The Secret World is an MMORPG created by Funcom (of Age of Conan fame, and developing the Lego MMO). It launched July 3rd, 2012 as your typical subscription-based MMO. Earlier this year, in 2013, Funcom announced that the game was moving to a buy-to-play model, where you purchase the game and subscription is optional. As with many of these games, having a subscription entitles you to other benefits, but it is not strictly necessary to enjoy the game- plus there are no silly limitations for non-subscribers (such as limited inventory space).
So- just what is The Secret World?
You know those stories you were told as a kid, stories that made you afraid of anything that went bump in the night? What about all these horror movies, with zombies, vampires, werewolves, and ghosts? Or how about even older things, things hidden in the murky depths, Deep Ones?
The Secret World (aka TSW) asks the question: What if they were all true?
The setting of TSW is very much like our own- it’s set in modern times, with all the trappings thereof (cell phones, the Internet), but with the added twist that there is a hidden layer not easily seen by normal people. This layer houses everything “secret” in the world- all the monsters, magic, and mayhem that only certain folk get to experience- for better or for worse. These “certain folk” are the players.
Can I be an elf?
Human only, sorry. TSW does have some limits on its setting (for example, there are no aliens from outer space). But, you’re not just any human. You’re one of the Chosen, a person selected by Gaia herself (as in the spirit of the earth) to fight against these horrors. But no sooner than you getting chosen do you also have to make a choice- which Secret Society do you join?
Wait. Secret Society? Is this like a brotherhood or something?
Less fraternity, more CIA or MI6, the Secret Societies have been around forever (they claim) and are TSW’s equivalent of factions. What are they, you ask? (Shamelessly stolen from @Axen ‘s original OP. Why fix what ain’t broke?)
"They lost me at 'Harmony'. Harmony is terribly boring."- Mary Stuart
A whisper of a rumor of a shadow, this Asian group is the most secretive of societies. With no fixed territory or structure, the Dragon have dissolved and reformed throughout history. They believe that a closed, controlled society is a sick society. Only through collapse and rebuilding, the natural chaos of life, can the world be in harmony. Recently, they have taken root in a nameless district of Seoul, Korea. To an outsider, their strategies are incomprehensible. Fractal patterns, chaos theory, random numbers, unrelated events. The Dragon understand that there is no pattern, only acts of great change to be committed. From a whisper to an explosion, they divine that an incident here, a disappearance there, can change the course of everything; acupuncture applied to a paralyzed planet. In the order of the Dragon, you are given the entire cosmos in potential. They have practiced martial and mental arts attuned to the true harmony of the world. The most dangerous and unpredictable of magics bend to the wills of those who are dangerous and unpredictable. In the approaching dark times, things will never be the same again. You are in the Dragon's element.
"The Roman Empire II: Rome Harder."- Mary Stuart
The Illuminati may have ancient roots, but they remain forever young and hungry. In every growing empire they have played for it all. And they play for keeps. Stealing the Americas from under the Templars' noses, they grew with the United States to become a shadow superpower. Their corporate headquarters, the Labyrinth, is in an undisclosed location beneath Brooklyn, New York. Acting silently, unless the occasion calls for a gunshot, the Illuminati push for a New World Order. It will be empowering and ruthless. Failure is not an option. Complacency is worse than not an option. Their arsenal is the ambition of a new media startup, the rhetoric of a congressman and a mogul's business sense. Working hard, playing hard and fighting dirty. The Illuminati's golden agents enjoy power, money and glamour – but the real power they offer you goes beyond that. Information worked from every civilian, government and clandestine organization in the world. Advances in modern magics, in the 'New Magic', that the secret world has never seen. They can give you everything...and they can take it all away.
"The noble art of 'Gotta Catch 'em All'."- Mary Stuart
Proudly tracing their royal lineage back to Babylon, the Templars are the lions of the secret world. When they roar, everyone listens. Old Europe is theirs, and the Templars' marble hall dominates the old London borough of Ealdwic - historic capital of the secret world. It's not just a show of strength. Nothing is just for show with the Templars. At the forefront of the war against darkness, they decide for themselves what counts as darkness. Never backing down from a fight. Never forgetting a grudge. They have tradition to uphold. For thousands of years they have been single-minded in their mission to obliterate evil in all its forms. Where angels fear to tread, the Templars kick down doors. As a soldier of the Templars, you will benefit from their military might. They have hoarded vast occult libraries and the hard-won knowledge of battles throughout time. Their traditional magics, the old mysticism of sorcerers and priests, of life and death, are powerful still. And the loyalty between Templars may be old-fashioned, but it is absolute. You will not stand alone.
Note that there is a difference between the way TSW handles societies and how other games handle factions:
You can do anything cooperatively with anyone of a different faction, except for faction-specific things (such as certain missions) or PvP.
Each faction has access to different “decks” (discussed later) and thus different rewards/outfits for them.
Each faction also has its own take on the goings-on in the world, evidenced by your interaction with NPC’s and the mission logs/reports you receive. A Dragon completing a mission turn-in will receive a different debriefing than a Templar or Illuminati.
Lastly, you cannot join a cabal that is not of your faction. (However, there are many cabals out there that function as multi-cabal entities.)
All right. So how does this game play?
Well, for starters, there are no experience levels in TSW. Neither are there any classes. You can play any way you want (for the most part) and truth be told, this can be a bit overwhelming for new players.
At the heart of the game’s system is the Ability Wheel:
This wheel represents your learned abilities (and in a way your progress). It is divided into three main sections, each of which has two levels (an inner and an outer ring):
The red “Ranged” section represents the (nonmagical) ranged weapons available to you: assault rifle, pistols, and shotgun.
The orange “Melee” section represents the close-combat weapons: blades (swords), hammers (which includes axes and polearms), and fist (claws).
The blue “Magic” section represents the three main magical types: elementalism, chaos, and blood.
At a very basic level, most active abilities in the game are divided into the following:
Builders: Abilities that build resources. The maximum amount of resources you can build is five.
Consumers: Abilities that use up resources for varying degrees of effectiveness, depending on how many were consumed. For example, a damage-dealing consumer will hit harder if it uses five resources as opposed to just one.
Cooldowns: Abilities that do not build or consume resources, but provide some other benefit. Perhaps they heal you, or allow you to interrupt an opponent.
Elites: Abilities that go above and beyond the norm. For example, an elite can deal damage in an area, taunt all your enemies, and stun them, all in one activation.
In addition, there are passive abilities that can improve your performance without needing to be turned on manually, and there are also elite passives.
You wield a maximum of two weapons at once, of any combination you desire. The only limit is that at most, you can take seven active abilities and seven passive ones. You can only take one active elite and one passive elite with you, as well. This setup of 7/7 abilities is called your deck.
How do I go about making my deck?
As stated previously, there are no experience levels in TSW. However, you still gain experience, and at certain thresholds you gain Ability Points and Skill Points. Ability Points (AP) are used to purchase abilities on your Ability Wheel; you cannot use an ability until you have purchased it.
There are rules about purchasing abilities on the wheel:
You have to purchase abilities in any given section, in order. Abilities at the top of a section are cheaper (in AP costs) than the ones beneath them.
You must purchase all abilities of a weapon’s inner ring (both segments on the inside of the circle) before you can purchase abilities located on the outer ring.
In addition, you spend Skill Points to improve your skill with using equipment. This includes your weapons, and talismans- the TSW equivalent of armor and accessories in other MMO’s. Unlike other MMO’s, your talismans have no effect on how your character looks (that is solely dictated by your fashion sense- more later) but everything to do with your character’s statistics.
Wait- what?
Talismans are your main equipment pieces, and they determine what stats you have. They exist in white (normal), green (magical), blue (superior), and purple (epic) qualities (same goes for weapons). You wear a total of seven talismans, and they are divided into three groups according to location:
Head talismans give the biggest boost to stats, and you wear one.
Major talismans give a medium boost to stats, and you wear three: wrist, neck, and ring.
Minor talismans give the smallest boost to stats, and you also wear three: luck, waist, and occult.
What this means is any single statistic- for example, critical rating- has a different maximum amount depending on which talisman type it’s on. That maximum is largest on a head talisman, and smallest on any minor talisman.
In addition, there are three main types of talismans according to function:
Tanking talismans give you additional Hit Points.
Damage or DPS talismans give you additional Attack Rating.
Healing talismans give you additional Heal Rating.
At lower quality levels, you will see talismans with a mix of these attributes (for example, a green talisman could have +HP, +attack rating, and +heal rating). As you move from white quality to purple, the amount of the attribute goes up, but the number of attributes goes down. So at epic quality, talismans will only have one of these three attributes on them.
Note that this does not take into account two other things that affect talismans- glyphs and signets. Those will be discussed later.
Okay, enough about my character. What can I expect in actual gameplay?
As a member of one of the factions, you are sent on missions by your respective handler and/or NPC’s in the world. Unlike most MMO’s, most missions aren’t given from a central hub. Oftentimes you’ll stumble upon them while on another mission. TSW is also different in that you can turn in the vast majority of missions the moment you complete them (that is, no need to return to the NPC that gave it to you). You call your handler, tell them it’s done, and you get your rewards. Ah, modern technology.
There are several mission types:
Story (icon is a film reel, on a blue background): These missions denote the ones that progress the “main” storyline of TSW.
Action (a running man wielding a weapon, on a brown background): These are your generic quests, such as “Kill ten zombies” or “Take these items, find a way to combine them, and use the finished product at this location.”
Investigation (a laptop computer, on a green background): These missions are more puzzle-like and require you to figure something out. Unlike other missions, which typically tell you exactly what you need to do and where (with a helpful marker on your map), Investigations give you some information to start, and that’s it. You’re on your own, but you do have the resources of the Internet at your disposal (TSW even has an in-game browser, default hotkey is “B”.)
Sabotage (aka Stealth- a time bomb, on a yellow background): These missions require you to get from point A to point B, and/or retrieve some item, all without being spotted or caught. Some people complain about missions with mobs too difficult for them to fight; chances are, they’re doing a Sabotage, and fighting is not the “right” way to approach these missions.
Side missions (a package/box, on a teal-ish background): These are smaller missions you ideally pick up while doing one of the other types. For example, an Action mission might require you to kill 20 zombies. A side mission may require you to take some zombie parts back to the NPC for research.
PvP missions (crossed swords, on a brown background): Only available in PvP arenas. Typically follow the Action mission template.
Dungeon missions (group of people, on a purple background): These indicate content meant for groups, such as the game’s eight main dungeons: Polaris, Hell Raised, The Darkness War, The Ankh, Hell Fallen, The Facility, Hell Eternal, The Slaughterhouse.
In TSW, you can have the following active at the same time: one Story, one “main” mission (one Action, one Investigation, or one Sabotage), one Dungeon mission, and up to three Side missions. PvP missions count as “main” missions as well. (You can pick up an additional mission beyond these; the game will ask you to choose one to "pause" and you can return to the last part of that mission later.)
So, what’s the PA presence like in TSW?
Most of us are on the dimension named Arcadia. It is an RP server- consider yourselves warned.
However, you can roll on another dimension and still play with the PA crew. Most game functions (such as chatting) are cross-dimension, and you can group with anyone from any dimension (the game will temporarily move you to the party leader’s dimension). The only limitation is in PvP- if you’re not on Arcadia, you won’t be fighting alongside the PA folks (of the same faction).
Way back when TSW was still popular with PA, we had three(!) cabals set up, one for each faction. Sadly, our numbers have dwindled, and the cabals are defunct. However, because of the chat system, we are still able to connect with each other in-game.
In your chat window, type /chat join PA Wang and you will see a channel called [#PA] pop up. You can then type /chat list to see who’s online and in the channel. (Note that you may have to click on [#PA] in your chat window to begin chatting there.) Feel free to say hi or ask questions!
Short list of folks still playing:
ringswraith: Daisuke "Makidai" Maki
amnesiasoft: Rose "RoseQ" Quixotic
Spoit: Professor "Spoit" Professorson
Antithesis: Bedford "Cheston" Manchester
Antecantelope: Keren "Ante2" Happuch
kafziel: Mirabelle "Wiggly" Wigglesworth
Stragint: Chad "BrofessorChaz" Brodyington
Alegis: Cate "Alegis" Colt
Dayne "feldorn-308" mortumen
Regina Fong: Franklin "Apocryphal-D" Dunning
DarkPrimus: Paul "P-Dubs" Weston
Tariel: Monica "Monique" Jacobs
If I am missing you, please PM me and I will add you to this list!
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