After being burned the first time around with the previous scam (I'm still trying to get my money back on that one by the way), you thought I would be wary of other offers. I went against the voices in my head and bought this guide for $30.
Below is a list of the things they said I would get in the guide.
- Power Leveling Advanced Classes
- PVP Builds
- PVE/Leveling
- Credit Guide
- Rotations
- VIP Forum (Take note of this one)
- Best Talents For Every Class
- Gathering
- Crafting
- GTN Guide
- Underworld Trading
- Fastest Level Paths
- Best Gear
- Weapon Guide
- Companion Guide
- Flashpoints Guide
- Video Guides
- Leveling Co-Ords
- Mission Skills
- No Cheats/Hacks
- 24/7 Support
- Voted Top SWTOR Guide
- Free Updates
- Guild Creation
Their site, here, is one long page telling me what I would get if I signed up. So whats the result? Was I scammed? Did I get any of those things?
The first thing that gave me a sinking feeling was the usual marketing tactic once you bought it. You were directed to a page saying if you pay another $30 you will get even more. The puzzling thing was the claims of the things you were going to get for the extra money were the things I SHOULD have got already, HD videos, full levelling guide, etc.
To leave a bitter taste in the mouth, you then read this:
So as a special bonus I gain forum access? Which I already apparently do have and should have from buying the initial product you are peddling? Imagine buying a TV for $1000 with free wall mount and then told for another $200 we will give you a free wall mount. That would raise an eyebrow or two wouldn't it?
What I actually got was 3 zip files. One for Republic players, one for Empire and a general.
Lets have a closer look at these files shall we?
The general guide is a 2mb pdf which contains 63 pages of information we already know. Such as classes, their abilities, companion information and even planets. None of the information suggests that one is better than the other. It’s all information you can find on the wiki, official site or by playing the game. Why would I pay $30 for someone to tell me about the starting planet and its history?
So write that one off.
Next was the Empire guide. This zip contained 6 files, 2 images and 4 pdf. This is actually a levelling guide for levels 1-10 for all classes. Great huh? Well no. Firstly I didn’t pay for just levels 1-10, the page clearly states, power-levelling to 50. Secondly the information in these pdf’s is again, irrelevant. The Sith warrior guide for example is 5 pages. 2 Of which are disclaimers and logo. The other 3 contain all the quests you need to get to level 10. Remember Zygor guides for World Of Warcraft? When it told you to start a quest it would say “the guy you need to speak to is behind a bench” or “in the building, top floor”. This is what you get here, lifted straight from the guide itself:
Tomb of Ajunta Pall
K’lor’slug Infestation – Defeat 6 K’lor’slugs and detonate the explosives
Imperial Edict – Defeat 10 Tomb Looters and collect 3 Artifacts
That it? Is that my power-levelling guide? 3 pages telling me EXACTLY what the game interface does already?
Suffice it to say the other “guides” in the zip files are the same. Non information. The images included are full maps of the starting area, but have no annotations or information.
Where’s my HD videos? Where my power-levelling to 50? Where’s my make money crafting guide? Where is ANY of the stuff I paid for?
I must also mention, once you have paid, you are taken to another page which you can download the zip files. On this page is the very important line of
Levelling Guide Updates Coming Very Shortly...
Wait, what? You mean the levelling guide I PAID for doesn’t exist at the moment? It’s a work in progress? Then why , WHY advertise it on the main page as complete. Well we all know why don’t we? $$
Also on this page is a build "guide" for the classes. Have a look at this beauty.
Whats that? A TANKING build which lacks defense but deals alot of damage? Then its not a tanking build is it.
You are told to register on the forums for exclusive content etc. Now, to be fair, all the above I’m missing could be on the forums. So I am going to fully reserve judgement until I get forum access and can see what bountiful fruit they have on offer. But initially, right now, I once again feel right royally turned over. Not one scrap of information is useful to me. People don’t buy guides like this at level 1. They play until 30, 40 even 50 and want an edge. So including a level 1-10 levelling "guide" in a $30 package is a disgrace.
The page does state the following : Once forum approved you can access the full guide and the forums.
If this is the case then perhaps all my questions will be answered upon gaining forum access, so I will wait a bit for a result. But as it is, my gut feeling tells me once again, this is a con.
Stay tuned for update for if/when I gain forum access and I will post what I find.
Update: 21/02/2012
I never got any email about forum access, however, I checked the forum anyway and was allowed in. The forum is pretty bare, but it does contain a small but active group of people who will provide answers to questions about the game. There are some videos also, which do again provide good information. Was it worth the fee though? It's hard to say at the moment. Even the admins on the forums acknowledge they need to make more content and videos and state its "in the pipeline". But compared to the Killerguide I bought previously, this is much better. And for the price its ok. They should remove the pdf guides and just offer premium access to a forum for maybe a bit less money since the digital guides are useless.
Would I recommend you to buy it? In its current state, no. But I have faith that more content will be available for us premium members in the future, I just don't know when.
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