How much time would you say you've wasted?

I think it's obvious that its main category is an MMORPG. But I think there needs to be more done to create that immersion of an MMORPG, especially a more modern one. The game has too many weak points with many conflicted ideas, especially bad ones, and it just needs to relent some things for the better.

 

I think the main focus should be fixing the areas that slow down progression, not revamping areas that were already fine to begin with. Places with sluggish boss spawns like Pointe Less Isle, some of the Daily Boss Maps, World Tree, or areas with repetitive quest chains like Bone Cliffs (which would be better off having more variety of enemies) and Isle of the Dead (Necrostaff needs more diversity in its quest chain).

Like when I look at the new Heartwood and the old Heartwood, I had no issue with the old one. The pacing was fine already and it didn't seem like much else was needed for such an intermediate area. What AE did by revamping the area was a hindrance, and I didn't think the map met the expectations of Ashfall. I felt like they could have reintroduced Malek and explain more about the Shadow Realm since new players just got out of Greenguard and would be mainly intrigued by that, or they could have added sub-areas with new plot to the already-existing Heartwood without changing the everything else about Heartwood.

When I look back at new Heartwood, I see more of a parallel in theme rather than a theme advancing the plot like Ashfall. Like for instance, there wasn't really an archetype that made the plot stand out; it felt like Reed being in a distressed situation was parallel to Wes, from Darkovia, being in a distressed situation. I think Heartwood would have been better as an exploration area, but it didn't feel like it encouraged enough exploration. And I think introducing new characters, like maybe a wise sage, a prophet, or some wise traveler would have been more interesting for that sort of idea, just to give new light to the plot.

 

I think revamping instead of simply expediting the pacing of a particular area's a bad idea. It makes it seem like every area is meant to be equally important, which drastically de-emphasizes major plots. Like I've never seen Heartwood as an important area, and the revamp didn't make much sense for it. It would make more sense to have a revamp on a major saga with reasonable transition points than a revamp on an area that's supposed to act as a bridge or a transition. Something that would wow a player, when they do expect something to be big. For instance, we've already seen plenty of action from Greenguard, and it would make more sense to just fall back in the next area to build up momentum later in the story, maybe build Doomwood further with a richer story.

I think what Heartwood could have done better, aside from explaining the Crimson Circle, the Shadow Realm, and Malek, was bridge the transition into Livingstone Caverns and maybe foreshadow Doomwood since that's an area that new players will visit along the way.

When it comes to story, it feels like everything's jumbled up with no proper planning. Some bits are forgotten, and other bits are just thrown into the game with no further details.

 

For filler releases, having a small story is fine, but when there's a major release, the expectations should be high. I feel like the big issue is that there's a lack of purpose in the plot. Like ultimately, your goal is to defeat Vane, but you don't really have much backstory of your opponent, or any idea of how and why your goal is to defeat Vane. Like the plot just tells you that you need to collect legendary weapons or something, but it lacks intricate details behind the reasoning. I think the story could use better transitioning, and that's something that Heartwood failed to do.

 

But even then, that's just uninteresting for a plot. The character is already invincible, and somehow the character's goal is to meet up with people in search for power to defeat a villain that you barely know anything about? And really, I'd consider Death the real enemy instead of Vane. If Death has the ability to make you immune to Vane, then Vane wouldn't even have a proper goal in the first place. There are a lot of plot holes that anyone can think of.