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Dev Discussion #5 - Content Types

edited July 2019 in General Discussion
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Glorious Ashes community - it's time for another Dev Discussion! Dev Discussion topics are kind of like a "reverse Q&A" - rather than you asking us questions about Ashes of Creation, we want to ask YOU what your thoughts are.

Our design team has compiled a list of burning questions we'd love to get your feedback on regarding gameplay, your past MMO experiences, and more. Join in on the Dev Discussion and share what makes gaming special to you!


Dev Discussion #5 - Content Types
What are your favorite types of content? Do you prefer solo, group, raid, or emergent gameplay?

Keep an eye out for our next Dev Discussion topic featuring your favorite PvP stories!
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Comments

  • AzryilAzryil Member, Leader of Men, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    For PvE I tend to enjoy either playing solo gameplay or large coordinated raids. I have always got bored of smaller group content after running it a couple times. Part of that could be due to how streamlined running dungeons has become in modern MMOs with group finder tools where you can get in run the dungeon in 30 minutes and repeat, along with boring mechanics that were designed to be simple for anyone to master or just didn't penalize someone for failing.

    For PvP I generally avoid world PvP whenever possible, and when it comes to instanced battlegrounds I would rather enter as a group instead of random match ups.
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  • DamoklesDamokles Member, Alpha One, Adventurer
    Content...? Content! CONTENT! CONTEEEEEEEEENT! (Just something that i always did with a friend when we found something in WoW that we had never seen before at the end of an expansion)

    For what types of content i really enjoy:
    - complex crafting (learned recipes from profession teachers are okay but i want to create my own recipes, i want to experiment with different ingredients, kinda like a mix of GW2 experimentation and skyrim alchemy tbh)
    - dungeons (creepy crawlies and sunken temples, sign me up!)
    - raids (i am a hardcore raiding fanatic and will probably try to find or make one, please make it what it used to be, something for those people that really want to challenge themselves)
    - solo exploration (give someone a reward when they explore somewhere really hard to find, maybe a special title or something cosmetic for your armour)
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  • georgeblackgeorgeblack Member
    edited June 2019
    I like content that is not instanced for the following reasons:
    1) It's not boring. Being on the same space as others that are not in yoyr team (unless you invite them ) it means that every day is a new scenario even if it is the same location a player was yesterday

    2) You dont have to form a standard group ( 1 healer, 1 tank, x dd). Any number of people can group up and farm/xp in the area

    3) PvP while PvE = PvWorld =mmorpg.

    4) Exploring a new zone is soooooo much better than running a new dungeon.

    5) Rewards. Leveling up on a zone feels like a real adventure. Alone or with friends, a players checks the consumables and sets out to Lv up or farm materials for gear

    6) Raid Bosses. There will be raid bosses thay drop more mats or even whole items. Where are they? Are they on the top of the tower? Is it a vampire? Are they at the bottom of a castle dungeon? A werewolf? Deep inside a cave? A dragon? Can we kill it? Is there another groyp or players killing it? PvP?

    I like non instanced content because I can solo while I am low but Ill have a reason to join a guild once I get higher lv. Like minded people with a purpose to grow stronger. They will farm for me and I for them while we will defeat anyone who tries to attack us.
    With instanced content people will just hit Group Finder from a city, run a dungeon isolated, pick up the random rewards at the end and f off. This is not an mmorpg.

    An open world mmorpg will have quests for group or solo activities all of them meaningful. There will be a time I want to do something for myself only and there will be a time that if I need something I will have to contribute as well.
  • sylsyl Member, Alpha One, Adventurer
    edited June 2019
    I myself like interesting, captivating story-driven content. I will always like to group up killing monsters or completing dungeons, though I do love to try and take said content on alone.
    One special kind of content, caravans, is one of my favorite group adventures, alongside dungeons!

    I do wonder if there will be some kind of 'infinite' dungeons, or procedurally generated ones. That would be one of the things I'd try asap.
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  • All of the above. Varied and constant. Please make Raids/Dungeons/Group Content start at lower levels. All content should be spread out over all levels. IMO. Id like to be able to raid in the 20's and get better gear comparable(albeit lower lever) to end game gear. Something worth grinding a dungeon for.
  • lightsey92lightsey92 Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    I like content to have some content that is do able solo but also plenty where a group is needed. So while solo questing you find others doing the same quests group up together as you go and tackle the more challenging things together. Makes the community feel alive.
  • seaberseaber Member, Intrepid Pack
    If "Emergent gameplay refers to complex situations in video games, board games, or table top role-playing games that emerge from the interaction of relatively simple game mechanics."
    Then emergent > group > raid >> solo
    I hate playing solo
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  • maxence011maxence011 Member, Settler, Kickstarter
    What I like best is to have access to a little bit of everything. I can farm, quest, craft and do different deeds to get stronger when I'm alone. But I love to have access to 3-man / 5-man / 6-man dungeons whenever my friends are online.

    What I hate most is scaling difficulty dungeons where the difficulty scales on the number of members in the group. I think that this is disgusting design and, as mainly randomly generated level design games for instance, I think it affects the general quality of the games. If a dungeon is intended for 3 Lvl 20 characters, it should only be accessible to those in a certain level range and shouldn't be available or feasable for a solo tank. Balance is nice, perfect balance is essential. It it what kept me and my friends banging our heads over and over to finish different dungeons in LoTRO, back when we played it in 2010.

    I love difficult bosses and I think groups should need to ping or speak to survive and strategize to beat them.

    I don't like instance finders where you can just get a match in a group you won't speak to, as was the case in WoW. This is bullshit, I would find a group that wouldn't wait for me, would kill everyone before I could catch up, and i would end up doing it just to have a chance for items at the end.

    Finally, i really don't like PvP, i hope never to see forced PvP in the game, it should always be a choice IMO.

    Can't wait to play PvE content in your game, Intrepid. :)<3
  • darkbladedarkblade Member, Pioneer, Kickstarter
    edited June 2019
    I enjoy the lone wolf path. I really enjoy a complex crafting system, I enjoy building, exploring for materials and unfortunately, not many MMORPGs have a system that I enjoy. I spent most of my time in private Ultima Online servers mining my days away and I became recognized as a master smith for it. You didn't have to run all over the map and fight for veins. There was new types of ores unlocked with % in the mining skill and you just had to be lucky to get the rare ones but they could appear in any mining spot. Caves, you could mine everywhere, in any spot in the ground or wall so I could just peacefully stay there, mine until I couldn't carry anymore, go to the forge, do my thing, return there. I would enjoy seeing that + a mix of Elder Scrolls Online's system where you can really customize everything you craft.
  • mcstackersonmcstackerson Member, Phoenix Initiative, Royalty, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    I think my top would fall under meaningful emergent gameplay. A love logging on to find some random unplanned event occurring which in the past was usually pvp related. Logging on to find our city is being raided or some friends are being attacked in a dungeon always got me excited.
  • schlaghundschlaghund Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    due to my work hours 14-16 per day and 2 hour travel to home i tend to be the solo with PUG play only having 1-2hour weekday and full on weekend unless its nice out. but based on the past discussions and many chats since kickstarter the crafting system ( mining / crafting / enchanting .. so forth) will allow a person to still thrive and enjoy the game if not max geared for current end content during play. as well as some of the bonus the world will have.

    totally jumping through the portal shield in hand and bracing for impact for glorious visual sprites
  • Wandering MistWandering Mist Moderator, Member, Founder, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    Honestly it depends on how I'm feeling. There are times when I crave social interaction and love doing any kind of PvE group content (preferably raids), but other times I just want to play on my own.
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  • T ElfT Elf Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    As for the Discord blurb, if a portal opened up in front of me I'd check it out solo first, unless I was already grouped. I prefer to do Life skills solo like crafting, producing, gathering, and probably society quests, too. If a questline starts out solo make it solo the whole way; not at the very end needing a group to complete.

    I enjoy grouping for most other activities, but I'd rather the other group members would be on the same page, like taking time to read or check items out along the way; not a slam-bam, we're done. Make quests that require a group reward the whole group, not just one person.

    As far as raiding...with a guild, maybe, but if it's too difficult and one wrong move will wipe the group then, I'm out. I don't mind hard, but it has to be forgiving.

    I would like to see more use of PQs where anyone can join in, and most likely come away with experience and some loot.

    I don't like open world PvP, I'd rather do that when I'm in the mood, like caravans, sieges, that sort of activity that you can decide to join or not. I really enjoy PvE and role play.

    Over the years, I've found I like instances less and less. I would like to see progressive dungeons where the deeper you go the higher tier it gets, with lots of branching to accommodate lots of groups at the same levels, and yet, you/group can progress as you grow stronger; with little safe areas for regrouping. Generally speaking, I like PUGS and unconventional group make up, not having to have the trinity all the time.
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  • Kiryu_riyKiryu_riy Member, Leader of Men
    edited June 2019
    I am more pve player and I like exploring world I wish aoc had some type of enciclopedia that you need to fill some thing like BDO had knowledge system with politics, animals, plants, history...
  • KarthosKarthos Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    Can I throw a bag of incriminating objects into the portal?
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  • T ElfT Elf Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    LOL button ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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    Formerly T-Elf

  • What Ive grown to love the most in mmos is PvP, arenas>sieges/gws>bgs.
    Slightly below that comes guild run high end raids.
    I also love making money in games with good economy.
    I still play runescape just because the economy is so great.
    "You're seeking for perfection, but your disillusions are leading to destruction.
    You're bleeding for salvation, but you can't see that you are the damnation itself." -Norther
  • karthos wrote: »
    Can I throw a bag of incriminating objects into the portal?

    Great, now you've angered the portal, and several tentacles emerge looking for more snacks.
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  • AzryilAzryil Member, Leader of Men, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    karthos wrote: »
    Can I throw a bag of incriminating objects into the portal?

    Great, now you've angered the portal, and several tentacles emerge looking for more snacks.

    Oh great, now he have tentacles....what could possibly go wrong.
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  • FlareFlare Member, Founder
    My favorite types of content in MMOs are those that bring me closer to the people I'm playing the game with. Both meeting new companions along the way or trying achieve something bigger, that requires more organistation, fills me with more excitement than just playing a big open wold game on my own.
    I do not play MMOs for their solo content. Once in a while it can be fun to discover something by myself, but it would be even more fun, if it led to some kind of group experience.
  • digitalwinddigitalwind Member, Intrepid Pack
    edited June 2019
    I love
    1. Content reserved for when you hit max level, especially discovering all the crafting recipes. That's where I will be spending 95% of my character's time. Why cram time-sinking extra content into the 5% of a player's time spent leveling?
    I like
    1. A nice quiet dungeon to conquer with my buddies - without loud pvp gank parties storming around and ruining what should be a PvE experience
    I don't like
    1. Having to interrupt leveling to grind something else, ie my horse riding skill or my ability to pick flowers or cook food....
    I hate
    1. Having a dozen quests in my log and that being below normal. It's hard, dare I say stressful, to keep track of and to navigate. Fewer but larger or even multistep, quests are preferable to walking around with what feels like a 'honey-do list'
    I would like to see
    1. Ocean sailing/piracy/undersea exploration content. I dont see an 'L' (land) in MMORPG ;)
  • DygzDygz Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    Why not both?
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  • DygzDygz Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    I'm an Explorer first and foremost, so I would definitely step through the portal first and explore as far as I could on my own. I would only try to bring back others if the portal appeared to be a threat to the region large enough to require a group.

    My preference in MMORPGs is to feel like I have the freedom to work on things on my own or aid others according to my whims. I don't enjoy feeling locked in a party/raid for an extended period of time once my mood as shifted to go do something else.

    Solo, group, raid, or emergent gameplay seems like the wrong question, to me.
    I care about the story. What's happening and how is that affecting the region in a manner that would pique my interest in any of the above.
    (Which may mean my answer is emergent gameplay?)
  • What types of content? All of the above.....

    Solo exploration for chasing lore and emergent game play are my favorites. A lot of times in group content you don't have time to slow down and really explore to get the story of the area so I like to use solo time to find the lore. Emergent game play just offers unexpected surprises to the game world and helps to make the world feel more alive.

    Group/Raid is my next favorite. Getting together with friends or guild to tackle more challenging content is great fun whether that challenge is PvP or PvE.

  • CaelronCaelron Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    I prefer emergent gameplay - especially exploration; either solo or in very small groups (2 or 3, max 4).
    I don't want directions, I don't want my hand held, I want to explore! I don't want an area to even tell me what level I should be for that area. I want to watch, observe, and then engage with the creature or environment and figure out the danger levels. If there is a minimum level area, I’d maybe want a role-play-like pop-up to tell me something similar in Nexus TK that reads: “Nightmarish visions of your own death repel you.” That being said, I would still want to be able to wander in that area at my own risk.

    After I’ve explored an area, then “maybe” I want the map to fill in for me. But I think the map should be a personal exploration. Though, I’d be okay with a mage learning about an area through Scrying, or a character having a cartography skill, or having bought a map of the area beforehand from another player (not as detailed as having visited there or visually seen it – so there’s possibly no markers or details, since there’s no personal reference.)

    In the same way, I don't even want to know what level my enemy is. (Strangely okay if there's one specific class that can figure out his/her/its stats casting a certain spell or ability.)

    I also like the discovery of unique weapons, armor, drops, ingredients, etc.
    For example: A rare sword, or rare recipe, that only drops from a specific boss if the character meets certain conditions. Such as a specific dagger recipe that basically guarantees a critical hit only drops if a rogue below level 10 manages to solo kill the boss or manages to kill it with a specific trap and the environment (like standing in a cave-in while stuck in a trap.) Or even managing to fish up a rare sword if you fish a long period of time in a certain river outside of a dragon’s cave.

    I even like discovering certain gimmicks, like a seemingly unkillable creature at a low level can be nearly 1-shot by shooting a boulder loose. Or perhaps somehow attacking an even stronger creature nearby and blame it on the other creature (like a misdirect)… or be so sneaky that you can throw a rock at it and hide behind a tree, but the only thing it sees is the boss holding some rocks.
  • VarkunVarkun Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    Why is the question here on the forums different to the question on discord?

    There is not much in the way of content that I do not enjoy solo, small group, raid content, pvp both large and small scale. I enjoy good story content and yet at times, I like nothing more than finding my own way in the world with simple exploring and developing crafting skills. I really enjoy gathering materials and leveling crafting skills as I level just love being able to craft my own gear as I level. Gathering a huge hoard of materials and becoming fabulously wealthy and being that crafter the guild goes to when they need something, though that may be much harder with the way crafting will be set up in AOC.
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  • I much prefer group content, large raids that are challenging and I can expect a wipe or two on a given boss is the content I like most. My biggest problem with group play however is that the coordination is not easy, and especially in a game without fast travel/summoning, I worry a bit. I recall spending many many hours simply waiting for people to get online and ready (clear inventory, buy ammo, take out potions etc) in WoW where you had summoning stones... I really hope AoC finds a way to make large group content not super tedious to organize, at least some of it, for people with more volatile play schedules (not having resist gear etc is a good step although I normally really like that in games).

    Because of the above problem, there is some appeal to solo play for me: stability. Not having to rely on others meeting you, having done the necessary prep, matching schedules etc is nice. I think crafting and gathering are also well suited for solo play thus I really hope there is lots of content and progression to engage in with crafting solo. I do like the idea of rare materials and blueprints being group efforts but there should still be a high volume of soloable crafting content to go through.

    My favorite type of content however is interdependency between progression systems. To give an easy example, I recall some experiences in runescape that went a little like this: to start this quest to unlock that new zone (for some more grand reason), I need to be a part of the crafting guild which means I need to level my crafting, which is expensive if I buy all the ore required so I may need to level up my mining to collect all/some of the ore myself. I hope to see similar interdependencies between players AND for individuals as well. If such interdependencies are ALWAYS contingent on group play/others, it would make me feel TOO dependent, I hope AoC strikes a nice balance of making my progression dependent on my community but also dependent on my other, parallel, streams of progression as well.

    Tangential thought: in WoW I have often found a cool place or a named mob to kill and decided not to explore/engage because "surely I'll have a quest for this stuff later and doing it twice will kill the enjoyment". I have passed up on and cut short magical moments of "oooh I wonder what this is" because I knew I'd likely have to return for some quest maybe much later. In vanilla this was less of an issue because maybe it was a quest for the opposite faction or another class so I would be more likely to just explore anyways. In general, I hope AoC doesn't give me the feeling that I shouldn't explore on my own schedule because I'll have to repeat content. I don't know if this is feasible or how it would work but it would be nice to retroactively credit me for already doing something a future quest asks me to do, at least for certain quests like killing named mobs.
  • WololoWololo Member, Phoenix Initiative, Hero of the People, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    I am more of a PvP player and want to fight togethere with a team and other players,
    But for PvE i prefer: solo lore-driven content. Just farming anything alone with some youtube video on the background. Enjoying the story of the game and not having to deal with anyone in PvE is what i like. What exactly i am farming doesnt matter to me xd as long there is vertical progression and hours put into it directly relates to stats in pvp. Just minor gains are a motivation to farm. Maybe a bit to oldskool XD
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  • AuronAuron Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    Rather have both options available with difficulty scaling depending on the number of people stepping inside the portal.

    But if I have to choose, I would join with my guildies. This is an MMO afterall. There are enough solo portals to step into in Witcher :tongue:
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  • I agree with aeonauron , rather have both options available with difficulty scaling depending of the number of people , I prefer with my friends/guild
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