Here are my initial impressions in case anyone is interested:
Pros:
- I have always liked the idea of the superhero genre. It is infinitely more fun for me to play a superhero than a gnome, night elf, etc.
- Customization. The superhero genre really needs this.
- Story line. I have never cared about WoW's lore. In fact, I made it a point to avoid the lore when possible. In CO, I actually find it entertaining, probably because I am a superhero instead of a gnome frost mage or worgen druid.
- Questing. I think this is probably the same as the last bullet point, but I hate questing in WoW. I HATE it. I level through BGs and dungeons. I quest when forced to. This is not the case with CO. Maybe it is because I don't have the advantage of a QH type addon or Wowhead, but it seems more engaging and enjoyable. (For now at least)
- Community. So far, the community seems helpful, knowledgeable, and accepting. There are idiots of course, but it is night and day. It is also nice that there is one single server shard for all players.
- Pick up and play. It is nice that I can pick it up and play, then quit at any time. Instances, from what I have read, scale. I can make the encounters harder or easier with a slider. They can be attempted with groups of 1-5, scaling with your group as well. Pretty cool.
- Combat. I haven't decided if I like the mechanics because I like them or because they are different. Either way, it feels faster and more responsive. It also feels MUCH simpler, but that may be because my hero is so young. I am hoping it gets more complicated.
- Not gear-centric. Again, maybe because I am so low level, but gear seems almost insignificant.
- Roles. Don't fully understand this yet, but it seems my choice (Grimoire) can heal, tank, or dps depending on what "role" I select.
- PvP scales up to a level. (11-20 bracket scales up to 20) This makes your character as powerful as a level 20 without the additional abilities you will learn between your current level and 20. I love how that works- enough to contend, but still a reason to wait until the higher end of the bracket.
Cons:
- F2P. I just get worried about enjoying F2P games for obvious reasons. Content will likely be slower and less in depth. We'll see.
- F2P accounts MUST start with a predetermined archetype. Not a big deal, probably should do so anyway while learning.
- Crafting. Admittedly, I don't really understand the full extent of the crafting system. Currently it feels clunky and overly complicated, with lackluster rewards.
- Content. Obviously there is not as much content as WoW, but MUCH more than I expected.
- Polish. I think that goes without saying that WoW is about as good as it gets. I've been spoiled.
- Have to purchase bag slots beyond the single one you start with. Annoying.
Overall, I have been happy with CO. It's free for the client and free for the silver level account which is more than enough. I knew I would stick around for a bit when I had a mission that required me to help stop "Foxbat" from taking over the TV News station. Inside, I had to rescue obvious "Anchorman" references containing the following:
Rock Landman-
I can tell you one thing, I love lamps, but I sure don’t love this. If I had my trident, this situation would be completely under control.
Ryan Santana
I've tried everything to help Rob, even using my special cologne that is made with real bits of Panther to get rid of these guys, and nothing is working! The bottle said it works 60% of the time, every time... I guess they were totally wrong this time.
Rob Mahogany
Get me out of here so I can get to my Jazz flute practice!
That's just good stuff. It's free, it's entertaining, and for right now- it is perfect for what I was looking for.
-----signature-----
I'm the Dude. So that's what you call me. You know, that or, uh, His Dudeness, or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing.
