What role should instanced dungeons play in AoC?
I would be fine with 0 instanced dungeons in AoC, but since I have played a few mmos with the usual gear treadmill content trap, I must admit that the first time you run any dungeon, with it's structured gameplay and lore, it is fun.
Repeating it over and over for the perfect gear piece? It's not fun nor it is challenging. It's isolating you away from the world with a group of random people that you don't even talk to.
Doing the dungeon again and again to achieve a title? No, I am not insane, but we can get back to that "content" in a bit.
So what should be the role of instanced dungeons in AoC, a true mmo in which players can interact with each other unrestricted (within the limits of the corruption system)? Why should the devs devote time creating those mini games/co-op stages?
Instanced dungeons are the perfect place to insert the lore of the mmo in action. They are areas in which the Devs can show their creativity and people have a chance to feel like they lived through a scenario as the main characters.
The rewards of instanced dungeons should be given in such a way that players can't hide from the open world. One way of doing this I first encountered in Tera Online, in which dungeon bosses would award crafting material which could only be obtained by completing the (hard mode) dungeon, but were part of a craft that required 90% open world gameplay, which was exposed to PvP risks. And as we know, IS has confirmed that this will be the case anyway.
Ok, what else? Because 20% of the content might seem like a minority number, but it is in fact a large amount of gameplay, and not even one instanced dungeon should be optional, or else it's pointless.
Another thing that can be tied to instanced dungeons as rewards for completing the challenge, but in a way that doesn't protect people from the intended design of AoCs owpvp, could be character milestones, whether:
archetype
class
life-skill
weapon boost
active ability
Dungeons should be a good way for players to unlock parts of their overall power, in addition to open world activities. This form of reward doesn't require repetition of the same old same old dungeon runs. It's once and done. You as a player accomplished something hard, got a curated experience, a bit more dramatic, a bit more choreographed and now you can take this newfound strength and apply it to the rest of the game.
The next reward does not require repetition in a similar way to the above. In most mmos, you run a dungeon you get a mace with a critical bonus when you wanted a dagger with a critical bonus, or you get a bow with magical bonuses why you try to farm for a staff. Eh, the example might be extreme, but the fact is that recent mmos claim that dungeons treadmills are gameplay content. BS. They are boring, frustrating time wasting experiences.
What if some dungeons, once cleared, provided you with a full set schematic that you the player now have to use in combination with open world materials (and open world risks and conflicts) ? The gear design could be thematic to the dungeon, maybe a pirates cove.
The schematics from certain dungeons could also be used to create specific climate related gear. A frosty dungeon could provide solutions for terrains in Vera in which cold weather is a problem. Or the heat of deserts could be overcome by claiming the rewards of a certain dungeon.
Stuff like that can be introduced at low level and be used from all players for the rest of the experience in AoC (if the choose to venture in desert areas).
Imo, AoC should also do away with the hard mode, legendary mode and all that nonsense. Make them challenging, spread them out for all levels, and the people that put the appropriate effort to train their group/guild members, or friends the made out in the open world, should clear them and get the rewards that are applicable and crafted in combination with the rest of the game.
Now what about these people that like doing the same content over and over and over and over again?
Well for them AoC can offer title rewards for speed, no death, usage or not of mechanics, and other such performance acknowledgments. If people think that it is worth to do the same sterilized content and show off how well they can do it, let them. Such rewards won't have any gameplay impact on the world, they don't go against the intended design of AoC, but can still provide a certain level of recognition from the player base to those that have gone above and beyond in dealing with such encounters.
*One final note. Some mmos have found the balance to reward multiple classes with a single dungeon, thus avoiding people neglecting to clear dungeons because the rewards don't fit the main classes.
Other mmos are well made when it comes to guild/group gameplay that players will band together to produce a reward for their guild members because they count on each others strength.
This is not the case in solo mmos like ESO. Many dungeons are ignored because people don't NEED to care for their guild members, and everybody DPS is just farming a certain dungeon, whilst tanks and healers may have to beg or try PUGs to get their gear.
**One more thing. Solo trials are bad for mmos. If everybody starts going off on their own, locked up in an instance to get their personal reward, this will hurt groups and guilds, as well as the open world population and social aspect of the game.
