Aion too linear?

[lilnate22]

This is something that bugs me up a bit, and i see many problems that rise with such playstyle.

what is it?
the linear play style of aion.
look at it (asmodian perspective): from level 1-9 your in "starting island" (ishalgen) then from 1-20 your in altgard, then in brustonin and so forth so forth. Even the leveling, is very linear. in Altgard, you basically follow a road while leveling, and mingling of levels is uncommon.


whats the problem?

there are quit a few that i can forsee, one of them is the rather repetitive nature of the game (since for each level, you are limited to the areas to which you can level)

2nd is over crowding. GG sucks, and i can guarantee there will be bots+ the popularity of the game, will bring about ALOT of players to the game (good thing) however this will cause leveling problems. take for example level 10-11 in altgard is limited to the area around/near altgard.

now add that fact and also add bots+other players to that area. can you see the problem?



we definitly need some sort of alternative area for leveling. obviously not right at launch, but def. as an expansion.


discuss

[RAUBEZ]

players will be less likely to level alts and just quit when they get bored of their main(which may or may not have UP problems)

[Excen]

There could be 100 starting zones and i would never have fun rolling a new character. I hate leveling, so it doesn't effect me. For people like me, Quests in a straight line is the best thing for me. My opinion of course, everyone is a different type of player when it comes to MMOS.

[Halocrap]

Leveling may be linear, but it's fun though right?

And besides, Aion really shines in endgame.

[jinxster]

Originally Posted by lilnate22

This is something that bugs me up a bit, and i see many problems that rise with such playstyle.

what is it?
the linear play style of aion.
look at it (asmodian perspective): from level 1-9 your in "starting island" (ishalgen) then from 1-20 your in altgard, then in brustonin and so forth so forth. Even the leveling, is very linear. in Altgard, you basically follow a road while leveling, and mingling of levels is uncommon.


whats the problem?

there are quit a few that i can forsee, one of them is the rather repetitive nature of the game (since for each level, you are limited to the areas to which you can level)

2nd is over crowding. GG sucks, and i can guarantee there will be bots+ the popularity of the game, will bring about ALOT of players to the game (good thing) however this will cause leveling problems. take for example level 10-11 in altgard is limited to the area around/near altgard.

now add that fact and also add bots+other players to that area. can you see the problem?



we definitly need some sort of alternative area for leveling. obviously not right at launch, but def. as an expansion.


discuss

well i played wow since beta and its just as linear. i mean all the quests are the same for whoever you start with. the only thing that differs is starting areas. in wow you go to the area for whatever level you are sure in the beginning its a little variety but once you hit say 20 or so your forced to level in those said areas for that said level you are.

[QQ More]

linear is just a cry for attention.

[Blog Monster]

Originally Posted by Halocrap

Leveling may be linear, but it's fun though right?

And besides, Aion really shines in endgame.

All the MMO's I've played have had the option of going to another area to level up, even as linear as WAR is you could still switch pairings which usually meant a change in scenery although at end game it was kind of the same desolate blown up chaotic area after another

Originally Posted by jinxster

well i played wow since beta and its just as linear. i mean all the quests are the same for whoever you start with. the only thing that differs is starting areas. in wow you go to the area for whatever level you are sure in the beginning its a little variety but once you hit say 20 or so your forced to level in those said areas for that said level you are.

All MMO questing systems are the same: true that. But, world of warcraft actually had multiple leveling choices all the way up to level 60, in the two expansions it's applicable to the above. Whats more is that they had quests that went all over the place, quest chains from dungeons that went into the open world into a completely different region; those weren't so bad because big chains meant big rewards but then there were really retarded ones that sent you way out into no where for pretty ****** stuff.

The reason I'm getting irritated with Aion questing is because you don't get to fill up on quests then go do all of them in crcuit bringing you back to the hub. Right now it's do one quest, go back to npc, get another quest from the same npc, go back out to finish quest; rinse/repeat.

It's not fun because of the retarded amount of backtracking you end up doing.

I have played a lot of MMO's and they don't seem to get rid of this retarded style of quest set up, or reduce it, till another expansion or so. I lose faith in Aion sometimes because it hasn't really revolutionized the MMO industry by much. WoW didn't revolutionize jackshit, they just managed to refine what was already done. WAR introduced a lot of cool stuff like public quests and...um, well because of lack of server stability/zerg style of balance, people lost faith and with such a large dependancy on populace it began to crumble.

The only good thing about asian MMOs is the armour, animation and...um...er...well asian MMO's had a lot of outdated mechanics, thinking more towards "how much of a timesink can we push for to keep the subs going" rather than "how can we entice the player to the game so they don't want to let their subs die".

The new and upcoming starwars online questing system boasts that they have revolutionized it, even gone so far to remove the bread and butter "fedex" quest archetype that plague MMOs.

Now if MMOs went the extra step to add animation to looting quest items: instead of looting King Balthazars head, you now wrench his head up with your gritty hands, brandishing your blade against his throat and decapitating it mercilessly; you pop it in your backpack.

You have looted <Balthazars Head>

Things have a much bigger impact if they're done visually. Then people have something to say about it, like "hey jim have you ever looted King Balthazar? You haven't?! Dude it's pretty knarley!".

[Halocrap]

Originally Posted by Blog Monster

All the MMO's I've played have had the option of going to another area to level up, even as linear as WAR is you could still switch pairings which usually meant a change in scenery although at end game it was kind of the same desolate blown up chaotic area after another

Very true, but the way I look at it, if it's a blast to play I don't care how it looks. Hell, I don't care if my character is a square with a triangle hat, if it's really fun I'll play it.

[Senshi]

people complain if mmo is grinding
people complain is mmo is quest driven thus linear


In Aion you can either or, or together.


-.-

[Noiry]

After level 20 (and especially 25, when Abyss opens up) the game is much less linear. Think of the first 20 levels as a tutorial.

A few alternative tutortials (e.g. different starting areas) would be really nice, let's hope they will add them in future expansions.

[Blog Monster]

Originally Posted by Noiry

After level 20 (and especially 25, when Abyss opens up) the game is much less linear. Think of the first 20 levels as a tutorial.

A few alternative tutortials (e.g. different starting areas) would be really nice, let's hope they will add them in future expansions.

Overly long and redudant tutorials eat away at both the stupid majority and intelligent minority alike

[Nebel]

The downside is lack of replay value for alts.

The upside is all of the details put into those zones instead of spreading their work out to more areas that are more generic.

I'm really not bothered. I always end up regretting making alts instead of sticking with my main, and this is going to deter me from that.

[Eightysix]

i agree it is going to make alts quite boring, however if the game is all that it is seeming to be in endgame i dont think it is going to be a HUGE issue...

plus, at 25 the game changes dramatically with the ability to go to the abyss, which is where i plan on questing.

but yes, i do see the issue. it actually makes me NOT want to play any more beta for fear that i will get frustrated w/leveling by the time the real game comes out...

will it make alts boring? yes
will it stop me from playing? no

[Tahlmah]

Originally Posted by Senshi

people complain if mmo is grinding
people complain is mmo is quest driven thus linear


In Aion you can either or, or together.


-.-

Agreed. You simply CANNOT please everyone. Give someone in an MMO two options and they cry because they don't have a third.

Tell them that PvPvE is this "heart and soul" of this "world" and they want a PvE server.

Tell them that the CE gets extra items but it's sold out world wide and they want something special for just pre-ordering the regular edition.

Tell them you have pie and they want cake and cookies instead (or that cake/pie abomination)

The modern MMO players mantra is "It's all about me, and you OWE me something".

/sips coffee

[Noiry]

Originally Posted by Eightysix

will it make alts boring? yes
will it stop me from playing? no

Same here.

After leveling 3 Asmos and 2 Elyos to level 20+ (and countless toons to level 10), the starting areas lose their charm rather quick. I hate Ascension quests, with all the running around xD

But different classes mean different playstyle, so it's still fun for me, and I'll definitely level an alt or two, too. And at least you learn the most effective routes and shortcuts.

Let's hope NCSoft addresses this issue in an expansion.