We have discussed aspects of Pantheon but what is the thing(s) you are most looking forward to in Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen?
Danger and the feeling of mystery that accompanies it as I explore a new world. I want that feeling that there are actually things I don't know, and neither does anyone else. Not just because its new, but because things are cleverly designed, extremely hard or not meant to be seen and done immediately.
A simple example of that would be the ability to attack any npc in the world of EQ. Off the bat you were dropped into a city, full of an army of extremely powerful guards and class trainers. Come to find out, some of them actually dropped loot or other strange items. The thing is, no one even thought to attempt such things early on because the task was that daunting but moreso that we didn't look at a city like we would any other zone or dungeon. Turns out we were wrong.
EverQuest was full of mysteries while other games are cut and dry, only allowing combat or itemization in certain areas. The entirety of Norrath was like a big dungeon or puzzle that had npcs, quests and factions that could lead to rewards just waiting to be discovered by those willing to think outside of the box.
Years ago for my honeymoon my wife and I decided to go to Ireland. My wife wanted to join us up for one of those tour bus trips. I instead wanted to do a self drive tour. I explained to her that if I'm going to spend money and take the time to go on a honeymoon then I wanted to be able to go where I wanted to and do what I wanted to when I wanted to do it. Instead of being stuck on a bus going where and when on someone else's schedule.
That's a round about way of saving what I'm looking to the most.
I'm tired of the everyday MMO where I'm being placed on that stupid tour bus being led by hand from quest hub to quest hub on some devs inhouse time schedule.
I'm looking forward to a MMO that says well it's your game time grab who you want to and head off exploring where and when you want to. Don't just blame us if the locals decide to eat you instead of selling you trinkets.
The thing i am looking forward to the most would have to be the "World". I want to see a deep world with real interactions. I want to Hate or Love an NPC.
most game worlds just leave me with a feeling of "Meh... its a dungeon" or "why is everything so exaggerated?" i mean come on why does the level 1 squire look the same as the level 150 Paladin? all the games i have seen come out as MMOs have no depth. even single player games do better of creating a deep world these days just take a look at Witcher 3 vs Archeage.
The biggest thing that I am looking forward to is the unique classes again. Also the return to a high fantasy type setting in the game. I know there are other high fantasy games out but EQ, Vanguard and with the looks of it, Pantheon capture that Lord of the Rings feels for me. When I watch the LoTR movies including The Hobbit, they inspire me to want to take an adventure. So I am looking forward to a game that incorporates that inspiration.
I'm really on the same page as everyone else: difficult environment, needing groups to progress, mystery, adventure, etc. However, I think I am mostly excited to feel proud of my characters again. Characters that I put my heart, time and soul into to make them strong and the best they can be. I want to be the person people meet and remember a month later. My own popularity - because I'm awesome. That's what I'm looking forward to the most, lol.
I look forward those things posted above my post, but mostly I look forward to grouping with others and socializing with them while we play the game, instead of clicking a button and ending up in a group- then smashing buttons as fast as possible for 20 seconds a fight, over a 30 minute period- then watching people leave the group without having spoken/typed a single word.
Frustration. Yelling out loud "What killed me?!". Scheduling 5-6 hours on a day off. Sometimes , not being acknowledged when I speak. Hoping they think I am good, or at least play reasonably well and catching myself when I am thinking others are not-so good a in a completely different group. Righteous vengance against NPC's. Hoping the person I friended is on again when I am or that we have coincidental log-on times, and if separate, coincidental leveling progression. Being excitedly suprised about that new spell/skill/weapon effect and impact.
I am looking forward to the challenge of learning a new world. Of not knowing what is around the next corner. If I peak my head around this corner will I aggro enough mobs to wipe my group? How deep is too deep in this dungeon? How far makes the corpse recovery impossible without calling in another group of adventurers?
I am looking forward to figuring out what the spells do. How they interact with other players, different monsters. Is this monster slowable, mezzable, kitable, rootable? How do we control the crowd? Is it possible to split the room apart?
All of the above, you guys have pretty much covered it for me.
However, there is ONE thing I'm looking forward to the most. New friends.
I know that might sound a little bit weird, but I haven't made any new game friends in ages. Games these days just aren't friend friendly...
And I love my game friends. Can't wait to add you all to that list. :)
Sylee said:
All of the above, you guys have pretty much covered it for me.
However, there is ONE thing I'm looking forward to the most. New friends.
I know that might sound a little bit weird, but I haven't made any new game friends in ages. Games these days just aren't friend friendly...
And I love my game friends. Can't wait to add you all to that list. :)
I understand what you mean, Sylee. As of now it looks like I might be entering Pantheon without knowing anyone, everyone I do know is spread out and set in their current games - if they even game at all anymore.
Back on topic - I'll add two things to the list of good answers I've been seeing:
1) Pre-max levels having meaning. I don't want to hear any talk or feel like 'the real game starts at max level'. I want it to continue at max level, as I've been playing the 'real' game all along. I want to be able to have adventures and memories forged in these levels, not just view them as a 'training period' or 'roadblock' to get to the 'real' game.
2) I'm looking forward to a community where the majority of people respect each other. From things as simple as telling a group they have to leave in 30 minutes or telling their guild they are leaving, to settling disagreements without belittling and putting down people, or not filling the local public chat channel with filth. I'd like to see GUILD LOYALTY which I don't see much anymore.
Sylee said:
All of the above, you guys have pretty much covered it for me.
However, there is ONE thing I'm looking forward to the most. New friends.
I know that might sound a little bit weird, but I haven't made any new game friends in ages. Games these days just aren't friend friendly...
And I love my game friends. Can't wait to add you all to that list. :)
I'm in the same boat. I made good friends in the games I played back when MMOs were still a niche genre, but we lost contact over the years. And when I play modern MMOs I just can't seem to make any lasting friendships. Either the game doesn't keep my attention for long or I never find people to play with and I burn out on soloing all the time.
What I'm looking forward to most is the community. I think the devs identified exactly what makes a great community and where so many games have failed in that respect. I also think a great community is the secret ingredient in that level of immersion that the great games of old had. It's a social game, so shouldn't a social community (as opposed to all the antisocial communities) make you feel like a citizen of the world you're in? A member of the community? And wouldn't that make it feel more real? I miss that feeling.
When I think back to EQ I remember it as if I were there. When I think back to WoW I remember my character on the screen. I think immersion was the difference, and I think it was the openness and communication of the EQ community that did it. It's the only game where I felt like I knew half the people on my server. They weren't all my friends, but I knew them. And they knew me. Because we saw each other every day. We lived in the same world. And it was full of familiar faces. It was actually a genuine community!
Typhon said:
And when I play modern MMOs I just can't seem to make any lasting friendships. Either the game doesn't keep my attention for long or I never find people to play with and I burn out on soloing all the time.
That's a natural consequence of the game design.
If most of the game is soloable, people will solo and won't make friends. If trading is done with an automated auction house instead of with a live person, people will do that, with the same consequence.
If the game is a series of quests on rails, people will join groups only if they need it for a specific quest, and leave as soon as their quests differ from those that others in the group have.
If the game is too fast, and people come to a zone and outlevel it in a day, they will leave that zone and won't care who else might or might not be in there.
The game needs to require people to play with other people, and to be designed in such a way that people have to stay in an area for a while, so they can meet the same people again and again, and they know that they will depend on these people.
If players know that they will have to depend on others, they will tend to behave. If they, on the other side, know that they won't ever see this specific person again, much less depend on their goodwill, they will not give a damn, and it will reflect in their behavior.
In the end, you will get a community, or you will get... something like DOTA players. It's really up to the game, up to how it is designed.
Or as Jesus said, you cannot get good fruits from a bad tree, or vice versa.
A seem to be living Game World with Mysterys and interesting Details not described in a quest Text things you can see and some you cannot see but still are connected.
A World which due to its Nature promotes Group Play and doesnt tell you its better to stay solo since thats where you get the best Rewards.
Endless Character Progression the ability to customize your Character to the max not just in therms of look i want to decide which stats i like on my Shaman even if it gimps me.
A Stat/Skill/Spell System which causes alot of interesting combinations.
Races with Racials that make sense and may give you a significant advantage even Late Game since a Halfgiant should Kinda be stronger and have more Hps then a Halfling but a Halfling should have better avoidance and Quicker attacks due to Size (Body Mass Index :) ) able to Sneak into Small holes to hide or Pull Hidden Triggers where no Big Race can Reach. It Just needs to be Balance in Therms of a Raid Situation so each Race can prove usefull. I kinda would like to hear looking for a Halfing to join our raid group for this and that Class doesnt matter. Shrink and Grow spells should cause similar effects Increase Damage HPS reduce Attack speed/Avoidance and vice versa if it doesnt cause too many troubles with the Game. And alot of other abilities and effects.
It's been mentioned. And yet, given how long it's been lacking in the mmo world, it warrants repeating.
Having a game where the grind is slower, but the game has so much depth with the content and game mechanics, and gear meaning actual upgrades that are fewer and far between - that despite the longer grind, it is far less noticed due to the community that you spend your time with. Where the grind, the adventure, is the heart of the game, not where everyone wants to get to end game asap. AND STILL, the "end game" isn't an end like most games.
A game that will leave me wanting to go home early from work to log in asap just to make sure I don't receive that /tell "Where were you 5 minutes ago? We needed a (class) but grabbed (someone)".