Taking it out of the context of this era, WildStar could be considered a revelation

WildStar, the brand new MMO from NCSoft and Carbine Studios, is a mere day away from full general release. As a total noob to the MMO genre and a lover of most things sci-fi, I thought I would dive headfirst into the new game and document my experiences as a first-time MMO player in a brand new title. Welcome to The WildStar Diaries: Tales From The Nexus.

Taking it out of the context of this era, WildStar could be considered a revelation. Its bright colours, stunning vistas of cartoon plains, sherbet glaciers and candy floss clouds are eye-wateringly gorgeous. The combat is fast-paced, filled with skill-shots that draw one’s attention away from the hot key bashing. And every inch of the game is filled with diversions.

It takes the foundations laid down by World of Warcraft almost 10 years ago — a game that the founding members of Carbine helped build — and throws in a bit of the skill-based combat that modern MMOs have started to favour. The result is a refined game that epitomises the model that started with WoW.

Players are dragged from one side of the map to the next by loosely connected quests that rarely involve more complicated objectives than kill something or click on another thing. Larger than life characters, Pavlovian trickery and a stunning setting draw attention from the fairly mundane route that all players follow.

The smokescreen of charm and comedy hides the fact that few quests in WildStar deviate from a format that was becoming exhausting and trite years ago.

There are some terms in the guide, as well as in the game, which may be new to beginner MMO players.

DPS - A character designed to deal a lot of damage.

TANK - A character with a lot of endurance, who can take the damage.

HEALER/ HEAL - A character whose job is to heal other group members.

Mob - A monster.

Skill - A spell that you use.

Rest XP - Experience that you gain when you're not playing.

Taunt - A skill that provokes the enemy to attack you instead of other members of your group. It is one of the most important skills of a tank.