Alpha First Look: Video 5 - Quests and Combat

[Andrien]

I'm looking over the combat video again, and I can't help but notice just how similar it is to Final Fantasy XII. The arrow aggro indicators, and enmity level is nicely done.

[Genjuro]

Look at all the game producers that are so lively on this forum. I would like to see all your games. Please let me know when they are released so that we may all share in your successful wisdom.

I remember different. 1.0 was different, and that went down the pooper. Well, different didn't work so here we are.

[Skies]

Look at all the game producers that are so lively on this forum. I would like to see all your games. Please let me know when they are released so that we may all share in your successful wisdom.

I remember different. 1.0 was different, and that went down the pooper. Well, different didn't work so here we are.

Truth to be told, Genjuro, what is really important about all of those discussions is Bayohne and Co. to find out the one or two worthwhile posts and sending them towards the devstaff. Even the most obnoxious discussion laden with nothing but wrong ideas and bad choices (which is a pretty good description of what is going on here) will cause one or two sharp minds to speak up and make good points.

Which is why generally the best idea on those threads is just let people talk endlessly and only say something if you have something relaly intelligent to say. Sadly I have failed to that with an earlier post, but, well, we can't be wise all the time, can we?

[Genjuro]

Truth to be told, Genjuro, what is really important about all of those discussions is Bayohne and Co. to find out the one or two worthwhile posts and sending them towards the devstaff. Even the most obnoxious discussion laden with nothing but wrong ideas and bad choices (which is a pretty good description of what is going on here) will cause one or two sharp minds to speak up and make good points.

Which is why generally the best idea on those threads is just let people talk endlessly and only say something if you have something relaly intelligent to say. Sadly I have failed to that with an earlier post, but, well, we can't be wise all the time, can we?

Yes, you are right and in doing so I see the wisdom of that. As penance, I shall rage kill my keyboard.

[ZakarnRosewood]

Its all where you invest your money, unfortunately. because we have based our society around consumerism, money talks, pretty loudly. SE has been the owners of the FF franchise for over 25 years and they did not survive by being fiscally inept. Right now there are people trying to break the molds, you might want to invest in them. Check out This guys project. He was one of the creators of the Wing Commander series and he has broken away with a small team of his own to create a Crowd Funded MMO Space Sim. It looks pretty fantastic. Hes doing it crowdfunded so he can avoid all the hoopla with Corporations and the BS that ensues.

WoW has been a beautiful cash cow for blizzard and many companies have tried to emulate it, for good reason. they want a piece of that pie. SE is a corporation and they have financial goals they need to meet. not sure if you realize it or not but they have suffered a huge loss with this game so far and they need to recoup. Its a genuine shame that the elite few may not be satisfied with the direction they think the game is taking (I bolded think because all we have seen are a few vids of an incomplete project, not an excuse but a fact). But the market for casual gamers greatly outweighs the elite few, it is why WoW has been so successful and the Wii has done so well among other success stories.

I hope, for all the appeals to privilege that has been made on this thread alone, they can understand buisness sense. I'm glad that Yoshi-P has not caved to the most vocal minority. I like what i see so far, i have raised criticisms of my own, but will reserve judgment until more is known and more solid an idea.

[Reika]

Everyone that is crying "Cookie-cutter"

We saw 2 out of 300+ quests. . . . . . . . .

Just sayin

[MaleficentMercury]

I guess its too soon to tell but isn't it possible that there can be both types? Some quests will be easy and tell you exactly what to do, some will just give clues and you gotta figure it out yourself. I guess when it comes down to it, you don't have to click on the thing that shows you where to go on the map if you don't want to cheapen the experience but just because you don't want to play that way doesn't mean others can't have the option.

[ZakarnRosewood]

Last i heard, Final Fantasy is also known for great story in video games. If Yoshi-P wants to be more traditional, i am positive this is an element he will really want to focus on.

[Taika]

I think at least two people have mentioned this already, but Secret World has a really good quest based leveling system. I only played the beta but at least on those levels the quest were extremely well written and thought and they really brought some depth in to the game world and supported the main story. It felt weird at first because you could only have 3 quests open at a time but the system worked well and while doing the quests I actually remembered what I was doing and why.

I'm not a fan of quest based leveling in general and other than TSW I haven't played any MMO that has made it fun or enjoyable. I don't mind having quests that give you EXP in ARR but I'm worried about a couple of things:

1. Firstly, it seems that the quests are the main way to level. Normal mobs don't give you nearly any EXP at all so grinding isn't an option even if you'd prefer that (Yoshi mentioned this in some interview aswell). We'll see what the other options like guildleves and FATE will bring to the table, maybe they really are a valid option to the quest grind for those who prefer them.

2. Secondly, as seen on the video, the quest system is extremely boring. It's not about actually "questing" (read: adventuring), it's about following glowing arrows and blinking lights. You don't have to know anything about what's going on, just follow the signs and wait until you get your EXP reward. Yes, this is how it's done in so many other games, I know. But should we as players accept that as an excuse? I don't think so.

When I first read about making ARR leveling quest based I was honestly hoping for something new, enjoyable, next-gen MMO-questing experience. I imagined it would involve long storyline that would lead me to a journey through the world, one new area at a time, and interesting dungeons for both solo and group play for many different level ranges. Instead we got this.

[Andrien]

I'm not a fan of quest based leveling in general and other than TSW I haven't played any MMO that has made it fun or enjoyable. I don't mind having quests that give you EXP in ARR but I'm worried about a couple of things:

1. Firstly, it seems that the quests are the main way to level. Normal mobs don't give you nearly any EXP at all so grinding isn't an option even if you'd prefer that (Yoshi mentioned this in some interview aswell). We'll see what the other options like guildleves and FATE will bring to the table, maybe they really are a valid option to the quest grind for those who prefer them.

2. Secondly, as seen on the video, the quest system is extremely boring. It's not about actually "questing" (read: adventuring), it's about following glowing arrows and blinking lights. You don't have to know anything about what's going on, just follow the signs and wait until you get your EXP reward. Yes, this is how it's done in so many other games, I know. But should we as players accept that as an excuse? I don't think so.

When I first read about making ARR leveling quest based I was honestly hoping for something new, enjoyable, next-gen MMO-questing experience. I imagined it would involve long storyline that would lead me to a journey through the world, one new area at a time, and interesting dungeons for both solo and group play for many different level ranges. Instead we got this.

You raise a few questions.

Since you're not a fan of quest based leveling, I guess you don't like side quest.

I assume you prefer killing endless waves of monsters without knowing anything about them, but you'll kill them anyways just for xp.

I guess when you're finish with one area, you'll move on to the next one and repeat right? Whats the difference?

The fact of the matter is, there is a difference between Side Quest, and Main Storylines. What you also saw in that video is a low level quest for players below level 12, and just like any other RPG they have side quest. Expect hundreds of them in ARR.