One Of The Best MMOs Ever Made Would’ve Reached Its 10th Anniversary This Year

In the long history of MMOs, Wildstar is one of the few I remember fondly. It was 2018 when I joined the Exiles on the journey to settle down in Nexus as a new bastion for the many races in the galaxy. At first, I didn’t know what to expect. I was only a regular MMO player taking a break from World of Warfcraft during its content droughts. But I found a home there, albeit a brief one. And while Wildstar closed its doors years ago, it’s wild to believe how 2024 would’ve marked the 10th anniversary of one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had in a multiplayer environment.

Six years ago, which is when I last played Wildstar, I was a fledgling in the MMO scope. It was similar to when you were a teenager trying to find your style. One day, you like punk; the next day, you’re into heavy metal, and you end up loving K-Pop. That was me. I spent hundreds or even thousands of hours in World of Warcraft. But then, I decided to expand my horizons and define myself as an MMO player. So I saw these wacky YouTube advertisements with furry creatures, Ratchet & Clank-like humor, and most importantly, sci-fi stuff. I was sold. In a matter of hours, I had found myself a new home. A plot of land in space. A fantastic roleplaying community, which is something I love in MMOs. Wildstar was everything to me.

Wildstar Had Something Many MMOs Lacked: Identity

In the larger picture of MMOs, Wildstar had something that, at that time, was unique: its identity. If you recall most of the massively multiplayer online games of those years, most leaned into the medieval/fantasy setting, or at least the popular ones. Elder Scrolls Online, Dungeons & Dragons Online, FFXIV, and WoW: Battle for Azeroth. There were a few sci-fi MMOs around as well, such as Star Wars: The Old Republic and EVE Online. But Wildstar was the only one who had a true identity and at least tried to break the mold a bit.

The one thing that hooked me before even joining the game was its marketing. You could watch all these videos with fantastic humor, at least for me, talking about the races, activities, factions, and classes. For me, this was something new that no other MMO took the time to make. World of Warcraft put a lot of effort into its CGI cinematics, but it never really sold me that class fantasy. The same happened with FFXIV. But I already had the class I wanted to play in Wildstar before even joining the fight. After downloading the game, I created my Stalker and started my journey.

The one thing I loved about Carbine Studios’ dead game then was the originality behind each class. Your warrior holding a two-handed weapon wasn’t the run-of-the-mill soldier-esque character. They had a freaking grappling hook to close gaps or pull enemies in. The Stalker was a fusion between Batman and Wolverine. You had metallic claws, gadgets to turn invisible, and other devices to do damage or tank. These little things made the leveling process so great because you felt immersed as you learned how to play your class. The first dozens of hours were fantastic.

The Immersion Was Second to None

Beyond the class fantasy and engaging leveling experience, Wildstar handled immersion extremely well. Contrary to other games where you need to pick a profession, Wildstar had something called Paths. You could be an Explorer, Scientist, Settler, or Soldier. It was a system based loosely on the Bartle test and added another layer of roleplay to your character. For example, my Stalker focused on DPS but picked the Explorer Path. During my quiet times, after slicing aliens in half, my missions sent me on scavenger hunts or to claim places for my faction. While not the most prominent or relevant thing of the game, it provided world-building that was second to none at the time.

Furthermore, and I don’t say this lightly, Wildstar had the best housing system in any MMO. World of Warcraft has more chances of launching on Xbox than adding houses. The FFXIV housing market is a complete nightmare. But Wildstar gave you a skyplot and let you do whatever you wanted. Since I followed a few roleplaying communities, I found homes that ranged from the usual space nightclubs to workshops and even sanctuaries that would put Teldrassil to shame. All these little details made the MMO much more interesting and made me feel like I was on a journey when I was constantly discovering things. However, once that journey ended, I reached max level; it was a whole different story.

The Unwelcoming Endgame Was Wildstar’s Downfall

If Wildstar had a great identity throughout the leveling process, it lacked that care in its endgame. The raids and dungeons were pretty good. Some of them weren’t as linear as the ones we see in Final Fantasy 14 nowadays. But, boy, they were extremely difficult. Ultimately, a player faced two challenges. First, gathering a group large enough to tackle an instance. Secondly, having those players actually learn the fight and beat it. It was hell. Out of all the difficult raids I’ve experienced in my MMO life, Wildstar‘s were a nightmare.

Sadly, this is what started to kill the game. An MMO needs to cater to casual and hardcore players. Many have failed to do both. Take WoW, for example. It took years for the legendary game to add NPC companions to its dungeons and cater to solo-oriented players. The same happened with FFXIV. It wasn’t until Endwalker that the game became more solo-friendly. And Wildstar never really listened to its audience. While the roleplaying community was big, you could only stay there for so long. After a while, you’d move on to a better game with friendlier mechanics and accessible to casual players.

Still, no one can deny the legacy Wildstar left to the genre. It had soul in almost everything. It also features many original mechanics like cruising on a hoverboard, fun exploration challenges, and attacks with telegraphs that we rarely see nowadays. But ultimately, it was doomed to crash and burn. And when it did, it was sad. Yet, we still remember it fondly. Each time I speak with people in a new MMO community, a few will step in and talk about their Wildstar characters and the adventures we had. It might not have been the best of the genre, but it was one of the most unique ones.