Having instanced dungeons was part of my conversation on the "what makes a good dungeon" thread but I don't want to derail because some people seem to be religiously opposed to instanced content. Instead I wanted to start a new threat to talk about this idea.
One response provided in that thread is people will follow the path of least resistance with the implication being that an instanced dungeon has to be easier than a static dungeon. Another person said that instanced dungeons would take away from the competition in a static dungeon and it's better for Pantheon to cater to a tiny fraction of the gaming population instead of being accessible to the bulk of the players out there.
What I can't figure out is why people are so limiting in their idea of how instancing can be used. With the current technology it is easy for a static area to have multiple instance levels attached and used to provide additional content suited to the players.
Example: Velk's labyrinth. This zone had a levelling area at the front capable of supporting 5-6 groups, an underground area that could support two more groups, and then a raid area through the very top. Lets assume the original zone is the static zone just like we remember. Now we add in some instances. The first instance is for a group with the level range of the bottom floor spiders (50ish if memory serves) but a 5% smaller exp bonus than the static zone. The instance is just the spider area with all of the spiders being the same level. There is only one named that spawns at the top of the ramps and provides the same loot table as the static mob named that spawned on the first floor.
So what do players get out of this instance? They get less loot opportunity because there is only one named in their version of the dungeon. They get content they can handle at a quantity/pace they set. They get the chance at joining a quick group if their playing time is restricted. Basically they get some exp at a reduced rate and one loot item while not having to deal with the hassle of a static dungeon competition.
The static players get better loot options, better exp, and all the opportunity for nostalgia they remember.
Right about now though someone usually chimes in with "yeah but the competition for spawns is what makes a dungeon great". To which I reply that not everyone feels that way and in fact the majority of MMORPG players seem to indicate they prefer not to have arbitrary time sinks and tedious mechanics forced on them. This can be seen in what games have remained popular and what games have shut down over the years.
So having a static dungeon with better rewards is a way to make sure people are interested in doing that content when they can or feel up to the challenge. Having instanced content provides options for people who prefer to play the game for different reasons. In the end it seems to me a game is always better off if it can provide more options and pull in more subscribers. More options means the game can provide both challenging content for the people who prefer that route while also providing easier content for the people who prefer a more relaxed approach. The hardest part is scaling the rewards to match the different level so risk, but even that task isn't all that hard for experienced game designers with decades working in the field.
There have been many many debates about this both here and on other forums. I dont feel you are necessarily wrong (there is no right and wrong in this case, just opinion). That being said the devs have stated that outside main storyline, it aint happening. However they are aware of some of the problems that people worry over non-instanced content and are interested in creating non-instanced solutions. Id suggest go back and read a couple of these (very long) threads and comment there. Especially if you have any good non-instanced ideas.
Ruar said:Instead I wanted to start a new threat to talk about this idea.
"New" thread on instancing? 5th page of this very forum. 12 page, 285 post thread all about instancing.
I am going to close this one down guys, Instancing has been discussed to death and there are still ongoing threads actively discussing it, our stance has not changed, as Amsai pointed out, we will avoid instancing where we can and it will most likely be used for some quests, we have no more information on it at this time.
Please use the search function and join already existing discussions on topics before creating a new one, even if it is similar in discussion to help keep the forums neat and tidy, spreading threads out makes it very hard for people to find information on a topic if there are 10+ threads across multiple different sub forums.