Name me a idiot as a result of as soon as once more I’ve duped myself into enjoying the newest DLC content material that was launched for Delusion of Empires. Primarily based off my expertise enjoying MOE the final go-round, you’d suppose I’d know higher. However right here we’re: I’m disenchanted, and I’ve nobody responsible however myself.
It could appear ridiculous, however I may need been the one individual throughout the continental US genuinely trying ahead to enjoying MOE’s Persian DLC. I can’t assist it! I’ve acquired historical past and background with the area, and I’ve all the time beloved enjoying video games with even a touch, a sniff, a catch-the-light-just-right-and-it-looks-like-a-ghost little bit of Persian themes. I beloved them within the outdated Age of Empires video games, and don’t even get me began speaking in regards to the Prince of Persia video games! The newest Misplaced Crown metroidvainia was so unbelievable!
But the variety of MMOs the place I get to play as such is a little more restricted. In Guild Wars’ Nightfal,l we had the Dervish class which runs simply shut sufficient that I needed to play it. It certain was good that I additionally beloved its playstyle, and it even turned my foremost.
So sure, I used to be hotly anticipating the Xizhou DLC (higher often known as the Persian DLC) that launched on March twentieth, which as my editor realized was additionally Nowruz, the Persian New 12 months! You must love that. So let me inform you just a bit bit in regards to the options, the way it truly felt to play, and why I’m a glutton for punishment.
There’s a handful of cool options introduced into MOE with this replace. Most vital to me are the gear, the map, and a number of the quests. The map is vital for including that feeling of being in a extra middle-eastern Persian surroundings. As unbelievable because the Dervish was for Guild Wars, it might’ve felt a bit misplaced dropped into traditional European fantasy environment – not that I wouldn’t have nonetheless appreciated it! However ArenaNet, as Angela Recreation did right here, included the Elona maps, which had been completely attractive.
Then there’s the brand new gear units, which simply look superior. We don’t simply have only one or two both; there are 9 units of armor and 16 new weapons. Now, not being very accustomed to MOE, I don’t actually have a learn on whether or not that’s a big improve within the new units or a small one in comparison with earlier DLC, but it surely’s greater than only one and greater than I anticipated. So if I wished to have the brand new gear, a minimum of I gained’t look precisely like everybody else.
Lastly, there are quests that function many areas and managers within the zone. Not being a longtime participant, I don’t know whether or not quests like these the place you’re directed to go combat sure bosses are new or not. I do know generic tutorial-style quests had been within the sport earlier than; I simply don’t find out about these. Both means, I actually all the time considered MOE as way more of a pure sandbox sport with none actual boss battles. Actually sturdy mobs sure, however not legit bosses. It definitely locations MOE greater up as extra of an MMO-lite than I thought of it earlier than.
Now we get to the a part of the story the place I inform you simply how miserably I failed in my private quest to expertise a whole lot of these options. I’d solely performed for per week beforehand, so my hero was going to be a child in a brand new world, but it surely was a world I wished to expertise.
So again into the depths of MOE I descended, and misplaced is the place I started. Actually misplaced. The interface for MOE is form of utterly horrible. I recall feeling that means a bit earlier than, however as I started to play once more, I actually struggled to search out even begin the DLC. There weren’t popups or any arrows telling me begin like I form of anticipated being an MMO participant. I imply, in GW2, you’ve gotten the bouncing little inexperienced icon in your UI telling you, “Click on me! Click on me!” and upon doing so that you’ll get an entire lecture on the place to go to search out the brand new content material. Right here, I didn’t see something plainly calling out the place to start.
Previous the title display screen, there are 4 foremost choices for the official servers. None of them have a flashing gentle or hover over that reads “Click on right here to start the Persian DLC.” So I selected the New PvP Season – appears affordable – and realized I wanted to create a brand new character.
After this, I’m simply taking a look at a large map of servers to hitch. It appears mainly identical to it did earlier than. I filtered it right down to NA servers hoping that that may information me, however I wasn’t seeing something apparent, so I merely selected a modestly populated-looking server and started. The world I selected to spawn in seemed form of acquainted to the way it went final time I performed, however I figured as soon as I acquired just a few ranges, possibly then I’d find the set off to start out the Persian DLC.
Properly, after an evening and a half of gaming, I returned to the web for some assist. I had leveled up and was starting to construct my first dwelling with the brand new character with out something indicating the place to go to start out the DLC. A pair YouTube movies later and I spotted the error of my methods: Apparently I wanted to actually discover a server setup to make use of the Xizhou map. Then, the brand new quests could be accessible, and I’d start to truly get to play out this new DLC. Perhaps avid gamers extra accustomed to these survival-style video games versus true MMOs know to search for that stuff off the cuff, however I didn’t.
Even with that information, the going was sluggish. There have been solely a few PvP servers accessible that I might be a part of, and so they all had a warning that I’d be in massive bother if I wasn’t already stage 50. I suppose it is smart for brand new content material to come back in as endgame content material, however I wasn’t anticipating it. I can’t fault Angela Recreation for it, however I simply wasn’t ready for it.
I didn’t let that utterly sluggish my roll, although. I used to be capable of get myself a pleasant little nook on the map and started to cut some bushes and stage up. I used to be additionally capable of see some animals that may even be distinctive to the map. Perhaps not, for the reason that DLC didn’t promote them as new, however seeing a pair elephants clobber a tiger who thought he might mess with them was fairly entertaining.
That’s the place my story ends for as we speak, however I don’t plan on giving up but! I’m going to do my finest to energy over this hurdle and choose up a number of the Persian gear. Hopefully subsequent time I’ll be capable to speak intimately in regards to the quests and boss fights too.
