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Man, do I wish you didn't level so quickly in this game!

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  • pizzamuraipizzamurai Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    Not from my seat. The most fragile thing in this game to me is the blinding speed to get to the end game which causes a complete disenfranchisement with the characters we build.

    Cardboard cookiecutter characters, Cardboard cookiecutter gear. Thank God for the Foundry.

    And dont EVER put my name in a conversation about wow again, please. I don't judge my D&D enjoyment from wow. No ropleplayer/ D&D enthusiast worth their weight would even try.

    Say what you will about WoW (I'm not even comparing the games, just the amount of content, so rest easy), it gave people choices where they wanted to level. It had and still has a massive wealth of content to the point that you could level 2-3 toons and never have to do the same quests twice (double that if you factor in factions). It's a farcry from this game, where some zones are -literally- snake-like lines on your map with invisible walls to stop you from going where you WANT to go, which is to explore, to sate your curious side about what's on the other side of the mountain. Even worse, there is one, count them, one zone for each level bracket there is. Where's the variety in that? But I'll drop that end of the discussion for now since you don't want to participate, and I don't like forcing people to participate in things they do not like doing (fancy that).

    Answer me this, how many of those players that blaze to 60 as their sole purpose in this game do you honestly expect to be long term players of this game? Why do you want to cater to them?

    Yes, the foundry is a good start, I agree, but it needs some major features like full party level scaling or manual sidekicking for it to be a viable thing in MMOs (Specially if it's supposed to be what this game is going to lean upon for people who want to level alts but don't want to do the same exact content again). Do you disagree?
  • cyber1955cyber1955 Member Posts: 2 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    Leveling in Neverwinter is certainly a lot faster than my days of playing Everquest. It would be an interesting study to see the business case for a free to play game, leveling speed and how much the players spend in real money. Everquest was a subscription game, so stretching out the leveling time made sense because people paid to play. The more calendar days you took to level and the longer you played, the more money the company would make.

    For Neverwinter as free to play, they make money by Zen or Zen conversion to AD, and I guess that is for the purpose of gear. Right now it does not have any benefit to buy a better item at level 30, because it will be outdated in a matter of hours, so I guess the quick leveling is to get to a plateau where you can focus on gear or items where they make money.

    Do I like the faster leveling... maybe. I certainly spent a lot of hours in the same Everquest zone, often at the exact same location, doing the same thing over and over to work on a level. By the end of that time you knew ever bush, tree, post and marker in the zone and never needed a map. But do I want to repeat that grind?

    I am torn a bit, but I think I like the feel of Neverwinter at this point. I only have one character, and after a couple weeks of calendar time I am at 44. If they slowed it down a bit, I would not complain. ( I am amazed I get XP for praying) If they slowed it down by a factor of 10x or 20x to make it like Everquest, I am not sure I would like it.

    If I am Perfect World/Cryptic Studios - I think I keep the leveling quick. Get players to the level cap, have them start to buy gear and spend money. If I want players at level 30 to start buying gear, then I would have to slow down leveling by 10x and I don't think that would work.
  • aandrethegiantaandrethegiant Member Posts: 3,369 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    pizzamurai wrote: »
    Yes, the foundry is a good start, I agree, but it needs some major features like full party level scaling or manual sidekicking for it to be a viable thing in MMOs (Specially if it's supposed to be what this game is going to lean upon for people who want to level alts but don't want to do the same exact content again). Do you disagree?

    I disagree with all your wow comparisions from too many angles to mention.... however I totally agree with you here.

    All content in the game needs party level scaling. But before we worry about party level scaling, Cryptic needs a real LFG/LFM system, and badly.

    TYRS PALADIUM - A Premier Neverwinter Online Guild
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  • sanmercisanmerci Member Posts: 203 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    I'm not going to reiterate my entire post here; I am going to ask the main question again, though: Is there a reason we couldn't offer a choice of leveling speeds at character creation?

    What I'm reading seems to be a whole bunch of people complaining that the ONLY way (or, at least, the only VALID way) to have fun is to do it their way. All other ways are there because the opposing side is a either a need-it-now or a hardcore-mmo-junkie-with-no-life, and both sides are stipulating that the other side needs to die off. Why can't both groups enjoy the game in their own preferred way?
  • elessymelessym Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    Really, all that's needed is an XP-on/off toggle.
    "Participation in PVP-related activities is so low on an hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly basis that we could in fact just completely take it out of STO and it would not impact the overall number of people [who] log in to the game and play in any significant way." -Gozer, Cryptic PvP Dev
  • desertwolphdesertwolph Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 3 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    What do you consider fast? I've been playing for about two weeks now and just hit 30 last night.
  • elessymelessym Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    What do you consider fast? I've been playing for about two weeks now and just hit 30 last night.

    You could make a level a week (roughly) just off the XP from invoking once a day. Which takes 7 x 5 seconds or so?

    I consider that fast.
    "Participation in PVP-related activities is so low on an hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly basis that we could in fact just completely take it out of STO and it would not impact the overall number of people [who] log in to the game and play in any significant way." -Gozer, Cryptic PvP Dev
  • bastadbastad Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 20 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    Lower exp on mobs/quests, then add a "kill 10,000" monsters in this zone to continue.
  • morsitansmorsitans Member, Neverwinter Beta Users Posts: 1,284 Bounty Hunter
    edited June 2013
    elessym wrote: »
    You could make a level a week (roughly) just off the XP from invoking once a day. Which takes 7 x 5 seconds or so?
    No, that takes a week.
  • chai23chai23 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    The problem with comparing to WOW is when WOW got a new expansion the old stuff was a ghost town. Saying it gave choices of where you wanted to level is merely semantics, because the better Xp was had in the newer content. No one cares about 90% of the old world stuff when the new expansion is released.

    Newer MMos are learning from that mistake by doing a few things, like standardizing the Xp amounts from same level quests/encounters etc. They also allow players to level from multiple angles. This game may get to the point where I want to level future alts completely on foundry, because it will be the 100% original virgin content that hasnt been played and metagamed to death.
  • jerchakjerchak Member, Neverwinter Beta Users Posts: 24 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    jpnole wrote: »
    Why do people ***** about leveling too fast? Some of us aren't basement dwellers with 24/7 gaming lives.

    I work two Jobs plus full time school and I have a BIG issue with making lvl 60 within 3 weeks time... It IS too fast.
    If you are a power leveler only after grinding end game dungeons to be a cool kid I can see your point on this comment. But I for one like to PLAY the game not just plug in a Game Genie and beat the internet.
  • aandrethegiantaandrethegiant Member Posts: 3,369 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    chai23 wrote: »
    The problem with comparing to WOW is when WOW got a new expansion the old stuff was a ghost town. Saying it gave choices of where you wanted to level is merely semantics, because the better Xp was had in the newer content. No one cares about 90% of the old world stuff when the new expansion is released.

    Newer MMos are learning from that mistake by doing a few things, like standardizing the Xp amounts from same level quests/encounters etc. They also allow players to level from multiple angles. This game may get to the point where I want to level future alts completely on foundry, because it will be the 100% original virgin content that hasnt been played and metagamed to death.

    Very good point, and I've heard it time and time in game and on the forums. No doubt the Foundry will extend this game's life for many of us.

    TYRS PALADIUM - A Premier Neverwinter Online Guild
    No Drama. Camaraderie. TEAM Focus. That's the TYRS way. If that's your style, come join us!
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  • sanmercisanmerci Member Posts: 203 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    jerchak wrote: »
    I work two Jobs plus full time school and I have a BIG issue with making lvl 60 within 3 weeks time... It IS too fast.
    If you are a power leveler only after grinding end game dungeons to be a cool kid I can see your point on this comment. But I for one like to PLAY the game not just plug in a Game Genie and beat the internet.

    Dude, you're letting your age show with that Game Genie comment...

    This is exactly my point, though- why should you be forced to level quickly if you don't want to (and, I should add here, having to skip content in order to slow down leveling is an inadequate solution at best)? On the other hand, if I want to level to the end in record time, why should I be reined in to only advance at your pace?

    Also... what is up with all the highly prejudicial terms and connotative phrasing? Why imply that people who enjoy leveling quickly are NOT playing the game or have wrong ideas about what endgame is all about? That seems counter-productive.
  • pizzamuraipizzamurai Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    chai23 wrote: »
    The problem with comparing to WOW is when WOW got a new expansion the old stuff was a ghost town. Saying it gave choices of where you wanted to level is merely semantics, because the better Xp was had in the newer content. No one cares about 90% of the old world stuff when the new expansion is released.

    Newer MMos are learning from that mistake by doing a few things, like standardizing the Xp amounts from same level quests/encounters etc. They also allow players to level from multiple angles. This game may get to the point where I want to level future alts completely on foundry, because it will be the 100% original virgin content that hasnt been played and metagamed to death.

    Except cataclysm... which literally remade pretty much the entire world and most of its quests and in the process also allowed people to level through oquesting, dungeons, or pvp (even crafting if you were so obliged to farm resource nodes). I am not here to debate what game is better than what but you cannot deny the level of content they put out was massive. I simply brought up the comparison because people who only want to quest for the story had several options where they wanted to go.

    In this game, they have one option. The foundry is not counted in this because it is player generated content. The devs lifted not a finger to have any of it created aside from making the tool itself available. Dont take this to mean I do not love the foundry. I do. It is currently the only reason I have hope for this game.
  • ixotlixotl Member Posts: 310 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    Many interesting posts here. Adding my 2ADs now:
    1) XP on/off toggle. I've been thinking the same thing, apply it individually to such things as Invocation, Foundry, Skirmish, Dungeon Delves, PvP, Story Quests. Add to Launcher, where Character is selected, for a Character (gameplay) Profile.
    2) XP reduction percentage. Apply across the board or per items listed in 1). This would allow you to set a progression rate more to your needs/liking/game style. For example, want to level in 2 hours gameplay at whatever level you're at? Keep it 100%. Want to level in 10 hours? Set it to 20%. (Actually percentages would require knowing precisely how the game was designed)
    3) Fixed XP amount. Each quest/mob/XP reward is the same amount no matter the level. Since your character has to gain more points for each level, then low levels go quickly while higher levels take longer. Today the XP reward increases along with the increase in XP required to level.
    4) Increase/decrease the amount of XP required per character level to meet your playing style or desire. Knowing you may linger for quite some time in a limited set of Zones (or one Zone) OR skip right past huge sections of game content.

    Another thing to consider is should drops be geared to your character level rather than the zone level? To enjoy a Zone's content today means you get lots of useless stuff when you have outleveled that Zone. So to observe back level content is to fill up your Inventory quickly with stuff you can't use (I have yet to buy a weapon or armor from a Merchant since you will likely get a better drop along the way).
  • aandrethegiantaandrethegiant Member Posts: 3,369 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    sanmerci wrote: »
    Why imply that people who enjoy leveling quickly are NOT playing the game or have wrong ideas about what endgame is all about? That seems counter-productive.

    You are reading too much into his comments. A perfectly reasonable response considering someone made this comment "Some of us aren't basement dwellers with 24/7 gaming lives."

    People like playing games at various speeds, sure, but you should expect nothing else from a D&D IP except a game that focuses on the entire leveling process, not just end game. 0-60 in 2-3 days is NOT D&D in any way shape or form.

    So you add ~6 days to your climb to 60... I'll bet not a game breaker for very many hardcores (none that I know). Pros to a 2-3 day to end game trek is a very weak argument, considering the benefits to the rest of the players to slow things down.

    Casuals/many D&D enthusiasts pay the bills here too, not a good idea to ignore that sector of the playerbase.

    TYRS PALADIUM - A Premier Neverwinter Online Guild
    No Drama. Camaraderie. TEAM Focus. That's the TYRS way. If that's your style, come join us!
    Research our Guild here: Read our official Recruitment thread | Sign up here: Tyrs Guild Website! | NEVERWINTER GUILD LEADERS: Join the Fellowship!
  • aandrethegiantaandrethegiant Member Posts: 3,369 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    ixotl wrote: »
    Many interesting posts here. Adding my 2ADs now:
    1) XP on/off toggle. I've been thinking the same thing, apply it individually to such things as Invocation, Foundry, Skirmish, Dungeon Delves, PvP, Story Quests. Add to Launcher, where Character is selected, for a Character (gameplay) Profile.
    2) XP reduction percentage. Apply across the board or per items listed in 1). This would allow you to set a progression rate more to your needs/liking/game style. For example, want to level in 2 hours gameplay at whatever level you're at? Keep it 100%. Want to level in 10 hours? Set it to 20%. (Actually percentages would require knowing precisely how the game was designed)
    3) Fixed XP amount. Each quest/mob/XP reward is the same amount no matter the level. Since your character has to gain more points for each level, then low levels go quickly while higher levels take longer. Today the XP reward increases along with the increase in XP required to level.
    4) Increase/decrease the amount of XP required per character level to meet your playing style or desire. Knowing you may linger for quite some time in a limited set of Zones (or one Zone) OR skip right past huge sections of game content.

    Another thing to consider is should drops be geared to your character level rather than the zone level? To enjoy a Zone's content today means you get lots of useless stuff when you have outleveled that Zone. So to observe back level content is to fill up your Inventory quickly with stuff you can't use (I have yet to buy a weapon or armor from a Merchant since you will likely get a better drop along the way).

    XP toggles/sliders. A very interesting point.

    I haven't seen a game in this genre successfully implement it, have you?

    TYRS PALADIUM - A Premier Neverwinter Online Guild
    No Drama. Camaraderie. TEAM Focus. That's the TYRS way. If that's your style, come join us!
    Research our Guild here: Read our official Recruitment thread | Sign up here: Tyrs Guild Website! | NEVERWINTER GUILD LEADERS: Join the Fellowship!
  • sanmercisanmerci Member Posts: 203 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    XP toggles/sliders. A very interesting point.

    I haven't seen a game in this genre successfully implement it, have you?

    I have yet to see a game in this genre even attempt to implement it. I'll point out that I made a very similar suggestion way back in this post...

    Regarding your other comment, I wasn't specifically targeting jerchak- there've been a whole bunch of people using antagonistic and hostile argumentation styles, some of which are outright logical fallacies. I see no reason why this topic- which is relevant and important- can't be discussed in a civilized fashion without resorting to arguments that essentially boil down to "you're a pewpy-head!" and "No, you're a pewpy-head!" As I said, placing the person into a kneejerk defensive-reactive position is counterproductive.
  • ixotlixotl Member Posts: 310 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    No, I haven't. But there is always a first time. The intent is to allow the player to tune the game to his or her desires. It's done in single player games (well, OK, you can usually set the difficulty level), so why not Neverwinter? It has the potential. This is the first MMO I've seen that has catered more to a solo player than I've seen elsewhere. Maybe there are others but I haven't seen or played those. Your character level will still dictate what quests/skirmishes/dungeons/unlocked things (companions, mounts, etc.) are available.

    So what if it took you 6 gameplay hours to reach a given level than if another player reaches it in 2 (or less)? You've probably seen and enjoyed more of the content (Daily Quests come to mind since these are not so frequent) than the other player, but the other player is likely more focused on other aspects of the Neverwinter game experience and so it works for them.

    For some the journey is the goal, for others it's the destination. Trite, perhaps, but this is why I enjoy sailing, while good friends of mine enjoy power boats.
  • elessymelessym Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    Rift had an XP lock. LOTRO has an XP lock (that's an equipment item, blech). It's not unheard of.
    "Participation in PVP-related activities is so low on an hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly basis that we could in fact just completely take it out of STO and it would not impact the overall number of people [who] log in to the game and play in any significant way." -Gozer, Cryptic PvP Dev
  • traveller5traveller5 Member Posts: 7 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    my mistake.
  • pizzamuraipizzamurai Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    You are reading too much into his comments. A perfectly reasonable response considering someone made this comment "Some of us aren't basement dwellers with 24/7 gaming lives."

    People like playing games at various speeds, sure, but you should expect nothing else from a D&D IP except a game that focuses on the entire leveling process, not just end game. 0-60 in 2-3 days is NOT D&D in any way shape or form.

    So you add ~6 days to your climb to 60... I'll bet not a game breaker for very many hardcores (none that I know). Pros to a 2-3 day to end game trek is a very weak argument, considering the benefits to the rest of the players to slow things down.

    Casuals/many D&D enthusiasts pay the bills here too, not a good idea to ignore that sector of the playerbase.
    Okay, for the record. Nobody, and I mean nobody is going to get to 60 in 3 days unless they are specifically aimed to do so, much less 2, unless they literally devote every one of those days to gaming. Talking 8+ hours a day here. Not without exploiting. From the day headstart began to the day open beta began is how long it took me to get to 60. One of those days I got something like 25 levels because I did have a full day to devote to gaming. The rest of those days I still had a respectable 4-6 hours a day if I remember correctly, possibly less.

    I simply cannot understand where you are getting these 2-3 day numbers unless you are also including exploiters and people who DO have 8+ hours every day to devote to nothing but gaming. But I thought they were not the focus anyway? Anyone who wants to experience all the content in the game is going to take far longer than 2-3 days to do so, so I am not sure why you are even bringing those people into the conversation.
  • pizzamuraipizzamurai Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    traveller5 wrote: »
    id10t player reporting to forum with nothing to add just insult peeps he doesnt agree with. did you read the post. how can you be a soldier in the army at 12 years old. you sir are very disrespectful to folks that have fought for you to have the right to be an id10t

    Not sure if you are being sarcastic or just making a poor joke on the old computer error...but he was saying he has been playing batmud for 12 years, not that he is 12 years old... >.>
  • lltsnwnlltsnwn Member, Neverwinter Beta Users Posts: 787 Bounty Hunter
    edited June 2013
    Neverwinter really is one of the funnest MMO's I've played so far. I love the "crunchiness" of it; as a GWF (one who is currently quite comfortable with his class performance so far, nevertheless eagerly awaiting his upcoming buffs to become even more productive), hacking through waves and waves of mobs and watching those orange crit numbers fly is very satisfying, yet the challenge factor is definitely still there.

    I think the game would be so much more engrossing if XP gain were tuned down, though! I'm sure this has been mentioned before, but I haven't read a thread stating the same thing since I started the game and reading/browsing here.

    About a 10% or maybe even like a 20% reduction in overall XP gain (from mobs and especially from completed quests) would force and encourage more lingering in all zones, more repeating of skirmishes and dungeons, both of which very much deserve revisiting and enjoying more than once, and I think would balance out the game much more. I realize all dungeons can be repeated later in their Epic versions, but there are many of us who relish each experience's "first time". Having to or choosing to revisit each of the dungeons and skirmishes while on-level with them several times would implant the memories of themselves more into our brains, enhancing enjoyment IMO.

    Of course there's nothing stopping us from visiting the dungeons as often as we'd like as-is, but once you're out of their queue range, it's really a hassle to do so -- and impossible for skirmishes.

    My character is at level 57 now. I'm a very methodical player, some may consider "slow". I've leveled at this pace on purpose. It's been going way too quickly, especially when one considers the relatively small size of each zone. But they (the individual zones) are all so beautiful IMHO, and I really wish there were a requirement to adventure in each of them for at *least* a little bit longer.

    The rush to 60 hasn't been by my choice. If only the ride were slowed down a little! Guess I need to start making alts for once in my MMO life?

    Cryptic should add an option so that you can disable experience then you can disable or enable it any time you want to continue through the game.
    12.jpgRanger.jpg
  • traveller5traveller5 Member Posts: 7 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    pizzamurai wrote: »
    Not sure if you are being sarcastic or just making a poor joke...but he was saying he has been playing batmud for 12 years, not that he is 12 years old... >.>

    if that was the case than i apologize. i read it as a jab against me. he wasnt really clear on his point
  • sotaudisotaudi Member Posts: 7 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    It may have been tried elsewhere earlier, but EQII implemented an XP toggle long before either of those games were released. EQII is still in business.
  • traveller5traveller5 Member Posts: 7 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    sotaudi wrote: »
    It may have been tried elsewhere earlier, but EQII implemented an XP toggle long before either of those games were released. EQII is still in business.

    the point of leveling to an extent is an accomplishment and the exp slider totally negates that if you are playing with folks who did not make the accomplishment. the only way to do this good is to make SEPARATE servers for folks that want an original game. and another server for folks that want things handed to them on a silver platter.
  • hexanna22hexanna22 Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild Users Posts: 204 Bounty Hunter
    edited June 2013
    There is plenty of content for leveling. If there wasn't you would not have people complaining about outleveling skirmishes and dungeons. Apart from the story quests I only did 3 Foundry quests, and by the time I hit the Spellplague Chasm I was already at 55th Level. I hit 60th in Roth

    Yep, 57 and I haven't been to Rothe yet, still at the beginning of Ice Peak.
    When I talk about leveling too fast, i don't mean "get to 60" in a week. I mean I am way over level of the main story arc, and I have missed at Level Skirmishes that I can never see again. I also missed some side quests early on.

    I play for the story, so I am not anxious to get to 60, just to see Epic Versions, and while it's true that I can do each area over level ( except skirmishes) The named item quest rewards aren't as exciting to get, I have had better versions everytime except for the backpack space.

    Also if I have 2 hours to play, I don't want to sit idle because I am afraid that playing actual content will put me out of skirmish range.

    I guess a toggle switch would be the simplest solution.

    I
  • calaminthacalamintha Member, Neverwinter Beta Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited June 2013
    pizzamurai wrote: »
    Not sure if you are being sarcastic or just making a poor joke on the old computer error...but he was saying he has been playing batmud for 12 years, not that he is 12 years old... >.>

    Oh, man. I played BatMUD 20 years ago for 3-4 years and I only got to level 45-50. I don't even remember if it had a level cap. Times have definitely changed.
  • llfritzllllfritzll Member Posts: 215 Bounty Hunter
    edited June 2013
    im sure its been said, but im not reading 9 pages.

    the thing i dislike is how quickly you outpace the storyline quests if you do daily dungeons, invoke, and everything else. otherwise i think its fine.

    I am also certainly not a basement dweller. my life is very demanding and i have little time to play. i would still like to be able to experience the content without gaining xp too fast.
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