Alpha First Look: Video 5 - Quests and Combat

[Katella_Avenlea]

So the thing that I think a few people are missing is this is just an example video of quests and combat... not "in-depth documentation" that represents what all quests will look like. These are beginner quests for goodness sake! Take a breath, they are going to be easy. You don't throw brand new players into the fire immediately

RE: MMO Quests
Pure and simple, the purpose of a quest is to perform some task, (looking at Preypacer) I'm wondering what you really expected here? Quests in any MMO generally have you do one of the following:
* Tutorial - performing an action - learning controls
* Find/Speak to some NPC/object/place
* Defeat enemies
* gather/deliver items.

What more can you make a character in a virtual world do? Seriously? I'm excited to see a lot more of these side quests available personally. They may have similar base goal, but what will make them unique is the stories behind the quests, the atmosphere and the areas you have to brave to find your target goal.

...And why even have the quest dialog in there at all? Hell even the person in the video isn't taking the time to read it. And why bother? They have *3* different indicators showing you exactly where to go for the kill quest, and 2 showing you where to go for the "moist depression".

So the person in the video has a direct purpose. That purpose is to give a "quick" look at questing and combat in an example video. They are more showing off the "where to click" / "How you target/interact with an NPC/mob" aspects rather than truly delving into the example quest.

"Well, we have all this dialog but, you probably won't read it anyway. But, in case you do, you're probably too dumb to figure out where we're directing you to. So, we'll show you on the mini-map. And because you're probably too dumb to realize the circle on the mini-map indicates where you should be, we'll put markers for the mobs on the mini map too. Now don't panic... We know you're too dumb to figure it out even then. We've accounted for that by also putting large markers over the mobs' heads in-game too. You don't even have to know what the mobs are called or what they look like. Just look for the big, intrusive golden markers walking around."

*Sigh* So what you might not realize is that people learn and play in very different ways. Merely having options isn't them patronizing. From what they have said in the past, when ARR actually comes out, that you'll likely find that many of these "extra" markers are actually options that can be turned on or off. Don't like it? Turn it off.. problem solved, No reason to get frustrated.

I'm not sure why people sometimes feel that the way they play should be the "only" option. We should be open minded enough to realize that others may actually find those features helpful and it may improve their personal enjoyment of the game. Maybe it helps them to not feel as lost in a brand new world.. maybe they just want to play and not spend 20 minutes looking up a quest out-of-game to figure out a cryptic and vague summary.

Also, If people like these other feature options, it doesn't mean that they are dumb.. just means their playstyle is different then yours.. and that really is ok. To each their own. If these features help them gain more understanding as to what exactly their character is doing then great! Just because something doesn't fit your playstyle doesn't mean it shouldn't be an option.

Players like to blame, but they have just as much ownership in their own enjoyment level as the developers do. Don't like an option?, turn it off..... Want to get the entirety of the story?... then take a few minutes and read and don't rush through. MMO's just provide the stage, its really up to the player to provide the imagination.