Forums » General Pantheon Discussion

How do you all feel about events and what do you hope to see?

    • 810 posts
    April 27, 2021 10:53 PM PDT
    I love community events in games where people come together to solve or cause a problem. Building a settlement, saving a settlement, supporting which faction controls a settlement. There are so many events that go way beyond the "throw snowballs at people for gold"

    I hope the servers split over time where one server may have orcs running most outposts where another server would have elves. Outposts that were onece safe could be overran with monsters if people don't help defend the waves of attacks.


    Do you think levels will ruin the events? Do you think high level players will just sweep the zone (have the power to sweep the zone?)
    • 2756 posts
    April 28, 2021 1:32 AM PDT

    I love the idea of community events.

    I'd love to see GMs occasionally inhabit NPCs in game and start off special events, for example, a guardsman outside Thronefast could get fed up with the threat of the Hanggore orcs and decide to incite other guards (and any adventurers who hear about it) to go and attack them.  Anyone who assists guards could get special orc ear drops and when they bring them to the guards later get awarded guardsmen gear, maybe.

    It would be interesting, too, to see events that are caused by only adventurers' activities, but I especially love GM events - VR are part of the community after all!

    • 902 posts
    April 28, 2021 2:01 AM PDT

    Personally, I have always felt that mmorpg game worlds were too static in their nature. I would love a world that ebbed and flowed as factions and races gained and lost power. I would love to have an event that occurred that changed the landscape in some way and be able to tell a newbie that I remember this land being ice bound before we went to war with an Ice Dragon. It would be great to have unique events that were never repeated. You could have similar events but with subtle differences. So, for instance the descendants of the afore mentioned (dead) Ice Dragon could come for revenge, maybe these are not as strong, but they are more numerous. Maybe they utilise different spell lines and effects? Maybe they employ differing army types. Who knows? If you miss one of these events, then you missed it forever. 

    If you are a lower character, then you could be given tasks to scout, break supply lines, raid camps. If you are higher in level then you might need to take out high ranking foot soldiers and hold areas, etc. If you are at max level, then you might need to make your way to the source of the problem and stop it dead. Each level of player would need to do their tasks otherwise the main problem could not be addressed. Make it interesting enough for the players to participate at their intented levels.

    Jobeson: Do you think levels will ruin the events? Do you think high level players will just sweep the zone (have the power to sweep the zone?)

    I think, if an event is done right, it wouldnt matter about the level of participants. If the reward/danger level is worth while then you would more likely consume the appropriate content. To directly answer your question though, of course there is never a great way in dealing with people who want to do stuff they shouldnt be doing, but there are things that can be done to make it more difficult and/or encourage participation where appripriate. To stop higher level characters from overrunning content meant for lower levels, various mechanisms could come into play that made it difficult for them too. If an enemy camp is being cleared by a higher level character, this would be detected and the enemy would automatically call reinforcements at an appropriate level that are stronger and better equipped and could initially target the offending player. Eventually, when the threat is gone, the camp is re-populated with the original levelled mobs. Or just scale the mobs at engagement time. Or make mobs impossible to attack if they con grey. Or any combination of these plus others so that it would be difficult to guess which options came into play. 

    With a bit of imagination, a player attempting to clear an area could be hampered significantly enough for them to want to do the content that is appropriate. Especially if there was little reward for the ever increasing danger level.

    • 2138 posts
    April 28, 2021 10:51 AM PDT

    chenzeme said:

    [...]

    If you are a lower character, then you could be given tasks to scout, break supply lines, raid camps. If you are higher in level then you might need to take out high ranking foot soldiers and hold areas, etc. If you are at max level, then you might need to make your way to the source of the problem and stop it dead. Each level of player would need to do their tasks otherwise the main problem could not be addressed. Make it interesting enough for the players to participate at their intented levels.

    Jobeson: Do you think levels will ruin the events? Do you think high level players will just sweep the zone (have the power to sweep the zone?)

    I think, if an event is done right, it wouldnt matter about the level of participants. If the reward/danger level is worth while then you would more likely consume the appropriate content. [...]

    Good ideas and I think this is hard to do because you never know what levels are going to be in a zone when an event is started, nor who will be running into the zone once word of the event gets out. Looking at it from the end result, the "rewards" doled out by the GM would have to be level appropriate and "uber"worthy and importantly- desireable/enviable by all levels. Meaning, the higher level will be happy with their pixels but also covet the newbie reward just as the newbie ogles the higher level reward. In your example the newbie so tasked with scouting, may get rewarded with a clickie goblin runt illusion ring that also removes player nameplate (ooh) that lasts for 3 min and has a +3 goblin faction modifier when cast (ooh!) recast timer is 3 hours but the hidden effect discovered later is reduces aggro radius of caster (OOH). Not a game  breaker but enough to maybe get you past one goblin in a pinch.

    Like the classic bias falsely attributed to millenials where everyone needs to get an award, the problem with events like this is being able to plan something where every level has something to do, or not be as structured to allow acts of heroism on both sides, like Higher levels one-shotting a monster that a lower level group has been earnestly fighing and dieing off with one member left, or a Zerg-Force of newbies charging into the field with a "braveheart" roar being inspired from watching the higher level group struggle against the DM dragon. 

    • 2001 posts
    April 28, 2021 2:02 PM PDT

    I love server events. I was lucky to see a number of them over the years I played Asheron's Call.

    In the past, VR has said they want to make them part of the game. Hopefully they are able to do that.

    • 2419 posts
    April 28, 2021 3:21 PM PDT

    I cannot stand such events.  They are disruptive and outside of the few people that actually want to participate, many of the people just want to ruin it....which they always end up doing.  The GMs have little to no control, everything gets out of hand, all the chat channels are just filled with spam. No thanks.

    Back in EQ1 when the Frogloks as a playable race were being introduced, there was a GM event in Innothule swamp where the frogs and their allies were set to attack Grobb to drive out the Trolls.  On Lanys server, the defenders of Grobb handily won that event.  So many people didn't want the trolls kicked out of Grobb nor did they want the frogs as a player race that the frogs and their allies were beat back.  Then, suddenly, the server goes dow and when it came back up...the frogs now had their town.  Bull#%@^.  I'm of the opinion that if the GMs set up an event with a possible outcome and the players instead defeat that intention, the will of the players should hold.

    • 690 posts
    April 28, 2021 4:37 PM PDT

    I like server events.

    They change things up, and usually offer cool rewards.

    Additionally, such direct attention from the game creators will definately make most players feel much more enthusiastic in their daily grind.

    I feel like it's similar to that one study where a company tried changing the amount of light in their warehouse. Whether they made the lights brighter or darker, productivity went up. Later they found out it was merely because the employees appreciated the extra attention from the big wigs that came as a side effect of the study.

     


    This post was edited by BeaverBiscuit at April 28, 2021 4:41 PM PDT
    • 150 posts
    April 28, 2021 5:57 PM PDT

    Server events were fun, at least before every other player knew the exact location of the NPC(s). Looking back at old screenshots, the smaller events, ones happened in out-of-the-way zones at odd hours, seemed to work better overall. But given that streaming now has to be taken into account, even those small events are less likely to go unnoticed.

    An event that is spread out across multiple zones or one of the larger zones, and not confined to a specific enclosed area, would probably be less frustrating for all participants. At least lag is less of an issue now than before. But even so, when there's just one single point of interest in an event, it's difficult to feel involved or connected, and that's assuming you can even see what's going on from within the surrounding crowd of hopefuls. 

    And to Vandraad's point, when the outcome has already been predetermined, the event might as well be a cut scene. Why include the players if all of their efforts aren't going to be rewarded or at least accounted for? 


    This post was edited by Leevolen at April 28, 2021 6:00 PM PDT
    • 332 posts
    April 28, 2021 6:02 PM PDT

    I like structured events or time based so it's not a either you where there or tough luck ,  things like Rifts and the Titan event in that specific game.

    There nice to break up a quest grind and promote social interaction or depending on the intended target player base ie harder group based or raid based events for smaller guilds or even contested type of events that are on lockouts.


    This post was edited by Xxar at April 28, 2021 6:03 PM PDT
    • 810 posts
    April 28, 2021 6:30 PM PDT

    I agree xxar with the duration of events. Eve would have systems get attacked that could flip their control. (Edit: It would last for a good week or so.) You knew it was happening and players could take sides to fight over amassing enough points as a team. I really enjoyed how the world could truly change though, even if it was only a small area. Being eve it often turned to pvp, but it's teamwork and community all the same.


    This post was edited by Jobeson at April 29, 2021 7:04 AM PDT
    • 9115 posts
    April 29, 2021 3:52 AM PDT

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    • 13 posts
    April 29, 2021 5:30 AM PDT

    I love the idea of events, even more so if they're special dev/mod driven events etc.  Events that happen all the time like christmas or chinese new year etc. are great fun and interesting ways to bring transmog or festive gear into the game.  But for me the best events have always been a little special (see opening of ahn qiraj in wow for a huge example). 

    One time events that bring a whole server together towards a common goal would be amazing.

    • 1281 posts
    April 29, 2021 5:45 AM PDT

    I wouldn't mind event being 'turned on' at certain times of the year. I wouldn't expect there to be live GM involvement but I did enjoy fun twist on things when they get added.

    • 6 posts
    April 29, 2021 7:31 AM PDT

    I would love to see a merging of both GM driven spontaneous (or perhaps announced with a few hours notice) events, and planned patch update events. 

    I remember an event in my EQ days that required players to kill a large number of grim reapers... or whatever the mob was named... in Oasis of Marr... after the event the GM awarded rewards to players that had proven key to the events sucess. I receved a great wt. reduction bag! 20 years later and I still remember it.  I remember Tunare walking the lands to call warriors to her aid and hearing of many others.  Those types of random events can make the players feel involved in the world and excited to be lucky enough to be there for these events.

    I also enjoy the event structure of every other MMO that exists on the market today... seasonal Christmas updates that get re-run each year etc... offer some fun mini games, unique cosmetics and can be a clever way to lure players into less frequented zones and locations to shake up the typical day to day experience.

    Overall YES PLEASE to events! Give us lots of GM run events and some good holiday events!

    • 454 posts
    April 29, 2021 11:50 AM PDT

    I would like events to be a thing in Pantheon.  They could last from a few hours to a month long.  There are many good suggestions already, but I would like random spawns of a specific character, in many zones.  I would like (example) Archai harvest festival where there are GM events hunting for mob x or some special drop Y.  First five people to turn in Y get a prize, or title, or ten plat.  You could run the same event for each race or class at the same times or different times.

    • 58 posts
    April 29, 2021 2:41 PM PDT

    There's a lot ot make of this topic. First of all, I'd like to define events as, "In-game features, encounters and/or narratives that are intended to be participatory and limited in their duration."

    This has actually been on my mind a bit lately, as I recently started (and then stopped) playing Black Desert Online(BDO) again. For those that don't know, BDO has a constant stream of events going at any given time, some lasting two weeks and some lasting longer. Often times, they overlap. Usually the event will be some sort of festival, login reward, or special scheduled boss encounters. Most of the time, the event will require the player to complete several quests, sometimes daily, and usually offer comparatively good rewards for the time invested.

    Before anyone jumps on me using an eastern, action-focused MMORPG as an en example, let me at least divine the good and bad from their implementation:

    The Good:

    -They can add events as they create them, then re-use them (usually the next year). At this point, they have such a vast pool, they can have a constant stream of temporary events to keep players engaged. In this way, they make great use of development resources.
    -The rewards draw players in, and usually a considerable amount of the population will participate.
    -There is a feeling of dynamism in the world, festivals popping up, NPCs being in certain places temporarily—always something different, to some degree.
    -A lot of the events use familiar NPCs, which leads to more player attachment/memory.

    The Bad:

    -The quests for these events are often very cheesy and involve very little. They can be seen as time-wasters, and are almost always utterly trivial (talk to this NPC, now talk to this one, etc.).
    -Because of the above, there is almost no attachment to dialogue. Almost everyone just spams through it and doesn't even care about the event itself—just the rewards.
    -Oftentimes the rewards are far too good for the effort involved, leading to most players feeling like they have to do the event, whether they want to or not.
    -Login rewards. This is a prevalent BDO staple, but in general, this kind of manipulation is not well-placed in an MMO, and makes it feel more like a chore in general.

    Alongside the above kinds of events, BDO has recentlly done a very, very interesting thing in-game with their different servers. In case you aren't aware, in BDO, you can switch between servers every 10-15 minutes or so. Servers are also generally organized by a "realm" which is basically just for naming purposes. Such as "Calpheon 1" or, "Kamasylvia 3." Until recently, all of these were by most means the same in-game, just different versions of the same world.

    However, recently, they made a big change. Now, on servers 3-5 of each region, they have revamped most of the "low level" areas into top-tier versions. What this means is, if you are just starting out, you use the 1 or 2 version of a server, and as you reach the end-game, you end up hanging out more often on the 3 to 6 versions, where those areas are much, much more difficult.

    The good:

    -Refreshes old content.
    -Works well with BDO's server setup (which is different than most games)

    The bad:

    -For the most part, the areas aren't different enough to make them feel truly end-game, other than their difficulty and drops.
    -It separates low-level players from high-tier ones. In fact, if you choose one of the high-tier realms, the game even warns you to not enter because it is very dangerous.

    Now that I've brought up these two examples (and probably lost the attention of 90% of you), let's see...

    How can we tie the good of these practices into something that works well for Pantheon?

    Let's take a few of the good parts, and translate into a more Pantheon-esque event system:

    Short In-Game Events:

    --Physically-represented in the world.
    --Last 2-4 weeks to allow for participation across all schedules.
    --Can be built as development resources allow, then re-used (perhaps with slight tweaks) later on, hopefully to the point where later on, there are events going almost always.
    --Give adequate rewards for the time and effort invested.
    --Are more than "talk to 5 NPCs for a reward." I'm sure this will have to be some element, but it can't be this formula constantly. Variance is absolutely imperative.
    --Tell some sort of engaging story through player participation, perhaps drawing more attention to something that already exists in the world. Something relevant.
    --Participatory, but not mandatory. Players shouldn't feel like doing the events are the primary way to use their time when present.
    --They belong, naturally. Events should feel like they belong in the world and not an artificial, awkward transplant just to have something to do.

    A few generic examples:

    Bnadit Takeover! (2-4 weeks) A group of bandits has moved into the Thronefast region, threatening the outlying villages and perhaps even Thronefast itself! During this time:

    --Many camps around Thronefast have been replaced by Ex'Ample Bandits! Be wary, some of these bandits are much stronger than you're used to!

    -(What this means: Instead of camps that would otherwise have different NPCs, a lot of them are replaced by equal-level Bandits instead. Also, a few camps are much higher-level, bringing players into the zone that may normally be out-leveled. Thesse camps should also be visually different than the normal ones, of course.)

    -Talk to Ska Redpeasant in Avalia to help defend the town!

    -(Talking to the NPC gives backstory on what's going on, and why they may be moving in. Perhaps they are seeking a certain treasure? Maybe this NPC knows the leader? Oh my, a love affair?!)
    -(She would also direct crafters and harvesters to the Avalia Quartermaster, who offers temporary writs to complete in order to help the town defend itself.)

    -Guard Humanname has put a price on bandit heads! If you collect heads, bring them to him for a small reward. Perhaps the head of the leader would be a prize worth boasting about.

    -(The new bandits drop heads as loot, which can be turned in to this guard for a bit of a reward. The Bandit Leader, though, may impress him enough to have you take the head to his Seargent, who gives you a faction bonus and some other slightly better reward.)
    -(The Bandit Leader should have several spawn locations to avoid spawn-camping; perhaps converging to the higher-level area. As he paths, have him shout to the zone, etc., for flavor.)

    -Those against the forces of Thronefast and Avalia may seek out Bandit Baddieboy if they seek to add to the commotion.

    -(For players that aren't aligned to Thronefast, an NPC will instruct on various methods of sabotage to weaken the forces of Theonfast and bolster the bandits. This would be in opposition of the other quests, creating a certain amount of tension between faction alignments.)

    --Other notes:

    -As the event goes on and players from each faction side take action, rewards and dialogue should be adjusted on each side. If one side is toppling the other, rewards should automatically reduce, encouraging the underdog. Also, NPC wild-lines should change as well. If Avalia is doing well, the guards and NPCs should act triumphantly, and vice-versa.
    -Slight atmospheric changes should also be present. Perhaps the air in the affected areas is smoky, a structure on fire here and there, bits of embers and ash sometimes floating in the air.
    -Outside of zones, it would be nice if some NPCs had wild-lines that mentioned the event. "Have you heard what's going on in Avalia?" or "I hope my brother is doing alright in Thronefast. Did you know the Ex'Ample Bandits have launched an assault?" Just little things in /say that can draw people in.

    The Madman's Blight (2-4 weeks). There has been a terrible disease in the Silent Plains!

    -Humanoids in the Silent Plains have contracted a terrible disease!

    -(Any Humanoid creature in the zone has an effect on them that lowers their defenses, but greatly increases their attack speed. This could occasionally be transferred to players in combat.)

    -The Madness (World Boss). A massive swirling, mind-bending aura surrounds this entity. It's unclear where it came from, but one thing is certain: It will take a signficant force to take it down.

    -(x4 Raid boss. Wanders throughout the zone. Perhaps it gives off a very-long range debuff to creatures and players as it passes, giving a chance to fear when hit, or proc that causes the creature/player to go into a "madness" where they rapidly swing their weapon but cannot activate abilities for a short time. Whatever works, but make it scary—very imposing and wild.)
    -(The boss should not be scheduled. Either random or activated as players participate in the event-related tasks throughout the zone.)

    -Healers in the area have been seeking a treatment for the affliction. Seek them out and see how you can help!

    -Settlements in the region that have healing-focused NPCs have tasks that allow adventurers and crafters to work together to make an elixer that temporarily cures the debuff. Some players may administer cures to NPCs, some may gather ingredients, etc. The main reward would be absolutely necessary to fight the raid, particularly, or simply to avoid getting the regular dissease from normal humanoids, too)

    Regarding levels: I don't believe the events should always be max level, but instead be either level-appropriate to the zone, or offer a mix-up to a zone temporarily. As far as farming goes, if the event level is not max, it's a matter of balance. If the rewards are too good, of course there will be problems. The point of events like the above, though, should be to accentuate the areas that already exist, so that people that are level-appropriate can choose to participate and get an alternative experience.

    The main concept is that these smaller events can be rolled out over time, and re-used. Eventually, there could be 2 or more events happening, transitioning weekly for each maintenance patch even (with overlap, of course...I generally support the 2-4 week window). This means something is always happening. Perhaps it's not level-appropriate for you, perhaps it is. It's the dynamism that counts. Big updates could come with more permanent changes aiming at the high-end with expansions and such.

    Building a large pool of small events over the span of the game's life and cycling them in this fashion would be a huge boon in keeping the world feeling "alive" in general, and is a solid use of dev resources, making the game only get better over time.

    When I think of events, this is what I'm thinking of now.

    EDIT: Forum absolutely demolished all of the formatting. Tried to make it work, but without nested bullet lists and indentations working, I'm sorry for the legibility... =(


    This post was edited by Desryn at April 29, 2021 3:05 PM PDT
    • 2138 posts
    April 29, 2021 9:02 PM PDT

    Vandraad said:

    I cannot stand such events.  They are disruptive and outside of the few people that actually want to participate, many of the people just want to ruin it....which they always end up doing.  The GMs have little to no control, everything gets out of hand, all the chat channels are just filled with spam. No thanks.

    Back in EQ1 when the Frogloks as a playable race were being introduced, there was a GM event in Innothule swamp where the frogs and their allies were set to attack Grobb to drive out the Trolls.  On Lanys server, the defenders of Grobb handily won that event.  So many people didn't want the trolls kicked out of Grobb nor did they want the frogs as a player race that the frogs and their allies were beat back.  Then, suddenly, the server goes dow and when it came back up...the frogs now had their town.  Bull#%@^.  I'm of the opinion that if the GMs set up an event with a possible outcome and the players instead defeat that intention, the will of the players should hold.

    Similar to Vandraad's example, waking the Sleeper. Which got me thinking, what if Expansions were based on events and released- backwards. Completely different than the current model. By that I mean, the Devs plan a world event like a series of invasions by pirates along coastline cities. They announce when this will occur to players. Players get hyped, event begins. As players are dealing with pirates in thronefast they hear about another invasion in amberfaet- this lasts 4 or 5 days and...

         Pirates win. Because the pirates have won, the Coastal cities now have to be changed to be pirate cities with the townsfolk being run out- this is the direction the expansion now takes- that is not yet developed, but will be developed and released in 18months time or whatever. During that time the City slowly changes giving existing and new players time not only to see how it was  and allow new players to not feel they missed anything. As the devs create new NPC's and monsters they can release them into Live, drop by drop, and will get feedback on bugs right away, or wall off sections and allow testers in.

    OR...Pirates lose, players push them back and defeat them all. Powerful guilds amass and whatever. The coastal cities now expand- this is the direction the expansion now takes-not the one above. Larger ports with huge ships coming in things happening on those ships, new islands where the ships go to. Underwater sunken pirate ships with undead pirates as vestiges of the defeated with their own watery dungeons. And released in the same way. 

     

    TL:dr

    In other words, the player driven results of the event will determine the design of the new expansion which will begin after the fact.

    However, this could lead to instances where on one server the Pirates won, and on another server, the pirates lost. Or in Vandraads example, on one server frogloks are not a playable race, but on other servers, they are.

    *edit* progress of expansion development does not need official release, I mean they can, but for the sale of "immersion" (saId in a william F buckley voice) the NPC's in game can update players on state of expansion. To a new player, it would seem as part of background story. For example, in the case where the pirates won, hailing the pirate gets a response: Arr! we've taken over thronefast now matey!, soon in (X months/weeks/days) we'll control all the city and loot it all for what its worth! do ye wish to join  our band?. Or a thronefast merchant later on : I dont have much time left! maybe (X Months/weeks/days) before I have to escape to exile with the other citizens in the tent city of -(somewhere in the desert)! Quick buy what you can now before its all stolen!

       


    This post was edited by Manouk at May 7, 2021 11:25 AM PDT
    • 627 posts
    April 30, 2021 2:49 AM PDT
    Yes please

    Season events - spring, summer, fall, winter type

    Crafting events - maybe a city needs a New brigde and players can help and gain crafting skill also.

    Mobs overtake zones style events

    Gm events where mobs are controlled by other players and or gms. to create an experiance for others. Could be raid event, zone wide riddels and so on.

    Night and day events - some content is only available during night time and viceversa

    Class event - specific to your class to do special jobs to gain class specific goodies or rep
    • 23 posts
    April 30, 2021 7:36 AM PDT
    2 types of events. Holidays events, and then much more rare and unique events either involving gms or not. I remember playing eq and was in oasis, then the sky turned red and over a sand dune I saw a swarm of giant spiders. it was so cool. Having rare items drop from the special events would be ok with me. Like the weight reduction bag mentioned above.
    • 13 posts
    April 30, 2021 11:38 AM PDT

     

    I love events when the rewards are unique items for that specific event.  It's always fun when other people ask you, "Wow where'd you get that mount?"  Or whatever the item is but it's unique.  And it's always fun to interact with the GMS.


    This post was edited by thorvalt at April 30, 2021 11:38 AM PDT
    • 810 posts
    April 30, 2021 11:57 AM PDT

    thorvalt said:

     

    I love events when the rewards are unique items for that specific event.  It's always fun when other people ask you, "Wow where'd you get that mount?"  Or whatever the item is but it's unique.  And it's always fun to interact with the GMS.

     

    I understand that reward idea, but I feel that shouldn't be overused.  Big rewards should be rare and really only used when the Devs have no plan B for the outcome, buying player compliance. 

    Most of the events I think should focus more on territory changes where the simple reward is just faction gains and meeting people.  Jumping up in a random races primary faction by working largely with people of that faction to protect their territory is a far more rewarding experience than turning in 10,000 goblin ears or whatever other alternatives there would be to grind faction.  It would both allow VR to show off the rival factions competeing against eachother while showing that the rivalries stop at a point where factions still come together to protect eachother.   

    • 94 posts
    April 30, 2021 1:15 PM PDT

    I like events of all kinds. They can be holiday events (preferably Pantheon Lore), world events, or even sporadic with a limited group of people involved. I still remember GM controlled characters in Neriak that ran an event where we had to stop an assasin. I remember creating a level 1 halfling and trying to dodge giants that were played by GMs. Both were just for fun. I think loot from events is nice and can be specific to that event, but I wouldn't want an item of significant power from only an event.

    I think levels would/should play a factor in different events, but should not render them pointless. I don't think there are current plans to significantly alter the world in a lasting way from one server to another regardless of an event, but I could be wrong there.

    • 13 posts
    May 1, 2021 8:54 AM PDT

    Events can be amazing, fun, and immersive. Events can also be lame, annoying and disruptive. I like events focused around the world I'm immersed in. Ones that have meaning and value. 

    I like random spontaneous events. Think Rift's 'rifts' that open while you're out exploring, questing or harvesting. Or the old school EQ GM ran events, where a "named" mob would appear and start attacking people until it was taken down.
     
    I like larger world events, such as when a boss mob is killed for the first time. That could start an event that might unleash changes across the world until a certain time or until it is stopped somehow.
     
    I don't like events that drop useless items/loot that just fill my bags with crap. Make the chance of getting something worth my time, make it desirable to participate.
     
    I don't like events that coincide with RL events (Valentines day, Easter, Halloween, Christmas, etc) unless they have been merged into the lore of the game. Write it into the lore. If that world has an event that reflects a RL event, like Halloween, call it something different. NIght of the Dead, or some ancient word/name that means "the spirits rise and walk with extra power, beware".
     
    If events are done right they can be great, but design and planning need to be put into the event and not treated as an afterthought. 
    • 68 posts
    May 1, 2021 1:44 PM PDT

    I absolutely love GM/developer/lead ran events... i remember pretty much every one i have participated in. last being the bis A$$ turkey for thanksgiving in VG, really had a good time and the halloween one before that.  it makes me feel closer to the community as a whole since that turkey was a mean SOB and Blades of wrath (which is a guild i really looked up to) invited me to join them and then later became a member of.  it created friendships out of something that i never would have expected with players, and in my opinion really gave me a good feeling about the developers because while the game may have had its issues they still took time to try and make it fun for the players... 

    • 256 posts
    May 2, 2021 9:52 AM PDT

    I love the concept of events, however, I'm not a huge fan of how most games implement them. I believe that events should be used as opportunities to bring the community together by promoting grouping situations, dungeon dives, or collection drives for certain resources.

    Most games implement seasonal events around real-life holidays. These events can provide a unique content experience, offer special rewards, and overall they provide additional fun. However, most of the time these events don't require a lot of internal community interaction and can be completed solo.  

    I would love to see events in Pantheon be they holiday events, special Dev events, or PvP related events provided they require some sort of community interaction to complete.