WildStar Preview
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Continuing in the trend of recent MMOs, WildStar is action-packed, with real-time inputs being required to take down foes. Where it separates itself is in its abilities, all of which are executed with a visible area of effect. Whenever we hovered over an icon we saw the area where the highlighted ability would hit, letting us know exactly where we should move to in order to inflict maximum damage. That, alone, is far from groundbreaking, but WildStar doesn't only display the player's AOEs enemies' and allies' AOE indicators are shown as well, totally changing the dynamic of traditional battles.
With one seemingly small change, things move from (playing the interface,) as Gaffney described it, to actually playing the game. We were actively dodging enemy attacks, and using our indicators to return blows of our own. Already we were more engaged than we typically are in MMO combat, but Gaffney claims that the combat style really shines the more you play, making group battles and even raids more organic.
Instead of looking up a YouTube video of a boss, players can simply adjust based on the attacks, just as they would in a typical action game WildStar's combat rewards reaction and teamwork instead of memorization and planning. It also allows players to come up with more interesting strategies. Since healing spells are AOEs, healers can set up healing stations of sorts, or have the tanks stand in a row as to maximize the efficiency of their mana.
