Quest Markers

[Rhianu]

FFXI had the single worst quest system I have ever seen in any RPG, online or off, bar none. It was so bad that you practically had to read a guide just to know where to go or what to do. That is not the sort of thing we want to imitate. A well designed game should make guides and walkthroughs redundant and unnecessary.

Exploration is one thing. Being completely lost and not having a clue where the hell you're supposed to go is something else entirely. A good quest system should show you exactly where you're supposed to go next, but give you the freedom to explore other places if you so choose.

Look at the Elder Scrolls games, for example. Back in Morrowind, it was a huge pain in the ass just trying to find a quest or progressing to the next step in your current quest chain. But this problem was fixed in Oblivion and Skyrim by implementing little pointers on your map so you didn't have to waste inordinate amounts of time wandering around, and you still had the freedom to explore the entire world at your own leisure. This is how an RPG should be.

So yes, I'm all in favor of improving the current Quest Marker system. What we have right now is decent, but it has an enormous amount of room for improvement.

In WOW you didnt even have to read anything to advance. Here you at least get to take part in the story SE worked so hard to execute.

Invalid argument. There is absolutely nothing stopping you from taking part in WoW's story if that's what you want to do. The fact that there are quest markers on the map doesn't stop you from reading the entire quest text if that's what you prefer.

Plus, let's not forget that the people who skipped over the story-text in WoW did so precisely because they didn't care about the story. With that in mind, forcing people to take part in something they may not care about isn't a good idea. Cut-scenes and story dialogue in games should always be skippable.

Honestly, it seems to me like the people who dislike quest markers hold that opinion only because there are quest markers in WoW, and anything WoW does is automatically bad. -_-

[Doulifee]

quest marker is optionnal in wow anyway so if you love looking for something you can do it. Also wow involve a lot of rerolling.

I enjoy how quest is done so far, you can check the map if you're lost but you can read the diary too and can easily guess where to go next. a few. At worst the marker/GPS system could aim for an area rather than where the NPC is.
So if you need to meet X in the LostVillage, you have a marker that tell you to go look for X in said village rather than the exact place where X is.

[Rhianu]

At worst the marker/GPS system could aim for an area rather than where the NPC is.
So if you need to meet X in the LostVillage, you have a marker that tell you to go look for X in said village rather than the exact place where X is.

That would just force players to wander around more for no real reason, which would accomplish nothing but making quests take longer than they need to.

[Estellios]

I'm all for having quest markers up on the main map and different colors to signify different quest types/completed quests/new quests/etc, although if markers show up on the main map I'd like an option to filter out different things so the map doesn't get too cluttered and you could turn them off if you so desire.

There's hand-holded quests and then there are FF11 quests, like the one Zilart mission where you are told to find some Mithra that found a crystal and are given a hint at the name and no indication at where the hell she could be. If you don't have a guide or someone that knows good luck going around the entire damn world looking for a NPC that you never had any reason to talk to before. It wouldn't have been so bad if you got any sort of hint or it was someone you were involved with story-wise previously.

[Fiosha_Maureiba]

Short: I'm for markers.

Extended
Many of the Final Fantasies from 3 and upward, save 11, did a great job at guiding you where to go next without having to backtrack, talk to every NPC, explore every crevice, open every chest (13 even moreso, hehe), and MOST importantly, refer to a guide, walkthrough, web page, or a friend who had already done those steps.

Given the evolution of the MMO interface, I believe FFXIV should continue to have markers. And those that prefer the 80's RPG style can toggle off the markers to have something closer to Everquest, FFXI, or Dark Souls (none of which are 80's RPGs, but share similar philosophies).

I still don't agree with EQ, FF11 at English launch, or many older games where you had no clear indication of what step you were on in a quest. The longer you were the away, the worse off you were when you came back. Where FF13 and Tales games have learned to provide recap summary for this for those that don't keep notes while playing the game.

[Yelta_Sumasu]

I would rather not see the marker on my main map. If I need the extra help of a dot on my map I can open the journal. For most quests I know where to go and what to do based on the text anyways...

[Rhianu]

I would rather not see the marker on my main map. If I need the extra help of a dot on my map I can open the journal.

But then we would perpetuate the problem of having two separate maps. It's better to have only one.

If you don't want to see the Quest Markers on your map, then the best solution would be to add a checkbox on the bottom of the map that toggles the markers on and off.

☑ Display Quest Markers

It's fine to want options, but there needs to be only one map.

[Lynde]

But then we would perpetuate the problem of having two separate maps. It's better to have only one.

If you don't want to see the Quest Markers on your map, then the best solution would be to add a checkbox on the bottom of the map that toggles the markers on and off.

It's fine to want options, but there needs to be only one map.

And that's what those checkboxes on Aion UI Map are for, they enable and disable each icon. And there's quite a few things if you look close. Gotta love UI customization.