700+ hours in and all I can say is, it had so much potential... and fell way, way short...

Edit: 1500+ hours in -

The game has come a long way.

Around the time of the mass exodus in November 2021, the state of the game was... poor, to say the least. After months of updates and Quality of Life additions to the game, I have noticed that AGS is seriously working hard to make the game a great MMO and there is no evidence showing that they are stopping any time soon.

Recent QOL updates since 2021:

-Open Inventory and change gear / skins while running
-Storage transfers between towns are completely free
-Massive reduction in fast travel cost (Max of 20 azoth per trip anywhere on the map)
-VERY easy to make gold doing simple daily tasks
-Gypsum Orb system has been reworked and it is much easier to get Expertise/Watermark up
-Dungeon Group Finder - Also helps with expertise increases, has very smexy UI as well - but a little difficult to navigate to at the moment. I'm sure they will address this soon.

-Additional "perks" if your faction holds control of specific forts on the map:
-Restless Shore fort = Free fast travel for entire faction
-Brightwood Fort = Instant campsites for entire faction
-Weavers Fen Fort = -10% global tax reduction for entire faction
and more...

While the game is still considered a "baby MMO" at this time, it is by no means perfect, however, the recent changes have made the game feel more "polished" and are about where the game should have been at launch.

With new updates releasing at a rate of about once per month, you can tell that the AGS dev team is working tirelessly to continue support for their newest MMO game.

Some key additions are still missing, in my opinion, like "Custom Set Chests" for instance. One chest that holds an entire set worth of gear. (Helm, Chestpiece, Amulet, Weapons, etc.)

The inventory management in its current state is far from perfect as your character must keep around 10 sets to be viable for most end game mutated content and there is no easy way to keep or equip these sets as they must be equipped one piece at a time...

Additionally, there is still no War PvP Mode for players. This game mode should not affect the company ownership or influence on the map.
Sort of like a Scrimmage, where one company could challenge another, or players can simply solo que until all 50 slots are filled (could start game at 40, or even 32 like OPR).

As such, the same ~150-200 players play wars on each server, not allowing about 80% of playerbase to experience a huge part of the endgame design. "I get slots, but my homies do not..." type thing.

AGS has stated they are working on this and since the addition of instanced wars, I'm assuming it is pretty high up on the priority list after the Brimstone / Greatsword release. (Rumored to be end of september)

Also, I believe they should work on more "fun" or goofy off the wall PvP game modes to add some variety... some ideas for PvP game modes:

-10v10 "Caveman" Style Naked Spears-Only TDM

-New World "Battle Royale" would be interesting to see.
What I would imagine this could be like, to fit in with the vibe of the game, could be:
a huge corruption breach horn bellows in the open world at random locations on the map and a massive semi-transparent corruption style sphere appears with a [2 min] timer. All players in the sphere have 2 mins to get out if they do not want to participate...Players from outside the circle can run inside if they'd like to join the battle. PvP could scale in these. Once the timer ends, it is a last man standing BR style fight. Where corruption ring shrinks over time. All players start with just fists, and must search the area for random weapons, gear and / or potions. Participation caches and Caches for top 5 and winning as well.

-Role Selection in all PvP modes

-10v10 Capture the Flag
-5v5 Arenas
-2v2 Arenas

-A ranking system, beyond what the current PvP track does

Anyway, if you read all that I hope you got some good info, but my point is that the game is getting better each month and is worth the $40.

P.S. Brimstone released, you will absolutely get your money's worth.

-probad

700+ hours in and all I can say is, it had so much potential... and fell way, way short... Edit: 1500+ hours in - The game has come a long way. Around the time of the mass exodus in November 2021, the state of the game was... poor, to say the least. After months of updates and Quality of Life additions to the game, I have noticed that AGS is seriously working hard to make the game a great MMO and there is no evidence showing that they are stopping any time soon. Recent QOL updates since 2021: -Open Inventory and change gear / skins while running -Storage transfers between towns are completely free -Massive reduction in fast travel cost (Max of 20 azoth per trip anywhere on the map) -VERY easy to make gold doing simple daily tasks -Gypsum Orb system has been reworked and it is much easier to get Expertise/Watermark up -Dungeon Group Finder - Also helps with expertise increases, has very smexy UI as well - but a little difficult to navigate to at the moment. I'm sure they will address this soon. -Additional "perks" if your faction holds control of specific forts on the map: -Restless Shore fort = Free fast travel for entire faction -Brightwood Fort = Instant campsites for entire faction -Weavers Fen Fort = -10% global tax reduction for entire faction and more... While the game is still considered a "baby MMO" at this time, it is by no means perfect, however, the recent changes have made the game feel more "polished" and are about where the game should have been at launch. With new updates releasing at a rate of about once per month, you can tell that the AGS dev team is working tirelessly to continue support for their newest MMO game. Some key additions are still missing, in my opinion, like "Custom Set Chests" for instance. One chest that holds an entire set worth of gear. (Helm, Chestpiece, Amulet, Weapons, etc.) The inventory management in its current state is far from perfect as your character must keep around 10 sets to be viable for most end game mutated content and there is no easy way to keep or equip these sets as they must be equipped one piece at a time... Additionally, there is still no War PvP Mode for players. This game mode should not affect the company ownership or influence on the map. Sort of like a Scrimmage, where one company could challenge another, or players can simply solo que until all 50 slots are filled (could start game at 40, or even 32 like OPR). As such, the same ~150-200 players play wars on each server, not allowing about 80% of playerbase to experience a huge part of the endgame design. "I get slots, but my homies do not..." type thing. AGS has stated they are working on this and since the addition of instanced wars, I'm assuming it is pretty high up on the priority list after the Brimstone / Greatsword release. (Rumored to be end of september) Also, I believe they should work on more "fun" or goofy off the wall PvP game modes to add some variety... some ideas for PvP game modes: -10v10 "Caveman" Style Naked Spears-Only TDM -New World "Battle Royale" would be interesting to see. What I would imagine this could be like, to fit in with the vibe of the game, could be: a huge corruption breach horn bellows in the open world at random locations on the map and a massive semi-transparent corruption style sphere appears with a [2 min] timer. All players in the sphere have 2 mins to get out if they do not want to participate...Players from outside the circle can run inside if they'd like to join the battle. PvP could scale in these. Once the timer ends, it is a last man standing BR style fight. Where corruption ring shrinks over time. All players start with just fists, and must search the area for random weapons, gear and / or potions. Participation caches and Caches for top 5 and winning as well. -Role Selection in all PvP modes -10v10 Capture the Flag -5v5 Arenas -2v2 Arenas -A ranking system, beyond what the current PvP track does Anyway, if you read all that I hope you got some good info, but my point is that the game is getting better each month and is worth the $40. P.S. Brimstone released, you will absolutely get your money's worth. -probad