TL:DR Game mechanics, both good and bad/terrible aren't new from what you've experienced in games like UO and Runescape. Devs are active, game gets patched a lot, but overall the direction and general concepts of game sometimes boggles mind. Lots of grinding, everything is tiered and crafted. Mobs don't drop anything in terms of actual gear, just crafting mats and the general gear vendor trash. Indie devs need love, its $9.99 and can give you anywhere between 10-100's of hours of gameplay, depending on how much you hate or love the said systems they have in game. Read below for a more thorough review.
Firstly, I want developers...especially indie ones to succeed. Making a game isn't easy, especially if it's an mmorpg, so hats off to the devs of Gran Skrea Online. They're dedicated to the community, very open, easy to talk with, respectable, and are constantly updating the game with patches a'plenty. All the early server issues with DC's, random drops, latency, etc have been pretty much been obliterated as of this past week. That had been one of the major complaints from myself and many. The servers have literally ran smoothly without downtime for patches or dc's for like 14-24 hours straight, so it's been a very big upgrade from the hamster wheel servers they had on their first week.
They've also just yesterday (6-29-2018) enabled pvp again, since everyone isn't losing connection randomly now and implemented pvp rulesets as well, however they want to test mechanics and balancing, so you don't loose loot when you die. Which imo, will stop FFA gankfests that plague sandbox pvp mmorpgs. I know, I know, there will always be the group that wants no holds bar ffa pvp. To those people, I say this...gtfo, go play other crapfests like Mortal Online, Darkfall, or countless other MOBA or FPS arena type battle royale games out there. For me pvp in mmorpg's are meant to be tactical choices one takes risks in. To either control a node, to try to steal someones gear off their dead body, or test your skills...but just like in life..random murking/murdering or griefing won't be tolerated. You will get punished, when you get caught anyways and thats what happens if you step into guard protected zones as a murderer.
Guards will stop you and put you in jail, where you will have to mine iron ore (amount of ore needed is based on the severity of your murdering red scum self lol ). It can range from like 700-2k ore, your victims can also place bounties on your head that will contiune to build the more victims you kill. In which case when someone finally does kill you, they will collect your bounty into their packs automatically, afterwhich the murderer will get a -25% exp gain on all skills when they try to exp in the world. That and as a red, you cannot go into town to bank the goodies you stole from your victims either..although there is a certain shady bank that doesn't care who you are.
Some people feel the pvp rules are too harsh, saying it deters people from killing people...but I think its more than fine. So new players won't get 1 shot by vets who want to jack their mats or kill them for ♥♥♥♥♥ and giggles.
They've also changed how the vendors work as well with their new patch. Now vendors have a certain amount of currency only, and will buy goods at 50% reduced rates once their money is gone. They do however, regen 10%-17% of their max capital every minute. (Their first version of this had no reduced rates, regen was super low, and max capital was super low too. So bad it was, that no one could make any money in game. I noticed it the first time I logged in and immediately filed a complaint and made suggestions to the new vendor system on their discord. The Devs listened, saw my logic, and promplty adjusted it with the aforementioned changes. Koodos to them right? XD )
After all this...why still a negative? The reasons are deep and underlying and goes to the core mechanics, design, and general design of how the game is. You're always grinding, ok, I get that...but for what? It's what I hated about Albion Online, it was a grind to get to the next tier of materials, to the next tiered craftable gear, then abandoning all previous tiers. Carpentry is the only craft that still makes use of it's level 1/tier 1 mats. Everyone else, abandoms them entirely. I personally feel this is very flawed system, one which everyone does and likely has done better and longer than GSO, so why bother playing GSO then? I don't know either.
There are about 20 skills, housing plots (very limited and you can't replace/ugrade your houses without losing ALL the costs and materials if you chose the wrong option. In my case I chose a large house expecting it to be multi floored like all the other large houses..I was wrong. It was one floored and smaller than a small house at half the costs...gg roflsauced.), crafting, boats, pvp, freedom to choose to build your character however you want with no capped number on skills; so you can be a heavy armored archer or a tank mage. (Currently we soft cap at 55 and hard cap at 65 in skills though so we don't destroy new players or content before its released. This was also something I voiced about and got because...it made no sense for exploiters and power guilds to get 100 skills when the game in EA doesn't even have lev 50+ content yet right?)
Ultimately, GSO is like a pale modern take on Ultima Online with a few dashes of Runescape without all the fleshed out ideas, content, world building, or thought(crazy that UO was THAT FAR a head in its game design). I feel most of the game decisions seem like grasps into the darkness and hoping it works, that or let the community figure it out whats wrong, give them feedback so they can then fix and adjust. For me personally, I don't mind giving feedback...but my trust is very low on a game and developer that doesn't seem to think ideas like the vendor one, not being able to make any money at all for players 99% of the time, was a good idea. Gandalf like staffs with shields a good idea. Lutes being 1 handed, even though you play with 2, a good idea with healing being a bard skill, including bandages. Nodes of necessary to grind resources being only 1 spawn or location for many crafts being a good idea. Silk, which is majorly needed for bandages and tailors DROP off of damn silk crabs! And the drop rate is HORRENDOUS, like 1 out of 7-10 kills. Good luck, because you need hundreds if not a thousand silk. *sigh*
At the end of the day, I know its EA and many things can change. I know..but again, it just boggles the mind that so many bad mechanics and ideas are in the game without literally anyone saying "Oh...I don't think that's a good idea man." Instead we got, "Nah man, we need time sinks and conflict." So lets make leather drops for tailoring only 1/8 kills on animals (UO you just skin every animal and always get leather and meat. Common sense right?) and the bones too, who are needed by both tailors and alchemists!
I'm still playing, hoping the devs and the game will change my mind eventually...? I've gone out of my way to dicuss on their discord and have even chit chated with DM's with a few of the dev team as well. Don't get me wrong, they're great guys/gals and all...but GSO atm...isn't .BUT... I want it to be and if you're like me, an optimist and supporter of the underdog? Buy the game, try it out, it's $9.99. Support indie devs, enjoy a few dozen or hundreds of hours gathering, mining, getting murked, fishing, killing wolves, chopping spruce trees, and try to enjoy this pale UO that is trying to take a shape of its own with mechanics and ideas that have been used and failed by some mmorpgs, and some which have been done better and longer by others. *crosses toes and fingers* Here's a cheer and nod to indie developers! What a hell of a time!
