A possible compromise between questing vs mob exp party grinding.

[RowanLauron]

TL;DR @ the bottom

Like usual when I'm at work my brain starts to wander. I was thinking about ARR, and the hot topic between solo questing vs group party mob grinding. I see the arguments and rarely see anyone post anything that has a good mingle of the two. It's always the extremes of get rid of one or the other. Both sides have valid points, but somewhere there has to be a compromise. So I will attempt to bring an idea to the table that might be seen as a viable compromise.

As far as my own experience I have played FFXI (3yrs) and WoW (3yrs) so I have mingled with both leveling archetypes. I like both. I made quite a few friends doing the party grind and it was quite fun! ( I was thf so i was a puller and TH2 whore xD) Questing offers me solace, and the ability to play at my own pace while still progressing my character.

If someone has pitched this idea before...I'm sorry I mean no disrespect. I have not searched the forums for it, so if this was your idea please let me know so I can give credit where it's due!

The Idea

The idea is two-fold with one part being optional.

This idea takes from the leve system and extends it to a method for group exp parties while also adding another feature to the game. I think it's safe to say solo questing is about where it's going to be at this current time with what is available pre-beta, so this is focused on the group exp party side of the argument.

The Toggled Exp Increase

How about a system where if you are in a group (lets say at least 4 people) there is a mode that can be turned on (like how level sync works) where the group gets an increase to exp (no idea what kind of boost or how much...I have no game design experience at all) from mob kills while at the same time increasing the difficulty of those mobs for some good ol' fashion exp partying?

Like a leve quest, it could be possible to generate instanced mobs. It can be activated at any time and anywhere (naturally level caps would be in effect depending on the area. Being able to grind on lvl 56 mobs right outside of Gridania at Camp Tranquil would be weird).

The mobs can be considered "elite" or be normal mobs with more HP and higher levels to accommodate longer fights since a lot of people will be bashing on them at once (this setting can be determined when starting the mode).

This will also allow control over what type of mobs you wish to kill as well. Depending on where the aetherite is or the zone you are in and maybe even location within the zone determines what species will spawn (near water for crabs or deserts for scorpions etc). The mobs will despawn after the group disbands, the mode is turned off, or the mobs are left untouched for too long...let's say an hour.

To keep it primarily focused on the group and the mob killing there should be a condition (trade-off so to speak for doing the group content).

You may not activate, complete objectives, or turn any solo quests/content while in this mode.
Ex: You have 4/6 marmots defeated. If you kill another marmot it will not count toward your quest objective while in group exp mode wether it be a mob spawned by the toggle or a random mob out in the world. This will help keep the group focused on mob grinding instead of having to stop because a player decides they want to run off somewhere to turn in a quest and hold up the group.

Regarding the instanced mobs, one of 3 things:

1) The mobs that spawn can only appear to your group. Nice uninterrupted grinding.

2) For those who would want competition or to keep the world more open, when you enter the instance, any other group there that has activated this mode will show up as well. This would be restricted on a zone by zone basis.

3) Another way would be to allow the mobs to spawn in the open world, and not be instanced. This way there would be the danger of running into an exp pt's camp on accident if you don't watch where you're going, and possibly get aggro and die. However this could be exploited as griefing other players by camping purposely at choke points where people have no choice but to pass. Of course a simple fix would be to restrict the area where the mobs could spawn.

This is if Yoshi and his team want to go the instance route, but I don't see it happening at this time. The 3rd option is the most realistic currently, but instanced mobs would be something to consider.

Another method would be to simply create areas of highly packed mobs in different zones to serve as camps, therefore negating the need for making the game spawn the mobs for you. (However I would prefer the game spawn the mobs for me)

With the instanced mobs however, you can change locations, what type of mobs you wish to kill, and where to camp at your own discretion without having to search for a suitable camp for too long just to find out its taken...Natalan wolf camp anyone?

The Extra Quest Addition for Grouping: Optional

On top of the exp boost, a special group quest can be activated at an aetherite crystal, or picked up in town. It can start a group quest with a high mob count kill objective (maybe anywhere between 25-200 mobs depending on the difficulty/time amount chosen) they can turn in when the group disbands for additional exp and a gil reward (gil reward is there because it wouldn't be fair to mob grinders to not get some money flow because they chose not to solo quest, unless mobs kills in this mode drop more currency than if they did solo).

This quest would recycle once every 24H or maybe every 12H, or as often as possible. Although one quest per group, per player at a time to prevent spamming; meaning no one else can start another quest until everyone in the group has completed it and turned it in. This will help prevent people from getting too much of an advantage, or become a troll method. (A swift party kick could fix that though ). The quest can also be set on a timer to kill x mobs in a certain time frame with the exp and gil award varying on how many you kill in the time limit.

However, you *did* get me thinking, if something like this *was* in a game, it would be cool that once you've killed your target 200-500 mobs, a Notorious Monster appears!

It could drop a trophy to put on the wall in the captain's cabin of your Free Company Airship, or suchlike, and be highly collectible. Once you have all the available trophies, your FC would get an awesomemegasuperbonus like increased movement speed or 1% off your AH listing fees or... Hmm might make another thread for this before I disappear off-topic for good!

^ I like this idea. Maybe even add in a drop of a rare piece of equipment + gil for the immediate party to roll for so there is still progression other than levels.

Also the group quest could also be deemed unnecessary, however I think the option should be there. You don't have to use it if you don't want to.

If it isn't implemented at all, it would do away with the controversy of whether or not the quest is considered "mandatory" or "forced" (people like to use that word too loosely these days) for the most optimal exp gain...Trust me, it would happen.

Final Thoughts

I personally see this as a possible and viable method to keep party mob grinding in the game while keeping it separate and just as effective as solo questing and dungeon running. It also gives the option to mix up the leveling journey so it doesn't seem so monotonous.

Feel free to take this apart, trash it, like it, or expound on it. I welcome any response whether good or bad...as long as its civil and within the forum guidelines! ^_^

TL;DR

Another option for leveling. Party based exp grinding on mobs. Implementing a new feature that can be enabled when a party consists of 3 or more people that increases exp gains from killing monsters by a significant amount compared to solo kills.

As well as adding a sort of group leve quest of sorts. It's a quest picked up by each party member with a high mob kill count objective that can be turned in for extra exp and a gil reward.

No solo quests/content can be completed while this mode is in effect to discourage solo play while in a group.

[Rau]

does your ' not work?

edit: or just have fat fingers?

[Antanias]

There are always dungeon mobs to grind on.

[Pwnagraphic]

There are always dungeon mobs to grind on.

Yeah I agree. this has been mentioned plenty of times before.. It's almost the same concept except you have a time limit and you get goodies at the end. That's a solution to XP parties IMO.

[RowanLauron]

No I did it from my phone it does that for some reason and I don't know how to fix it.

And yes you can dungeon grind, but the point is there can to be an option for people to camp in a spot and grind mobs out in the open world. Some people want this. I was just offering an idea on a way to do it in the open world.

More so for the XI players who miss exp pts

[Zehira]

Too long to read but I am going with party questing and dungeon mobs.

exp party grinding... <<<< ew

[Pwnagraphic]

No I did it from my phone it does that for some reason and I don't know how to fix it.

And yes you can dungeon grind, but the point is there needs to be an option for people to camp in a spot and grind mobs out in the open world. A lot of people want this. I was just offering an idea on a way to do it in the open world.

By "a lot" you mean close to one hundred?

[NintenPyjak64]

Holy wall of text Batman! How long did it take to write all that?
on topic: I prefer either straight grind (party grind works for me too) or a balance of quest/grind in MMOs. I'm not much of a quester but I'd welcome a compromise. Change of pace once in a blue moon is very nice

[Orophin]

Sounds like faction leves, with the difference of having more mobs to kill and no prerequisite to initiate the quest. (no faction points)

[syntaxlies]

Are cliff notes available for this thread?