Intro to Survived By + Beta Keys giveaway
Posted: Thu 2018.10.04, 04:47
Game Title: Survived By
Genre: Permadeath Bullet Hell MMORPG with Legacy
Developer: Digital Extremes Ltd. (aka Creators of Warframe)
Publisher: Digital Extremes Ltd.
Status: CBT: Started 18.07.2018.
Official Site: https://www.survivedby.com
System requirements:
Note:
So let's start with this game's genre...I couldn't come up with a better form of it, that would explain "What is this?". Developers decided to phrase it differently:
As you can tell - quite a few more words to explain it.
Now that I've confused you with all of that text above^, let's check out Tutorial to clear few things up:
You should be able to spot quite a few bugs in this^ and the next videos. As I've mentioned previously - it is CBT, moreover devs seem to be focusing on fixing bugs over adding new content (for example I've reported few bugs and bam - they were fixed in a few days), which is always a good sign, +they are very responsive to the feedback and take suggestions for future improvements/changes/additions. It seems like devs are genuinely trying to build a good game instead of trying to milk money, and that is a quite rare attitude in this day&age. That said - you can spot Inventory Expnasion for $ in this video^(2:53) right ahead, but we'll take another look on it a bit later.
Bugs with non-functional buttons(3:15 and 6:09) can be overcome using RMB on the item.
Let's forget about bugs for a moment and focus on the tutorial itself. At the beginning it's quite self-explanatory, up till the point where I open Character window(2:03). At fist I'm showing stats and their effects, then there are the usual 4 elements thingy, where 1 element is strong against the next one, indifferent to the one after that and weak against the last one.
Then, after we're done with the basic basics, game throws us in the battlefield to die (3:57). Yep, you heard it right - you're supposed to die, and then starts the character creation. This character will inherit the legacy of its predecessor, in a form of some equipment, Ancestral Legacy, Bloodstones (one of the game currencies) and Electrums (Survived By's name for the cash $$$). Ancestral Legacies are an abilities that can be passed after death and only 4 of them can be equipped. Legacies can be levelled to lvl 50, increasing their stats (it's basically a form of persistent progression between deaths).
Currently there are 6 playable classes, with more to come in the future. As of now rumors say that Harbinger (Archer) is OP, but devs will play with the balance not even once, so just pick whichever you like more, it'll probably end up wiped a few times anyway.
Now that we're done with the tutorial and character creations, let's check out features that this game has to offer as of now:
Now that you're so far into it, let's check out the combat itself, shall we?:
Before I'll wrap up this long wall of text, let's dive into the "cash shop of things". I've already mentioned most of cash-related features, but let's list them up:
So is this game P2W as of now? To an extent yes, but it can be fully compensated with time investment, if Bloodstone<->Electrum exchange will be properly managed. There is no established economy per se, since this is a CBT and there are wipes (only Electrum remains after wipe), moreover things can get changed/tweaked gazillion of times, so it's way too early to judge.
PvP and Guild. Currently this game has neither PvP nor Guilds. I've suggested few things to the dev team and they seem to be looking into it (obviously it won't happen over night).
Game difficulty. So far it doesn't seem that difficult, since I haven't died yet(excluding the initial tutorial), but I'm not even close to the endgame, who knows how hard it is going to be there. For me it's more of a bullets blending in with the environment, I'm not sure yet if I was just tired, or maybe my brain response time has lowered
but I can't recall having similar problems in any other Bullet Hell game, where I could track bullets with peripheral vision, even in crazy games like Touhou, basically it feels like bullets don't stand out from the background that much, so it can be viewed as a difficulty increase (sort of).
Giveaway has ended.
Genre: Permadeath Bullet Hell MMORPG with Legacy
Developer: Digital Extremes Ltd. (aka Creators of Warframe)
Publisher: Digital Extremes Ltd.
Status: CBT: Started 18.07.2018.
Official Site: https://www.survivedby.com
System requirements:
- OS: Windows 7 or later
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Graphics: GeForce 6600
- Storage: 500 MB of available space
Note:
- This game is in active development in its Closed Beta phase, so the provided info may be changed or driven completely useless in a matter of few weeks.
- Although I have some experience in Bullet Hell games, I would not consider myself being even mediocre in this genre at this point in time. I know that if I'll mention playing Touhou here, and I plan to mention it as an example down the line, then some of you might already consider me being a Grand Master
, but that was so long ago and it's not like I cleared it perfectly
Also I have experience in Isometric survival Bullet Hell games, but that was way way in the past as well.
And finally I have some more recent experience in Permadeath MMORPG Wizardry. - I have obtained 3 Beta Keys by waiting in queue for 1 month (2 Keys will be given away).
I'm not sponsored by, nor related to Survived By company. - I haven't played a whole lot of it, just because I had no time to. If I'll find out that some of the info is misleading - I'll make sure to add the corrected version of it as a follow-up in this post.
So let's start with this game's genre...I couldn't come up with a better form of it, that would explain "What is this?". Developers decided to phrase it differently:
Survived By wrote:Survived By is a free-to-play MMO bullet-hell game where permadeath is just the beginning. Every time you die, you’re survived by a new descendant who carries a small part of your legacy with them.
Survived By Wiki wrote:Survived By is a retro-styled roguelite MMO in which up to 100 players fight side-by-side in a bullet hell-style gameplay. Start by creating your first descendant, discover and craft dozens of different armors and weapons, combat hundreds of different monsters, conquer the most deadly of dungeons and...die.
Death is just the beginning, and the passing of your character are never without their legacy. Attain even greater power with your next successor, over and over until they can stand against even a god...
As you can tell - quite a few more words to explain it.
Now that I've confused you with all of that text above^, let's check out Tutorial to clear few things up:
You should be able to spot quite a few bugs in this^ and the next videos. As I've mentioned previously - it is CBT, moreover devs seem to be focusing on fixing bugs over adding new content (for example I've reported few bugs and bam - they were fixed in a few days), which is always a good sign, +they are very responsive to the feedback and take suggestions for future improvements/changes/additions. It seems like devs are genuinely trying to build a good game instead of trying to milk money, and that is a quite rare attitude in this day&age. That said - you can spot Inventory Expnasion for $ in this video^(2:53) right ahead, but we'll take another look on it a bit later.
Bugs with non-functional buttons(3:15 and 6:09) can be overcome using RMB on the item.
Let's forget about bugs for a moment and focus on the tutorial itself. At the beginning it's quite self-explanatory, up till the point where I open Character window(2:03). At fist I'm showing stats and their effects, then there are the usual 4 elements thingy, where 1 element is strong against the next one, indifferent to the one after that and weak against the last one.
Then, after we're done with the basic basics, game throws us in the battlefield to die (3:57). Yep, you heard it right - you're supposed to die, and then starts the character creation. This character will inherit the legacy of its predecessor, in a form of some equipment, Ancestral Legacy, Bloodstones (one of the game currencies) and Electrums (Survived By's name for the cash $$$). Ancestral Legacies are an abilities that can be passed after death and only 4 of them can be equipped. Legacies can be levelled to lvl 50, increasing their stats (it's basically a form of persistent progression between deaths).
Currently there are 6 playable classes, with more to come in the future. As of now rumors say that Harbinger (Archer) is OP, but devs will play with the balance not even once, so just pick whichever you like more, it'll probably end up wiped a few times anyway.
Survived By Wiki wrote:Dying will cause the World Tree to weep, causing earthquake across the world which increases in severity depending on how powerful the character is. This means that if there is a massive earthquake, it is likely that a well geared and leveled character had died.
A tombstone will appear at the location where your character died, which other players can pay their respects to.
Now that we're done with the tutorial and character creations, let's check out features that this game has to offer as of now:
- Mail (0:07). Used to receive inherited items. Can be used to send items to other players and yourself (haven't tested it yet).
- Seamstress (0:19). Cosmetics (aka Skins, Costumes, Visual effects, etc.).
- Equipment Vendor (0:34). Shop that allows you to buy/sell equipment. Unlocks more things to buy, when you progress through the game.
- Thorns Vendor (0:56). Non-OP Equipment Vendor alternative for the cash $$$. It can potentially become a P2W shop in the future though.
- Auction House (1:12). The left one is used for mats and potions, while the right one for gear. Both use Bloodstones as a currency.
- The Exchange (1:35). Market for the Bloodstone<->Electrum deals. Basically allows paying players to obtain game currency in no time, while those that have time can obtain cash benefits for it (ideally). I know that it may be a deal breaker for many players, but IMHO - it's fine, if done right (I can bring up L2 or C9, back when I played them, as an example of excellent Cash<->Game Currency management).
- Cartographer (1:52). World map.
- Daily Challenge Board (2:10). Quests to obtain Bloodstone.
- Challenges window (2:28). You can check your quests, challenges, achievements and trophies here.
- Completing Daily Challenge Board quest (3:11). When you're done with the quest - simply get back to the Board and receive your reward from it.
- Treasure Hunter (3:26). Shop for Keys and Potions. Potions are kind of expensive, but you can get 1 of each for free once per day.
- Keeper of Records (3:48). Rename you Character/Family, change title.
- Bard (3:55). Ancestral Legacy manager.
- Relics (4:03). Relics can be consumed to permanently increase some stats.
- Crafting Vendor (4:08). Expensive, but a quick way to obtain crafting materials.
- Craftsman (4:16). Crafting, dismantling, and a whole lot more (Enchantments, which I won't explain here, they're pretty straight-forward anyway).
I've started with crafting. You can see the amount of required materials, price, duration and the stats of resulted item (you can also check out Weapon recipes HERE and Other gear recipes THERE).
When you're done with crafting (5:54) - simply open your character window and equip your new gear.
Dismantling (6:04) is simply not worth it, at least on the lower lvls. You can see the price, duration and salvageable materials with their respective obtain chance.
To craft better gear you need to unlock next tear(6:20), which basically requires the same steps as gear crafting (get mats that you need and craft it).
Quite obviously - higher grade item requires more time to be crafted, and it will quickly get out of hand(7:09), so you can either pay $$$ to finish faster or leave it and do something else meanwhile(7:17 and 7:29), for example let's check out warehouse. - Vault (7:33). Aka Warehouse/Storage. You can store and withdraw items from it. All stored items can be used in Crafting without the need of withdrawing them.
- Back to Craftsman (7:56). If we're back too fast then we will need to wait for however much time left, before claiming the item. On the other hand if we will be right on time(8:18), then the Craftsman will let us know that he has already finished crafting with exclamation mark "!".
- Craftsman Station (8:25). If you don't want to wait as much and don't want to constantly pay to finish faster - you can buy additional Craftsman slots with $$$.
- Buff Details (8:27). LMB on the buff to view the details.
- Shrine (8:44). Teleport to other discovered Shrines for Silver.
- The Terrace (8:53). Top-tier dungeons, they're just a step away from you, but so far away...
Now that you're so far into it, let's check out the combat itself, shall we?:
Before I'll wrap up this long wall of text, let's dive into the "cash shop of things". I've already mentioned most of cash-related features, but let's list them up:
- Inventory Expansion (20 free starting slots).
- Warehouse Expansion (20 free starting slots).
- Craftsman Slots (1 free starting Craftsman slot).
- Finish crafting immediately/faster (takes time to finish for free).
- Buy Potions (can be bought with in-game currency).
- Buy equipment (currently it's a waste of cash, but can potentially become P2W in the future).
- Change Char/Family name (has no influence on the game).
- Cosmetics (has no influence on the game).
- Can save more items after death with cash (1 item can be saved for free).
- Buy Ancestral Legacies (can be bought with in-game currency).
- Can be traded for Bloodstone on The Exchange (Bloodstone can be used to buy top tier items from other players).
So is this game P2W as of now? To an extent yes, but it can be fully compensated with time investment, if Bloodstone<->Electrum exchange will be properly managed. There is no established economy per se, since this is a CBT and there are wipes (only Electrum remains after wipe), moreover things can get changed/tweaked gazillion of times, so it's way too early to judge.
PvP and Guild. Currently this game has neither PvP nor Guilds. I've suggested few things to the dev team and they seem to be looking into it (obviously it won't happen over night).
Game difficulty. So far it doesn't seem that difficult, since I haven't died yet(excluding the initial tutorial), but I'm not even close to the endgame, who knows how hard it is going to be there. For me it's more of a bullets blending in with the environment, I'm not sure yet if I was just tired, or maybe my brain response time has lowered
![*ROFL* *ROFL*](./images/smilies/012.gif)
Giveaway has ended.