Why I don't research builds before playing a game.

   We've all done it at least once before, a new game catches our attention and suddenly we have the need to know what the most powerful build in the game is and just how to make it. The problem I have with this is the fact that it takes so much away from the experience of beginning a new game. With the integration of the internet and smart phones into our daily lives we have forgotten what it feels like to just buy a game and jump right in, exploring and creating our characters as we play using the materials we find along the way.

   I personally go out of my way to learn as little as possible about a game before I play it. I may research some minor introductory mechanics that the game itself does not explain to my satisfaction but other than that I tend to go into a game completely blind. I find that by doing so I get a fresh clean view of the game itself and the game becomes a bit more of a challenge since I have to actually think about what is going to be available to me from the start and how to utilize those things to my advantage.

   You see for me if I am starting a new game it is actually necessary for me to feel like a total newb when starting. If I know everything there is to know about the game before I even begin everything just seems too easy and too streamlined. Since everything I needed was already laid down in front of me there is no learning from mistakes and accidental discoveries. In essence it's just another case of SSDD with different characters and loot tables.

   Am I saying that everyone should follow this way of thinking? No! Some people enjoy following a designated path to a powerful build and then owning everything around them, some people follow builds in order to better enjoy  the content of the game to it's fullness and some people just do not have a lot of time to play and decide to get the most for their time by letting others make the mistakes for them. I simply prefer to start everything from scratch exploring a world I know absolutely nothing about. I am in essence an explorer and so I prefer to begin a game with as little prior knowledge as possible. I build my first character in blindness and then use my trials and errors along with information I gather from other players after my fist play-through to make a stronger and better character afterwards.

If you enjoy exploring and learning from your own experiences I would strongly encourage you join me in not researching character builds before playing it through.

Much Love <3
LiraKitty