I struggle to find my way around. My understanding is that Pantheon will not have mini maps or glowing paths to follow and I'm very glad for that. But I do hope there are some mechanics like a /loc in EQ. I would love to see skills like sense heading, tracking, wayfinding, or even cartography that characters have to actively work on to improve that would help with finding ones way.
Lack of meaningful endgame content, nothing worse then nothing to do. Realm Reborn is a great example, devs waste time developing...housing...while including a few throwaway dungeons that just become part of the meaningless token grind and aren't really memorable. There doesn't have to be huge quantity, but quality is very important. Nothing is fun after you repeat it so many times, so make doing so challenging, meaningful, and FUN
Class identity is my biggest struggle
The limited set of skills available to a class ,while it is hard to tell as what a class with multiple roles would qualify for
Take a Templar in eso as example,which is a a paladin,cleric,priest,solar mage hybrid.Not satisfying any of the desired class roles
A limited set of skills available vs the ability to swap out skills and getting creative(which I prefer with mesmer in gw2)
Skills are never changing during the journey (nor affected by the journey) and a limited set of skills available + Meta builds that are expected to be followed at endgame
gets repetitive quickly.The environment has no impact which often results in worlds that feel static and dull
My biggest delimna is almost always class balance. I play a druid usually. I love the playstyle of being a utility person, but hate that people won't take you since you are best at nothing. I have burnt myself out on soloing and am no longer interested in doing so. If my class is not group oriented, I will quickly lose interest in the game as I'll have no one to play with.
I struggle with people's attitudes. I don't care for elites and those who brag about their worth in game based off of something done in game. To me MMORPGS are an escape and I deal with all kinds of different attitudes everyday at work I don't want to deal with them in game as well. I was so happy when I discovered /ignore in EQ that made the game so much more enjoyable for me..
My issue is usually obstinance and my own determination. I will find myself trying to get somewhere I cannot, soloing something I should not, or trying to complete a quest I have no hope of achieving. It is a double edge sword because finally completing it days/weeks/levels later makes it memorable, but wastes a fair amount of time. I just don't have the levels, but I blame it on bad luck and try again. I don't have the gear and blame it on that bard that trained me or that wizard that xloc'd out training me.
While I do not want a theme park ride of going from A to B to C, having some kind of guide that this is a bad idea to even be attempting can be helpful. Granted this only matters if there is a meaningful death penalty which is a good thing.
One of the things I loved about Everquest was that guilds had a pretty clear tiering of content that allowed them to gear up, step back down if they lost members and need to regear, and with later releases side content for other options. Most of it was not locked behind gates and if you had the gear and organization to complete it then you could do it. If you did not you had options to improve your chances.
I used to be a pvper...times have changed now I have become a casual player.. have been encountering elitism recently ..and trying to deal with that, guess mostly attitudes from other people that figure that playing a game should be a job. No I don't want to raid, I am not a raider, not interested in being a raider, but I have been gaming since the mid 1990s..so I don't fall into the class of "newb" either. If you want me to play the game as a job...PAY ME. :P That's my answer. I am here to craft, explore, be sociable, go on adventures with other people..and generally smell the roses. OH and the word some don't get...have FUN. I think, if I am not mistaken, there is still a place for me in the online gaming world. :)
Cana
Kilsin said:What part of playing your character in MMORPGs do you struggle with the most? #PRF #Communitymatters
I tend to procrastinate on quest lines like the pantheon armor in Vanguard. I get caught up leveling other toons before my main is geared and fall behind other players. The good thing about this is I do meet lots of people. Bad thing is I lose touch with people i start the games with.
As a wizard it was finding a group until you prove yourself valuable. Lazy afk wizards ruined it for a lot of us. I don't mind some lfg time though. I am the type of player to find other undesirables necros , mages etc and form our own groups. I never understood why mages had a hard time getting groups...a parsed many hours of EQ1 and between damage shield, pet, and nukes the mage would do insane DPS.
I use to struggle with logging off after an experience loss death. I would play way longer than planned to get the experience or level back.
Lately? The thing I struggle the most with in MMOs is getting people to actually talk. In so many games everyone is just focused on doing whatever's in their quest journal, and the games make it way too easy for them to just get a random group to do that. As terrible as it was some days, I actually *miss* the downtime we had waiting for the healer to get mana back in EQ, because that's where we all got to know each other and that's where all those friends lists and guild invites came from.
That said I think/hope Pantheon's going to get the right balance there :)
Mechanically the part that's always been a little tough for me is targeting. I tab-target a LOT because trying to click on that orc healer in the middle of of the pack of 5 other orcs while they're all moving around so that I can stun him is just a non-starter. Nope. Tab, tab, tab, MEZ. GOT YOU!
Hope it helps :)
The things I've struggled with in MMORPGs in the past are: -
Getting a group
MMORPGs for years now haven't needed grouping so it's hard to do. I don't think Pantheon should have this trouble. I would like to see a group finder UI that actually gets used, though. No instant teleports to group/dungeon, but something people use rather than having to wander zone to zone spamming LFG.
Slow travel
I don't want trivial fast travel, but I don't want to wait for hours for a druid or wizard to do me the favour of charging me to avoid running for hours. There's a middle ground I'd like.
Synchronising with friends
Levels, quests, etc. It was always a struggle and a bone of contention to feel you couldn't play when your friends aren't on because you would out-level them or get quests out of sync or whatever.
Griefing
Ganking, abuse, whatever, it happens. The game needs to discourage things like ganking and there need to be ways to avoid, ignore or effective paths of reporting anti-social behaviour.
End Game being the end of the game
It happens to me in nearly all MMORPGs, really. I seem to prefer the journey to the destination, but most games appear to concentrate on the end.
Either End Game has to offer more than repeated raids in an attempt to unlock or equip for further repeated raids or the journey to the eng game needs to be long and fulfilling. Preferably both.
Excessive downtime
Having to manage your mana = fun and tactical. Having to sit twiddling your thumbs recovering mana for longer than you are fighting = not fun. Especially when some classes don't have to.
Immersion and Other People
I'm not a hardcore role-player, but there's nothing worse than a toon called "Megatron" running around in clashing neon coloured outfits (big shoulder pads a must) with half a dozen exotic pets in tow.
The best solution is not to make that kind of tat gear available and to have naming policies and role-plaing servers that are enforced.
I'll stop there but I could probably think of more. Jeez what a moaner! Hehe
Kilsin said:What part of playing your character in MMORPGs do you struggle with the most? #PRF #Communitymatters
Realistically it is meeting other skilled and friendly players. Everything else is in general just getting to know the system of the specific game. It usually seems like the good and fun players are quite and busy while the obnoxious trolly players will take the time to Troll.
Nephele said:Lately? The thing I struggle the most with in MMOs is getting people to actually talk. In so many games everyone is just focused on doing whatever's in their quest journal, and the games make it way too easy for them to just get a random group to do that. As terrible as it was some days, I actually *miss* the downtime we had waiting for the healer to get mana back in EQ, because that's where we all got to know each other and that's where all those friends lists and guild invites came from.
That said I think/hope Pantheon's going to get the right balance there :)
Mechanically the part that's always been a little tough for me is targeting. I tab-target a LOT because trying to click on that orc healer in the middle of of the pack of 5 other orcs while they're all moving around so that I can stun him is just a non-starter. Nope. Tab, tab, tab, MEZ. GOT YOU!
Hope it helps :)
I would have stolen yours, unintentionally, so I figured I'd just quote.
This, exactly.
Why do people not talk anymore? It really, really boggles my mind. There are many games out there that are great and don't have a social aspect to them. Why play one that does, and then not be social? It's very puzzling to me.
And yes to that confounded mouse targeting. Unless I know exactly what's going to happen (I.E. Mezzed mob standing in one spot that's next on the kill list) and am able to hover my hand over the mouse with the cursor over the intended target, then I'll always tab target. Any other time, and it's as if my hands end up with tourettes, with that cursor flying every which way. It's embarrassing.
Tralyan said:Why do people not talk anymore? It really, really boggles my mind. There are many games out there that are great and don't have a social aspect to them. Why play one that does, and then not be social? It's very puzzling to me.
Personally I think it's a symptom of the rise of social media. Sprinkle on growing toxicity over the years & the rise of trolls.
Back in the mid to late 90s people were FAR more chatty online, the age of chat rooms and talking to random people. Not to mention it could often be much faster to just quickly ask someone online when trying to find some specific information since search engines weren't amazing back then. If you weren't specific in your search you'd often just find yourself neck deep in geocities and angelfire sites. Social media (Facebook/Myspace) came around eventually and most people shifted into that, becoming content in their own bubbles talking to people they know in the real world & promoting their own lives to one another.
In EQ I remember most zones had a pretty healthy /ooc chat going on at any given time in addition to people's group chats, even in DAoC I saw it only a little less commonly. WoW I only ever remember seeing it (Horde) in Orgrimmar and The Barrens (early in the games life) with increasingly rare conversations in instance groups after matchmaking entered the picture. I don't know if it's voice chat that killed it, an increase in people who only talk with friends/guildmembers, something else entirely, or all of it together. I'm cautiously optimistic that Pantheon will have much more of a community feel, but we'll see.
philo said:I struggle with pugs. Not knowing my group and their capabilities/personalities (both in game and out) can make things difficult and less fun. Once I've been playing for awhile and get to know people I tend to never pug.
I avoid pugs, guess its a question of trust. Group with guildies and other friends usually. Don't like drive by group invites (target you, invite you, say nothing at all to you.) Don't like driveby guild invites either. My question in either case is...how do you know we fit together, in a group or a guild. Do I have the same goals as you..perhaps the same quests? I always click those invites OFF...I am not a puppy to be dragged along to whatever it is you are doing. Talk to me..or it ain't gonna happen. :) This isn't something new, I started seeing this behaviour around about 2004..upon the release of Wow.
Communication is a grand thing, I wish more people would do it. :)
Cana