I just recently got into LD and have had 2 successful WILDs. The most recent one however definitely seemed like it wasn't working when I thought I was dreaming.
It felt like I was still awake with my eyes closed, with a slight feeling of my bed around me. And when I started imagining things, it just felt like I was using my imagination - except it was more 3-dimensional and had more shape to it.

Is this all part of learning and being noob? Vividness will come I hope?

And should I just give up on other techniques, like reality checks and such, if WILDing seems to work? or is there advantage to be well rounded?

-Josh