Auto Assault

As I’ve said in the past, it’s hard to properly review an MMO unless you play it for months. That’s why I like to seek out those who have played for awhile, and have become knowledgeable and experienced. I had the opportunity talk to with GFaust, who is a max level player on Carnage. Here is a quick bio:

I first started playing AA about 2 – 3 weeks before the official release. I picked up the pre-order, so I was given a chance to muck around a bit before committing to a specific class/faction when the game went live. I first started out playing with Humans and my main character was a Bounty Hunter, and my alt was a Constructor. While it was fun to play for a while, I got annoyed by all the blue lights on the Human vehicles, so I decided that once the game went live, I was going with the more crude and dirty Biomeks!

Techgage: First off, I appreciate you taking the time to talk about the game with us! I guess the first and most obvious question would have to be, �What do you personally like about AA, and what originally �drove� you to play?

GFaust: Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share with you! Well, I guess I could say what ‘drove’ me to play AA is it’s unique style of fast paced play in an MMORPG setting. I’ve always been a fan of car games and the ‘Mad Max’ theme of things and with those merged into my favorite game genre, well, I
simply had to play it.

TG: Besides being able to pimp up your own vehicle and drive it around, what does this MMO offer that others may not?

GF: The game offers a good pace at which gamers can play at. A casual gamer can login for a night and accomplish quite a bit in terms of moving forward thanks to the abundance of missions. At that, they do not need to rely on others so it is quite possible to play a good portion of the game on your own time and terms. If you like to take it slow you’re still given that chance to savour what’s offered with regular grind-style gameplay, just stay away from the missions and do your own thing.

The other trait of this game I like is that almost everything is destroyable. I don’t think I’ve ever satisfied my twitch impulses with a MMORPG so much before and it’s really a breath of fresh air to be able to incorporate such a manner of play. Usually if I’m in the mood to destroy stuff I play games like F.E.A.R. or Battlefield, but now with AA I find that I get what I like from those games with the feeling of accomplishment that MMORPG’s typically offer. You get progression and destruction, it’s quite addicting actually.

TG: During my playtime, I didn�t come across too much mention of Clans. How important are Clans in the game overall, and do you recommend new players seek out one right away?

GF: I would recommend joining one simply because I think playing with others is the main point of any MMORPG, and what better way then to get associated with a group? I think throughout all the games I’ve played online , joining a group was most important in regards to keeping things fun and myself interested in a game. Clans offer a means and a reason to help out one another or a place to simply chat when you’re feeling like it.

At the moment however, at least on my server, clan affiliation isn’t really revered as in most other games. I think that may be because there are no ‘clan tags’ that popup by someone’s name. It hasn’t been implemented into the game yet, so you can’t really keep a consistent tab on who’s with who and who’s powerful. Eventually though, things should flesh out and as in all MMORPG’s, clans will be a staple in the community and keeping things interesting.

TG: As an extension to the previous question. Are Convoys (Parties/Groups) important to the game play? There are some missions that clearly will require more than one person to complete, but will the lone player be able to play through the game and enjoy it?

GF: In all honesty, it depends on the player and the class. I can only say coming from playing a Biomek Terminator, that I found the game quite solo able all the way up to level 80. There are some spots some people may have trouble with, but if you have patience and apply some tactics and common sense, here’s no reason you’d really have to depend on another player to advance in the game. There are a few bosses however that have been noted to be bugged in regards to specific classes and damage, but those are being looked into so it shouldn’t be an issue too much longer.

I have helped others complete missions mind you, but in regards to needing to myself, no, I never saw it as required. I really like to be independent when it comes to leveling so that made me a happy gamer. One thing you have to think about though is if you want to have a good time and make some friends on the road. There’s a balance you need to keep, because if you go to fast you don’t know what you’ll miss, you also don’t want to crawl otherwise you’ll get bored. Since this games layout can take you both ways , you have full control of your experience. I actually liked soloing while leveling considering it was a decent challenge for myself to try and play a game without needing or having to ask for help. The feel of most missions and tasks in the game are quite simple as I said, given some common sense. But once again, it does break down to your chosen style of play and choice is always good.

TG: Crafting seems to be a massive part of the game. Is it �required� for players to learn how to craft, or vital to the game play or your character? I know there are many who are unwilling to learn how to craft, myself included ;)

GF: I’ve not really gotten into crafting too much as of yet, even though I am at level 80 and have not much else to do. While the crafting system is rather appealing because of it’s mass amount of experimentation and options, I based my decision to hold off on it simply because I don’t really see it’s
profitability. You essentially need to find something broken, that is better than something you found that is not broken, then gather resources so you can fix it. Usually as well, if you find something of worth to fix, the rare resources are a pain in the neck to track down.

At this moment the amount of dropped broken items is lesser than that of functional items it seems. Also the items that are broken aren’t usually worthwhile to remake considering you probably have found something better in the heaps of functional items you’ve already accumulated. I think this can easily be remedied though by simply making better items drop that are broken, so there’s more incentive to craft and worth in your invested time.

It almost seems as if you’d be better off farming a boss and using functional equipment that drops and selling off the rubbish items to make your clink income. This may all change come the auction house where trading should and will be able to pick itself up. Then players can get access to building materials easier and sell their creations more freely with such a venue. Given that, I will probably start to craft, but until then I’ll just save my resources and see if they’re better for gaining skill or just simply selling off.