My little free-to-play experiment with Neverwinter has just about come to an end. I'm at level 37 and trying to keep enough bag space free is a bit annoying. Neverwinter is a good enough game that I normally wouldn't mind spending the $10 for a 24-slot bag. I've played and enjoyed the game enough that $10 for the time spent so far is a bargain, especially compared to going out to a movie. But I have to think ahead, and do I really want to keep playing?
Here's the dilemma. I'm actually only playing Neverwinter until one of the big games comes out. SOE (the other SOE, Sony Online Entertainment) is scheduled to make an announcement next month about EverQuest Next Landmark, another free-to-play game. Since F2P games get rather expensive, I can only afford to become really invested in one at a time. If SOE is not launching Landmark until February, I can go ahead with Neverwinter. Maybe.
I have a dirty little secret. I bought a lot of games on the Steam Summer Sale and barely played any of them. I think I've played the tutorial of Rome: Total War and installed the Medieval: Total War and that's about it. The game I'm interested in playing, though, is Kerbal Space Program. I saw Seismic Stan streaming it on his Twitch channel and think I need to at least install the game and read through the manual. Since I don't want to take away from any of my EVE time, that means pushing Neverwinter to the side a bit.
But do I want to put Neverwinter in a box? I'm at a point where the astral diamond grind is starting to hit. For those who don't play, astral diamonds are an alternate currency used to purchase certain things from vendors as well as the currency used in the auction house. For instance, to upgrade my companion, I need 300,000 astral diamonds. If I purchase the virtual currency from Cryptic, the current exchange rate makes that worth about $8. But do I want to purchase power in a game for real money? I haven't done that in any game, including EVE, and I don't plan to now. Which means a time based grind with the leadership profession. Well that and logging into the game a couple of times a day, hitting Ctrl-I, and logging immediately back out. Not very fun. But I'm stubborn enough to do it. Ok, if Neverwinter were my main game, I'm stubborn enough to do it. But it's not. Which is why I ask the question before I really start the grind.
If you start seeing posts about Kerbal Space Program and another game I like, Tropico 4, you'll know the answer is no. I'm still making bookmarks in my new area of operations in EVE so I'll have a few more hours to ponder the question.
If you want to give Total War a try, check this out:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.moddb.com/mods/third-age-total-war
A total conversion mod for Medieval 2. Lord of the Rings, Orks, the well known map - I love it!
Instead of upgrading existing (white) companion, buy a purple one from AH for much less astral diamonds than upgrading. Also you should have more than enough space in your inventory, because there is a quest at lvl 30(do not remember) that rewards you a free bag. I said that before in my previous post, but while Neverwinter is a fun little game while playing to 40, but the end game is not worth it. You can make astral diamonds through leadership and praying and all you have to do is login for a minute collect rewards and log out. But you are right that doesn't sound like fun and in the end not worth it, because all it will allow you to do is get something from AH or cash shop without paying real money. Up to you if that seems like worth your time or money.
ReplyDelete"Since F2P games get rather expensive, I can only afford to become really invested in one at a time."
ReplyDeleteIronic isn't it?
I stopped playing Neverwinter when I realized that I had gone from about level 30 to about level 40 without ever playing the game, purely by logging in for 30 seconds each day to invoke and to queue up crafting.
ReplyDeleteI figured that if I could gain 10 levels in between occasions of thinking "I'm really in the mood to play some NW!" then this probably wasn't the game for me.
Not sure if it will help but, you can mail stuff to yourself via the courier or mailboxes at Protector's Enclave. It's like an extra bank! :)
ReplyDeleteOnce you hit level 60 and want to advance your gear, mount, companion and crafts you will be stunned by how much investment you will need to put in the game. being this AD or ZEN. You will end up playing for your economy! A good game should not be like this, as it is already boring enough in real life to struggle for money.
ReplyDelete