Most Hated Quest Designs

Ancient_Exile

It's true that many modern MMORPGs don't force players to suffer through these sorts of hateful quests.  But when I played Everquest 2, there were a few types of quests that I hated or just found to be really tiresome.

#1 Quests that gave me little to no clue how to find whatever I was supposed to find and I basically just had to wander across the world looking for it.  I know these were originally End Game Quests in certain Expansions.  I'm quite certain they were designed just to keep players busy while waiting for the next expansion.  The same thing goes for Raids really.  Anyway, good thing I could just look up where to find most of the stuff I needed to find online.  (I played EQ2 in 2014.)

#2 Quests where I had to wander around gathering things off the ground plus fight packs of mobs every two steps.

#3 Quests that totally rely on RNG in order to complete.  As in getting a specific random drop from a Mob.  I think EQ2 had these sorts of quests, but I can't remember right now.  I know Runes of Magic and World of Warcraft did.  Well, I'm pretty sure WoW did. 

Anyone else have certain kinds of quest designs that they despise?

Amathe

1. Timed quests
2.  Phased quests
3.  Quests that have hidden items in dungeons, which no group will ever slow down and let me find

Ancient_Exile

Amathe said:

1. Timed quests
2.  Phased quests
3.  Quests that have hidden items in dungeons, which no group will ever slow down and let me find

1. Yeah, timed quests can be annoying.

2. Phased quests.  As in quests that only change things in the game world for players who are at a specific point in the questline? 

3. Groups can be annoying like that.  I soloed many dungeons in EQ2.  After a few initial attempts, some successful, many not so successful, I started making myself fabled gear so I could do a lot of things solo.  (Bought what I couldn't make yet off the Auction House and occasionally looted stuff I could use.)  I liked the challenge.  Plus, I could explore wherever I wanted and take my time.  Being able to find a place to hide and take smoke breaks without anyone complaining was also nice.

Viper482

Any quest where I have to run long a long distance to talk to some stupid NPC only to be told to run all the way back to the idiot that gave me the quest.....typically followed by another long ass run somewhere else.  

Amathe

Ancient_Exile said:

Amathe said:

1. Timed quests
2.  Phased quests
3.  Quests that have hidden items in dungeons, which no group will ever slow down and let me find

1. Yeah, timed quests can be annoying.

2. Phased quests.  As in quests that only change things in the game world for players who are at a specific point in the questline? 

3. Groups can be annoying like that.  I soloed most dungeons in EQ2.  After a few initial attempts, some successful, some not so successful, I started making myself fabled gear so I could do a lot of things solo.  I liked the challenge.  Plus, I could explore wherever I wanted and take my time.  Being able to find a place to hide and take smoke breaks without anyone complaining was also nice.

2. Yes 

Ancient_Exile

Viper482 said:

Any quest where I have to run long a long distance to talk to some stupid NPC only to be told to run all the way back to the idiot that gave me the quest.....typically followed by another long ass run somewhere else.  

Back and forth quests.  Yeah, those can be lame.  Especially if you don't have a mount yet.

Ancient_Exile

Amathe said:

Ancient_Exile said:

Amathe said:

1. Timed quests
2.  Phased quests
3.  Quests that have hidden items in dungeons, which no group will ever slow down and let me find

1. Yeah, timed quests can be annoying.

2. Phased quests.  As in quests that only change things in the game world for players who are at a specific point in the questline? 

3. Groups can be annoying like that.  I soloed most dungeons in EQ2.  After a few initial attempts, some successful, some not so successful, I started making myself fabled gear so I could do a lot of things solo.  I liked the challenge.  Plus, I could explore wherever I wanted and take my time.  Being able to find a place to hide and take smoke breaks without anyone complaining was also nice.

2. Yes 

 Cool.  That's what I thought.  I don't mind phased quests, but it would definitely be better if our actions could actually change the game world for everyone.  And questlines could change after the first person completed the quest.  That would be really cool.

Sovrath

I actually prefer quests where you have to spend time finding it. I hate the glowy thing on the map. One of the reasons why I really loved Morrowind. And some of the early Lord of the Rings Online quests.

Something I hate? A quest sending you to kill or get 3 of something. And then rinse and repeat. So you essentially spend all of your time just running around like a relay race. Never really "doing" anything.

Hate that.

Ancient_Exile

Sovrath said:

I actually prefer quests where you have to spend time finding it. I hate the glowy thing on the map. One of the reasons why I really loved Morrowind. And some of the early Lord of the Rings Online quests.

Something I hate? A quest sending you to kill or get 3 of something. And then rinse and repeat. So you essentially spend all of your time just running around like a relay race. Never really "doing" anything.

Hate that.

I wouldn't mind if my character had some way of finding it besides just wandering around aimlessly.  Why can't I ask NPCs for more information?  Why can't classes like rangers track things?  Or why can't their wilderness knowledge help them to find things easier?  Why can't a street-wise rogue have an easier time finding things in an urban environment?  A character that grew up somewhere would probably have more knowledge about the area and useful contacts in the area than a character who recently moved into the area.

Everquest 2 has a lot of quests.  Tons.  Many of them were fetch quests or wandering/gathering/finding quests.  I eventually started hating those kinds of quests.  Do you often have to fight things every two steps or two feet while looking for things in Morrowind or Lotro?

My favorite quests in EQ2 became the ones where I just had to kill 10 or so of something.

Anyway, I was so tired of grinding and wandering around after leveling two characters to 95 in EQ2, I actually liked the glowing trail in Neverwinter.  I was just burnt out I guess.  I even quit Neverwinter after getting 2 characters to max upon finding out that the End Game was ALL GRIND.  But I eventually went back after I couldn't find anything else to play that interested me a few months later.  Got that MMORPG itch and wanted to play something semi-decent.  Or at least that I could bear.  And Neverwinter was pretty fun back during Module 5, all things considered.  But it got worse and worse over time.  Module 6 made me quit for awhile also.  (I quit and was determined never to return to Neverwinter a few times.  But, alas, relapses were indeed part of my recovery.)

I guess some people like to grind (doing the same things over and over again/almost mindless repetition).  Personally, I don't understand the allure.  Or even the appeal.  (But if the repetition can be automated, it's not so bad.  And I don't mean by using macros or scripts.)

Amaranthar

Ancient_Exile said:

Sovrath said:

I actually prefer quests where you have to spend time finding it. I hate the glowy thing on the map. One of the reasons why I really loved Morrowind. And some of the early Lord of the Rings Online quests.

Something I hate? A quest sending you to kill or get 3 of something. And then rinse and repeat. So you essentially spend all of your time just running around like a relay race. Never really "doing" anything.

Hate that.

I wouldn't mind if my character had some way of finding it besides just wandering around aimlessly.  Why can't I ask NPCs for more information?  Why can't classes like rangers track things?  Or why can't their wilderness knowledge help them to find things easier?  Why can't a street-wise rogue have an easier time finding things in an urban environment?  A character that grew up somewhere would probably have more knowledge about the area and useful contacts in the area than a character who recently moved into the area.

Everquest 2 has a lot of quests.  Tons.  Many of them were fetch quests or wandering/gathering/finding quests.  I eventually started hating those kinds of quests.  Do you often have to fight things every two steps or two feet while looking for things in Morrowind or Lotro?

My favorite quests in EQ2 became the ones where I just had to kill 10 or so of something.

Anyway, I was so tired of grinding and wandering around after leveling two characters to 95 in EQ2, I actually liked the glowing trail in Neverwinter.  I was just burnt out I guess.  I even quit Neverwinter after getting 2 characters to max upon finding out that the End Game was ALL GRIND.  But I eventually went back after I couldn't find anything else to play that interested me a few months later.  Got that MMORPG itch and wanted to play something semi-decent.  Or at least that I could bear.  And Neverwinter was pretty fun back during Module 5, all things considered.  But it got worse and worse over time.  Module 6 made me quit for awhile also.

I guess some people like to grind (doing the same things over and over again/almost mindless repetition).  Personally, I don't understand the allure.  Or even the appeal.  (But if the repetition can be automated, it's not so bad.  And I don't mean by using macros or scripts.)

Your first paragraph sounds great. 
I don't like quests, as they are known, because they are opposed to the freedom I like. 
But give me a quest that informs me of the game world, where I can find minerals and herbs that I'll want to get later, what a Spocula (just made that up) Den looks like, useful information for my continued game play, that's what I'd prefer. 

My ideal quest is something I've stumbled onto that make me wonder, and a little research or experience tells me that it's connected to a deeper mystery involving Lore and lost knowledge or treasures. I've never seen this in an MMORPG, if any exists. At least not to the depth I want. 

Amaranthar

UO had the ultimate quest, IMO. I posted about it a while ago here...
https://forums.mmorpg.com/discussion/487824/the-greatest-quest-artifact-to-ever-exist-in-mmorpgs#latest

Unfortunately, it didn't lead to a finality and the GM doing it left.  

Ancient_Exile

Amaranthar said:

UO had the ultimate quest, IMO. I posted about it a while ago here...
https://forums.mmorpg.com/discussion/487824/the-greatest-quest-artifact-to-ever-exist-in-mmorpgs#latest

Unfortunately, it didn't lead to a finality and the GM doing it left.  

Bummer.

iixviiiix

Ancient_Exile

iixviiiix said:

Was that supposed to be funny?  GALL (GeT a lIfE LoSeR)!  WoW is Mike's gift to Personkind for all Ages and Generations.  Only now in this greatest of all times can we who are alive at this very moment be privileged to know the sublime rapture and ultimate ecstasy that is WoW.  Truly, we are the chosen.

P.S. Have you ever raided, bra?

ChildoftheShadows

Anything required. WoW ruined leveling in MMOs for a very, very long time.


In fact the only quests I like are real quests. EQ had a few very epic quests that were worth doing and weren't this dumbed down BS we have today. EQ2's epic quests, I can't remember what they were called, but like you had to hunt down that lion and you got those weapons you could put in your house. Those were cool. 

Literally everything else sucks balls.

Theocritus

Viper482 said:

Any quest where I have to run long a long distance to talk to some stupid NPC only to be told to run all the way back to the idiot that gave me the quest.....typically followed by another long ass run somewhere else.  

I had a quest in LoTRO where I had to run from the Shire to the main Elf city...It took like an hour of real time...So I get there, he wants me to run back to the Shire. So I do that get a one line sentence from that NPC who proceeds to say I need to go back to the Elf city....Now I am getting upset....I wait a day and make the trek one more time....Another one line response and run back to the Shire...Welll I never made that last journey....That quest was the last straw in my LoTRO story lol. Since then I have hated quests where I have to rtravel long distances and if I have to do it more than once that quest will msot likely get deleted.

Ancient_Exile

Theocritus said:

Viper482 said:

Any quest where I have to run long a long distance to talk to some stupid NPC only to be told to run all the way back to the idiot that gave me the quest.....typically followed by another long ass run somewhere else.  

I had a quest in LoTRO where I had to run from the Shire to the main Elf city...It took like an hour of real time...So I get there, he wants me to run back to the Shire. So I do that get a one line sentence from that NPC who proceeds to say I need to go back to the Elf city....Now I am getting upset....I wait a day and make the trek one more time....Another one line response and run back to the Shire...Welll I never made that last journey....That quest was the last straw in my LoTRO story lol. Since then I have hated quests where I have to rtravel long distances and if I have to do it more than once that quest will msot likely get deleted.

Sheesh.  Now you're just being lazy.

Theocritus

Another game wehre the quest system ended my gameplay quickly? FFXIV......THe very first quest I get I decide I want to look around....Every direction I tried to go it would not let me go....I decided right then if I have so little of freedom in a game, and it is that much on rails, then I know that isn't the game for me.

Ancient_Exile

Theocritus said:

Another game wehre the quest system ended my gameplay quickly? FFXIV......THe very first quest I get I decide I want to look around....Every direction I tried to go it would not let me go....I decided right then if I have so little of freedom in a game, and it is that much on rails, then I know that isn't the game for me.

I think the Job system in FFXIV is dumb.  How can one character possibly master so many different classes?  Especially a Human/Hume (or w/e).  Elves live a long time (unless they get killed or meet some other kind of untimely end), so they can multi-class or even be a Fighter/Mage/Thief.  In 2nd edition AD&D anyway.  Dwarves live longer than Humans, so they could be Fighter/Clerics or Fighter/Thieves (IIRC).  But not Fighter/Mages because Dwarves don't like magic much.  Obviously. 

EDIT:  Humans could dual-class.  But they would stop earning XP for their first class while raising levels in another class.

"Only humans can be dual-classed characters. To be dual-classed, the character must have scores of 15 or more in the prime requisites of his first class and scores of 17 or more in the prime requisites of any classes he switches to. The character selects one class to begin his adventuring life. He can advance in this class as many levels as he desires before switching to another class; there is no cut-off point beyond which a character cannot switch. However, he must attain at least 2nd level in his current class before changing to another class. There is no limit to the number of classes a character can acquire, as long as he has the ability scores and wants to make the change. (Certain character classes have alignment restrictions that the character must meet, however.)"

(Note: Bold Emphasis added.)  Humans are kind of limited by how long they live and how long they manage to survive, of course.  Also, having more than one or two 17+ ability/attribute scores is not very likely in AD&D.

AD&D 2nd Edition Player's Handbook

http://orbisrpg.co.uk/Planescape/players_handbook.pdf

Ancient_Exile

ChildoftheShadows said:

Anything required. WoW ruined leveling in MMOs for a very, very long time.


In fact the only quests I like are real quests. EQ had a few very epic quests that were worth doing and weren't this dumbed down BS we have today. EQ2's epic quests, I can't remember what they were called, but like you had to hunt down that lion and you got those weapons you could put in your house. Those were cool. 

Literally everything else sucks balls.

The Epic Weapon Quests were interesting enough.  I also enjoyed a lot of the Heritage Quests and Deity Quests.  Plus it was kinda cool that you could do a series of quests in order to switch Alignments or Factions/Cities.  You could even stay in Exile if you wanted.  But then you wouldn't have access to your Shared Bank.  Actually, you may not have had access to your Bank at all.  I don't remember now.

mgilbrtsn

For me it's escort quests.  The slow, halting movement of the npc.  The stupid way they act and get in trouble.. they're usually timed which is also annoying.  Yes... Definitely escort quests.

Ancient_Exile

mgilbrtsn said:

For me it's escort quests.  The slow, halting movement of the npc.  The stupid way they act and get in trouble.. they're usually timed which is also annoying.  Yes... Definitely escort quests.

Enjoy.  Thank you @iixviiiix

LOL

I didn't mind this one in Neverwinter though.

https://neverwinter.gamepedia.com/Troubled_Times

Especially since the person I'm asked to escort might attack me sometimes.  Made things interesting.

kitarad

Timed Quests

Escort Quests

Ancient_Exile

kitarad said:

Timed Quests

Escort Quests

Is there really a quest in WoW where Orcs (or other Horde members) are asked to rescue an Elf from Humans?

kitarad

It's a Blood Elf I think, they are part of the Horde in the Burning Crusade expansion which comes later.

Love that anime, surprisingly brutal and it floored me didn't expect the turn it took.

Ancient_Exile

kitarad said:

It's a Blood Elf I think, they are part of the Horde in the Burning Crusade expansion which comes later.

Love that anime, surprisingly brutal and it floored me didn't expect the turn it took.

Oh, yeah.  I forgot about Blood Elves. 

 Puella Magi Madoka Magica was alright.  The ending kinda surprised me as well.  I knew I had seen your avatar somewhere, but it took me a little while and some searching to remember.  Been a few years since I watched that series.