Defiance: new blend of MMO

Just figured out that the bugs have weak spots!

It's not just the bugs, if you see pretty much anything that is obviously glowing (usually orange, sometimes red or yellow) then it's most likely a guaranteed critical hit if you land a shot in that location.

The Dark Matter mechs especially go from impossible to easy kills once you hit them in the weak spot.

Also, larger mobs often have a weak spot that is exposed for a short time after they've taken a certain amount of damage. For example, with Raider Tankers you shoot their backpack until they kneel down, and raise their facemask. Then you shoot them in the face, which does 3x damage.

Not super impressed with the pilot. Some of the writing was pretty cringeworthy but that's pretty standard for a SyFy original.

I enjoyed it. It didn't leave me sitting there thinking "OMG! I can't wait a whole week to see the next one!" but it was enjoyable, and bonus points for my wife liking it too.

The setting is already great, so I think the key issue is going to be character development. If they bring life to the various (admittedly stereotyped) characters then it could have a good long run.

Elycion wrote:

I enjoyed it. It didn't leave me sitting there thinking "OMG! I can't wait a whole week to see the next one!" but it was enjoyable, and bonus points for my wife liking it too.

The setting is already great, so I think the key issue is going to be character development. If they bring life to the various (admittedly stereotyped) characters then it could have a good long run.

My normal reaction to most syfy shows are to sigh and turn it off after 15-20 minutes. That didnt happen with this one.

I seriously groaned at the "hey stranger, you just proved how violent you are, be our sheriff" cliche, but otherwise it wasn't that bad.

ruhk wrote:

I seriously groaned at the "hey stranger, you just proved how violent you are, be our sheriff" cliche, but otherwise it wasn't that bad.

That whole section was filled with groaners including "I'm a tracker by trade" and the painful "25 thousand.... did i hear you right... ok 20 thousand" lines.

Overall I didnt think it was bad but its definitely saved by it being on SyFy. Any larger network and it would have felt like it was a trainwreck.

I was mostly depressed by the tactical incompetence of the Voulge.

I haven't played the MMO, and have only casually followed it's launch. It really felt like the show was relying on familiarity with the MMO for background. I will admit, though, that I was distracted while watching it.

Oh, by the way, I really like Cass in game. Is she in the show also? (I have the show recorded but haven't watched it yet)

Toanstation wrote:

I haven't played the MMO, and have only casually followed it's launch. It really felt like the show was relying on familiarity with the MMO for background. I will admit, though, that I was distracted while watching it.

It wasn't - they don't explain anything. I play the MMO and I don't understand the races, backstory (in depth), or much of anything else. Other than that, I thought it was better than 90% of what SyFy produces. I like the characters, they're pretty decent for SyFy. I'd watch more, as long as they continue to make it available online.

I think it's cool that it ties into a game I'm currently playing, and they did well to make the locations in the game different than the show.

Oh, and the music is awesome, in both the show and the game.

Yeah, I was a bit surprised by the dearth of context for the world in both the game and the series. There really isn't even that much info on the Defiance website. The only place I could find any sort of comprehensive backstory is Wikipedia of all places.

Wikipedia wrote:

The series is set in the near future, where aliens known collectively as Votans have come to Earth seeking a new home after their star system was destroyed in a stellar collision. The Votans had thought Earth was uninhabited, but upon their arrival in 2013 discover that humans are living on the planet, who respond to them with hostility and suspicion.

A limited number of Votans are allowed to settle in a colony in Brazil, and eventually two other colonies, but millions of Votans remained in hypersleep aboard their ships in orbit as negotiations dragged on with Earth governments for full-scale settlement.

Tensions rose for ten years, but the Votan and human governments were on the verge of negotiating a peaceful settlement, when in 2023 the Votan ambassador to the United Nations was assassinated by a disgruntled human supremacist on live television outside of the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. This sparked a disastrous global conflict between humans and the aliens known as the "Pale Wars".

The wars tore apart the planet for seven years, until their culmination in 2030 in the apocalyptic "Arkfall" event, when the Ark fleet in orbit mysteriously exploded. The aliens think a rogue human commander was responsible, while humans suspect it was an alien weapons experiment gone awry. Millions of Votans died in hypersleep. During the Arkfall, destroyed Arks rained down on Earth and accidentally released terraformer technology.

While the Votans had intended to use their terraforming technology in a carefully planned manner, the Arkfall haphazardly unleashed chaotic and radical changes to the biosphere and even the geology of Earth, making the planet dangerous to both humans and the aliens. The earth was scorched, chasms opened in the ground, new mountain ranges were raised, and the surface of the planet was covered with dust and debris.

Animal and plant species from the Votan star system were introduced to Earth, and both native and alien animal species were horribly mutated by the uncontrolled terraformer technology, creating bizarre and dangerous hybrids and new species.

Within a few months, the Pale Wars wound down as both sides had fought to the point of mutual exhaustion, and a ceasefire was declared. Few organized governments remained for either the humans or the aliens, and both sides factionalized as their members began looking out for themselves. In several areas, local human and Votan militias began to band together when they realized that they had to cooperate if they hoped to survive on this new, almost alien planet.

The debris from the destroyed Ark fleet now forms an artificial "Ark belt" in Earth orbit, which periodically rains down in small scale "Arkfalls", which present a hazard for survivors on the surface, but also provide valuable opportunities to salvage advanced technology aboard the Arks.

ruhk wrote:

Yeah, I was a bit surprised by the dearth of context for the world in both the game and the series. There really isn't even that much info on the Defiance website. The only place I could find any sort of comprehensive backstory is Wikipedia of all places.

Wikipedia wrote:

wiki stuff.

?? this was all told at the start of the game.

Didn't for me. Either I accidentally skipped it or it was a bug, but it jumped straight into the scene where everyone was getting ready to head out to the Bay.

ruhk wrote:

Didn't for me. Either I accidentally skipped it or it was a bug, but it jumped straight into the scene where everyone was getting ready to head out to the Bay.

Ya you missed a chunk of prelude exposition then.

I picked this up last Thursday since I was at home sick and man, did it dig its claws into me. Finished all of the main and side missions last night right around 600 ego. Now I just have to see if the game sticks with me since I've finished up the story.

Despite the constant advice I saw of sticking with one type of weapon I only stuck with a bolt action sniper and then would constantly bounce around between other types of weapons for my secondary as the mood struck. Most of my weapon skills ended up around level 3 thought I almost never used a BMG, pistol, semi-auto sniper, rocket launcher, or sawed off shotgun. I just never seemed to find any of those that clicked with me. I guess now I'll just start working on all of the races and other events.

Kehama wrote:

I picked this up last Thursday since I was at home sick and man, did it dig its claws into me. Finished all of the main and side missions last night right around 600 ego. Now I just have to see if the game sticks with me since I've finished up the story.

Despite the constant advice I saw of sticking with one type of weapon I only stuck with a bolt action sniper and then would constantly bounce around between other types of weapons for my secondary as the mood struck. Most of my weapon skills ended up around level 3 thought I almost never used a BMG, pistol, semi-auto sniper, rocket launcher, or sawed off shotgun. I just never seemed to find any of those that clicked with me. I guess now I'll just start working on all of the races and other events.

I started off that way but saw a pursuit/achievement that gives cool armor. It requires lvl 5 in pistols and level 10 in semi auto sniper. It also requires 5k kills with the bolt sniper, but that'll happen quick enough as soon as i finish the level 10 semi.

ruhk wrote:

Yeah, I was a bit surprised by the dearth of context for the world in both the game and the series. There really isn't even that much info on the Defiance website. The only place I could find any sort of comprehensive backstory is Wikipedia of all places.

Wikipedia wrote:

The series is set in the near future, where aliens known collectively as Votans have come to Earth seeking a new home after their star system was destroyed in a stellar collision. The Votans had thought Earth was uninhabited, but upon their arrival in 2013 discover that humans are living on the planet, who respond to them with hostility and suspicion.

A limited number of Votans are allowed to settle in a colony in Brazil, and eventually two other colonies, but millions of Votans remained in hypersleep aboard their ships in orbit as negotiations dragged on with Earth governments for full-scale settlement.

Tensions rose for ten years, but the Votan and human governments were on the verge of negotiating a peaceful settlement, when in 2023 the Votan ambassador to the United Nations was assassinated by a disgruntled human supremacist on live television outside of the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. This sparked a disastrous global conflict between humans and the aliens known as the "Pale Wars".

The wars tore apart the planet for seven years, until their culmination in 2030 in the apocalyptic "Arkfall" event, when the Ark fleet in orbit mysteriously exploded. The aliens think a rogue human commander was responsible, while humans suspect it was an alien weapons experiment gone awry. Millions of Votans died in hypersleep. During the Arkfall, destroyed Arks rained down on Earth and accidentally released terraformer technology.

While the Votans had intended to use their terraforming technology in a carefully planned manner, the Arkfall haphazardly unleashed chaotic and radical changes to the biosphere and even the geology of Earth, making the planet dangerous to both humans and the aliens. The earth was scorched, chasms opened in the ground, new mountain ranges were raised, and the surface of the planet was covered with dust and debris.

Animal and plant species from the Votan star system were introduced to Earth, and both native and alien animal species were horribly mutated by the uncontrolled terraformer technology, creating bizarre and dangerous hybrids and new species.

Within a few months, the Pale Wars wound down as both sides had fought to the point of mutual exhaustion, and a ceasefire was declared. Few organized governments remained for either the humans or the aliens, and both sides factionalized as their members began looking out for themselves. In several areas, local human and Votan militias began to band together when they realized that they had to cooperate if they hoped to survive on this new, almost alien planet.

The debris from the destroyed Ark fleet now forms an artificial "Ark belt" in Earth orbit, which periodically rains down in small scale "Arkfalls", which present a hazard for survivors on the surface, but also provide valuable opportunities to salvage advanced technology aboard the Arks.

Yeah actually I've read that they don't explain everything at the beginning on purpose so you can learn more through the playing the game and from the show episodes.

Having just watched the first episode, it does carry more than a whiff of Farscape about it, which is no surprise given the Executive Producer. That is a good thing. Quite enjoying the game as well, though I'm only at 111 and struggling a little on the story missions. Unfortunately I'm on the EU PC server, so. I'm probably not going to run into any of you.

Keys - only used when you buy those "chests"? Seems I'm maxxed at 75.

Thanks Ran, just really looked at the "Goals" lot of cool stuff including outfits. Sucks there does not to seem to be a path for SMGs though, just assault rifles, LMG, etc. Speaking of, man I have not seen any good wep drops for quite awhile!

friend system definitely has some bugs, kind of a pain grouping up

I'm Ego 200-something, for reference. It seems things got harder after the patch. Anyone else notice this or does the game ramp up in difficulty around the mid 200s?

Defiance - $33.60 at GreenManGaming using code GMG20-GGN5D-FC3NA

Same code gets you the season pass for $22.40.

Shoal07 wrote:

I'm Ego 200-something, for reference. It seems things got harder after the patch. Anyone else notice this or does the game ramp up in difficulty around the mid 200s?

game difficulty doesn't change with your ego level, everything is pretty much the same until San fran where enemies are a good bit more damage resistant. Each map is slightly harder than the last but not by much.

I dont recommend blasting through and only doing the story quests. With gear being the way it is it's definitely beneficial to do some of the side quests along the way. Plus it's a good way to increase your EGO along the way.

Aetius wrote:

I was mostly depressed by the tactical incompetence of the Voulge. :)

Haha

So some pretty substantial bugs happened to me last night (360 version).

1) My main Assault riffle had an attached scope. Now, it will zoom in, but not display the crosshair rendering the gun pretty much useless.

2) I bought a tier 3 lockbox with resources. Resources were taken out, but I didn't receive the lockbox/ any goodies. Sad ...

HantaXP wrote:

So some pretty substantial bugs happened to me last night (360 version).

1) My main Assault riffle had an attached scope. Now, it will zoom in, but not display the crosshair rendering the gun pretty much useless.

2) I bought a tier 3 lockbox with resources. Resources were taken out, but I didn't receive the lockbox/ any goodies. Sad ...

Not sure about #2 - try opening a support ticket with Trion for it, but for #1 they release an update today that is suppose to fix that.