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What are some games that don't depend on quests?

noseforautonoseforauto Member Posts: 46

Hi, I'm trying to find a game to play that doesn't depend on quests. I'm not necessarily looking for a sandbox; I'm not a super-hardcore gamer. I just don't like quests. I don't really care for lobby games, and I would prefer F2P. Also, something relatively modern and looks kinda nice. Any suggestions?

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Comments

  • IsometrixIsometrix Member UncommonPosts: 256
    Ummmm... there's this little game called Guild Wars 2 coming out next week, maybe you've heard it mentioned in a back alley somewhere. Fits your description.
  • CalerxesCalerxes Member UncommonPosts: 1,641
    Originally posted by noseforauto

    Hi, I'm trying to find a game to play that doesn't depend on quests. I'm not necessarily looking for a sandbox; I'm not a super-hardcore gamer. I just don't like quests. I don't really care for lobby games, and I would prefer F2P. Also, something relatively modern and looks kinda nice. Any suggestions?

     

    Free2play games that don't rely on quaest are more often the older type so Last Chaos, Silk Road Online, Twelve Sky 2 (has 4 faction PvP), Rappelz, the problem is modern free2play games are really all going quest or event based really. OH! and GW2 is totally quest based you just don't access a quest giver, it will cure world poverty though. image

    This doom and gloom thread was brought to you by Chin Up™ the new ultra high caffeine soft drink for gamers who just need that boost of happiness after a long forum session.

  • syntax42syntax42 Member UncommonPosts: 1,378

    A lot of Asian free-to-play MMOs don't rely on questing.  Instead, they expect you to grind for hours and hours just to gain one level.  Some of them even include botting programs built in so you don't really play the game.  You just leave your computer on and pay real money for potions to keep the bot going.

     

    Without questing, what is there?  I think that only leaves grinding on the same mobs until your eyes bleed to gain levels.  When questing is done well, it doesn't become tedious.  Those are the games I would prefer to play.

     

    Note:  Dark Age of Camelot is probably the only game that made grinding a faster method of leveling than questing.  You miss a lot of good story that way, but if you've already played through it, you may not care to see it again.

  • TheocritusTheocritus Member LegendaryPosts: 9,751
         Its really easy to burn out on quests after awhile....Ive went through that also......Its usually the older games where questing wasn't a main emphasis though some of them too put in quests to give their game more of a WoW feel.....Theres quite a few out there really with most being more the sandbox type of games.
  • MMOExposedMMOExposed Member RarePosts: 7,387
    Originally posted by Isometrix
    Ummmm... there's this little game called Guild Wars 2 coming out next week, maybe you've heard it mentioned in a back alley somewhere. Fits your description.

    but how do you define quest, in that case?

    GW2 event are very similar to quest, just open group instead of closed.

     

    same standard task is being done as well.

    Philosophy of MMO Game Design

  • noseforautonoseforauto Member Posts: 46
    Originally posted by Calerxes
    Originally posted by noseforauto

    Hi, I'm trying to find a game to play that doesn't depend on quests. I'm not necessarily looking for a sandbox; I'm not a super-hardcore gamer. I just don't like quests. I don't really care for lobby games, and I would prefer F2P. Also, something relatively modern and looks kinda nice. Any suggestions?

     

    Free2play games that don't rely on quaest are more often the older type so Last Chaos, Silk Road Online, Twelve Sky 2 (has 4 faction PvP), Rappelz, the problem is modern free2play games are really all going quest or event based really. OH! and GW2 is totally quest based you just don't access a quest giver, it will cure world poverty though. image

    Haha, thanks for the list. I'll check them out.

  • noseforautonoseforauto Member Posts: 46


    Originally posted by Isometrix Ummmm... there's this little game called Guild Wars 2 coming out next week, maybe you've heard it mentioned in a back alley somewhere. Fits your description.


    Gw2 seems pretty quest-based to me. Last time I checked, I'm still collecting stuff, escorting people, or killing a certain amount of respawning enemies. Honestly, it didn't really feel all that different to me. Giving trite activities more "context" doesn't really help. I'm sure I'll play it some, seeing as I already bought it, but I wasn't all that impressed.

  • PsychowPsychow Member Posts: 1,784

    Hey OP, can you quickly explain WHY you dislike quests? I understand that almost all MMOs use some form of  questing/missions, so I'm wondering what it is about the actual questing you dislike.

     

     

  • noseforautonoseforauto Member Posts: 46


    Originally posted by Psychow Hey OP, can you quickly explain WHY you dislike quests? I understand that almost all MMOs use some form of  questing/missions, so I'm wondering what it is about the actual questing you dislike.    

    The fact that they are just boring tasks is only half of it. My main issue with them is that they are often indicative of a game's lackluster design (i.e. the game itself is so boring that they need to manufacture goals for the players). I just can't really get into an MMO that tells me what to do every step of the way. Games that have contrived, quantized objectives usually lack anything beyond them. Those kinds of games feel really restrictive, because they don't want you to do anything beyond what the game allows. There are leveled zones, overly-balanced classes/builds that all feel the same, and monsters are treated like nothing more than bland obstacles between each goal that the game sets for you. There is absolutely no sense of discovery or exploration. It's like exploring my back yard. At least with old grinders, there was a sense of wonderment; you weren't being corralled from area to area being told to perform mundane tasks. In quest-based games, I'm not really motivated to explore (by explore, I mean move to the next zone) because I already have a pretty good idea of what's there... more boring quests and tasks. Sadly, quests are just the norm now. You either have high-budget questing games, or low-budget hardcore sandbox games. There used to be more of a middle ground. It seems like all games these days are designed around a target audience, and that can be fine; it's how companies strive to make a profit. Games weren't always like that, though. Some games were just made, and the audience found them. I think someday a game is going to be made like that. It's going to take a huge risk, be vastly different, and it's not going to give a shit what Joe the Douchebag wants; it's just going to be a game that's designed around a set of ideals that have continuity. And it's going to blow the market away.

  • QuirhidQuirhid Member UncommonPosts: 6,230
    Originally posted by noseforauto
    overly-balanced classes/builds

    There is no such thing.

    I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been -Wayne Gretzky

  • noseforautonoseforauto Member Posts: 46


    Originally posted by Quirhid

    Originally posted by noseforauto overly-balanced classes/builds
    There is no such thing.

    Yes, and no. There's never going to be perfect "balance" obviously, but point is that the developers strive for the perfect balance, and it makes games boring as hell. Part of the problem is that 99% of games only operate on DPS metric, meaning that everything has to be balanced in accordance with damage/rate. There needs to be more to combat. Not only would it be less need to balance the system, but it would be much easier for horizontal expansion instead of the typical exponential vertical climb.

  • DarwaDarwa Member UncommonPosts: 2,181
    Pardon my OT question, but Noseforauto, do you trade in used cars by chance?
  • BetaguyBetaguy Member UncommonPosts: 2,629
    SWG, Tabula Rasa, DAoC, UO... there is many others....
    "The King and the Pawn return to the same box at the end of the game"

  • RamanadjinnRamanadjinn Member UncommonPosts: 1,365
    Originally posted by MMOExposed
    Originally posted by Isometrix
    Ummmm... there's this little game called Guild Wars 2 coming out next week, maybe you've heard it mentioned in a back alley somewhere. Fits your description.

    but how do you define quest, in that case?

    GW2 event are very similar to quest, just open group instead of closed.

     

    same standard task is being done as well.

     

    this is not entirely accurate.

    i suggest you check out aerowyn's videos: http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/359874/Aerowyns-Video-Compilation-of-ALL-things-Guild-Wars-2.html

    the differences between standard ! questing in many games and GW2s DEs can not be boiled down to "open group instead of closed."  linearity, reward, and several other elements outlined in that post i linked should explain well why maybe GW2 will be what the OP is looking for or not.  

    edit: you also have to take into account how these systems interact with other major systems in the game.  its not simply a different sort of questing transplanted into a copy of WOW.

    either way, watch those videos and make an informed decision.  don't bother listening to people who want to boil the whole thing down into one inaccurate overgeneralized statement.  there is enough information there for you to make an educated guess for yourself on whether you should play this game or keep looking.

     

  • noseforautonoseforauto Member Posts: 46


    Originally posted by Ramanadjinn

    Originally posted by MMOExposed

    Originally posted by Isometrix Ummmm... there's this little game called Guild Wars 2 coming out next week, maybe you've heard it mentioned in a back alley somewhere. Fits your description.
    but how do you define quest, in that case? GW2 event are very similar to quest, just open group instead of closed.   same standard task is being done as well.
      this is not entirely accurate. i suggest you check out aerowyn's videos: http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/359874/Aerowyns-Video-Compilation-of-ALL-things-Guild-Wars-2.html the differences between standard ! questing in many games and GW2s DEs can not be boiled down to "open group instead of closed."  linearity, reward, and several other elements outlined in that post i linked should explain well why maybe GW2 will be what the OP is looking for or not.   edit: you also have to take into account how these systems interact with other major systems in the game.  its not simply a different sort of questing transplanted into a copy of WOW. either way, watch those videos and make an informed decision.  don't bother listening to people who want to boil the whole thing down into one inaccurate overgeneralized statement.  there is enough information there for you to make an educated guess for yourself on whether you should play this game or keep looking.  
     

    That's a lot of videos, and I've probably already seen many of them. I got caught up in the GW2 whirlwind of hype was ultimately let down. I just clung on to the big thing that was different and taking risks. Its execution didn't make it feel that much different than your standard questing affair, though. I was still just doing mundane tasks on a list. Some of the problems may have just been stuff that they might iron out, like some of the events spawning absurd amounts of enemies right next to you. I didn't get the "this world is alive" feel at all. I think players make a world feel a live, not NPCs. Although, some of the towns have a nice atmosphere that the NPCs create; but beyond that, the events don't really give me that impression. They pretty much just feel like quests, and I'm still getting corralled around to level-appropriate zones. I don't need a bunch of one-sided hype videos to make my decision. I've experienced the betas, so I have a pretty good idea of what the game has to offer. I'm sure I'll give it an other chance once the game launches, but if I find myself quitting out of boredom after an hour of play, like I was doing during the weekend betas, then maybe it's just not the game for me.

  • ClywdClywd Member UncommonPosts: 261
    Everquest is now f2p. It's old, i know, but for me the only aaa title that you can play without doing childish tasks for the dumbest NPCs you can think off (the devs's idea behind that is to hide the "size" of their "world", btw). So, i was in the same boat like you, noseforauto, and ended up with game that has quest in its name :-)

    Currently playing: EverQuest
    Waiting for Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen

  • Ex0dUs101Ex0dUs101 Member UncommonPosts: 273
    EDIT : Nevermind
  • Preacher26Preacher26 Member UncommonPosts: 381

    Minecraft, multiplayer survival server.

    Just download a decent texture pack if your worried about graphics.

    Most freedom available atm.

    Its B2P with no sub unless you pirate (which I dont recommend) and then you'll be restricted to Cracked servers.

  • ThaneThane Member EpicPosts: 3,534
    Originally posted by noseforauto

    Hi, I'm trying to find a game to play that doesn't depend on quests. I'm not necessarily looking for a sandbox; I'm not a super-hardcore gamer. I just don't like quests. I don't really care for lobby games, and I would prefer F2P. Also, something relatively modern and looks kinda nice. Any suggestions?

    planetside 2. :)

    "I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up! Not me!"

  • MadimorgaMadimorga Member UncommonPosts: 1,920

    Anarchy Online, although it's really getting up there in years.  You can level through missions or you can grind mobs in the open world, or you can do missions in groups, and there are some open world dungeons, too.

     

    That game spoiled me for later ones.  First time I was expected to do a mission in a game you would have thought I'd been asked to lick a public toilet seat.

    image

    I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals.

    ~Albert Einstein

  • TheocritusTheocritus Member LegendaryPosts: 9,751
         Some people would consider missions the same as quests, though in AO they never really had that "quest" feel...... Now whne they started adding in dailies then those felt like quests.....The missions were alot of fun, especially group ones.
  • JakdstripperJakdstripper Member RarePosts: 2,410

    the only game i've played that didn't 1 single quests was Mortal Online. No levels, no quests, no hand holding, no information. you gained skills by doing activities or reading books....all the rest you had to figure out.

     

    loved it for a long time. however, the game is in pretty sad shape right now, bankrupt, buggy, easely exploitable, empty. still no quests though....

  • elockeelocke Member UncommonPosts: 4,335
    Originally posted by noseforauto

    Hi, I'm trying to find a game to play that doesn't depend on quests. I'm not necessarily looking for a sandbox; I'm not a super-hardcore gamer. I just don't like quests. I don't really care for lobby games, and I would prefer F2P. Also, something relatively modern and looks kinda nice. Any suggestions?

    Umm, just about everything pre-WoW.  Seriously, this used to be the way to level up in MMOs, quests were few and far between.  There is a reason quests prevail today.  Folks like yourself are playing in the wrong decade, hehe.  Lots of those games still running though, like EQ and AC, go have fun.  I'll enjoy having a reason for killing 10000000 mobs, thanks.

  • JakdstripperJakdstripper Member RarePosts: 2,410

    ok can people please stop saying GW......seriously do you guys even read the title of threads you respond to?

     

    GW1 was a levelling through quests affair. GW2 is exactly teh same.

     

    sure you can sit there and kill monsters endlessly instead of doing quests, but you can do that IN EVERY SINGLE MMO if you absolutely want to ignore quests. that doesn't take away the fact that, like every other theme park mmo, GW is a quest driven game.

     

     

  • BoneserinoBoneserino Member UncommonPosts: 1,768

    Seem to be quite a few of these quest haters coming out of the woodwork these days....

    First off, I take exception to someone who tries to insinuate that all quests are bad.   They are not.  Bad quests are the ones that that basically repeat the same kill x get y while repeatedly mashing the same button in order to do so.  Even then I can enjoy them if the combat or the world is compelling.  Probably not for months or years, but who knows.

    Good quest is generally on multilevels, usually with vaying means to achieve success which the player must evaluate in order to be successful.  And in doing so it draws you into the world and makes you forget that you are doing a simple fetch or kill quest.

    So ruling out a game because it has quests, is plainly narrowminded and simplistic thinking IMO.

    Seems all gamers want to do is complain anymore!

    FFA Nonconsentual Full Loot PvP ...You know you want it!!

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