This...

[Moontide]

Very nice write! I'd definitely like to see FATEs become something more of a "Uh oh, this'll be tough!" sort of a situation istead of "Yay, free quick XP!" that it is now.

[James1213]

I agree that fates should have a degree of scaling with players either tougher mobs more things to turn in and the such. I also think fates should have a consequence for them if you don't do this fate then this will happen all leading to loss of player control of a zone and having to fight your way a cross the zone to retake quest/vender hubs. However once a majority of your player base is beyond a zone such as the starting zones, this effect should be less extreme. I think there should be events that if players don't stay on top of doing fates you would lose the hub such as reneverants toll(sp?)

Or maybe events that affect taxes in the city states. Also they need to find a way for crafters and gathers can get involved. Just my two cents

[Chauve]

I agree that fates should have a degree of scaling with players either tougher mobs more things to turn in and the such. I also think fates should have a consequence for them if you don't do this fate then this will happen all leading to loss of player control of a zone and having to fight your way a cross the zone to retake quest/vender hubs.

I like this a lot. It gives the sort of feeling that you're doing an event to actually defend specific areas instead of just "oh hey, exp".

I'm not sure I'd go so far as to suggest affecting taxes, but it's an interesting idea.

Although I can't think of how they would include crafting professions...(perhaps have some sort of gathering event. like a set of nodes where you're hunting for specific items to turn into a NPC? like the combat ones, just with gathering.) Not sure on that one.

[Enfarious]

I agree that fates should have a degree of scaling with players either tougher mobs more things to turn in and the such. I also think fates should have a consequence for them if you don't do this fate then this will happen all leading to loss of player control of a zone ...

This would be a great way to add some 'life' to some of the FATEs and regions, a bit more interactivity and a 'reason' to be there 'working' to defend the realm. Bonuses to xp/gil gains for combat when a region is fully controlled and the like as rewards for maintaining control.

... Although I can't think of how they would include crafting professions...(perhaps have some sort of gathering event. like a set of nodes where you're hunting for specific items to turn into a NPC? like the combat ones, just with gathering.) Not sure on that one.

As for gatherer/crafters having a role in this: Having turn ins for items/gear in the camps around the region to aide in the supply of the npc defensive forces. Those npc defenders need to eat and have new/functional gear to wear and weapons to use after all. Not unlike the turn ins for GC's only that it would help to maintain the player control over the region rather than simply providing xp/seals.

[Chrysania]

Very nice write! I'd definitely like to see FATEs become something more of a "Uh oh, this'll be tough!" sort of a situation istead of "Yay, free quick XP!" that it is now.

unless they improve the rest of the available leveling systems, I don't want to see fates turn into epic harrow affairs. They're the only thing keeping a lot of people here right now. Make them difficult without improving the core game? I'll just go play Secret World danke.

[Moontide]

unless they improve the rest of the available leveling systems, I don't want to see fates turn into epic harrow affairs. They're the only thing keeping a lot of people here right now. Make them difficult without improving the core game? I'll just go play Secret World danke.

I don't see where the problem would be if the promised XP would be the same but you'd have a tough time doing them with underleveled gear or complete disregard of your fellow adventurers and your own skills.

The very best time I've had so far with FATEs was with a boss monster on a field of Stropers. Some 4 players only were trying to tackle it down while trying to dodge the stinky doom of the nigh-lethal AoE attacks of both the boss and added non-FATE monsters. A few of us died once, me included, but it was the most rewarding feeling in the game so far once the boss was down. I'd love to see situations like those arise more often instead of just a 20-man magitek steamroller making the whole content little more than an XP piñata.

[Hik0]

I don't see where the problem would be if the promised XP would be the same but you'd have a tough time doing them with underleveled gear or complete disregard of your fellow adventurers and your own skills.
/../
than an XP piñata.

the problem is lot of player are just lazy and want their 50 without any effort

[Moontide]

the problem is lot of player are just lazy and want their 50 without any effort

Question barrage, not necessarily to you only:
Do you think the majority of players are these lazy people? Do you think SE would get a wider audience by catering to them? Do you think it'd be healthy for the long-term commitment and the mentality of the community?

I'm asking this because I don't quite know the answer myself. I just would personally enjoy it more if there were actual challenges to overcome.

[Chrysania]

Question barrage, not necessarily to you only:
Do you think the majority of players are these lazy people? Do you think SE would get a wider audience by catering to them? Do you think it'd be healthy for the long-term commitment and the mentality of the community?

I'm asking this because I don't quite know the answer myself. I just would personally enjoy it more if there were actual challenges to overcome.

I think there should be more challenges, but those challenges should be ACTUAL challenges; better/more complex fates, perhaps even combat-lite puzzle dungeons/dynamic events.

Things that rely less on mindless grind. Its entirely doable, but churning out grind content is roughly the equivalent of making bologna sandwiches and calling it 'lunch'. Yes, its technically food, just like grind content is technically content, but its garbage. Its junk. Its not healthy for anyone; its filler.

A bologna sandwich will prevent you from starving to death. Grind content will prevent you from literally having nothing to do.

But that's it.

If we're talking quality challenge, I'd love to see more of it.

If we're talking herp-derp grind, then I cannot call that challenge, as the only challenge incumbent is the challenge of tolerating it.

Which is exactly the kind of challenge this game does not need more of.

My take: Most players are not lazy. Most just aren't total, slobbering idiots and will do the most time-effective, cost-efficient activities they can reasonably do to secure advancement, irrespective of just how that manifests.

The problem is that people are NOT stupid or lazy. They figure out how to efficiently level to max and nuke all the content far more quickly than developers seem to ever expect. Its been happening so long that you'd think they'd expect it by now, but they never quite seem to. Or, at least, they never seem even vaguely prepared for it, despite it being as predictable as a sunrise.

I think people want to be engaged, but they don't want to have their time wasted. They don't want to be frustrated.

Everyone has what I call a 'grind tolerance'. Some people have more grind tolerance than others, some less. Some have high tolerance for specific sorts of grinds, none at all for others; some have none at all for any of it.

MMO developers should not be trying to include so much grind that they're taxing damn near everyone's grind tolerances. They should, if they had any business calling themselves game designers with anything resembling pride at all, be firstly and foremostly trying to make their game so damn fun that you; all of you; will want to play it.

But that's hard. It takes creativity. It's called expensive, but hey, failure's moreso. Lets ask SE how 'cheap and easy' it was to rebuild XIV here because they went with such cheap and easy dependence on grindy, boring garbage in 1.0.

The grind is not cheap. Its like a bologna sandwich. It might seem cheap and easy right now, but stuff yourself with that crap and you'll create problems for yourself that are anything but cheap and easy to resolve. And might not be resolvable at all; some damage is permanent.

So no. We're not lazy. We're just not stupid.

[Hik0]

Question barrage, not necessarily to you only:
Do you think the majority of players are these lazy people?
Do you think SE would get a wider audience by catering to them?
Do you think it'd be healthy for the long-term commitment and the mentality of the community?

I'm asking this because I don't quite know the answer myself. I just would personally enjoy it more if there were actual challenges to overcome.

If you turn the "easy&fastXP" into harderXP you might make people who like challange happy, but those who liked it the easy way not but if you change another content that not used a lot into (or make a new one) a "challange that give good xp" both will be happy.