I've been doing alpha and beta for the past 3 months on the game, and while I would still recommend you get it, I would also recommend you wait until they have fixed a number of issues and settled into what they actually want. There are a few stipulations as to who I would recommend buy this game though.
If you like gear progression and like feeling like you are getting stronger as time goes on, this game is not for you. Defiance uses a linear path progression system. That means that you can finish the game with the starting pistol, and many people have gone on to prove this. There are levels in the game, but the most important thing they give you are ego points, those points allow you minor upgrades, but nothing game stopping.
If you don't enjoy games that limit you to two weapons on a load out, this game isn't for you. Though it is pretty simple after you get a few ego levels in you to just create a few load outs with your favorite guns and swap between them.
If you don't like bunny hopping and rocket spam, this game is not for you. PvP has degraded into pure rocket spam, grenade spam, and bunny hopping, because that is what's effective.
The entire game is balanced around PvP, so enemies get harder and harder, but your weapons don't really change. There are minor variances between a white weapon and a purple weapon, but nothing game stopping.
You can level up your weapon skills, but you have to keep changing weapons in that type (I.E. you use your favorite assault rifle and max it out on experience, now you no longer gain experience towards your assault rifle score, you have to find a whole new assault rifle to continue gaining experience).
The AI is terrible, and will track you down even if you one shot your enemy and then go into cloak mode (invisible). In fact the only real difference cloak makes is that you get to regen your shield since they stop shooting at you while it is up. They will continue to follow you if they are already aware of you though.
If you plan on sniping be prepared to not be able to use the max range on the sniper rifle. The max range is listed somewhere around 200m, but at 80m you reach the draw distance for characters and enemies. This means that even though your sniper can hit something from 200m (and in fact does greater crit range the further away you are) you won't be able to see or hit anything further away than about 80m (though if you get to the max draw distance and zoom in on them then back up slowly you can get out to about 120m or so).
If you are looking for any kind of realism this game isn't for you (though I don't consider this to be a bad thing). It will take you multiple headshots with any weapon you choose. You can get the highest damage weapon in the game (barring shotguns) and crit headshot the later enemies or players and it will not kill them. In fact it will take you at least two headshots with that gun. If you are using ARs or SMGs plan on it taking between 10 and 50 headshots (unless it is a boss, then expect way more). The only gun you can get a one shot kill with (most of the time)is the double barrel shotgun, but you will be fighting so many enemies that the reload will likely kill you.
Do buy this game if you enjoyed borderlands. This game is almost exactly like borderlands online (with the exception of there being no progression on the weapons). So if you really enjoyed borderlands, but wanted a more pvp oriented version of the game, this is your game.
The storyline is great and well worth the price of admission. I also enjoyed the "story missions" (the missions that will have some kind of show tie in) quite a bit. There are special missions that you can do that are instanced and require a group (though I am convinced you can do them solo if you are careful) that have different stories all to themselves. There are challenges and side missions galore and many other things to keep you entertained for quite awhile (not to mention a soft level cap of about 5000).
So, if you are not turned off by bugs and glitches and prefer to get into a game as early as possible then you should go for it now. If bugs and glitches "bug" you, or you would rather wait for a more polished version of the game, then wait a few months to pick it up. If anything I said about the game sounds like a deal breaker, than avoid it at all costs. I personally intend to pick the game up after the price has gone down and the second season of the show is out, so that I know this isn't going to be something that just dies off quickly. I also believe that it will end up going F2P some point in the future, and I don't see the point in paying the largest amount of money for the (likely to be) worst version of the game.
oh, got a question so this post isn't useless. How are the quests? Go kill X collect Y then go to Z?
