In this post I will look at the current state of Fallen Earth's endgame, and what we might expect to change from the information garnered from the recent State of the Game. Many people aren't sure what to do in the game once they hit the level cap. After the cut I will take a look at the state of Fallen Earth's endgame and where I expect it to go given the recent announcements.
If PvP is not the endgame material in FE, then what is? While there is nothing wrong with random violence, it gets very old, very fast. After about a month of shooting at everyone you see, just because you are looking for a good fight, you tend to lose interest. Sooner or later you ask yourself: "Why am I doing this?" PvP needs a purpose. That purpose was supposed to be faction rivalry, but it isn't. If the PvPers don't have a purpose, they will eventually get bored (except for a few "special" cases) and get their PvP from another game, regardless of how many hours they spend building their PvP toons.
Why have the majority of the PvP crowd in Fallen Earth moved on? For one, there are too many PvP areas -- everything is too spread out. There should be a single, contested region per sector. If there was one area per sector, PvP would be more localized and happen more often. There are no serious objectives in the conflict towns. Control of the towns is accomplished through repeatable missions (i.e. grinding), and the rewards are lackluster. The faction that controls a zone should have sector-wide benefits. There are some PvE-only players that won't even go into PvP zones. The faction towns outside the zone should have special merchants and lower prices to benefit those players, too. Sometimes a carebear needs a hug.
Factions. Argh. I could write an entire article on what's wrong with factions. A good portion of the veteran PvPers that have moved on blame the ineffectuality of factions for their displeasure. Factions are imbalanced for skills and mutations and there is really no reason to be loyal to one. They do add some flavor to the game and it would be a shame if the devs had to homogenize them all in the name of game balancing, but it might become a reality, someday.
Objectives. Yes, the conflict towns are objectives. But there aren't any for level 50 characters, and most players don't even want them anyway. And if they do decide they want one for their faction, it's a simple matter of doing a few missions, usually unopposed, to capture it. When I originally heard about conflict towns I thought we would be fighting over them, not doing missions and grind-racing. Though, admittedly, this sometimes devolves into all-out PvP. Having something to fight for, that benefits the entire faction, would work wonders in this current system.
Many PvPers are leaving the game because of PvP imbalances. There are major DPS disparities between one and two-handed weapons. The heal-over-time abilities are stackable to the realm of ridiculousness (even after buff-stacking was addressed and nearly extinguished by the 1.4 patch). There are so many self-heals in the game that the victor in combat isn't the one who shoots the straightest, but the one who heals the fastest. There is really no reason to make a dedicated medic character when everyone can self-heal through insane amounts of damage.
Is the endgame material a constant flow of PvE? No. Are there huge raid instances that drop all the phat lewt? No, and I hope there never will be. Are there fortresses full of NPCs to capture and hold and defend from waves of besieging NPCs? No, but there should be, to give the PvE crowd something to do while they await new content. If we had capturable buildings or were even able to build our own buildings (especially if holding them provides some tangible benefit to an entire faction), that would probably be enough to keep people busy until the next patch. Fallen Earth has been called a sandbox game, but it isn't a true sandbox. Sandbox games have dynamic content, and keep people busy.
The state of RP
The world of Fallen Earth is a great place for some roleplaying. Although it isn't my cup of tea, I can see the potential. And that potential is only limited by the players. Once again we have the players creating the dynamic content that makes a game a sandbox. This is the only portion of the triad that has any semblance of a sandbox going for it. That is because roleplay content is concocted largely by the players, on-the-fly, and the game gives them the setting in which to do so. Of course there are things the developers can do to cater to them, but they have it the best right now, and seem to be enjoying themselves.
On to the State of the Game announcements and my perceived impact on the endgame:
Sector 4
I expected (along with many others) to see Sector 4 by December of 2009. If it comes complete with fixed factions and objective-based PvP goodness, I am willing to wait a few more weeks/months for them to spruce it up. Or even completely rebuild it (don't laugh, they might have to). Will this provide us with any appreciable endgame? Yes, but if it is more of the same it will only be temporary.
Custom colors
This is a very good thing, and a surprise, because the developers have always said "probably not" on this one. It is a step in the right direction by giving us some individuality. We won't all look alike anymore (I'm not going to make the obvious clone joke, here). Imagine clans charging into battle wearing uniforms. Awesome. I am quite happy with this announcement, and I'm sure my RP friends are loving it, too. Will this provide us with any appreciable endgame? Yes, it'll keep us busy for a little while.
Respec injectors
It's nice to be able to correct stupid mistakes, so I'm glad to see these. What I am particularly thrilled about is the fact that they are purchasable in-game. I was seriously expecting these to wind up in the cash shop. Will this provide us with any appreciable endgame? Nope.
PvP anywhere
This may well be the most sandbox-ish thing they have announced in the State of the Game. Its effects on the game are indiscernible to me right now, but I think nothing but good will come out of it. Spawn-camping could be an issue if this isn't addressed already. It will be a useful tool for the roleplaying community, as I understand it, they are quite partial to bar brawls. Will this provide us with any appreciable endgame? If clan wars are any indication of its success, hell yeah.
I can't stress how important this kind of stuff is. The more, the better. Bring it on. Will this provide us with any appreciable endgame? It will be directly proportionate with the frequency of events. If we are talking about holidays and stuff, its effect will be negligible. If we are talking about weekly events and a storyline to go with it, then it will be a very good thing.
Fast leveling
If players are suffering from lack of end game material, is an XP enema really the answer? Will this provide us with any appreciable endgame? No, this will make the problem worse. Don't rush to the level cap, enjoy the ride. Stop to smell every rose you find, then go looking for more roses.
Housing
Yes, for some reason, this will keep people hanging around. Again, this is not my cup of tea, but this is something many people will stick around for. Will this provide us with any appreciable endgame? Yes, for weird people.
Auction house
The devs plan to do a little auction house reform. The economy is already screwed, and there doesn't appear to be an easy fix in sight. I'm going to have to withhold adjudication on this one. Will this provide us with any appreciable endgame? Your guess is as good as mine, probably better.
Well, I still play every day and even though the game isn't as fresh and new as it once was, I'm still finding stuff to do. To all the veterans who have decided to move on: You'll be back once it's fixed. To all the new players: Take your time and enjoy the trip to the top, enjoy it twice or more, even. On that note I'll see you next week, unless you see me first in the wasteland looking for the endgame.
