The Manaan Stronghold is finally here. Basking pristinely in its vast oceanscape, its rounded metallic roof and walls seem a fitting residence for kings and queens of this habitable domain. That is once you pay the 2.5 million/2500 CC price tag, of course. But we knew that was coming. In fact we'd been warned in advance that this was yet again another credit sink. So was the prize worth the price tag? Let's start with some observations - good and bad.
The eye can be deceiving when you are finally plopped down on the flight platform from the cinematic. It looks huge. Not quite Yavin 4 huge, but large nonetheless. The long entryway leading to the interior has some pretty fountains and other water features. The lines are clean and rounded giving the overall appearance of tranquility. There are several outside wall hooks and a decent assortment of small, medium, large, and centerpiece hooks around the grounds.
And a hint - you get a starship hook as well. Don't see it? Look up and to your right as your facing the front of the building. You'll see a bit of purple hook peeking over the edge. First impression is that this is a really nice outside set up.
And then you reach the front door.
Irritated is probably the first word that came to mind as I clicked on the door only to be asked for another 2 million credits. I mean I haven't even come in out of the rain yet, so to speak, and they've got their grubby mitts out again. Ok, fine. I knew it was a money sink (thinking of Yavin 4 again), I paid the extortion. Bear with me, please. Yavin 4, for the initial price you pay, gives you a large landing pad, a rough trail to the building with some leafy tropical plants blowing in the breeze, a large entryway room. So stands to reason that expectations are pretty high that if we are going to pay 4 million credits for anything, that we'd get a slightly better return on our investment. Instead, we get a hallway. And an elevator. Let's just say I was less than enthused at this point. I've paid 4 million credits and I don't even have a proper room yet.
The first hint of a bright spot was when I rolled the dice and went downstairs first. Stepping off the elevator the first thing that draws your eye is a large glass dome in the middle of floor. And below that you see coral reef, fish swimming by and bubbles rising. I could probably stand there all day and watch it. I had kind of hoped that every so often something large and dark would swim by but I figured an animal of that size wouldn't hang out in the shallower waters of a reef. But you do get a pufferfish-looking dude hanging out in his spot, so I figure I'll take what I can get. His name is George, just in case you were wondering.
However, if you spend a little time looking out of the windows of your new Underwater Observatory rooms, that large, dark thing will indeed swim by. Score!
My attitude by this point is, "Well, I'm already bleeding credits. Why stop now?" I go ahead and pay for both Underwater Observatory rooms, and the Rooftop Garden. This time I feel grateful that they gave me the outside terrace as well as the garden room itself as a package deal.
All in all I was pleased with the number of decoration hooks this place has to offer. Some of them are put in some curious places though. In the Observation Rooms, there are two flooring or carpet hooks, but they are located at the far ends of the room from each other, only leaving a large centerpiece decoration in the middle. So no carpet in the middle?
Another pleasant surprise is the change they made in the centerpiece hook. You now have several different layouts to choose from should you not not want one big massive piece in the middle of the room.
The outside terrace of the garden rooftop is one of my favorite spots. There is a nice hook space with two centerpiece squares, a handful of medium hooks and large hooks on the pillars. May be time for my Rishi Tiki hut idea?
Ultimately, Manaan's stronghold is a beautiful, tranquil money sink. For as large as it looks, its surprisingly very small. I felt like I probably should have gotten more space for all the credits I spent. If you are a player where credits are not an object, then I'll think, overall, you'll be pleased with some of the aesthetic things you get at Manaan that you don't get elsewhere. But if you're looking for space, or even a revolutionary stronghold experience, you'll still be waiting for one. Its knacky pleasant points don't make up for the negatives. I guess where I feel the most disappointed is there was such an opportunity for innovation when planning this and instead we got as-minimum-an-effort-as-we-could-get-away-with. With a 8,375,000 credit price tag. Awesome.
EDIT: Here is my vlog on Youtube!
~~~ Scrappywheelz ~~
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