Disclaimer - don't get fooled by the low playtime. I played this game for four years as a permanent closed alpha testers and therefore think that I can give some [SOLID] (you will get that one later) information for newcomers.
Firstly: Don't expect a finished and polished game. The game is more stable than it was a while ago but you might still crash from time to time.
Ok now on to the review:
I will split this review in two parts - one for the ranked mode and one for the MMO RPG one. Let's start with
[h1] Ranked [/h1]
In ranked mode every player has the same presets: You can build your fleet from a selected (and up until now seasonally rotating) pool of ships and weapons. Your faction choice doesn't have an effect on which ships you can play in ranked but you won't be able to stick ships of different factions into one ranked fleet (you can build multiple fleets for the different factions though).
Once you have completed your first fleet and hopped into the queue, you will end up in one of two modes:
[b] Classic [/b]
In classic mode you will find yourself looking at a map with a big mothership on one side. That is where you can spawn in your fleet by using warp points that you aquire over time. To increase your gain in warp points you can capture some of the capture points in the are with your ship. Once captured you will have to build a station in the point. For that you can select one of four option:
1. Battle station
A stationary turret that has weapons on each side and will automatically attack enemies.
2. Support stations
This building will automatically repair your ships when they are nearby.
3. Outpost
The outpost will give you full vision in a large area around you, helping you to see your enemy quicker.
4. Warp station
A warp station will let you warp in new ships next to it (so you won't have to spawn them all the way back at your mothership) as well as allow ships with a warp module to warp towards it.
So now you captured some points, it's cool and all and your battlecruisers are sitting around doing nothing - what is your goal?
You guessed it - the enemies mothership is at the opposite site of the map and your goal is to protect your own one and destroy his - Good luck!
[b] Domination [/b]
Unlike in the classic mode, in Domination there are no motherships. Instead every player gets two areas to spawn in ships. There are still capture points on the map but they work a bit different than in classic mode: Upon capturing a point, a support station is automatically built instantly.
By capturing and holding points the players will get tickets - the first to 10,000 wins the match.
[b] Quick ranked review [/b]
Ranked in general is relatively published and doesn't need too much work except for some minor balancing and bugfixing - if you like games such as StarCraft, Company of Heroes or are a Vega Conflict pro (pls no) this mode is for you.
The ranked mode already has a defined meta that has shifted a lot over the last few years (although rockets always seem to be underpowerd). That said, a good player will probably stomp you with a pink ramming carrier meme build, no matter how you play, at least in the beginning.
[b] Ranked tips [/b]
1. Your fleet should always contain some cheap frigates for scouting and capturing poins in the beginning of the game.
2. You surrender a match by typing "GG" in the chat.
3. If you lose against a player either named "DieHard25" or "sheepnator" don't feel bad, these guys are gods and already won
some tournaments.
4. (EDIT) Equip weapons on your ship. Seriously.
[h1] MMO RPG mode [/h1]
In difference to the ranked mode, the MMO mode is still far from finished. Since Snowforged Entertainment are quite a small team it is understandably hard for them to fill such a giant universe as the Starfall one with life. So far however, they have done a decent job in my opinion.
When you first join the game, you will be asked to create a character and choose a faction. This is only important for the MMO mode, as I mentioned above. The three factions are:
[b] Vanguard [/b]
The Vanguard faction is essentially militant space communists (you might have guessed from the colour of their logo). Their ships are built very heavily leaning towards armor but lack maneuverability. They also have an inbuilt "weapon overload" module which can increase damage output for a limited amount of time.
[b] Eclipse [/b]
The Eclipse faction is almost the perfect opposite to the Vanguard - they are organized in giant companies that exploit the ressources of the galaxy and the dream of getting from rags to riches is just as real as it is impropable in the Eclipse Dominion. Eclipse ships have strong shield and a bonus on laser weapons as well as a built in "shield redirection" module which allows to focus shield power in one direction of the ship. On the other hand their ships lack capacity to install bigger modules.
[b] Deprived [/b]
The Deprived are made up of the people that were betrayed by the Eclipse and Vanguard when the Earth became almost inhabitable long in the past. Trying to survive on a planet filled with radiation made them develop a strong feeling of belonging as well as accepting some tribe like structures. Deprived ships have the ability to regenerate themselves when out of combat but are structurally weak.
[b] shameless plug [/b]
If you chose the best faction (which is obviously Deprived) and want to get rid of the capitalist pigs aswell as the communist scum feel free to join [SOLID] Outer Heaven, the biggest and oldest English and German speaking house in Starfall Online. Our lead has played this game since the beginning and can offer you great advice to become stronger in a gakaxy that becomes more and more dangerous. If you are interested in joining feel free to DM me on Steam or add me ingame (Debaka/Derhesligebaum).
[b] end of shameless plug [/b]
In the MMO mode you will always start in your hangar. This is where you build new ships, outfit them with equipment you craft there, access special modes and much more. This is also in the tutorial which I highly reccommend you to do.
When you deploy with your fleet you will over time discover more and more star systems that belong to different factions, some friendly, others hostile.
You can accept quests, trade, mine ores (which are quite rare in this patch) or fight pirates. By completing the main missions your "access level" will increase which will give you access to more dangerous areas of the map. You can also fight enemy players but you probably won't meet them before midgame as they are quite literally at the other end of the galaxy.
Research new ship formations, build your first dreadnoughts, team up and fight bosses together - this part of the MMO is already working very well and is lots of fun.
However, some components of the MMO mode that were already in the game are currently disabled and I don't know if they will come back but I sure hope so. This includes the whole building system:
In some patches players were able to build stations and outposts for their factions on the map which secured systems against pirates and made a way more complex economy possible as the building of stations required certain materials and ores that had to be mined or bought. This also encouraged large scale wars between the faction because it gave the PvP fights a feeling of accomplishing something which, to be honest is not so much the case at the moment.
[h1] Conclusion [/h1]
Even though the game is still in development and is missing some polish and content in the MMO mode, its potential is huge and you can feel that the devs love what they do. As it's a free game you should definitely give it a shot.
For me both the ranked and the MMO mode are fascinationg experiences I can't get enough off.
See you ingame
Debaka
Leader of [SOLID] Outer Heaven
Deprived faction
