Quest based leveling: Future problem?

[EyCee]

Personally I'd like to see them change the character progression into a skill based progression, mixing it with FFXI's skill-up system with Bethesda's Elder Scrolls skill-based type of progression. I felt that's what the Armoury System should have been in the first place.

[Felis]

Actually, Yoshi said that mob-grinding would not be viable, and that there would be quest-based progression (which would be the ideal way to level). And this thread is just a concern that quest-based progression doesn't make sense unless there's repeatable or self-directed content.

He said "contend-based progression"

And don't overlook this:

Y: There are lots of contents to choose from so we have it set where the obtainable EXP isn’t good just by doing one. For those who want to gain EXP efficiently I think it’s best to do different stuff equally.

So, doing only quests is not the best way.

[Velhart]

Most likely a lot of quests will be repeatable and will give you dungeon objectives also that reward EXP. I wouldn't worry about this. I am sure they are way ahead of you on that issue.

[Onisake]

man people really hate rokien. He's got an opinion just like everyone else. he's just a bit more...batshit crazy about them.

anyway.

It's been stated that there will be 3 main story arcs. and i have no doubts that eventually there will be more. you can easily balance between leves/trash quests, story arcs, and grinding to get 3 50s.

all in all, i don't think getting every single class to 50 is for everyone. I personally like versatility, so i'd like to have one class in every role, and also level classes i enjoy at a more leisurely pace. at some point i'll have to pick a main class to gear/pimp out.

right now I have WHM (support) BLM (ranged DD) MNK (Melee DD) and am working on WAR (Tank) so i can fulfill any role needed. I have yet to decide which class to focus on first, but i will primarily be gearing with GC equips, because they will be useful on multiple classes.

It's really about how you want to play. They've made thread about rare rewards for solo content. they've said there will be 3 main story arcs. and they've said they will add in trash quests. open world grinding is also implied to be viable, just not the most effecient. if this is delivered, the game will be very versatile. there will be rewarding solo content. you can level at your own pace (grinds, trash quests, story quests) and the classes are being revamped, I assume to help further differentiate them and make them even more fun to play. there's nothing stopping us from exploring on our own. there will probably be XP rewards for this as well, if they are truly following the mmo standard. not to mention they are also revamping gathering/crafting to be more interactive and less boring. so really there should be something for everyone.

so we can speculate all we want, but it's really up to the delivery at this point.

[Searious]

I'm hoping for a job quest line. Like we have now except more quests and more exp. Each job can deal with completely different storylines and there would be enough exp for each job.

[Ferth]

It's a valid concern, maybe the intensity is off, though. Not everyone is going to enjoy the same things. Frankly, I DID enjoy grinding mobs FFXI style. Not all the time, true, but most of the time. And most of the quest driven MMOs I have played haven't managed to hold my attention for longer than a few months. So when I see Yoshi talking about how killing mobs is not going to be the most ideal way to exp and that there will be a bigger focus on completing quests it does make me worry a bit.

The truth is having to repeat anything for effective gain ALWAYS has a deteriorative effect on the enjoyment of an activity. Whether it's killing the same mobs over and over, doing the same quests over and over, running the same instance over and over. The more you do it, the less you invest mentally to the task.

For quite awhile I absolutely hated guildleves. Could not stand them, to the point that I'd rather not play the game if the only way to gain progress was through leves. Even now I could really care less if they all suddenly disappeared. And sometimes I like to go out and grind a specific mob for a material I might need. All the better if I can also make appreciable gains on one of my lower classes at the same time.

The biggest problem with the information we get, is that it is filtered through various sources. The interviewer interprets the information from yoshida (hopefully as accurately as possible) then it needs to be translated from Japanese into English I'm sure we lose a lot of nuance and context by the time the information is represented in a form we can understand.

It doesn't make the fear completely unjustified though. and Frankly, the laissez faire attitude many people have is not going to make anything better. Because by the time it is in a form that you can experience and judge for yourself it is far beyond the point of no return for certain things.

If you have faith in the current dev team that's great. But personally when I read something that gives me doubt or causes me to worry, I'd rather speak up about it and at the very least get some clarification on the matter, than sit on my laurels and hope that it won't be as bad as it potentially could be.

Also, I had to laugh at whoever said repeating quests promoted exploration more than mob grinding. It might promote movement more than mob grinding, but it doesn't promote going off on your own and seeing what is in every nook and cranny of a map. Weak argument is weak.

I know I cringe when I see another Rokien tabloid style sensationalist thread... but that has more to do with how he portrays himself and his ideas... because often times his fears are my own, he just shares them in a way that makes you kinda want to punch him.

[Mishakai]

I guess I'm failing to see the difference.

Currently, you repeat leves until you run out of your leve allowance, then you grind specific mobs in specific areas.. You essentially repeat this process for each class. OK, so you have three sets of leves to choose from, one from each of the city states.

How does that differ from repeating a quest chain that actually has a persisting story as far as repetition goes? Heck, at least with a quest chain you only do each quest once per class, I can't even begin to recall how many time's I've done "The Wight's Stuff"..

At least with a story tied into the quest chain you have something to help with your immersion rather than these random mob kills originating from aetherites.

[TimonLoon]

Rokien definitely strikes me as one of those idiots that think that allowing gay marriage would turn the future generation gay.

The debate in this game has always seemed political to me and it's pretty amusing.

On one side we have the bat-shit crazy people who don't want anything to change and want to backpedal on things that have made us better. While on the other side we have the people that say "we know we're not the best anymore but we will strive to become better".

[Virtuso]

Rokien definitely strikes me as one of those idiots that think that allowing gay marriage would turn the future generation gay.

The debate in this game has always seemed political to me and it's pretty amusing.

On one side we have the bat-shit crazy people who don't want anything to change and want to backpedal on things that have made us better. While on the other side we have the people that say "we know we're not the best anymore but we will strive to become better".

Total agreement with that. To both this game forums and the political commentary.

[Gidonoidon_Sur]

I am at work so cannot write the 14-page manifesto of why I believe quest-driven leveling (aka, quest-grinding) is the root of all evil. But at its core, quest-grinding almost implies solo play. Now, before you go and say "But you can quest together!" How many people do guildleves together? How many people quested in WoW together? Rarely does it happen. To contrast, for monster-grinding, you pretty much have to party with others to gain exp at a reasonable rate. This is because to kill monsters that yield exp you need to fight things way higher than you (i.e., impossible to kill consistently by yourself).

There is the key. One incentivizes solo play while the other incentivizes party play. I prefer to play with others.

I think having quests is good, but I think they should serve a small role to advance the story or lore, not be a means of progression because you then spend most of your time running around, talking to npcs, and killing things solo. Why not just play a solo RPG?