average. People will say it's the best on the market now. But that is because the MMO market is bloated and about to die off. Wait a couple of months until it goes f2p. Even at that point you will probably be done with it within a week.

    Initially people were excited because of it's space theme, combat, sense of humor, new housing approach and paths.

    The space theme, and humor don't really translate in game.

    The new housing is okay. The paths were a great idea. I was interested in the settler as I like to help others. But after gathering mats, and finding out the areas to place things were shared with other Settlers, it got old fast.

    They tried with the combat system, but other MMO's have done the same system already. It's tough as they are trying to fix MMO's by adjusting the combat, but it just feels like rip offs of old console games. Just not nearly as well done. If your using a regular mouse it seemed way to click heavy. If you have a gamer mouse it will feel like a massive cheat.

    I found the game world to seem very small. Smaller than most of the new MMO's and that is small. And like most MMO's these days, you almost feel punished for grouping. Unless it is a raid or instance. You simply have to kill 100 times more mobs just to make the same amount of XP and money.

    In short there's nothing game breaking for me. It's just not good enough to keep my attention. And certainly nothing I would recommend to other MMO fans.

    I give it an average rating, but all the new MMO games, I've tried just aren't that good.    … Expand
  27. Daisai
    Jun 22, 2014
    6
    2nd part of Daisai's review on Wildstar

    The pve content in Wildstar is not difficult, it is different then other games so it is something to get used to but it is not that difficult that you need to be a "no lifer" to be able to raid. It is however more difficult then most content you would see in Wildstars direct competitor World of Warcraft while leveling. I would suggest really    2nd part of Daisai's review on Wildstar

    The pve content in Wildstar is not difficult, it is different then other games so it is something to get used to but it is not that difficult that you need to be a "no lifer" to be able to raid.

    It is however more difficult then most content you would see in Wildstars direct competitor World of Warcraft while leveling.

    I would suggest really to find a guild while leveling just to make sure you can have a group you can talk to on voice comms to make the content go easier.

    As for raiding, i can not first hand tell you if that is really that easy or difficult that is something that has yet to be seen and something someone can see from watching streams.

    As for the questing, this is pretty standard just a basic simple questing system.
    You go to a questgiver who gives a quest and you kill some mobs, nothing special here without giving to many spoilers.

    3. Graphics

    Carbine has chosen to go with a comic like graphics with this game, whatever their reasons are or were this is not really that important.
    It does however not look good for a game that runs so slow on high end pc's and is released in 2014.

    Optimization of the game engine is another part where Carbine has really failed in trying to score some points.
    Many people have been reporting issue during the beta and are still reporting issues about having poor fps on high end pc's

    When reporting Carbine support about this they are very eager in placing the blame at the client and not by themselfs.

    4. Others.

    Oops, forgot i have nothing to mention here ^^

    5. Conclusion

    Wildstar is a pretty standard mmo, nothing special apart from their telegraph system.
    If you would buy it just remember that you are probably going to run into some key issues with your class.
    The score of 6 that i gave is because the game is nothing special and it is a score it deserves, it has many faults which should have been fixed before launch which are unforgivable.
    If i would suggest anyone to buy this ? not for the first few months.

    If you can wait with playing a new mmo 2 or 3 months i suggest you do that and see how the game evolves and how active the community stays.
    If you really are to eager to buy Wildstar i suggest you look at some streams on twitch, they often have discounts to buy this game for a decent price.

    This is where i end my review on Wildstar, hopefully you enjoyed reading it and any tips you can send me a message on twitch.

    www.twitch.tv/daisai    … Expand
  28. WhiteTalpa
    Jun 20, 2014
    5
    Some of the worst optimization I've seen, I mean i can play LOTRO high settings, RuneScape high settings, WoW high settings but no not WildStar even with all the options turned down to the lowest (which makes the game look so bad it's not worth playing) I still lagg.

    Apart from that the gameplay is OK, the quests are fairly interesting and slightly better than other games, the    Some of the worst optimization I've seen, I mean i can play LOTRO high settings, RuneScape high settings, WoW high settings but no not WildStar even with all the options turned down to the lowest (which makes the game look so bad it's not worth playing) I still lagg.

    Apart from that the gameplay is OK, the quests are fairly interesting and slightly better than other games, the environment is different but I couldn't care less about it TBH, yes it's art style is nice but I mean there are so many games which use this "cartoon art style" it's starting to get boring. The combat is different enough and works well enough to class it as a refreshing change. The story again I couldn't care less about it, maybe that's because I play games like RuneScape and LOTRO which has amazing story content, but yeah the wildstar story never gripped me during my time with the game.

    Overall It's worth a look if you're an MMO player just to test it out, but I personally see Wildstar as a secondary MMO something I'd turn to when I get bored of grinding in my main MMOs, it's like the Chromebook of the MMO world.    … Expand
  29. T3RR0RX
    Jun 19, 2014
    5
    While housing, the path system, and challenges are somewhat novel features they don't save this game from it's overwhelming mediocrity. The game play quickly becomes mundane, there is no driving story line, and the graphics would have been great 10 years ago. It's adopted all the annoying features that make current MMORPGS so terrible: quest giving NPCs that make you follow an arrow,While housing, the path system, and challenges are somewhat novel features they don't save this game from it's overwhelming mediocrity. The game play quickly becomes mundane, there is no driving story line, and the graphics would have been great 10 years ago. It's adopted all the annoying features that make current MMORPGS so terrible: quest giving NPCs that make you follow an arrow, telegraphs to point out how bad you are at moving, an achievement system filled with things that are really no great achievement, it goes on. This is largely a cookie-cutter MMORPG with very little new to offer. If you're looking for a fresh spin on the MMORPG genre, look elsewhere.… Expand
  30. Heatsink
    Jun 17, 2014
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Wildstar has some good design elements, but also a slew of poor design decisions. On the plus side: the art and animation are good quality, but the designs tend to be goofy. Housing is very nice, maybe the best part of the game, if you're into housing.

    On the minus side: Controls can be awkward, since there is no auto attack. Multi-tap skills are just a bad idea. Combat is repetitive and spammy, similar to the Secret World. Some of the quests are just stupid, such as the initial Save the Sentient Vegetables quest in the game intro. Paths aren't too in-depth, just a little bit of add-on skills and gameplay. The UI is still a real mess and needs consolidation. Challenges get annoying when already busy with another task, or even another challenge. The game also gets boring in a hurry.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

48
#48 Best PC Game of 2014
19
#19 Most Discussed PC Game of 2014
44
#44 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 52 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 45 out of 52
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 52
  3. Negative: 1 out of 52
  1. Eurogamer Germany
    Oct 29, 2014
    90
    Carbine never was set to reinvent the wheel. But they put a nice set of custom rims on their vehicle. And then they strapped the whole thing on a space shuttle and send it into space.
    Read full review
  2. Eurogamer
    Oct 28, 2014
    70
    For those burnt out on WOW's content, WildStar is easy to endorse. Immediately familiar to anyone who's visited Azeroth and with enough new twists on the tried-and-tested theme park formula, Carbine's game is so overflowing with stuff to do that it's certainly justified in asking for a subscription - even if less people seem prepared to sign up to one.
    Read full review
  3. Ragequit.gr
    Oct 20, 2014
    80
    Wildstar banks on hardcore raid and instance difficulty as well as its excellently implemented "dancing" real time combat mechanic to offer something significantly new and fresh to the MMORPG scene. Low server population and annoying hints of a "Pay To Win More" model hold it back in certain areas, but it has all the potential of becoming a well established and much loved setting for years to come.
    Read full review
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