I think it will be, for me, just like in EQ. I started out guns blazing but once I got into a group that I played with most every day, I forgot about leveling and just went with the flow. The leveling took care of itself. Plus, we sort of didn't want to out-level someone, so sometimes we just explored, or chatted, until everyone was on.
So different from the way games have been since we left EQ. I want to return to this style of play, where your game play centers on other players you like to play with.
I tend to walk to line in front of me.
It depends on which game it is, since not every game offers content beyond xp and level up.
Games that I enjoy the most, are games where I steady my pace a bit and look around, explore and discover. (which would be in line of Pantheon)
Usually, I take things slower on my 2nd character in comparison to my main.
As gamingyears have gone by, I learned that one enjoys a game more when you take the time to appreciate it.
Only when a game is too easy or I'm walking the treadmill for the X-time, I actively search for a challenge and make it myself more difficult (aka slow things down heavely).
Kilsin said:What is your preferred levelling pace in MMORPGs, do you race to the end, go with the flow or slow things right down? #MMORPG #communitymatters
my problem is that I have to explore every map, finish every quest and max all craftings before I get to max level...
no hurry though
I tend to just do whatever, but when I get to within 25% of leveling, then I try to harder finish it out and hit level, especilly if it's a milestone level like new spells or abilities.
Just like in the ‘Brad M. era of Old EQ,’ I like a game that takes quite a while to get close to the higher levels. I prefer a combination of going with the flow, while also slowing it right on down! I much prefer going slower where level progression is true and real progression, most definitely NOT instant gratification. I’m looking forward to a lot of risk/reward, strategy, depth, and *slow & meaningful* level progression. I imagine many of the hundreds of thousands of people who played Brad M’s games are ready for this, albeit the majority don’t even use nor post on the forums. Good that my community is returning though :) Pantheon onward!
When it comes to how fast I move in a game, I am somewhere in the middle. I tend to ignore my experience bar and just go out and explore and do things. The levels come when they do. Since I often don't intentionally try to level, and am instead just focused on experiencing the world, I tend to move a bit slower than many other people. That said, I am someone who tends to need to always be doing something. So, I move quicker than many players do simply by dint of the fact that I'm always off pushing on some new gameplay goal. But, if it takes me more than a year to reach the maximum level, I'll be happy.
I don't like it when the game rushes me by leveling too fast - I absolutely hate situations where I've just gotten into some meaty new content and suddenly I'm over-leveling things. In games where it's an option, I have been known to turn experience OFF to prevent that from becoming a problem. On the flipside of that, I'm a little more ok with having to grind out some exp in order to gain a level or two to be able to go see something new, but only just. My ideal is a situation where the game is content-rich enough that I can naturally move from one piece of content to the next within a given region without leveling too fast, or too slow. I also want to be clear that I think that content paths and pacing should be tuned based on in-game regions, rather than globally, because I also want to be able to create alts and have them level up while experiencing completely different areas of the game world. That doesn't mean I actually want fast leveling, just that I want the game to have so much content that it can be paced nice and slow, and you can still level up by doing content within your starting region and branching out on your starting continent.
Let me give two totally inconsistent answers.
In general I like a very slow pace. I enjoy crafting. I enjoy harvesting. I enjoy exploration. I enjoy developing characters. I enjoy seeing the backstories of the races and classes and communities. I enjoy "alts" and may well run characters in every character slot I have and actually play most or all of them every day for at least a bit of time. I will try every race and every class other than those it is quite obvious I won't like (I truly dislike huge races they block too much of the screen). I do not love the "endgame" and when I hit maximum level my typical approach is to create a new character if I don't have lower levels already. I dislike it greatly if I can get to level-cap in a day or a week or a month - it isn't entirely rational but if I know there is an easy way to hit maximum level in a day or two taking 6 months grinding to the same result feels unsatisfactory. I *know* I can just ignore the Instant Adventures of Rift or the Level Agnostic dungeons of EQ2 but knowing that these forms of rapid leveling are available just drains the pleasure from gaining a level the hard way in hundreds of times as much time.
Now for answer two and the one I would prefer you to ignore in tallying up how we like to play. I may, after spending a few weeks learning the ropes and getting a feel for the classes and races, pick a class that levels quickly (this may mean a class highly in demand for groups) and speed-level it. Not because I want it to be at level-cap especially. Not to race other people to the top - if that were the goal I would start the first day. But to be able to gather coin and resources for lower level "alts". To join a guild and be able to help lower level members. A class with a really useful non-combat ability will be appealing as with druid or mage teleports if something like this is in the game. But my first paragraph is a far better reflection of how I like to play.
If there's plenty to do/chase while leveling, I enjoy a long, slow path to max level.
If pre-max level content is inconsequential and just there to provide a timesink and has no real meaning once you've gotten max level, then I'd prefer to power-ground through so I can get to the 'real game' c:
I will level as quickly as the game allows while also fully experiencing each zone. If I don't feel I've seen and done all a zone has to offer when the time comes to move on I'll go explore the rest of the zone before going to the next. Sometimes that will turn into multiple days of exploration. Other times I can't wait to leave a zone (deserts and icy regions tend to be super boring to me) and will leave at the first opportunity.
Getting to level cap first isn't a priority for me but, as a completionist, it is definitely a strong goal so long as I don't leave things incomplete along the way. I've been known to outlevel friends and then level up an alt to play with them while they catch up. I doubt that will be the case in a game like Pantheon that doesn't favor solo play but when I have to wait for friends to log in I'll be out farming something beit mobs, crafting materials or whatever else I can use to advance my character.
The actual pace of leveling isn't all that relevant. I'd prefer a slower climb because the rapid climbs just leave me with a full stable of alts all at max level far too quickly.
1-20: slow
21-40: slower
41-50: slowest
With some hell levels incorporated and fireworks upon reaching level 50!
Side note off topic. At level 50 I think it would be cool to be able to choose some sort of minor cosmetic upgrade to one's character (not gear).
Kilsin said:What is your preferred levelling pace in MMORPGs, do you race to the end, go with the flow or slow things right down? #MMORPG #communitymatters
I just play the game. Sometimes I will explore a lot and do very little leveling, sometimes I will grind hard to try and knock some levels out of the way (especially if there is a new spell/skill line available). I don't ever try to "limit" myself as this seems counter to gaming. This is why I prefer development systems to be EXTREMELY slow, so that if I do end up leveling a lot, I don't destroy the game for myself. Having "fun (tm)" in the game for me is just doing what I want, when I want, how I want and not having to worry about that I out leveled an area, or that because I was having fun, I am now at the end of the game.
I like EQ because I never felt that I was doing the content too fast (Which is how I felt about most of the MMOs over the years, minus a couple) even when I found time to play long hours. Even with playing heavily in EQ, I was still only level 44 a year later when Kunark came out. No game to this date had that kind of progression pace and I think this is one of the things (among many) why I find most of the MMOs over the last couple of decades to be complete failures in game development play.
This is why it is so important for Pantheon to be a game about the "journey" and not a crack jack prize "end game" system.
Everything I want to do will be easier at max level, so... yeah. Also, the complete lack of design goals around Mentoring or Progeny make it impossible to give an informed response.
As was recently discussed, regarding target hours per day.. " there's no value you can use that will satisfy the casual but prevent the hardcore, without artificial constraints that are worse than the problem they're trying to solve. "
But I wish you all the best in the tuning / balance of that design goal.
This subject has been discussed to death in the past few weeks, but I feel like leveling is best if it happens naturally as a result of engaging in whatever content the game has to offer, and the leveling isn't necessarily the primary focus while playing.
That works best when the pace of leveling within the game itself is relatively slow, regardless of how hard anyone tries. Because if leveling takes longer, chances are other objectives will draw your attention first and levels become something more akin to long term milestones.
It's perhaps also worth mentioning that in EQ I often kept grouping in zones for a while even though my character level had possibly outgrown them and could've gotten more experience elsewhere, because I liked the feeling of being able to make a big contribution to the success of the groups I was in. So I definitely don't aim for maximum leveling efficiency.
vjek said:Everything I want to do will be easier at max level, so... yeah. Also, the complete lack of design goals around Mentoring or Progeny make it impossible to give an informed response.
As was recently discussed, regarding target hours per day.. " there's no value you can use that will satisfy the casual but prevent the hardcore, without artificial constraints that are worse than the problem they're trying to solve. "
But I wish you all the best in the tuning / balance of that design goal.
This one I never understood. The casual player should not be of a concern here. I know that sounds disrespectful, but lets look at the facts. A casual player wants to play the game and see "meaningful" progression. In EQ, that was just seeing your exp bar move some. That was meaningful all things considered. My issue I think with some arguments is that they define "meaningful" to be actually leveling or obtainging a goal in a shorter period of time. This I think is a danger in attending to and why modern games are instant grat max level and complain fests.
So, you don't attempt to satisfy the "casual" who wants instant gratification. Most casual I know don't see the game that way and have no problem with old EQ like long term progression. So, what should be done then? Design the content near the top 20% of play (only in terms of time based progression). That way, the above average gamer sets the pace of development. It means those who play a little longer and more often than others establish how long it takes to level. If you can make it where the top 20% take 8 months to a year to level to max, it means the casual might take over a year to achieve the same thing. What does this do? It means there is content for everyone at a pace that the developers can easily provide for. The top 1-5% will still thrash through the content and then sit around whining, but just like the casuals, you can't cater to that either.
The goal is to make sure there is long term progression and you can't achieve that by desigining content by the lowest common denominator. Modern games do this and they are ran through by everyone in days.
WarKnight said:1-20: slow
21-40: slower
41-50: slowest
With some hell levels incorporated and fireworks upon reaching level 50!
Side note off topic. At level 50 I think it would be cool to be able to choose some sort of minor cosmetic upgrade to one's character (not gear).
Leveling pace might be a tricky balance based on how much content is available. I don't want leveling to be so slow that I am grinding the same orc camp for one month to gain one level. Unless there is plenty of content then I don't think I really care.
Also for my perspective on pace, I think it should take hardcore players around six months to reach max level. The average player maybe a year or so.