Streamlining the early-game experience

Sakubatou - Sanctuary wrote: »

I wonder if giving barbs, or any class, a home town "free repair" NPC would help balance the classes being created and encourage more barbs.

This seems like a nice idea. Free repairs up to a certain level would be very handy. there should be a pop-up in the tutorial levels (from my last post on p5) to show how durability works and how to fix it. Maybe give free repairs until about level 20-30 or so? b:lipcurl

I forgot to say, kudos frankie for trying to get the community involved b:victory

character creation: excellent. the tips are really useful.
also, i like that level 10-ish quest that lets you teleport to the other major citites. it lets us see completely different environments for the first time.
a few hardships for people who just started:
*if they accidentally press v or ` and see all their skill bars disappear, they freak out. make it known early in the game that v and ` cycle thru the bars.
*as mentioned earlier, the lvl29 chain involves way too much killing of similar mobs.
*up until lvl20 where u go to archosaur, cities are too quiet. some towns have zero people in them. but raging tides is always overpopulated. if u are going to add a high level popular npc in raging tide, it is best to put one in other towns too. for example, the next instance can be in city of plume.
*the quests from dragon herald, etc should be distinguished from real quests so that new players ignore them
*make low level money-making a bit more profitable. right now all the focus is to get to 100 so that people can make money. i know TT can be profitable but now it is no longer that case for lvl60s, as TT1-1 doesnt make much money.

thats all i can think of right now. il add more when i get the chance.

on a side note, PV at high levels is absolutely wonderful. it takes people out of FC for a change, and gives really good xp. pv100 is great xp and a lot of fun to solo, especially those frogs at the end. kinda like heads, but since they are auto-activated and last for a few seconds, you cant just sell them to people XD

Your implementation of hyper frost streamlined level 1 to 100 already. There is no need to adjust the levels from 1-30 any more then they already have been. Only place travel can be annoying is the earth guard crack. With its poorly laid out terrain auto path is useless unless you have a flier down there. What needs to be looked at are the quests from 80 to 100 instead. Way too few are given with awful exp gain for level range. Yes there is bh, wq, cs, ect.. but in comparison to the other levels the amount of quests given is pathetic.

******END Power Leveling!****** it is killing the game, most high lvs with alts are leveling them in FF which takes ppl away from the starter cities, and areas around Arch. I would put a lv restriction on FF like 75 as many have said. New players need to see that there are lots of ppl playing PWI if they don't they will most likely stop playing. Being able to get a squad helped so much when i first started, but now their is no one around the starter cities to squad with.

Travel Travel Travel

The #1 worst part of the game in the early lvs was the travel. Running from X to Y just to run back to X. My first toon was a wiz with such a slow run speed it was painful.

-Suggestion: Give a mount 7m/s or something to new players and add a level max to it like 35.

I tried to get my father to play and he hated it mostly because of the travel once i got him a lv10 flyer he liked the game. He enjoyed flying around and being able to use auto path. It took a long time for my dad to lv and he lost his free lv5 wep because he didn't get to the next lv wep in time. He sold his old one that didn't have the timer and didn't have enough coins to buy a generic one at his lv (i ended up giving him one).

-Suggestion: eliminate the timer on the equipment (including flyer) from the free started gift box.

He almost gave up at the jump quest (i ended up doing it for him).
-Suggestion: eliminate the timer from the jump quest. Also place the human chest in a more easily accessible position, and same for the 2nd set jump quests for tide and human.

The lucid silver chests are too powerful for low lvs. When they get 5 fruits they can jump several lvs at once which really doesn't benefit them at all. Because now they need new gear to complete the quests of their lv, which they often can afford or don't know which quests to do to get the equipment they need.

-Suggestion: eliminate the lucid silver chests for those lower than lv20.


Conclusion: Those are my suggestions, as you can see there isn't much new in this post but it should emphasize that these are the things that decrease the enjoyment aspect of the game. I like this game and have been playing for many years and hope people will continue to play it for years to come.

MeyLiang - Sanctuary wrote: »

What's there to be streamlined at said lvl range at all? Just put a lvl cap of 75+ to fcc and that's it!

Nowadays people just fcc their toons to lvl 100 anyways, so, why bother? b:shutup

I agree with putting lvl range for FCC. 75 and lower shouldn't be able to enter that cave =p

About quests for sure Culti 29.. I was lvling pretty nice with exp from culti quests but it's really way too long. Give newcomers some nice exp/coin reward and cut that culti chain.. (talking only about 29 lv one)

Three suggestions:

1. Obvious/already been mentioned to death, but reduce the traveling time on 29 culti. You can even bump the mob count back up to what it was. idc. Just reduce the amount of going back-and-forth.

2. Also mentioned, but remove the timer on the weapons/fly mounts you get from the supply stash and add a max level to use on the fly mounts.

3. idk about you guys, but I really liked all the post-20 EG quests that last until like level 50-60 if you did all of them in addition to some BHes, Crazy Stone, and Amber quest (there was still a bit of downtime in the mid-30s as I recall where I did an FC though...). The new Morai quests were also nice, but only really gave you like a level or so for doing all of them. tbh, I think adding more quests in the 30-100 range would be good. Perhaps another questline similar to the Goshiki one for 70+ (and I mean one that isn't Wraith's Ploy)?

The most annoying thing is the travelling time for sure.
You could also work on the cultivation.
Dont touch KunKun its my favourite mob ingame
Also perhaps more potion drops from mobs cause i recently lvled a sin through lvl 1-30 with quests and the potion consumption was high.

this post are kinda useless cuz i know that on pwcn there alrdy got the new update that from lvl 1-30 lvl faster by decress the mob kill count to 5 and gave more exp sp and coin from the quest also u can get gs or res scroll daily,and new instant that allow u afk and get free exp by doing nothing b:victory

frankieraye wrote: »

We're looking to streamline the early game experience (levels 1-30), and we'd like your input regarding your own experience as you made your way though this level bracket. Do you recall any specific stumbling blocks that you think could be ironed out? Are there any areas within this bracket that you constantly have to help noobs with?

All feedback is appreciated

You are joking right? This game is already too easy as it is and very few take time from their complaining of boredom to help new players at all. Traveling from point A to B in the early lvls is bad. It was designed to be that way to drive mount sales in the days before packs.

ViciousMinx - Dreamweaver wrote: »

What needs to be looked at are the quests from 80 to 100 instead. Way too few are given with awful exp gain for level range. Yes there is bh, wq, cs, ect.. but in comparison to the other levels the amount of quests given is pathetic.

^ this. With tideborn expansion you added quests to cover a huge gap in the 40 to 60. Decent added the short story line set and dailies but still not enough quests to fill gaps from 95 to 105. 60 to 95+ is greatly lacking and if any adjustments are made it should be to add more quests to those lvls. Of course cutting quests from the lower lvls is good for pwi sales. It pushes the newer player faster to the end with no coin or earned rep for rank gear. Want to break the game more ? Go ahead and keep taking out/reducing actual game play elements.

assimilating some previous suggestions and a couple of my own:

1) make physical movement faster, whether by making the starter flyers faster (1.0 , 1.5?) and or giving a starter mount as well (7.0?). The idea suggested about giving some teleport stones as quest reward seems good as well

2) More puzzle-like quests and less mob-killing quests. Somewhat random ala the cube orb rooms and other cube rooms that can't be easily googled and instantly applied in all cases. Examples from the cube can be taken and presented to early-game

3) Perhaps contradictory to #2 above but, the quest for tideborn(?) where you have to jump up the ship and across the rope is just a major pain in the butt. Perhaps instill in newcomers a knowledge that yellow quests are mandatory, whereas white ones are purely voluntary.. so if they run across a quest like the ship jump one they dont get supremely POd and ragequit early. Perhaps this has already been done but dont most newcomers try to do all quests

PotatoHeadQR - Dreamweaver wrote: »

just put a culti jump stone token that can be exchanged for a culti jump stone (untradeable but account-stashable) by 100+ chars (or just allow anyone to get it).

if we are concerned about the player quality then make a bunch of mandatory quests (limit leveling/culti or something like that) that actually teach the player something (luring, freezing rnners, stunning, noticing buffs/debuffs) and even promote teamwork

The top part would be FANTASTIC for bringing more alts to 100+. I would bet alot of folks dont bother with more alts based on those 20-29 cultis alone

The bottom part would fit in very well with adding alternatives to simply killing 10-15 of mob X. Have a quest where u have to kite a mob under a chokepoint where it can only be killed by a triggered rockslide. A separate mob quest where it cycles buffs and you have to use different skills accordingly (ie it changes from phys immune to mag immune or something) so you learn to pay attention to monster buffs

Didn't read most posts here, so this has probably been said before, but here goes.

The only problems I've had mainly were the sheer running around Archosaur I had to do from 20-30 from all the questing there. It's not a small quest hub like the beginner towns. At least back then you weren't expected to walk to and from each town after you completed a set of quests. Even if you're doing the bare minimum for your spiritual cultivation, you're still doing a lot of back and forth running.

Though running back and forth don't get that boring till your next few play-throughs of it, IMO. If it's possible, maybe implement bonuses depending on the highest level on your account? For instance, a 3-day speed charm if your main is 40+, a free teleport ticket good for 50 free teleports at the NPCs if your main is 60+, a perm newbie mount(relatively slow and can't level, but in various collectable colors for each alt one could have?) if your main is 80+, etc.

There's also the lack of help newbies get with the Tideborn and Earthguard level 19 bosses. They don't get Fu-Ben 19s like the Human, Untamed, and Wnged Elf races do, thus don't get tablets that give the squad their experience points and reputation. Implementing dungeons for the bosses to reside in as well as letting us be able to tab there wouldn't effect the 'storyline' provided, IMO.

Also, prevent everyone under level 85 from entering FC.

Edit:

VenusArmani - Dreamweaver wrote: »

The staunch worms for the tideborn are very annoying if you're a psychic.

I don't recall it being THAT bad. Regardless, that's a 40+ quest. b:surrender

SpazzMcAps - Harshlands wrote: »

weird i thought they revamped the 29 culti already

just the monster kill amounts. They haven't reduced the traveling amount, which was IMO the core problem from the beginning.

Though useful is the parts where you can do other quests alongside your spiritual cultivation. The Bloodraged Cadaver/Haggist Geezlot quest chain, for example.

Asterelle - Sanctuary wrote: »

A good chunk of the other NPCs only have a function for high level players:

-Messenger of Sages
-Martial Arts Master
-Tournament Agent
-Arena Teleporter
-Bookmerchant

These NPCs have limited uses even at high levels and don't need to be in the starter cities.

Actually, the Bookmerchant DOES help sell you newbie craft books just in case a newbie loses one or something.

thumbs wrote: »

Newcomers don't know how easy it is to get rep at higher levels (while rep is almost pointless at lower ones). The One Man Army Quests are obsolete.

Don't you think that instead, they should add better reasons for newbies to care about rep?

alymara wrote: »

As long as you allow players to power level you will not ever get but a few players to actually even bother with these areas.

This. The newbie areas are just bare for that reason. And good luck finding a BH from 40-69 easily like there used to be. Not newbie levels exactly, but that problem is a direct effect of what also plagues newbie areas.

knightsdarksoul wrote: »

Maybe increase the Rep gain from quest's as well , Just did a level 81 culti quest on alt . 400 xp and 18 rep.
I am not sure how either of those amounts are going to help anyone. When you need 4.3mil xp for level and you get 400 xp rewards it's no wonder people see FF as the only option.
If want people back in the World questing , then make the quests worth doing

I think you're on the right track. But I'd say put better rep rewards in FB tabs instead of lowbie quests. Along with more newbie rep benefits, that would encourage more cooperation, IMO.

Eraldus - Sanctuary wrote: »

Phoenix Valley? Might as well just delete it...

Deleting optional content is never a good idea.

Annalyse - Heavens Tear wrote: »

If that is the case, why is this question being asked? Are you hoping that we will all answer "oh please, make levelling faster!" so that you can reply with "We have heard your pleas and here is the new patch!" Well, that isn't the case as you can see by a lot of the replies here.

I really hope they don't wreck the game further with this.

The game is already wrecked as far as I am concerned.

Asterelle - Sanctuary wrote: »

Name one craft book it sells to newbies.

If you had ever used it once (I doubt you have) you would know that the EARLIEST level you can use it is at level 50, long after people are expected to be in Arch (which has its own Bookmerchant). I am correct in characterizing it as a rarely used NPC only applicable to higher levels.

They sell books of any manufacturing skill quest level you've completed that requires a book, including the ones you get at level 5. Basic Craftsman, Basic Apothecary, etc.

VenusArmani - Dreamweaver wrote: »

Also, don't put fashion in packs. And maybe hold newbie events where people who were under a certain level could compete to get like 1-2 event gold to use on a piece of fashion. Make them once a week and level locked so that its not really worth it for older players to take over the whole thing. One of the big turn-offs for some of us was the just how stupid the armor looks because you get your pieces at different stages.

And I cannot stress the importance of shinies. IT makes you feel so pleased with the game. I know its silly, but in a game with an outdated gaming engine this game should really tweak its aesthetic appeal.

The graphics on this game are outdated.

But it's aesthetics are AMAZING! Use what you got going for you in this department in order to attract gamers to the beauty of the game. It is seriously one of the biggest draws of this game.


edit: For those who don't know what graphics vs aesthetics means....

I can agree with this at least. 29 Culti is quick compared to 39 / 49 culti, you have to travel even further and to more NPCs... People whine too much on this game. You don't see other people complaining on other MMOs which generally takes longer to level / gain coin / drops / etc.

Talks to NPC.

I need to kill 10 mobs. Cool.

10 minutes of walking around.

Oh, I get to kill 12 mobs. Ok.

10 minutes of walking around.

Wow, now I have to kill 15 mobs. They are getting a little harder to kill now.

20 minutes of walking around.

Hmm. Now I have to kill 18 mobs.

More walking...

.... Go kill 20 mobs? This is starting to take too long.

Tired of walking. Looks in boutique for flyers. OMG... I may as well just buy Gee Dubya II.

Ugh, now I have to kill 30 mobs? WTF? Same **** over and over and it keeps getting worse...

This game is boring and expensive. I'm going to play something else.

And this is how PW has like 100 million registered accounts and only 5 people outside west.