General Discussion

Originally posted by Philss

I have 128 played days on my priest and 12 days to lvl  , so its more like 5-10% of my playtime is girding and i HATE grinding bad . To me its all about grouping/pvp

you're still grinding though.  for gear, honor, badges, etc.

there is nothing else right now, if there was an MMO would be doing it.  eve is close with training w/o being online, but if you want to grow in eve you still have to grind things.

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Originally posted by Copeland

It's the players psychology as well as bad game developers that are to blame for the feeling of grinding. If you're playing a game that you think starts at 60 then you need to quit playing that game. If you're playing a game that feels like work just to get to 60 then you're being suckered because that game at 60 isn't going to be any better.
WAKE UP GAMERS!
 

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Well said!

I didn't mind planting one plant at a time as a grind that much (it's planting, and that's how it really is!). Thus, I could do it for hours at a time for months. The reward was I was rare (fast levelers, let alone the fighters -- the majority - had no time or want to do it), which meant I had a huge market to supply. I felt rewarded for doing the hard work, as I got mega coin for doing it, and no shortage of orders for doing what I wanted to do.

It was a grind, but a grind that made sense (planting is one plant at a time in the Medieval age). It helped regulate the economy by not flooding the market, which kept the prices of texts high enough to make it worthwhile doing -- and little competition (unlike the bottable mats like metals and wood). Dead PvPers losing their high text gear, meant the market also always needed more mats.

But I left it due to open-open PvP (abuse of city guild members getting open-PvP scrolls in cities for like 100 gold a piece [they can make millions a day, mind you], to kill everyone in the city at pleasure -- even those who help pay their upkeep in taxes. Not working after 8hrs at the warehouse and unloading the final batch of the day, so some level 120 asshat can go on a safe killing spree). >:(

Put everything together in one world = chaos. You won't get happy gamers in chaos (unless it's Eve, but Eve is e-v-i-l). I'm not happy, and lost something I really liked playing, because devs are more interested in money (PvPers buying store regens and more), than even gameplay itself.

Lets call it what it is, gateing. It keeps you playing as long a possible (in theory) and paying the monthly fees!

So we remove it by adding true gates. Lets say, hypothetically, your only allowed 1 level (or skill upgrade) a week. Hear me out!

You only need minimal (comparitivy) exp to advance a level/skill once achieved you wait the predesignated time period (ie. the gate) until you actually advance, then during this waiting period (the gate) you spend your time smelling the roses of the game your playing! You can enjoy the storyline, role-play, explore areas you would not have other wise, etc.

It would take some serious sandbox features like SWG use to have ie. Player cities, seriously good guild features, story arcs (think cries of Alderan). It would need deep quests (not thousands of fed-ex style), something like Bioware could be capable of.  And a true player driven economy!

Im sure many of you will balk at this idea, but grinding is a gate. So just add gates and let the player base explore the rest of the game. This idea may be catering to my playstyle because I find myself trying to enjoy the game and end up way behind because I dont put in the time to 'grind' up levels or skills. So yes it would be cool if a company/game just added time gates so I could advance and enjoy the game!

Just my $.02

VolatileMan

Just remove 10000001 quests that don't have anything to really do with the game itself (killing 10 to 100 rats for 1 piece of silver, is also insulting). And once you cleared a zone it doesn't respawn until you leave -- that gives you time to look around and just have some fun (can we have more interaction with the environment, too? All those trees, and I can't climb up for a better view; can't skip rocks; can't climb all those mountains that dot these massive worlds, either).

It's no wonder why they threw in raids and PvP. The environment and interactivity of it sucks. Be a wood elf, and you can't even feed the deer (no, the deer is evil and everyone must be slaughtered instead -- that's the sum of the environment. NPC=kill).

Originally posted by wjrasmussen

Originally posted by Venger

With out the grind what is the point whether that is xp, skill, quest or gear grinding they are all pretty much the same.

I would personally prefer skill grinding because then you could break up the grind some by working on a different skill vs xp grinding there that next level is all you're striving for.

 

It is ok to say what you want and speak for what you want.  Don't speak for the rest of us.

?  I"m sorry didn't realize I stuck my hand up your rear and made you say anything?

Originally posted by VolatileMan

Lets call it what it is, gateing. It keeps you playing as long a possible (in theory) and paying the monthly fees!

So we remove it by adding true gates. Lets say, hypothetically, your only allowed 1 level (or skill upgrade) a week. Hear me out!

You only need minimal (comparitivy) exp to advance a level/skill once achieved you wait the predesignated time period (ie. the gate) until you actually advance, then during this waiting period (the gate) you spend your time smelling the roses of the game your playing! You can enjoy the storyline, role-play, explore areas you would not have other wise, etc.

It would take some serious sandbox features like SWG use to have ie. Player cities, seriously good guild features, story arcs (think cries of Alderan). It would need deep quests (not thousands of fed-ex style), something like Bioware could be capable of.  And a true player driven economy!

Im sure many of you will balk at this idea, but grinding is a gate. So just add gates and let the player base explore the rest of the game. This idea may be catering to my playstyle because I find myself trying to enjoy the game and end up way behind because I dont put in the time to 'grind' up levels or skills. So yes it would be cool if a company/game just added time gates so I could advance and enjoy the game!

Just my $.02

VolatileMan

  Truth be told, your ideal is actually VERY good.  What it does is open the sandbox world to the "rollercoaster" crowd.  They still have their levels, and even have their linear path through zones based on those levels.  The difference is, each zone would then have to accommodate around a months worth of "stuff to do besides level".  In concept, that is BRILLIANT...and would make for a very nice game design.  You see, the casuals could still keep up with their hardcore friends in level gain.  What the hardcore would then have is access to tons of content outside the level grind.  Perhaps better gear, more customization options, whatever...you name it.

  I fully support this, and will sit down tonight (perhaps) and start working out a design plan for just such a thing.

I'm not fond of solo grinding, but I like group grinding.   Looking back in time, when playing DAoC in the early days, I had great times killing goblins in Lyonesse.....some of the best times in an MMO....made many online friends doing this.

In theory the only thing that could really replace the grind is a game that is simply fun to play.  If it takes you 10,000 mob deaths to get that next level you won't miss the time if the combat is fun.  If you need to craft 1,000 swords to level up you won't miss the time if you are rewarded for your action.  Same thing with real life people either love their job and where does the time go or stomach their job for the nice reward come pay day.