As I grow older, I start to worry about the loss of memories that are precious to me. I already joke that I’m pretty much a human goldfish that can’t remember what happened the day before, nevermind last year or during momentous occasions. This memory loss doesn’t bother me when it comes to live MMOs, because there’s always the opportunity to make new memories — at least, until the game shuts down.
Hey! WildStar is shutting down! Why am I saying that with exclamation marks when I should be spamming the crying emoji! Having extensively played this MMO, I mark it up among my most favorite. It was a flawed gem, but a gem it was even so. And the memories that I had in that game are getting ready to fade away into nothingness, lest I preserve them in written form.
So as the WildStar community reflects on the game’s history as it prepares to go offline, I’ll toss in 10 of my favorite memories from this colorful MMO.
1. The pre-launch dev diaries
For a good while there, I lived for WildStar Wednesdays. Each Wednesday, Carbine would put out a major article and/or video that looked at one of the game’s systems. Nothing got me so pumped up as those dev diary videos with their touch of sassy narration. I’ve enjoyed a lot of lead-ups to MMOs over the years, but WildStar really ran an excellent pre-launch campaign that helped to sustain and grow interest.
2. Veggie round-up
The initial tutorial level was far too chaotic and packed for my liking, and I was glad that the studio eventually allowed us to bypass it altogether. However, one quest early on charmed me silly as I had to round up these veggies that just so happened to be little weird sentient alien-things. It was just the right amount of absurd to give me the WildStar feel.
3. Alice in Wonderland
Early on in what I think was over on the Dominion side, I came across a little cave with an entrance that was far too small to enter. However, by noshing on a suspicious item, I found myself shrinking and entering into a cheeky little homage to Alice in Wonderland. Complete with caterpillar and hookah. I think I got a little piece of housing decor from it, too.
4. Exploring Whitevale
I love me a good winter zone, and WildStar delivered one of my most favorite in the form of Whitevale. This land managed to replicate the feel of the world right after a big snow has fallen and left the landscape covered in plush whiteness. I couldn’t stop exploring all of it and hoping that I would never have to leave its pristine frigid beauty.
5. Lopp bachelor party
Speaking of Whitevale, one of the game’s most hilarious questlines came when I stumbled across a Lopp bachelor party that had gone very wrong. The Lopp were these loot-obsessed bunny people that were all kinds of adorable and silly, and they were awesome. Anyway, the questline had me uncovering what had happened to each of the bachelor party guests (spoiler: not all of them made it out alive) and then work to put together the wedding. It all culminated in a goofy ceremony that I stood there and watched from start to finish.
6. Low gee fun
While a bulk of WildStar took place on the planet of Nexus, not all of it did. There were shiphands and scenarios that took you off-world, and at least one zone — Farside — was set entirely on an orbiting moon. While Farside wasn’t the most visually impressive area, the fact that it featured low gravity made it one of the most fun to traverse. Suddenly, characters could jump twice as high as before, and with double-jumping and hoverboards, it was possible to get some serious air time. It was so much fun, you guys.
7. Aliens redux and going insane
Shiphands were my favorite group content, mostly because they were doable and not rip-out-your-hair hard. Plus, they had some great theming. One let players go on a rampage with a death machine over the surface of an asteroid, while another pretty much copied the plot to the movie Aliens and gave us a WildStarian version of that. But my favorite was one where some toxin in the air started to make the party go insane. Normal objects and mobs slowly morphed into ridiculous things until finally you were in a room with bright rainbows fighting an angry vending machine and laughing your butt off.
8. Hoverboard mania
Hoverboards were awesome and every game should have them. Were there other mounts in WildStar? There might have been, but you couldn’t make me use them when HOVERBOARDS were an option! Plus, I loved that cool jump-kick move you did with them. I was so rad.
9. Getting lost in housing…
I would estimate that about 45% of the time I spent in WildStar took place entirely on my personal floating island. From the start, I adored this MMO’s housing system and the sheer convenience and options that it gave to all of us. We had cool stuff to do outside, cool stuff to do inside, instant teleport from anywhere in the world… the works. I did the architect crafting system to be able to churn out all sorts of decor. I tracked down specific challenges that paid out in neat decor. I reveled in creating cozy and crazy spaces, and every so often had ambitious plans to build wonders like huge mazes and a replica of the Mystery Shack from Gravity Falls. Oh! And there was that cool Halloween house that I bought a while back from the store, that was awesome!
10. …And being amazed by others’ homes
Of course, what I did on my plot was just pathetic compared to what I saw from the community. In fact, getting involved with the community was the best part of WildStar, and I was often hopping over to others’ housing plots to gawk at their layouts, steal their ideas for my own, and have fun at parties, scavenger hunts, and cooperative activities. Say what you will about this game, but WildStar was a genius when it came to its housing. Couldn’t we take that part of the game with us?
Everyone likes a good list, and we are no different! Perfect Ten takes an MMO topic and divvies it up into 10 delicious, entertaining, and often informative segments for your snacking pleasure. Got a good idea for a list? Email us at justin@massivelyop.com or eliot@massivelyop.com with the subject line “Perfect Ten.”
