Speaking of end-game, WildStar will have a lot. And it will cater towards the needs of both hardcore and casual players.
"We have a little bit for everyone. But when we say something is for hardcore players, it's for hardcore players. When we say it’s for casual players, it is. And it will be fun and enjoyable," said Chu, "For raiding, we have hard core [40 man raids], but we also have 20 man raiding for more casual players." Chu also explained that in much of the hardcore content items can also be permanently lost.
You heard correctly, WildStar is bringing back the 40 man raid, something not seen since the days of Vanilla WoW. If that weren't enough to get old-school raiders excited, there has already been a "Leroy Jenkins" moment during beta testing, which promises that raids will be the reactive and strategic group dungeons we have grown to know and love in games like WoW.
"You need to time you interrupts specifically and have your order of rotation down. It takes you back to Molton Core days. We aren't messing around with the raids. We aren't afraid to make them difficult and we aren't afraid of pulling punches—we’re going to make it work." said Chu.
Another unique aspect of WildStar is the housing. In the game, each character can create and personalize a plot of land. Houses are instanced per player, but you can still invite friends over to show off your personal pad whenever you please.
While we didn't get to see any examples of housing in the demo, Chu was kind enough to share some information on it. She explained that despite being instanced, the housing is still tied into multiple aspects of the game. "Housing is tied into a lot of other systems. It is tied into groups, so you get a different currency in which you can buy various items of decor, it is tied into trade skills, so crafting and harvesting. While you can mine out in the world, it is possible to mine in your own home if you happen to have a query, and you don't need to share."
In terms of personalization, Chu mentioned that it is possible to decorate both the interior and exterior of your house with things like windows, potted plants, or even cannons. Yes, cannons.
Another thing you can customize your house with are micro functions—like a gladiator rings—in which you can perform fighting challenges. I don't know about you guys, but I have always wanted a gladiator ring in my house. And a cannon, for that matter.
So why have a cannon in your house if it will never be used? Decoration, duh. But that is beside the point in WildStar. In the game's context, the cannons are used for defense. Chu pointed out to us that housing is also a part of hardcore PvPing using what is called a war plot. "We have war plots, another feature that we just started to talk about. You and a party of your friends can form a party called a war party, similar to a guild but more PvP oriented. You go out and collect resources for you party—maybe an ion cannon, laser shields, whatever you want to put on your shared property. Then you go in and fight with another party." War Parties are a separate feature from guilds, so it is possible to have both a guild and war party.
"This is for hardcore PvPers," Chu said. "Those things [gathered for the war plot] can get destroyed in the battle."
Between 40 man raids, housing, paths, a unique art-style, and content for players of all types, WildStar promises to fuse some of the best attributes in the MMORPG genre with a candor and quality all its own.
WildStar is currently in closed-beta, and will be released sometime in 2013. Want more information on Nexus to hold you over in the mean time? Check out wildstar-online.com.
