Please do not make group quest open world areas.

[Odd]

What is everyone freaking out about? The mobs will still be east to run away from, Yoshi even said so. He said something like "if you get two mobs attacking you you might have to run away if you want to survive".

I like this change very much.

[Shyluv]

I like the sound of this.

[Enthy]

I look forward to the open world danger. This games like playing with a bunch of NPCs, we need some situations that encourage community interaction.

[Cakekizy]

I look forward to the open world danger. This games like playing with a bunch of NPCs, we need some situations that encourage community interaction.

Aren't those called raids?

[Erudain]

I've seen this "elite mobs areas for parties" in a lot of MMORPG, I've seen both MSQ and sidequest tied to them.
There's usually no problem at launch or during the first months of the content, since well of course, that content is new...

The problem starts when time passes and content becomes obsolete, either because you only need to run it once (MSQ, once & only sidequest rewards, etc) or the rewards become outdated. What happens to the late comer then? they get stuck waiting for other late comer, or someone who wants to help them run content which won't reward them.

Few things suck more than getting stuck in a MSQ because you have to "get to X item and activate it" in an area packed with elite mobs with no way to avoid aggro in it, and no one helping because it's a dead zone/content.

[Enthy]

Aren't those called raids?

Raids like World of Darkness or Crystal Tower are full of people from different servers who I will probably never see again. Which feels like playing with a bunch of NPCs at best (I say at best because there are people that feel they don't need to be courteous because "who cares? I'll never see them again") With out a quick efficient way to identify people who are on the same server as you (like maybe an icon over players on your same server) Duty Finder Raids do not strengthen inter server communities.

Playing with random people from different servers does not encourage social interaction. Even more so it is discouraged when you put a time limit on the encounter.

I'm not saying that there is 0 inter server community interaction/development, but the game sure could use more situations that encourage or even require the players to reach out and collaborate with each other. I think Open World activities that are difficult to solo or can not be solo'd will help with that.

[Seryl199]

I've seen this "elite mobs areas for parties" in a lot of MMORPG, I've seen both MSQ and sidequest tied to them.
There's usually no problem at launch or during the first months of the content, since well of course, that content is new...

The problem starts when time passes and content becomes obsolete, either because you only need to run it once (MSQ, once & only sidequest rewards, etc) or the rewards become outdated. What happens to the late comer then? they get stuck waiting for other late comer, or someone who wants to help them run content which won't reward them.

Few things suck more than getting stuck in a MSQ because you have to "get to X item and activate it" in an area packed with elite mobs with no way to avoid aggro in it, and no one helping because it's a dead zone/content.

The thing is, the way these areas are being described is that they will present a challenge to a solo player. Not that they will be impossible, or even very difficult. It was suggested that you "may" want to reach out for help with these areas, but in no way was it stated that a party would be required.

[Nektulos-Tuor]

pokes fun at someone being afraid of competition, wants locked encounters so he doesnt have to compete with another group for damage.

Actually you are wrong. It means the group before has to take a risk of pulling it first and could wipe because they either didn't have enough people to do it or didn't plan it. Then since they attacked it we can plan and watch the fun.

Locked Encounters are a good design to stop "Zerging". So you can't play it like Guild Wars 2 and roll through the zone in big raids killing everything.

[Leonesaurus]

Straight from Live Letter:

"We have seen many comments where players felt the A Realm Reborn areas were too peaceful as the monster placement in the areas were a bit too easy; however, the monsters in Heavensward are very strong. If you encounter two or more monsters at same time, you’ll either need to fight doing your best, or be prepared to run.

If you plan on stepping in areas such as the beastmen camps, and other dangerous areas, you’ll probably want to talk with nearby players to get through them."

I'm with OP, I foresee problems here with forced grouping just to get from one place to another. Can you imagine something like atma's for the next grind, or gathering for that matter? I really dislike when traveling from A to B becomes a hassle personally. I avoid the Sylphlands as much as I can due to their heavy spam in this region alone.

See, I STRONGLY disagree with the both of you, however I do understand where you're coming from and what you're saying. I do agree that when the currently hyped content becomes like ARR's content before it, outdated and undesired, there should be measures taken to prevent people from being gated behind barriers because no one does it anymore.

I'll be the first to say though that anything requiring a party in the open world isn't going to mentally or physically kill you in real life, and I probably won't be the last. If anything, it creates a more dangerous, believable world, with risks and reward, and memorable experiences because each unique monster has their own ticks and personalities in the world, rather than some theme park monster that chases you for a bit on the side of the road.

Maybe I'm biased, because I'm a former 1.0 player that adored the world back then, with the exception of the zone design of the Black Shroud, but even there the monsters had such charm and uniqueness. Anyone that remembers 1.0 treants knows exactly what I'm talking about.

Also, to boot, I'm one of the most anti-social human beings you can possibly imagine, and even I'm thrilled about this evolution for the game, even though it technically has been done before in its lifespan.

Also, for the record, this is NOTHING like the Sylphlands. Sylphlands aren't dangerous at level 50, they're just INCREDIBLY annoying. There's a difference between avoiding something because it's dangerous and when something's annoying. Being under-leveled doesn't count because you could do that to yourself anywhere, defeating the purpose and point of it all.

[Edellis]

I suspect it'll likely be similar to the camps that guard the Relic Weapon requirements. I personally found those areas pretty fun, but the moment you draw one too many you're basically screwed and are almost forced to run, which just aggros more.

Sadly, it isn't really made too much easier with multiple people, because they aren't really hard in the first place. They just have alot of HP and hit hard. The moment you're able to outlast them is the moment they're easy. Now, if mobs throw off ridiculous AOEs that need to be dodged, come grouped with healers and/or buffers, and require more than solo tank-n-spank, then i'm 100,000% for that. That's fun.

Thats my biggest gripe with the S-rank marks. They don't really have any mechanics, they just require enough people to outlast them.