WildStar: 8 Reasons to Dive Into Nexus

It’s almost here! The time is almost upon us: WildStar’shead start release date is here on May 31st. Most of you reading this are likely already up on what WildStaris at least, and others might not have been following the game as closely as the rest of the MMO community. That’s fine–there are casual MMO players, too. Not me, though. I’m totally hardcore, right?

If you’re like me, and have been following every announcement Carbine Studios has made, you’re ready to take off your pants and never leave your house again starting on the 31st. My body is ready.

As I was saying, most of you know the basics of the game, but not everyone has had a chance to jump into the beta and get elbow deep in Eldan tech (basically what the game is based on), and some aspects of the game are hard to convey in any of the minute-long trailers we’ve seen from Carbine Studios. So, without further ado, here are 8 reasons to dive into Nexus (the planet on which WildStar takes place)/8 reasons why we love the game.

The Soundtrack

From the buzzy symphonic tones at Protostar Honeyworks, which has a hint of “Flight of the Bumblebee,” to the marchy orchestra at Fort Glory, which sounds like Darth Vader is heading your way, the WildStarsoundtrack is incredible. Video game composer Jeff Kurtenacker has truly created a masterful soundtrack for your adventures on Nexus using a blend of orchestral, symphonic and electronic tones. You’re likely going to intentionally go idle more than once while playing, as each zone has its own soundtrack that greatly contributes to its aura.

Getting Around Quickly

I’m sure to some of you this might not seem like a big deal, but if you really think about it, having many options for traveling is a huge deal. We all know that the majority of MMOs give you a mount of some sort and either a recall spell of some sort or a hearthstone that returns you back to a base city. WildStartakes it a step further by giving you more options to get around than any MMO I can think of. Not only do you get the usual mount and transport (their equivalent to a hearthstone in World of Warcraft), but you also can unlock a teleport back to the main city and to your custom house so that you can use your original teleport for turning in quests in the area you’re working in. This avoids the necessity to “take a gryphon” from a smaller town to a big city, which can be costly and an annoyance.

Rowsdowers and Other Cool Mobs

Bro, whatchu’ know about an Eeyore-esque, purple sheep-looking thing? Was the rowsdower (pictured above) named after Zap Rowsdower and his Canadian mullet? Possibly–but like the Eldan’s disappearance, it is one of those things we may never know the answer to. And those aren’t the only little furry creatures and mobs to see on Nexus. From the hammer-wielding Forgemaster Trogan to whatever-the-hell a chompacabra is supposed to be, bad-ass looking baddies await you, as well as some majestic creatures (check out a dawngrazer when you get in there)!

Highly Customizable UI

Nothing is worse in a game than an ugly UI. Carbine knows this, and after the first few rounds of closed beta, the team introduced a UI 2.0, which is sleeker and highly customizable. If you’re like me, you don’t want things cluttering up your screen, and Carbine made it easy to build the perfect UI to fit your gaming style. Are you more of a pyramid kind of person with a minimal chat interface, or do you prefer your action bars on the sides of your screen? Do you hate having your health meter all the way at the top of the screen so that you are forced to look away from the action and get pwnt? WildStarallows for an incredible variety of UI configurations that will suit any type of player.

Fresh & Original Lore

If you’re like me, you love you some lores, and WildStar’sloremaster Chad Moore has made sure that there is a ton of rich, detailed story behind the game for our reading pleasure–and it is scattered around Nexus for us to find! When talking to Chad, it’s clear that this man really threw himself deep into the middle of the game’s general idea and started writing to provide background and history for Nexus. He loves this stuff–and rightfully so. Not only will you learn about the general story of the game, which is based around a battle between the Exiles and Dominion for claim over Nexus, the planet filled with awesome Eldan technology, but you’ll also delve into extremely specific historical events that took place in the game world, race specific lore, and maybe even why Chua look sexually ambiguous.

Are the Dominion really evil? Are the Exile really the “good guys?” Yes and no. While the Dominion appear to have Horde-esque qualities, you’ll learn that there was a reason behind their actions that will really make you think about whether or not they’re all that bad. Are the Exiles really the good guys? Ethics conundrums are abundant, and they’ll make you ponder the meaning of life and stuff like that.

We may never know what happened to the Eldan for sure, but I can guarantee you fans are going to begin creating their own fan-fiction to speculate. Even through its in beta stage, WildStarfans have been wildly active in the forums and chats as they discuss their ideas about the game’s backstory. Hopefully, we’ll get a compiled book of lore (or an app, as I suggested to Chad).

The Little Touches

WildStaris loaded with what I’m going to call “the little touches.” The game has these little quirks in it that add an undeniable charm. For example, when you level up, it isn’t a simple “ding” or a “hey you just earned some points”–it is an over-the-top death metal scream that yells Level Up. You really feel like you’ve achieved something, and there’s no way you’ll miss it. Celebrate yoself!

Another example of these little touches is when you sit down to eat some food to replenish your health little Nom Nom Noms fly over your character’s head as you eat.

In WildStar,even some of the housing decorations and plugs are there to make you chuckle. I found a Fabkit–which are basically schematics for building plugs for your housing plot–that allowed me to place a kiddie pool next to my house. My Chua doesn’t know how to swim, though. Bummer.

So Much Content, So Little Time

Sure, it is an MMO–and the majority of MMOs are by nature loaded with content–but WildStartruly feels like it has an endless amount of things to do (with more coming post-launch). There are PvP opportunities aplenty, including battlegrounds, arenas and warplots. And, of course, duels. There are the usual dungeons and raids, as well as adventures and events. Questing, of course, is a necessity, and there are a wide variety of quests available for your leveling. You’ll find more than enough run-of-the-mill questing to do, but you’ll also find path missions, many challenges, public events and shiphand missions–which you’re seriously going to enjoy. I have a feeling I’m going to be spending a lot of time gathering resources to deck out my housing plot with (I want a Draken Throne)! Whatever your play style is, WildStarwill have you covered.

The Community and Response

We’ve saved the best for last: the WildStarcommunity and Carbine’s response. Since day one, fans of the concept of the game have been on the forums to express their concerns, likes and ideas. And, since day one, the devs at Carbine have been on the forums and Reddit responding to concerns, likes and ideas (and why they would or wouldn’t work, or why a certain aspect wasn’t implemented).

We especially love reading and engaging on the forums as well (and WildStar Central), especially when discussing the theories behind what happened to the Eldan. The community, in general, have some great ideas, and Carbine has been listening to feedback and responding approriately to tweak WildStarto what it is today.

To learn more about WildStar,check out the rest of our coverage.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all news updates related to the world of geek. And Google+, if that’s your thing!