If, like most people grinding strongholds, he’s not bothering to gather at resource nodes (everyone I play with seems to fly right past them), he’s not getting nearly as many resources as he could be. Drops, including embers, scale with level. I’ve gotten plenty from random nodes.
I feel the same way, but there are a lot of people playing Anthem exclusively for the endgame content. They power leveled by grinding quickplay missions. They breezed through the story skipping all cutscenes/conversations. Didn’t talk to anyone they didn’t need to at Tarsis. And then jumped right into grinding just one stronghold over and over again.
The only thing I’d trust their opinions on are endgame builds and not much else.
This is a very common pitfall for game designers. Players will naturally gravitate towards optimal game paths, even if they aren’t the most fun or engaging choices offered. “Water Finds a Crack” is how Soren Johnson explains it.
jsnell
1848
So I gather that you have a lot more money than that?
I was specifically commenting on the “you can just buy more embers” part. What I’d seen suggested that the economics had been tuned for that to be totally unviable.
Timex
1849
I definitely understand this, but on some level I guess I feel like someone needs to question that decision on the part of the gamers.
It’s not a JOB folks. And really, if you don’t like the game… then don’t play it. There are a million awesome games out there these days. There’s never any reason to play a game you really don’t like.
Now, I guess for a lot of these streamers it literally is their job. But then I gotta question the wisdom of those watching it. Watching some dude grind out and complain about a game he hates is… not fun.
No, not at all… But I have tons and tons of embers. You find them constantly, if you harvest nodes.
If he’s just grinding the stronghold and not harvesting nodes, then he’s not finding any embers the normal way you’re supposed to… which is why he doesn’t have any.
I agree, but i also have the disposable income to shrug and move on when a game disappoints me. Some people spend $60 (or more) on a game and they’re pot committed to that game for weeks or months.
Bioware really fucked themselves by releasing a game that was clearly unfinished (I’m not talking content, I’m talking basic functionality) into a market that may be getting seriously fatigued with the genre. All games in this genre seem doomed at the start and then work toward some stable state, but I think patience has dwindled. And the reception has been so bad, I’m worried for the future.
Coincidentally, when compared with Anthem I’m betting reviewers give glowing reviews of The Division 2. Provided that game works.
Timex
1852
I played the Division 2 beta, and it was amazingly boring. It seemed like it was just the Division, with a different setting that isn’t in the winter.
Ooof that’s discouraging. I remember actually falling asleep at my computer during a Division 1 mission.
My only question now is what will happen? EA said they expected 6 million unit sales in the first 6 weeks. Will they move the goalposts and claim Origin subs are just as good as unit sales?
Also, what about the people that try this out in a couple of months? Will they be stuck trying all the campaign missions solo, because no one is available for matchmaking?
This can’t be stressed enough. The people who post here seem to be rather well off. For a lot of people, $60 is still a lot of money. They may only play a few games a year. Reviews need to let them know when games are broken in various ways so they don’t spend their money on something that has problems.
GaaS games also feel like a job sometimes, so saying “It’s not a JOB folks.” kinda doesn’t ring true. It’s part of the reason I skipped this. The commitment it requires is too much for me.
I just heard about this, my one friend is bitching non stop now saying that he felt the drop rates were too low before, and now with the patch its even worse.
Timex
1857
And this is fine. If you don’t enjoy it, then you shouldn’t play it, because it’s supposed to be recreation.
Although it’s worth noting that there’s no actual requirement for commitment here. There’s absolutely nothing about Anthem that requires you to grind for hours. There’s nothing that requires you to do anything besides just play the game at whatever pace or level of difficulty you want.
That’s what blows my mind about the folks who are just grinding the game 24/7 and hate it. WHY DO THAT?
Played a fair bit more over the weekend, guessing I’m about 6 hours in? And what can I say, I’m having a good time. Spent a decent chunk of that time in free play just jetting around checking out the scenery, finding loot, shooting freaky aliens. Good times.
Can’t deny there’s a hefty gamer tax to be paid, the load screens get old and the missions are weird - I keep forgetting to go private, but then the game tells me I get more experience for playing with other folks so I don’t worry much about it.
I experienced one crash to “desktop” playing on Xbox yesterday. Other than that, bugs have been minimal as far as I can tell. Last patch returned HDR as well.
So, part of the commitment is this game specifically requires other people to play it. At least it requires others to play it well, and for the most part people like to play games well if not optimally. That’s sort of how gaming has evolved for years and years. Some people can put their hand up and be like, “I just have fun” but I think that’s actually the exception rather than the rule. Most players are trying to be the best they can be, and that’s especially true when other people are relying on them to play well, too.
I think the answer to your question about why do people grind it 24/7 is that it’s new, so people want to see what it offers, and it’s in a genre that’s actually built around chasing carrots all day. It’s a “Looter Shooter” where you join the hamster wheel in progress and keep it spinning hoping that the new loot keeps the wheel going. The design of the game warrants playing it just as most people do.
Timex
1860
I may be the only one who is actually enjoying talking to the various NPC’s in the town. They’re interesting, well acted characters. I guess I wasn’t expecting much, given how there were so many complaints about there “being no story”. Maybe i’m weird in that I consider all the stuff from the different characters to be “story”.
Why do you think this? You can easily play through every single mission on your own, without any outside assistance at all. You can play in freeplay without any assistance. The only part that actually requires participation with others are the strongholds.
Indeed, for the story missions, I either play them on my own, or I play them with people who I know.
Maybe, but this seems inherently wrongheaded.
If you distill the game down to a point where the hamsterwheel isn’t fun, then running in the wheel for a longer time isn’t going to be fun.
And if you enjoy the gameplay, then there’s absolutely no reason to rush it.
@Timex I’m really glad that peer pressure has no effect on you, but I’m gonna say that I think you’re the exception rather than the rule. :)
Also, as with any of the games of this type, there will always be people who think there’s a “right way” and a “wrong way” to approach any given mission. If you play it the wrong way, they’ll tell you why or just leave your party.
Did you play World of Warcraft? MMOs? This may seem different because it’s shooting, but it has all those same characteristics of those games.
I guess I didn’t know you can play the game by yourself also because the whole gist of the sales pitch is that it’s a cooperative multiplayer shooting game, like Destiny before it. That’s a failing of the marketing then. When I played the Demo weekend I didn’t get the impression it was a game I could play alone.
I always talk to the characters. I like that there are entire “quests”, if you can call them that, that are dialogue driven - like getting the two bakers to go in on a project together, or the freelancer who loses her javelin in a card game. I don’t know if those end up having any “real” consequences in the game, but they’re still pretty cool.
