So what are peoples opinions of the game now they are actually seeing it for what it is?
I'm potentially really interested in the game, I wasn't put off by the controls that much, and now there is a hardware mouse i'm hoping it won't be an issue. I liked the look of the combat, the world looked stunning as well and I'm not a hugely active player so I'm not too worried about the limit on leves. What I really want to know about though is actual content, is it just a solo grind, or are there meaningful group quests, are people getting close to the max level yet? Is the crafting any good? And really what else is there to do other than grind mobs? I'd really be interested in the endgame as I've heard no mention of it anywhere.
Doing this on my iPhone so excuse the errors.
My personal opinion is that the game is great, it has potential to be fantastic but it certainly does need some work. A brief run over your points;
crafting - unique system and personally not seen another mmo try something like this (though one I have never played may have) it's engaging and plays a lot like a mini game with some very worthwhile rewards. It can however be very frustrating as the interface to getting into the craft system isn't exactly speedy and the lack of an ingame recipe book is plain frustrating. I enjoy it but it still does my head in at times and I wouldn't be surprised if it put some people off crafting at all.
Interface - still needs work. It's not even the tiniest bit as bad as sone of the drama queens make out but it certainly isn't as easy and hassle free as wows. Needs tweaked but not game breaking.
Mouse/keyboard - again not game breakingly bad but still frustrating at tines. Again it's something that needs tweaked.
Combat - I have no issues with it. Others do. I think this would be a personal prefernce choice. It's a lot more engaging than the bog standard mmo and if targetting is looked at (no more self targetting grrr) it would be brilliant.
Solo/group - Game is soloable at least as far as I have played (15) but it's not as fun. The game actively encourages partying. Difficulty, enjoyability, levelling speed are positively benefitted if you group. Many players still suffer from wowitis though and seem to only want to solo grind so picking up random parties can be difficult. Find the right linkshell or pack of mates and you are set.
Leve CDs - this seems to be the biggest bugbear. Does not bother me so much as I work away and can't play much but the main ones complaining are those who want to power level to the top. Then probably sit there and whine about how quickly they got through the game. Personally I think a 24 hour leve cd would be best for all (imagine this will happen as it's been brought up a lot and so far SE have listened to the players) but you are only personally limited to 8. Group with others and you can get the bonus rewards from completing their leves as well as the xp buff. Basically SE promoting party play again.
Content - i have had no issue with this. Others scream "no content" yet have no evidence to back this up. The gane unfolds nicely with you being able to pursue multiple classes whilst completing leves as well as having the impressive main story unfold along side this. Then at 20 the game opens up more with access to faction and guild reps. I think the lack of content debate is do far all smoke. But at higher levels this will become more apparent.
Levelling - well paced. Certainly not too fast and I have yet to feel like the game is purposefully holding me back. Not sure if anyone has capped out yet but there will probably be someone somewhere who has.
If you have any other questions feel free to ask.
personal opinion is great game and more than playable and enjoyable in it's current format. However it does need done serious tweaking but when this happens the game will be great. It's a good game and a challenging game which is nice change in the current mmo market. They have tried to back in time to old school mmo's but rather than keep the best of both they have fulltly reverted. More than expect the tweaks to be ironed out though as SE have durprised me with their proactive response to player suggestions.
Buy it and enjoy would be my advice, however others would disagree I am sure
