It’s a charming realization when something as simple as planting a mushroom and being able to harvest it in a PvP zone without dying is luxuriously satisfying, like that very first MMO you played killing a boss in a dungeon without a clue as to whether or not you were wearing the right gear or if you should be doing more DPS as the healer. The senses are stirred creating nostalgia, reminding us of those long lost days and next thing you know this forgotten courage sends you on a Poplar tree planting spree somewhere where anyone can reap the rewards and look out if you manage to succeed harvesting these beauties! A can-do-anything attitude occurs that leads you to run across every mountainside searching for other courageous planters with unattended bounty.
These baby steps occur at many angles of ArcheAge, feeding the competitive nature of every avid, soaked-to-the-bone-in-pixels gamer. Amidst the obnoxious queues during the first few days and not getting land where you’d hoped, the rush when you did get to play or do plant your plot in the ArcheAge world quickly outweighs what’s become a trend in MMORPG launches. Lag? Expected. Disconnects? Used to those.
To some this might deem morally corrupt to be so forgiving when “hiccups” happen and sure, we could head to forums and join the many disgruntled fellow players who express their outrage daily, BUT ArcheAge waits for nobody Free-to-Play or Patron. Frankly, our time’s better spent marking places and guides to refer to often so we get a leg up in this economy-driven sandbox.
Along the way there are many learning curves for those that either didn’t pre-test ArcheAge before it went live or were like those of us who applied themselves sparingly in every pre-launch phase to save some mystery and time for launch. For many of us, everything we thought we knew went out the window the moment we logged in with or without queues. In a bind to keep ideals in between being scammed of APEX/gold, losing tradepacks crossing that notorious sea, or while disconnecting from the server, the very pitfalls that momentarily tip the apple cart of reason and fairness catapult you to quickly find a rhythm in your planting schedule, husbandry timers, and warzone peace periods to soothe every loss with an ego balm made from small gains.
It’s these small gains and this very rhythm that has you humming, plotting, and strategically calculating time and effort right down to the very last hereafter stone cultivating the pace of your own progression adding even more attachment to what then goes from being a data-based, beautifully artistic game equipped with relentless gold sellers to a thoughtful roller coaster of choices including spending more of our precious spare time than we intended. Sleeping habits turn inside out and alarms on clocks or phones are being used more than ever to squeeze every minute out of stakes we have claimed in whatever corners we could find in this digital world.
As we roll across ArcheAge habitually checking un-built plots for demolition notices, low beginning bids on the auction house, and possible PvP-flagged players nearby, we become territorial. Trusting no one creates a tug of war since relying on your community is also an integral part of gameplay as you meld into your guild that’s segmented into families and your faction that’s divided into alliances and pirates.
Experiencing a guild dissolving from burning out in beta, to transferring with those left over to a new guild that gave hope but also found us subconsciously observing active alliance guilds on our server that matched attitudes and every other calculation being made; throughout it all the determination among fellow tag mates to not be at the bottom of the resource pool never waned. Experiences had, items built, proficiency milestones attained, and content achieved adds a new thought process daily and this workers compensation potion-slugging Ferrin rises to every challenge. Next thing you know, you’re hooked! (Don’t get me started on the thrill of fishing!)
It has been too long between server resets that a game has captivated this imagination on every level and with all of this in mind we wish every “ArcheAgeian” a happy one month anniversary!
The post ArcheAge: The Quickest One Month Ever! What Makes This Game So Addicting? appeared first on JunkiesNation.
