Why not grind and questing?

[platino]

i dont mind do quest for xp but some quests r stupid like running town to to town and talk with npc to get no xp worth ur effort.
if quest arent worth the time spend and i get more with just killing mobs with much running around i choose grind.

quest need to be worth the same or more as normal grinidng

[Calindor]

no they dont, because that forces you to quest...they should both be the same and a simple choice for players on what they would prefer to do

[Dimindra]

I think questing and grinding should be on par. If your a dps focused class then grinding might actually be preferable than questing cause you can do that faster. Classes like healers cannot kill as fast so questing might be a better option. Since there wont be specs in Aion where one class can chose to be more dps oriented instead of healing(like in wow) if that class is healer based then I really hope questing grants equal amount of experience rewards that grinding would.

[LethalGT]

Originally Posted by Dimindra

I think questing and grinding should be on par. If your a dps focused class then grinding might actually be preferable than questing cause you can do that faster. Classes like healers cannot kill as fast so questing might be a better option. Since there wont be specs in Aion where one class can chose to be more dps oriented instead of healing(like in wow) if that class is healer based then I really hope questing grants equal amount of experience rewards that grinding would.

That sounds good.

[BahamutKaiser]

Seperate servers for questing and grinding is nonsense, you can have both features in one system and allow the players to choose one or the other, not make seperate servers.

Questing should always be more rewarding, whether your only getting a little exp on top of alot of kills for a higher output, or whether you gain a bulk sum which rewards your time spent with more than you would gain in time context doing otherwise. Likewise aimless battling (I woln't refer to it as grind, since that is a gameplay feature) should be easier, and perhaps easier to accomidate, but not be as rewarding. The exception of course being quests which reward you with objects, abilities, or unique access of one type or another, in which you may not be gaining as much experience for the time spent as you would simply battling.

[vasil]

you cant have quests all the way up to 'l33tness'. you can have looots of them 1-50, you can have tons of new endgame quests added every update, and still you will run out. at least from decent, story oriented ones, that require some amount of thought/time put into them (developer wise i mean). maybe the asnwer is public quests ala warhammer, but im yet to see those for real, so i cant judge them

[BahamutKaiser]

I'm going to assume you ment can and not can't. I think the best way to keep players entertained is through interactivity. You can also have quests with interactive solutions and alternate results, that way no matter how many times you play it, you can enjoy the gameplay and competition. In the end, the only thing that is immortal is the gameplay. Story, Quest, Grind, Rewards, Character Development, and many other activities will expire over time, but gameplay can last indefinetly, if it is intricate and dynamic enough. Probably the only other aspect that can match is socialization, which is only influenced by the game, not contributed.

Making repeatable scenarios, multiple conclusions, and making them intricate without being story redefining allows for somewhat of a lasting impression. They mentioned having interactive worlds with alternate results, basically meaning that different things and events can happen in the world depending on how the players influence it. This could offer alot of entertainment and intrigue to the game as well, as players seeking new discoveries will be able to enjoy a handful of rare experiences.

By adding some character to every enemy, by adding unique combat experiences to different locations, terrains, and foes, by making the combat system alone very intricate and dynamic, each battle can become a memorable experience. Simply adding some personality and dialog to various enemies can make simple battles a meaningful experience, and keep players entertained on a regular basis. There are alot of creative ways to adress different issues, the real concern is whether the developer is actively and continously searching for solutions, or whether they will settle at some point along the way and say "it's good enough".

[Tempest]

He claims that questing reaps the same rewards as raiding, but I find that hard to believe... to an extent. If that were the case then raiding would be a pointless feature. IMO, you either Raid, Craft or PvP for end-game gear, but maybe I'm just oldschool.

[persepha]

You do not get end game gear by questing, unless you do a long quest chain that includes raiding of some sort.

[mobius]

Most MMOs follow the following rules for gear/loot/rewards, so I'm assuming Aion will be no different.

Questing = Casual friendly. Good stuff to be had, but not the best. Good for people who don't have hours per day or week to play.
Crafting = Somewhat casual friendly. Sometimes requires rare and/or expensive materials that most casual players won't acquire. Still, good stuff to be had.
Raiding = Hardcore forcused. Raids take forever and a day to get set up and run, then you have to learn to do them right. Best rewards in the game are available from them, but since raids take 10+ people you have to do it multiple times to get the reward you wanted. This is for the gamers without a life crowd.

[Firestar_Jes]

I do see a small problem with a game giving both as viable means to exp'ing.
A system that rewards both equally can be to hard to implement.

The problem with this is that too make grinding viable, you have to either lower the quest exp reward, or up the mobs exp reward, which gives players questing, both the upped mob exp and the quest exp. Making questing the best way to level.

If we lower the quest exp reward, no one wants to do the quests, as it's just as good to just kill mobs.

But perhaps if you add some good item rewards for doing the quests, people would be inclined to do more quest. Even if the exp isn't as fast as just grinding mobs.

[Tempest]

Originally Posted by persepha

You do not get end game gear by questing, unless you do a long quest chain that includes raiding of some sort.

He stated in the interview that there will be long quest chains for the "casual" player that gives Raid equivalent gear. He did not state anywhere in the video about having to raid as a part of these quests. That would go against the whole of idea of catering to the casual player all together.

This is one of the things that drew me to the game, as I no longer want to waste time raiding in MMO's. Although I may PvP for gear as well.

[Morgus]

I think its really all about play style. Like in WoW (Yah I am a WoW vet) I found that grinding was just easier, and that you only pick quests that asked to kill mobs. But some ppl don't have the patience for that. They need other things to do like PvP. Its all about what you like to do, but some games don't provide viable options (By that I mean ways that you can lvl at a decent rate). Atleast this one does.

[Terpsichore]

Originally Posted by Tempest

He stated in the interview that there will be long quest chains for the "casual" player that gives Raid equivalent gear.

Thats extremely lame and disgusting.

[mobius]

Originally Posted by Terpsichore

Thats extremely lame and disgusting.

Not really. The 'casal player' will most likely need to invest four to five times the amount of time a 'hardcore' player will need to in order to 'earn' the same quality item. Additionally, 'casual players' tend to play less often so the actual time to reward could be as long as thirty times longer.

I'll assume you're a 'hardcore' player, then I'll assume you're slightly pompous/arrogant and somehow assume that being 'hardcore' makes you better. Tell ya what, it doesn't and you're not.

If anything, MMO designers need to cater to the casual crowed for the following reasons:

1. There's millions of them (hundreds of casuals for every hardcore player)
2. They play less often, therefore use less resources and pay the same amount of money
3. Tend to be easier to retain and usually end up paying more money to the developers than the hardcore players do.
4. Did I mention there are millions of them? Hundreds of millions?

Make sure you think about that any time you're assuming being l337 makes you a better gamer in the eyes of the company making the game you want to play. In the end, it all comes down to money.