The toxicity of questing in MMORPGs today

[KitingGenbu]

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Well, its nice to know that some of us were just as anti-social back in the old days of mmorpgs as we are now. You're talking about getting a party and mindlessly grinding mobs until one has to rest (or sometimes having a power level), but some of us were actually pretty social in said parties, often times making friends and continuously partying with those people on a regular basis until we hit level cap together. Many people like those times because of said experiences and only having quests when they actually gave something worth it (in FFXI's case it would usually be class armor and spells). It modern games, you hardly talk to anyone, let alone see many of those people again outside of said instanced zone. Not everyone's personal experience is about the individual. Many people play MMORPGs for the experiences they can share with others.

[silentwindfr]

Well, its nice to know that some of us were just as anti-social back in the old days of mmorpgs as we are now. You're talking about getting a party and mindlessly grinding mobs until one has to rest (or sometimes having a power level), but some of us were actually pretty social in said parties, often times making friends and continuously partying with those people on a regular basis until we hit level cap together. Many people like those times because of said experiences and only having quests when they actually gave something worth it (in FFXI's case it would usually be class armor and spells). It modern games, you hardly talk to anyone, let alone see many of those people again outside of said instanced zone. Not everyone's personal experience is about the individual. Many people play MMORPGs for the experiences they can share with others.

yeah it was social, but in the end it was a mindless grind... the point was about the mindless grind, not about the social part of it. and honestly when you did spend 1-3 hours to do the same mindless grind, you run fast out of joke, worst it make you totally out of the game since you will start to talk of stuff totally unrelated to the game.

however i admit i did wish the quest system was allowing more grouping, ff14 have a trouble with this part, and i have said that the quest system is far to be perfect, but the bashing, monster party and such don't make the mmorpg better. i still recall how some class was simply hated in some game for some bashing because not efficient enough. leading to some toxicity that was strong enough for make people stop to play. older game wasn't that better, the toxicity was more insidious.

ps: a point important you talk of sharing experience with other, but when was the last time you did try to share experience with people outside your group, extending this number of people you was playing with? nice to talk of social, but that too is something modern mmorpg did create, people don't want to extend them circle of friend.

[KitingGenbu]

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Being social does not mean always having to relate to in game material, which is highly unlikely to talk about if you're new. Some people are comfortable talking about random stuff while others aren't. Doesn't mean things are limited to just that. People are ultimately limited to themselves.

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As I mentioned earlier, everyone's experiences aren't always the same and there are many elements in FFXI that I wish were more modernized at there time to make it a more flexible experience. I won't pretend that I always had luck with getting people and even if I did make parties to level, I often had to find people which would take hours. Not to mention I was a lot younger and only had school to deal with so I had more flexible time to play the game as opposed to now; however, I did meet a lot of individuals in the game by doing so, mainly because it was annoying to find people and humans tend to travel the path of least resistance, so if you're grouping with a certain group of people often, you tend to look for them first before just tossing yourself in the wind and hope you land somewhere.

As we get older, what we want from games will usually change to meet our situations, which is inevitable. It would just be nice to have an approach that catered to both styles rather just adapting to one or the other. Its not exactly appealing to a new player running around an area and seeing no one mainly because most content is instanced based through-out the game (this is directed at most modern games, not just FFXIV). Having a balance allows the game to feel more lively and inviting while also allowing those with awkward schedules to still enjoy the game.

[raela]

Well, its nice to know that some of us were just as anti-social back in the old days of mmorpgs as we are now.

I tried FFXI and gave up at level 18, because it was one long struggle in the Valkrum dunes to even find parties as a DPS, which I was just leveling as a subjob to the DPS I wanted to play. I never found a LS or group of friends in that time, and I did try to be social, with the parties I found and the people hanging around.

I'm way more social in FFXIV. Found a FC through google, found statics through the FC, and a few friends through PF. I prefer smaller groups of closer friends (static) than shorter contact out in the world. Besides, even if no one is around, the DF system allows me to actually run content, rather than AFKing in a zone, hoping for a party.

As for the main topic.. I've heard that mindset before, but, I don't get it. What do you expect from a video game..? The MSQ experiences of other players do not detract from my own.