WildStar Game FAQ

WildStar Game FAQ by starspun

A giant list of questions that are probably some of the most frequently asked about WildStar! Got any suggestions for changes or additions? Don’t hesitate to comment below!

Special thanks to JarNod, ObliviousPrime, Shady, Moxxy and Yakzan for helping me getting this FAQ updated!

Q: What’s this WildStar thing I’ve been hearing about?

A: WildStar is Carbine Studios’ debut game, an MMORPG set in a science fantasy universe, on a mysterious and dangerous planet called Nexus. This planet is home to the Eldan, the most technologically advanced race in the universe. These masters of science and magic mysteriously disappeared a thousand years ago, leaving the planet with a multitude of technologic and arcane secrets wide open for others to grab, while exposing themselves to the looming threat of… whatever happened to the Eldan.

Carbine Studios was established in June 2005, but this project was kept under lockdown until the 17th of August, 2011. On this particular day, after a lot of teasing through the @Ark_Ship Twitter account, WildStar was finally revealed at gamescom 2011, with a spectacular debut trailer, live presentations and hands-on demonstrations.

Q: So, why should I be interested? What features will it have that makes it stand out? UPDATED

A: That depends on what you’re looking for. For starters, there is the Path system based on the Bartle Test that helps cater content to your playstyle.

If you’re looking for guild vs guild orientated combat, look no further than Warplots, where you can build up a fortress and battle against other guilds and their mansions of madness.

Warplots is not the only PvP available, however! There will be arenas (2v2, 3v3, 5v5) at the elder game, along with battlegrounds which you can level with if you so choose. There will also be a PvP server ruleset with contested areas where factions are free to go at each other.

Want about more immersive and roleplaying orientated tools? There will be a wardrobe system and a dye system that allows for three different colour changes per piece of gear. In addition, there is a robust housing system with lots of customization along with a slew of things you can do with that are still unannounced.

Or wait, did you play during older, simpler times where you’d group up with 39 other people and take down that huge baddie? Look no further: WildStar promises to bring 40-man raids back to the forefront, along with the smaller 20-man raids.

There is also the combat system, which is no stand and shoot combat like you’re used to. WildStar’s combat is more action orientated and could be compared to Guild Wars 2 or TERA. To set itself apart it has the telegraph system where all abilities, yours and the enemies, are telegraphed on the ground so you know where to stand and where not to. This may seem simple but it can get more intense than you think!

Q: Sounds awesome. When does beta start, and when will the game launch? UPDATED

A: Closed beta testing is started on April 10, 2013. If all goes well, launch will hopefully happen by the end of this year (that is, the year of 2013)!

Q: Can you give out beta keys? UPDATED

A: Only Carbine is at liberty to send out closed beta invitations. Do not trust any other websites or people to provide you with a beta key. Please don’t give out your personal information to those you don’t trust.

Q: What about the payment model, will it be P2P, B2P, F2P?
A: No information has been released about this.

Q: Will the game have player factions?

A: Players will be able to choose between two factions: the Dominion, and the Exiles. You can read a bit about the conflict between the two in the next section, because your beloved FAQ author is lazy and can’t be bothered rewriting it to answer this one properly.

Q: What races will I be able to choose from?

A: WildStar will offer players a selection of eight races. Currently, only six of these have been revealed.

The Dominion is led by the Cassians – humans native to the planet Cassus, chosen by the Eldan to rule the greatest empire in the entire galaxy. They are supported by the Mechari, sentient mechanical beings created by the Eldan to act as information-gatherers, and the Draken, fierce hunters and warriors who have respect for nothing but brute strength.

The Exiles are made up of Exiled humans, forced to flee their homes on Cassus after a disagreement with their government. With them are the golem-like Granok, fearless warriors with a hefty grudge towards the Dominion, and the animalistic Aurin who offered the humans a temporary refuge, only to have their home devastated by the Dominion as punishment.

As you undoubtedly have noticed, humans are mentioned twice here. One could argue that there really only are seven races (with five revealed), since one is shared across factions… but one will not. Because I said so.

Q: Interesting! Now, how about classes?

A: When it comes to classes, there will be six of them. As of this moment, only four have been announced:

The Warrior is your balls-to-the-wall, sword swinging front line melee fighter. Clad in medium (and later heavy) armor, they bring the pain as well as they take it. Powered by Kinetic Cells, Warriors are capable tanks as well as vicious damage dealers.

The Spellslinger is an agile pistoleer. Using a mix of magic and dual pistols, these lightly armored desperados use their spell surges and mana reserves to dish out considerable ranged damage, as well as supporting others with their healing abilities.

The Esper is what you could consider the casters of WildStar. Using psychic energy powered by mana reserves and focus points, they are deadly foes on the battlefield. Wielding only light armor, these ranged damage dealers are also proficient healers, using their psychic prowess to both defend their allies and mend their wounds.

The Stalker is your quintessential predator. Using special stealth technology and energized alloy clawblades, these deadly assassins can quickly take out their prey from the shadows. Stalkers are also capable of keeping an enemy’s attention to protect his allies.

Q: I also heard about something called a “Path system”, what’s this?

A: When you create your character, aside from gender, race and class, you also get to choose between fourpaths. This choice will essentially add another layer of content tailored to your playstyle preference.

If you’re the kind of player that just has to see what’s right around the next corner or just over that hill, the Explorer is probably a good choice for you. If you’re really into collecting things, whether they’re shiny or just interesting tidbits of knowledge, you’d probably enjoy the Scientist. If you like to interact with people and work with them to improve the overall gameplay experience for everyone around you, the Settler might just hit the spot. And, finally, if you just like to smack mobs around – especially hordes of them – you should take a peek at the Soldier!

Paths are advanced separately from your class, and it’s not yet known whether the choice will be permanent – but it most likely will be.

Q: I saw this gameplay video and it looked like the character gender, race and class were pre-selected and locked, is this for real?!

A: Fret not, what you saw was a selection of demo characters – Carbine did this so people could make a quick choice and jump straight into the game. In the finished product, your character’s gender, race and class (and path!) are independent choices. While there will be some restrictions (an Aurin cannot be a Warrior, for example), you are in no way limited to a male Granok Warrior, male Human Spellslinger, or female Aurin Esper.

Q: What are the system requirements?

A: We do not know the final system requirements for WildStar, but to participate in the beta test, these are the minimum specifications:

CPU: Intel Pentium Core2 Duo 2.4 GHz, AMD Phenom X3 2.3 GHz, or better

RAM: 4GB

Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT, ATI Radeon HD 3850, or better

Operating Systems: Windows XP SP2 (64-bit) or later. 32-bit systems are not supported during beta

Q: What’s the level cap? UPDATED

A: From what we learned at PAX East 2013, the level cap is currently 50.

Q: Will there be raids? If yes, how big will they be?

A: Raids are most definitely in, and will come in both 20- and 40-man sizes. Each raid is designed for a single size – a 20-man raid will be a completely different map and have other content than a 40-man. Retuned raids, begone!

Q: I don’t really like raiding – will there still be things for me to do at level cap?

A: Absolutely! Regular content updates (which are planned to happen every month) will provide new story quests tailored towards solo players. If you’re the dungeoneering type, 5-man dungeons will have two modes: regular (which you do while leveling) and expert (unlocked at cap).

Q: What sort of PvP features will we be seeing?

A: This is what we know right now: battlegrounds, arenas and warplots. Battlegrounds and are what you’d expect them to be… but what are warplots? Simply put, guild warfare! Using the housing system, guild-like groups called warparties will be able to build their very own fortresses (in the sky), and head into battle against other warparties. How cool is that?!

Players will have individual Elo ratings for each of these features, which will be used for both matchmaking and determining what kind of PvP rewards you’ll be able to purchase for your character.

Each feature will also have an option for unrated play, where players are matched by their gear. Your successes (and failures) will have no effect on your rating these games, so it’s a good way to practice your skills without possibly messing with your ratings – or just to familiarize yourself with the maps!

Q: How flexible will character customization be? UPDATED

A: We got a taste of the character customization at PAX East 2013 with a video to boot! We do know that our gear will be visually customizable, with both a costume system, and a dye system. Each piece of equipment will, apparently have three dye channels each – that means there’ll be a whole lot of color combinations per item!

Additionally, most items in the game are modifiable, allowing for even further non-visual customization.

Q: What’s crafting going to be like? UPDATED

A: Very little is still known about crafting. However, we did get a sneak peak about what is in store with the Circuit Board Crafting (CBC) system.

Q: Will there be mounts/vehicles and pets in the game?

A: Yes to both! When it comes to mounts and vehicles, WildStar will feature ground and flight based rides. There will also be vanity pets and “systems that support them”. We don’t know about combat pets yet.

Q: Will WildStar have addon support?

A: WildStar has had addon support for a long time, if what Carbine says is true. They’ve been using it extensively to help develop their default UI as testers and other developers within the company have been using their robust tools to customize and create addons that are to their liking. They’re aiming to have these tools ready at launch with extensive documentation, as well as making it as accessible as possible for addon creators or even dabblers in programming to create the addons they want.