WolfTeam Classic thoughts and what it is supposed to bring

 WolfTeam, once a fun game...

WolfTeam, a game where you're able to play as both human and a werewolf. It's first beta was in 2007 and continued its beta over to 2008 until it's global release which, according to statistics from 2011, reached around 1,2 million players in total. The game itself seemed to be really fun and provided something...fresh, so to speak. The fact that you could use both human and a werewolf form in normal game modes, such as deathmatch, ice hold, destruction, etc. was so interesting as a mechanic it felt like you could, with time, get into the game and have a good time. By definition, you could say this was, at the time, the best free to play MMOFPS game you could play. By another definition, the game itself for those who have played the game, would be considered the best F2P experience with soft, but friendly premium content that didn't give much of an edge, but relied on the player's own skill to make the plays.

A screenshot from WolfTeam AeriaGames' Media. This screenshot reflects the beta but also accurately demonstrates what a classic WolfTeam could be. The old basic characters being replaced doesn't bother me. These were still the characters that fit in WolfTeam's theme.

Yet after the introduction of new content, such as characters and the armor it started to go slowly into disarray. By disarray I mean that the content gave an edge for those who would be paying for the items to get "best equipment" to just mindlessly stat-pad your own statistics in K/DR (Kill/Death Ratio). Eventually the developers seemed to think that they should introduce weapons that in design were awful and caused discord in the community. The timeline for these content would be starting around 2011 onward and the content that paved the way for moneybagged players to purchase these items just to be better and have better survivability. 

My personal experience with the game starts from 2009. I had the opportunity to start it a bit earlier but I never got really into the game until a friend of mine eventually pulled me into the wonderful experience in WolfTeam. I started out as many newbies probably would: No sense of idea what to do and just trying to understand the game. I was horrible at the game, I could not even understand how to properly use an assault rifle or any sort of guns in the game. At the time I seemed to enjoy playing the wolves in certain game modes. Eventually I think around 2010 I was starting to get better at the game and I was doing some montages of my own gameplay with Windows Movie Maker at the time. I only had a laptop and a wired mouse but nevertheless I enjoyed the game. Eventually in the same year I got my first desktop PC and switched my mice into a gaming mouse. Come 2011 I was close to what some would say "pro" level but I didn't want to qualify myself into that category. Eventually I also got my account banned. Reason? I was an immature child at the time so I ended up sharing my account with a friend which eventually seemed to result in the ban. 

Come 2013 when I managed to get my account back again, I was hungry and wanted to get much better at the game, which at the time I had peaked in my overall skill level with using human form mainly and just sticking to guns. My favourites were AUZ A2 Covra and EF- 2000 WT or the skin-versions such as MC and Limited Edition. I entered into a tournament, Tournament of Champions. At the time I had basically nothing good but it was evident that I wouldn't be able to have a good chance in the tournament if I didn't have overpowered items. I only needed to get premium characters and effective armor to tank bullets and possible wolf damage. At the time I was close with friends on the clan Mercenary so I requested the clan leader, J31G, if he could give me some of these items that would allow me to compete in even playfield. I personally hated the fact I needed to have these OP items. Yet I gave myself a restriction that I would not fully equip every armor part: just the vest and elbow/knee pads + boots. I did not wear any head protection or extra hp as I wanted people to just aim for the head and to show some form of respect for my friends who would have rather played free-to-play style.

Eventually, I did win the tournament, although I would've almost not been able to compete in the semis /finals since I was, once again, banned for a period of time.After winning the tournament I felt like I had achieved my goals in the game: I won a tournament with the help of friends and I believed I had dedicated the win for the Mercenary clan and to those who preferred to play "old school" (free-to-play, no OP items, basically the beta and 2009-2010 period of time). Forward about a year or two and I even ended up becoming a GS(Game Sage) but I quit after a month since my drive for the game was waning and slowly just dying. The game had gotten to a point that it just didn't feel fun: It had become something that now plagues itself... Pay to win.

Now, why am I going to say the  title would've inspired hope and vivid dreams of the golden times. Why is"WolfTeam Classic" supposed to be the return to form and get back to the roots of what made the game one of the best but didn't end up being just that?

I could say that the return to glory for WolfTeam is long denied and now seems to be a dead dream for many including myself. Maybe it is also the company's decision to just bait new players and older players such as myself into believing that we could get this amazing experience again what we had in 2007-2010. WolfTeam Classic, despite a promising title, ended up being a distant cry and a disappointment. If you have seen some of the streams about WolfTeam Classic since 02/18/2021 onward you could probably see what I mean by disappointing or a similar expression.

You should NOT expect to have the WolfTeam return to its glory days from 2007-2010 or so. Many former players would probably agree that in terms of f2p and fairness this time period is the best. I won't deny that others would prefer the state the game is in now and I won't blame them. Maybe there is still something good in the game but personally? I don't expect to return to the game unless WolfTeam's developers do it right.

Can you imagine how well received WolfTeam would have been again if we managed to get WolfTeam Classic to the roots of the decade-success it had around 2007-2010? The game was still popular enough after 2011 but by then it was going to slowly decline in player population when overpowered items came to be. While WolfTeam Classic attempts to hit the sweet spot of rebalanced gameplay and catch that feel of old-school with modern weapons that are currently in the game is it what people had hoped for? If we look at the content available for WolfTeam Classic it is possible to say that it might be the closest we can get to old-school.

As it is now: WolfTeam is fumbling and the "hyped" release(for a lack of better word) has left some of the old-school players disappointed or left wanting more out of it.  Perhaps WolfTeam Classic was a disappointment to some.

This is my own assumption about WolfTeam Classic and have based these views based on what I have seen in YouTube streams. This blog is mostly just me being critical toward the game in terms of what you can see with your own eyes with the available content so far that you can watch on YouTube, hence me outright bashing on the game.