I voted the above mostly cause it was funny and worth voting...
On a more realistic side, its bad. But it's not just the exp curve...I did the FFVIX grind from 50-60 twice, and enjoyed it. Slow? yes, but it was interesting enough that you didn't feel it.
I feel it here. like every painful minute...like you went to the dentist expecting novicane, but it didn't work....and they didn't realize it...and you can't talk...so your counting every second that goes by hoping to all that's holy that someone will notice you sitting there twitching in your seat...and the gurgled cries coming out of your mouth closed off by those horrible teeth dams...
That could have also just been a bad re-occurring dream. but the EXP is still bad.
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bioshrikeMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 4,729Arc User
I haven't even bothered to get the artifact main hand on any of my characters - I am not willing to put in the time to run 48 vigilance quests in Spinward just for that. If they were more like the ones in the Fiery Pit, where you could knock out several at once, without having to run everywhere, then perhaps I'd consider it...
I am just an OCD title collector and want the Island Hopper title for my toons. But much easier just to do ToD campaign and forge your weapon.lol
I just wish we could get good weapons by running the dungeons - I miss being able to get epic weapons, like we could pre-Mod 6...
Well, they have found a golden calf and are running with it. I do not mind the leveling grind as much as the RP grind. I will never pay to be BIS, so I will never be BIS. Before Mod 4 it was possible to grind BIS.
I don't want to derail things too much, but how bad is the grind to get the MH via the ToD/WoD route?
<::::::::::::::)xxxo <::::::::::::::)xxxo <::::::::::::)xxxxxxxx(:::::::::::> oxxx(::::::::::::::> oxxx(::::::::::::::> "Is it better to be feared or respected? I say, is it too much to ask for both?" -Tony Stark Official NW_Legit_Community Forums
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theycallmetomuMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 1,861Arc User
Am I the only one who likes the RP system in regards to artifact equipment?
The exact numbers are kind of a pain, and it'd be nice if when you refined one art weapon into another you got 100% of your points back, but I've never felt like I'm worse off now (equip wise) than I was before.
I haven't even bothered to get the artifact main hand on any of my characters - I am not willing to put in the time to run 48 vigilance quests in Spinward just for that. If they were more like the ones in the Fiery Pit, where you could knock out several at once, without having to run everywhere, then perhaps I'd consider it...
I am just an OCD title collector and want the Island Hopper title for my toons. But much easier just to do ToD campaign and forge your weapon.lol
I just wish we could get good weapons by running the dungeons - I miss being able to get epic weapons, like we could pre-Mod 6...
Well, they have found a golden calf and are running with it. I do not mind the leveling grind as much as the RP grind. I will never pay to be BIS, so I will never be BIS. Before Mod 4 it was possible to grind BIS.
I don't want to derail things too much, but how bad is the grind to get the MH via the ToD/WoD route?
It is around 3 weeks of just doing dailies and weeklies. Not really a grind because you have to do the campaign for the boons anyway. But since this mod is more difficult, I would not advise doing the lairs solo.
At least that way is not as much mind numbing and boring then the Spinward Rise quests...
I do believe in killing the messenger...
Want to know why?
Because it sends a message!
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putzboy78Member, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 1,950Arc User
It's outrageously bad, I will not spend money on mine new toon until it will be fully leveled up! I can't stand this endless grind!
Am I the only one who likes the RP system in regards to artifact equipment?
The exact numbers are kind of a pain, and it'd be nice if when you refined one art weapon into another you got 100% of your points back, but I've never felt like I'm worse off now (equip wise) than I was before.
Before like back in the old days when you could by the CN set for 700k or when you could buy the MC/DR ingredients for 1.8M?
It's outrageously bad, I will not spend money on mine new toon until it will be fully leveled up! I can't stand this endless grind!
I have not taken any of my multitudes of alts (1 of ea class) into any of the mod6 content with the exception of my late started OP. He is at L64 and struggling, all the others are @ 63 just doing invokes and leadership stuff.
The content is so laggy, glitched and frustrating and with the new un-needed 60-70 added grindfest, I don't see them coming out of the garage any time soon, especially the squishy types.
Not am I not only seeing me spending any $ anytime soon, with the general direction I've seen things going and lack of fixes for CURRENT content and total concentration on FUTURE content, I'm actually finding less and less in this game to endear me to in. I'm finding myself playing ever decreasing amounts and only skill setting/ invoking and leaving. If I find I can't stand it anymore, I will be spending 0 $ in the future. I'm finding I'm actually spending more time on forums and disc games!
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lirithielMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 2,482Arc User
It's outrageously bad, I will not spend money on mine new toon until it will be fully leveled up! I can't stand this endless grind!
So I decided to roll a GWF during double XP event for the class artifact and the 1-60 content just flew by. I skipped so many zones to try and make the questing more challenging while also squeezing in as many of the skirmishes as I could at least once (missed one or two again grrr). But man once I hit 60 and went to Drowned Shore I realised why I only did all the quests just once on my HR main. It drains my soul and this is during double XP. I doubt I shall ever lvl another toon outside of double XP events because saying it is slow going is a major understatement as I am likely to complete all 4 'new' zones before reaching lvl 70, which means I have to do even more Vigilance quests!
Our pain is self chosen.
The most important thing in life is to be yourself. Unless you can be Batman. Always be Batman.
It's outrageously bad, I will not spend money on mine new toon until it will be fully leveled up! I can't stand this endless grind!
Well, you're probably "missing" the Inscribed Garment and those rank 12 Azure Enchantments in every possible Utility slot... then leveling a character from 60-70 might become a bit better again.
It's outrageously bad, I will not spend money on mine new toon until it will be fully leveled up! I can't stand this endless grind!
Even with double XP I have no plans to take any more of my characters to 70. My main only got there because I forced myself to milk the Fiery Pit up to 70. 1-60 is not hard even without 2x but past that I am certainly not going to bother. Mod 6 killed the idea of any further purchases, including pack I had been eyeing for a while. If we see a total over haul in difficulty; and especially the overly tedious, mind-numbing grind of 60-70 I might be convinced to open my wallet again.
XP wise it's not that bad. The bad part is that it is boring, without a story or sense of progression through one and the repetitiveness of the quests. That's what makes it feel so slow.
Disagree; the XP curve after 60 is pretty bad and after 70 it's not even worth thinking about. Use of high-rank Azure enchants can help, and coupled with the DXP event it's been barely tolerable. I've gotten my GF from 62 to 70; now working on a SW. She's having a much harder time but that's another rant (being Temptation specced doesn't help).
Compared to what we had before certainly. But I meant objectively. It took me a week to get through Spinward Rise alone. I can level a character to 60 in that time. But that's not objective. Being objective would be asking how many people did not reach lvl70 at the end of the grind?
*Raises hand*
I levelled an alt through Spinward during the last 2 x XP event and STILL didn't hit 70 by the time I finished and got my mainhand. That's broken whichever way you look at it.
It's outrageously bad, I will not spend money on mine new toon until it will be fully leveled up! I can't stand this endless grind!
I'm leveling one of my alts during this time. With the 2x XP event running and 55% XP bonus from 5xR7 azures this just feels abusive!
How on earth does this company expect new players to get to a point where they'll want to spend money upgrading their characters? Nevermind that they'll not even think about leveling a potential alt.
I haven't even bothered to get the artifact main hand on any of my characters - I am not willing to put in the time to run 48 vigilance quests in Spinward just for that. If they were more like the ones in the Fiery Pit, where you could knock out several at once, without having to run everywhere, then perhaps I'd consider it...
I am just an OCD title collector and want the Island Hopper title for my toons. But much easier just to do ToD campaign and forge your weapon.lol
I just wish we could get good weapons by running the dungeons - I miss being able to get epic weapons, like we could pre-Mod 6...
Well, they have found a golden calf and are running with it. I do not mind the leveling grind as much as the RP grind. I will never pay to be BIS, so I will never be BIS. Before Mod 4 it was possible to grind BIS.
I don't want to derail things too much, but how bad is the grind to get the MH via the ToD/WoD route?
It is around 3 weeks of just doing dailies and weeklies. Not really a grind because you have to do the campaign for the boons anyway. But since this mod is more difficult, I would not advise doing the lairs solo.
I am taking my one and only alt, a CW, through this route and would echo the advise on the lairs. I haven't made any attempt to the WoD lairs as they would just be impossible. The ToD lairs should really be soloable but they are all Level 70 unlike the rest of the areas in which they reside, so it is not feasible to solo them while you are leveling up from 60-70....at least not with a CW. Other classes may have more luck. What is annoying about the ToD lairs is that they have to be completed to get the daily rewards from Harper Boward for her 'Common Cause' quest. Without those, picking up your boons is much, much harder, i.e. takes a whole lot longer to achieve.
I am taking my one and only alt, a CW, through this route and would echo the advise on the lairs. I haven't made any attempt to the WoD lairs as they would just be impossible. The ToD lairs should really be soloable but they are all Level 70 unlike the rest of the areas in which they reside, so it is not feasible to solo them while you are leveling up from 60-70....at least not with a CW. Other classes may have more luck. What is annoying about the ToD lairs is that they have to be completed to get the daily rewards from Harper Boward for her 'Common Cause' quest. Without those, picking up your boons is much, much harder, i.e. takes a whole lot longer to achieve.
I find this one really perplexing - you go to a low level zone to slaughter a dragon in two minutes and the accompanying lair quest is l.70 and most of them are unsoloable for an average 60-70 player. They could at least have left this well-alone to give players something else to do and achieve while grinding to 70. Of all the strange things they've done in mod 6 I find this one of the strangest.
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khimera906Member, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 898Arc User
It's outrageously bad, I will not spend money on mine new toon until it will be fully leveled up! I can't stand this endless grind!
I just finished leveling my third character to 70. She was the first after the XP nerf. The last two levels were sickening to go through, even with double XP, three R7 Azures and the bonus XP underwear. All I can say is that I feel like it sucked out my soul, like Shang Tsung style.
Last part of Spinward Rise was the worse, and after I finished I was lvl 69 ... still.
I do not have the strength to go through that again. And I'm not trying to be dramatic here. It was one of the worse experience I've had with a game.
Here's a little tip - for whomever this might not have been obvious enough.
There are two daily quests that give you a decent amount of XP and they can be finished relatively fast. I don't wanna say which, because I'm afraid they'll nerf them (you'll have to excuse my paranoia, but can you blame me?). All I can say is that both quests are given by the same NPC.
I hate dancing with Lady Luck. She always steps on my toes.
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feralplatypusMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 36Arc User
It's outrageously bad, I will not spend money on mine new toon until it will be fully leveled up! I can't stand this endless grind!
It's quite awful, tbh.
I played an MMO where leveling was even worse and I remember how glad I was to see that it's really nice in NW. That was a long time ago though.
I decided to get a pally I created not long ago to 70 during the double xp and it has sucked all fun from playing the game for me. With an additional 40% from azures it takes ages and is boring as hell.
I cannot even imagine how horrid it must be without the double xp. I know for sure that I'm not gonna create any new character because I don't want to ever again go through this. I play NW for fun. There is absolutely no fun in 60-70 leveling.
I realize it's about buying inscribed linen garments and the extra xp thingies but the harder you push, the more necessary you make it for me to spend real money on this game just to enjoy it, the less likely I am to spend even a dime.
I can't believe how bad you guys are crying over this. You should feel accomplished once you hit 70 on your main character. If you try to do it with more then one than you obiously have to much extra time.
It's outrageously bad, I will not spend money on mine new toon until it will be fully leveled up! I can't stand this endless grind!
I do like steaks, but that doesn't mean i want to eat it every day for the rest of my life...
Every now and then i prefer some chicken, rabbit, turkey or even some fish too.
Same with MMOs, i like to play something different every now and then.
It's outrageously bad, I will not spend money on mine new toon until it will be fully leveled up! I can't stand this endless grind!
I don't have the spare time to dedicate to levelling a new character from 60-70 given how long it currently takes without neglecting my main character.
I am relieved that I levelled my main before they decided it was too easy to level, despite the fact that I had to die thousands of times to get there due to the change in difficulty and the paltry potions we have to support us and our new hp limits.
I'm trying to gradually level my GWF, but I only managed to get her up 1 and a half levels over a week of my usual play time without neglecting my main. I'm really not willing to dedicate more time only to then have to grind more for a weapon, then for RP to level artifacts, then dungeons and skirmishes for the decent lvl 70 gear.
It's outrageously bad, I will not spend money on mine new toon until it will be fully leveled up! I can't stand this endless grind!
Without a doubt 60-70 leveling needs some improvement. Before 60 there is a storyline and each thing you do comes from a different part of the story along with changes of scenary. But, then you start vigilance tasks for the elemental evil stuff and good lord. Smash this...smash this same thing again...why......because.....well....ummmmm......just do it!! -.- It shreds any kind of cohesion to the storyline which in turn leaves people with the bad taste in there mouth of grinding.
I am taking my one and only alt, a CW, through this route and would echo the advise on the lairs. I haven't made any attempt to the WoD lairs as they would just be impossible. The ToD lairs should really be soloable but they are all Level 70 unlike the rest of the areas in which they reside, so it is not feasible to solo them while you are leveling up from 60-70....at least not with a CW. Other classes may have more luck. What is annoying about the ToD lairs is that they have to be completed to get the daily rewards from Harper Boward for her 'Common Cause' quest. Without those, picking up your boons is much, much harder, i.e. takes a whole lot longer to achieve.
I find this one really perplexing - you go to a low level zone to slaughter a dragon in two minutes and the accompanying lair quest is l.70 and most of them are unsoloable for an average 60-70 player. They could at least have left this well-alone to give players something else to do and achieve while grinding to 70. Of all the strange things they've done in mod 6 I find this one of the strangest.
Still don't understand why they made them level 70. If you aren't doing common cause and the lairs you're stuck at 10 arcane pages per week so until you hit 70 you get your boons at a snails pace. It's just needlessly extends the grinds for boons and makes your characters slightly less capable at finishing content that you get to at level 70.
I can't believe how bad you guys are crying over this. You should feel accomplished once you hit 70 on your main character. If you try to do it with more then one than you obiously have to much extra time.
: |
That's why it's possible to just invoke them to 70. I'm going to feel so accomplished when that happens.
I can't believe how bad you guys are crying over this. You should feel accomplished once you hit 70 on your main character. If you try to do it with more then one than you obiously have to much extra time.
Did I miss the memo where Cryptic officially changed their policy for NWO from "alt-friendy, fast paced" to "single char only, snail slow, mindnumbing grindy"?
Nope, you didn't miss it, it never happened. Neither did you miss the "we're switching to forced grouping dynamics and killing all solo content in future because our sociology profs in school told us everyone always likes a sense of community when we play together" memo.
They must have slept through the history classes though, those parts that talked about why folks broke off from their previous social groupings because they had a government that forced them in some fashion to comply. *note the pilgrims (and others) previously of Europe risking life and limb to become American. Or those parts about some guy named George in England telling folks half a world away how and what they were to do with their lives (oh and pay him taxes for that privilege).
They must have been busy texting through those sociology classes that discussed migration patterns and why explorer types left the comforts of home to leave groups and go explore. (people that explore have a sense of adventure, they explore and then write home about it, it sounds so good that others pack up their families and "go west young man".
That's the mentality a MMO needs to foster, a sense of wonderment in exploration, and excitement and opportunity for future settlers. What they have currently is, "bread and circus- placate the mob-milk them for taxes-grind those that disagree under our heels" mentality in NWO.
You can't force community, you can only foster community. You need only look to any major city and see the communal subsets. Every city has it's little china, italy, mexico, russia etc. etc. You force people into repetitive, daily content (it's the players calling it a grindfest! *grind=boring and painful not fun, fest= lot's of it) and you don't foster you are forcing. When folks feel forced they go elsewhere, they go exploring (to other MMO) and they write home about it (take all their friends).
I can't believe how bad you guys are crying over this. You should feel accomplished once you hit 70 on your main character. If you try to do it with more then one than you obiously have to much extra time.
Did I miss the memo where Cryptic officially changed their policy for NWO from "alt-friendy, fast paced" to "single char only, snail slow, mindnumbing grindy"?
Nope, you didn't miss it, it never happened. Neither did you miss the "we're switching to forced grouping dynamics and killing all solo content in future because our sociology profs in school told us everyone always likes a sense of community when we play together" memo.
They must have slept through the history classes though, those parts that talked about why folks broke off from their previous social groupings because they had a government that forced them in some fashion to comply. *note the pilgrims (and others) previously of Europe risking life and limb to become American. Or those parts about some guy named George in England telling folks half a world away how and what they were to do with their lives (oh and pay him taxes for that privilege).
They must have been busy texting through those sociology classes that discussed migration patterns and why explorer types left the comforts of home to leave groups and go explore. (people that explore have a sense of adventure, they explore and then write home about it, it sounds so good that others pack up their families and "go west young man".
That's the mentality a MMO needs to foster, a sense of wonderment in exploration, and excitement and opportunity for future settlers. What they have currently is, "bread and circus- placate the mob-milk them for taxes-grind those that disagree under our heels" mentality in NWO.
You can't force community, you can only foster community. You need only look to any major city and see the communal subsets. Every city has it's little china, italy, mexico, russia etc. etc. You force people into repetitive, daily content (it's the players calling it a grindfest! *grind=boring and painful not fun, fest= lot's of it) and you don't foster you are forcing. When folks feel forced they go elsewhere, they go exploring (to other MMO) and they write home about it (take all their friends).
WOW! Best post I have ever read in regards to community in relation to MMORPG's. The best game I have ever played was actually ultima online back in it's glory years. If you where good you could solo anything in the game with a lot of patience and a lot of luck and a lot of skill especially if you was a tamer. You did not need a holy trinity because it honestly did not exist. You did however group up with friends and go in dungeons because it was fun you was able to get stuff killed faster.
Dungeons in UO was nothing to really write home about. Best gear was made with material you harvested. So about the only thing from Dungeons you could get was gold and loot to sell to vendors. Yet you always seen people in dungeons. Ohh that is another thing dungeons where not instanced. You sometimes ran into 20 or 30 people running around the dungeon. You would stop talk say hey how is it going. If they where alone you might be nice and invite them to your group and if things went good you made a new friend.
From early in UO as you just start out they put you in an island with other new people just like yourself. You would party up and usually during that time you would make friends that lasted your entire career of UO. It was conducive to make friends and group together to learn together and set goals together in UO. Nothing was forced. It is because of that one game that games like this game exist as it was UO that was the very first game to be called an MMORPG. Was it the first MMORPG? I think there was a couple before UO but they where not called MMORPG's because it was the creator of UO who coined that term to describe his game.
So honestly I think what games should do is return to the basics. Not force but make the game more conducive to forming game bonding partnerships.
I agree with alot of the previous two post, you can't force a community together, look at the troubles in Africa and the middle east where different peoples were forced into arbitrary states following colonialism.
A good Dungeon Master never, (OK rarely), forces his players into a situation, it's much more amusing to let them find different ways to get into trouble, Ok a smart DM may have made 3 paths that end up with them chasing the evil wizard to the same place, a dumb DM would have 1 path littered with unavoidable traps.
Some of my most vivid memories of early Everquest, were running across hostile terrain to a safe spot, to look or WAIT for a group. Ok the run may have taken 45 mins, waiting for a spot in High Hold Keep basement may take 20, but you know what I could tradeskill items that I could sell for profit while waiting, I could talk to the people in the zone, We were all in the same boat, we had things to talk about even if we'd never met before, that is what fostered community. In an open world, we'd chosen to be where we were.
Also it was shiny and new and, uhm we had no alternative except the basement on fridays with the guys,the dice and a lot of cheetos. And at least the you couldn't smell the guys on line.
I'm part of the small minority that thinks it's fine.
I've played MMOs where leveling was much slower.
It's the journey, not the destination.
Folks are bored leveling, bored running content, running out of content, bored being bored.
Being a video game dev must be one of the most frustrating careers.
Comments
On a more realistic side, its bad. But it's not just the exp curve...I did the FFVIX grind from 50-60 twice, and enjoyed it. Slow? yes, but it was interesting enough that you didn't feel it.
I feel it here. like every painful minute...like you went to the dentist expecting novicane, but it didn't work....and they didn't realize it...and you can't talk...so your counting every second that goes by hoping to all that's holy that someone will notice you sitting there twitching in your seat...and the gurgled cries coming out of your mouth closed off by those horrible teeth dams...
That could have also just been a bad re-occurring dream. but the EXP is still bad.
I don't want to derail things too much, but how bad is the grind to get the MH via the ToD/WoD route?
"Is it better to be feared or respected? I say, is it too much to ask for both?" -Tony Stark
Official NW_Legit_Community Forums
The exact numbers are kind of a pain, and it'd be nice if when you refined one art weapon into another you got 100% of your points back, but I've never felt like I'm worse off now (equip wise) than I was before.
Before like back in the old days when you could by the CN set for 700k or when you could buy the MC/DR ingredients for 1.8M?
The content is so laggy, glitched and frustrating and with the new un-needed 60-70 added grindfest, I don't see them coming out of the garage any time soon, especially the squishy types.
Not am I not only seeing me spending any $ anytime soon, with the general direction I've seen things going and lack of fixes for CURRENT content and total concentration on FUTURE content, I'm actually finding less and less in this game to endear me to in. I'm finding myself playing ever decreasing amounts and only skill setting/ invoking and leaving. If I find I can't stand it anymore, I will be spending 0 $ in the future. I'm finding I'm actually spending more time on forums and disc games!
The most important thing in life is to be yourself. Unless you can be Batman. Always be Batman.
I was so bored that I gave up on the last part of Spinward Rise and just did the tome of air quests until I hit 70.
All 16 of my other characters are parked and will probably get invoked to 70 because of that garbage.
I levelled an alt through Spinward during the last 2 x XP event and STILL didn't hit 70 by the time I finished and got my mainhand. That's broken whichever way you look at it.
Aelar Hawkwind - Archer
Karrin Feywinter - Mistress of Flame
Errin Duskwalker - Executioner
Darquess - Soulbinder
How on earth does this company expect new players to get to a point where they'll want to spend money upgrading their characters? Nevermind that they'll not even think about leveling a potential alt.
I find this one really perplexing - you go to a low level zone to slaughter a dragon in two minutes and the accompanying lair quest is l.70 and most of them are unsoloable for an average 60-70 player. They could at least have left this well-alone to give players something else to do and achieve while grinding to 70. Of all the strange things they've done in mod 6 I find this one of the strangest.
Last part of Spinward Rise was the worse, and after I finished I was lvl 69 ... still.
I do not have the strength to go through that again. And I'm not trying to be dramatic here. It was one of the worse experience I've had with a game.
Here's a little tip - for whomever this might not have been obvious enough.
There are two daily quests that give you a decent amount of XP and they can be finished relatively fast. I don't wanna say which, because I'm afraid they'll nerf them (you'll have to excuse my paranoia, but can you blame me?). All I can say is that both quests are given by the same NPC.
I played an MMO where leveling was even worse and I remember how glad I was to see that it's really nice in NW. That was a long time ago though.
I decided to get a pally I created not long ago to 70 during the double xp and it has sucked all fun from playing the game for me. With an additional 40% from azures it takes ages and is boring as hell.
I cannot even imagine how horrid it must be without the double xp. I know for sure that I'm not gonna create any new character because I don't want to ever again go through this. I play NW for fun. There is absolutely no fun in 60-70 leveling.
I realize it's about buying inscribed linen garments and the extra xp thingies but the harder you push, the more necessary you make it for me to spend real money on this game just to enjoy it, the less likely I am to spend even a dime.
Every now and then i prefer some chicken, rabbit, turkey or even some fish too.
Same with MMOs, i like to play something different every now and then.
I am relieved that I levelled my main before they decided it was too easy to level, despite the fact that I had to die thousands of times to get there due to the change in difficulty and the paltry potions we have to support us and our new hp limits.
I'm trying to gradually level my GWF, but I only managed to get her up 1 and a half levels over a week of my usual play time without neglecting my main. I'm really not willing to dedicate more time only to then have to grind more for a weapon, then for RP to level artifacts, then dungeons and skirmishes for the decent lvl 70 gear.
Still don't understand why they made them level 70. If you aren't doing common cause and the lairs you're stuck at 10 arcane pages per week so until you hit 70 you get your boons at a snails pace. It's just needlessly extends the grinds for boons and makes your characters slightly less capable at finishing content that you get to at level 70.
: |
That's why it's possible to just invoke them to 70. I'm going to feel so accomplished when that happens.
Nope, you didn't miss it, it never happened. Neither did you miss the "we're switching to forced grouping dynamics and killing all solo content in future because our sociology profs in school told us everyone always likes a sense of community when we play together" memo.
They must have slept through the history classes though, those parts that talked about why folks broke off from their previous social groupings because they had a government that forced them in some fashion to comply. *note the pilgrims (and others) previously of Europe risking life and limb to become American. Or those parts about some guy named George in England telling folks half a world away how and what they were to do with their lives (oh and pay him taxes for that privilege).
They must have been busy texting through those sociology classes that discussed migration patterns and why explorer types left the comforts of home to leave groups and go explore. (people that explore have a sense of adventure, they explore and then write home about it, it sounds so good that others pack up their families and "go west young man".
That's the mentality a MMO needs to foster, a sense of wonderment in exploration, and excitement and opportunity for future settlers. What they have currently is, "bread and circus- placate the mob-milk them for taxes-grind those that disagree under our heels" mentality in NWO.
You can't force community, you can only foster community. You need only look to any major city and see the communal subsets. Every city has it's little china, italy, mexico, russia etc. etc. You force people into repetitive, daily content (it's the players calling it a grindfest! *grind=boring and painful not fun, fest= lot's of it) and you don't foster you are forcing. When folks feel forced they go elsewhere, they go exploring (to other MMO) and they write home about it (take all their friends).
WOW! Best post I have ever read in regards to community in relation to MMORPG's. The best game I have ever played was actually ultima online back in it's glory years. If you where good you could solo anything in the game with a lot of patience and a lot of luck and a lot of skill especially if you was a tamer. You did not need a holy trinity because it honestly did not exist. You did however group up with friends and go in dungeons because it was fun you was able to get stuff killed faster.
Dungeons in UO was nothing to really write home about. Best gear was made with material you harvested. So about the only thing from Dungeons you could get was gold and loot to sell to vendors. Yet you always seen people in dungeons. Ohh that is another thing dungeons where not instanced. You sometimes ran into 20 or 30 people running around the dungeon. You would stop talk say hey how is it going. If they where alone you might be nice and invite them to your group and if things went good you made a new friend.
From early in UO as you just start out they put you in an island with other new people just like yourself. You would party up and usually during that time you would make friends that lasted your entire career of UO. It was conducive to make friends and group together to learn together and set goals together in UO. Nothing was forced. It is because of that one game that games like this game exist as it was UO that was the very first game to be called an MMORPG. Was it the first MMORPG? I think there was a couple before UO but they where not called MMORPG's because it was the creator of UO who coined that term to describe his game.
So honestly I think what games should do is return to the basics. Not force but make the game more conducive to forming game bonding partnerships.
A good Dungeon Master never, (OK rarely), forces his players into a situation, it's much more amusing to let them find different ways to get into trouble, Ok a smart DM may have made 3 paths that end up with them chasing the evil wizard to the same place, a dumb DM would have 1 path littered with unavoidable traps.
Some of my most vivid memories of early Everquest, were running across hostile terrain to a safe spot, to look or WAIT for a group. Ok the run may have taken 45 mins, waiting for a spot in High Hold Keep basement may take 20, but you know what I could tradeskill items that I could sell for profit while waiting, I could talk to the people in the zone, We were all in the same boat, we had things to talk about even if we'd never met before, that is what fostered community. In an open world, we'd chosen to be where we were.
Also it was shiny and new and, uhm we had no alternative except the basement on fridays with the guys,the dice and a lot of cheetos. And at least the you couldn't smell the guys on line.
I've played MMOs where leveling was much slower.
It's the journey, not the destination.
Folks are bored leveling, bored running content, running out of content, bored being bored.
Being a video game dev must be one of the most frustrating careers.