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What keeps you playing after end game?

AmatheAmathe Member LegendaryPosts: 7,630

You've hit max level.  You're run the raids and the instances.  You have your gear.  But it looks like a few months or more to go before they put in anything new.  Do you quit? Or is there something that might still hold your interest?

 

Here are some things that keep me busy and still entertained after I hit "the wall":

 

1.  Hanging out with buddies.

2.  Player housing and player cities.

3.  Making alts.

4.  Achievement systems.

5.  In game events.

6.  Getting more skills/abilities/alternative advancement.

7.  Exploring and checking out stuff I missed on the way up.

8. Collecting (pets, mounts, etc).

9. Grinding coin for use when they finally do put in more stuff.  

 

Of course not all games deliver on the game system options above, in which case I usually get bored and quit.  But when they are decently implemeted I normally stay.  

EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests

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Comments

  • simmihisimmihi Member UncommonPosts: 709

    In that kid of a game I run the instances / raids once or twice then quit, even if i don't get the "gear". The gear grind at endgame is stupid, i'd rather grind for anything else but gear, after all this time i know that gear ain't there to stay, that the next piece of content would make my gear "old". I'd rather grind for active/passive skills and perks (such as, the game gives me the normal version of the skill, the endgame is designed to make me grind for the elite version, which adds let's say a condition to the normal skill, making it "elite"), extra stats which i can select where/how to use, some special crafted item(s). I'm totally not into housing, pets and mounts.

    So let me rephrase, i quit, unless there are some very good alternative advancement lines, events and / or minigames, good and meaningful crafting systems, other stuff to do except "daily quests" waiting for the weekly raids with guild / friends.

  • BartDaCatBartDaCat Member UncommonPosts: 813

    Friends/Community/Guild

    A Well-executed Crafting system (I love crafting), and not some eye-bleeding grind for crap items.

    Extremely challenging zones for exploration (I used to spend hours wandering through "Elite Monster" zones in Dark Age of Camelot farming "glowies" for salvaging or just to give away to friends)

    DECENT-- and I mean DECENT as in quality, well-executed-- PvP (or RvR) system

    Well-executed content updates

    GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE!  I know, I know.  Depending on the community, some a**hole ruins it for everyone else by burning the good folks out, but how is that any different from a retail job?  Every customer should expect good customer service until they prove themselves to be unreasonable and the situation unresolvable.  If I'm treated with disdain or immaturity from some shut-in that managed to squeak by the hiring staff, only so he/she could turn on anyone that disrupts his/her personal game time while on the job, then first I'll let a supervisor know, and if I receive a form letter explaining how the company always strives to offer "the best" service, I'm f***ing out of there and spending my money elsewhere.

    NOT some B.S. "Free-To-Play" scam.  I'll gladly pay a subscription for a GOOD MMO as long as they're not trying to milk cash out of me for stupid items or items that should already be intrinsic to a MMO system.  Cash shops can kiss my a**, and so can the companies that offer them.

  • MaidenberryMaidenberry Member Posts: 30
    My friends and the endless pvp :D
  • ScalplessScalpless Member UncommonPosts: 1,426

    Community

    Horizontal progression

    Doing the stuff I missed

    Making alts

    PvP

    The first option is spoiled if the game has too much vertical progression, though.

  • Cephus404Cephus404 Member CommonPosts: 3,675
    I don't play end-game.  Once my  character hits max-level, they get retired and I either start a new character or I go play a different game.  I never, ever, ever, under any circumstances, play any of the end-game grind.

    Played: UO, EQ, WoW, DDO, SWG, AO, CoH, EvE, TR, AoC, GW, GA, Aion, Allods, lots more
    Relatively Recently (Re)Played: HL2 (all), Halo (PC, all), Batman:AA; AC, ME, BS, DA, FO3, DS, Doom (all), LFD1&2, KOTOR, Portal 1&2, Blink, Elder Scrolls (all), lots more
    Now Playing: None
    Hope: None

  • MarirranyaMarirranya Member Posts: 154

    do instances/raids for achievements :3

    craft for gold

    in-game events

    guildie fun time!

    There are people who play games and then there are gamers.

    http://alzplz.blogspot.com

  • adenostaradenostar Member Posts: 13

    I honestly haven't played a lot of MMOs. The only one I've ever played extensively was WoW, and played that for a couple years. I've dabbled in a few f2p games, but never enough to get anywhere near end game content.

    As for what I did when I played WoW... I didn't really participate in any end game stuff. I didn't do raids until after they weren't new anymore. I'd run old world/bc raids for fun. I two manned Kara once with an old friend. I did manage to get into ICC toward the end of Wrath, but only because the main tank was a friend of mine. My DPS was terrible, so I tended to avoid things like that.

    End game stuff never really interested me. I played on an RP server, so I was there for the RP and to collect mounts and pets. Thats pretty much all I care about in any game I play. I always look for something I can potentially RP in or collect random items in. Honestly, like 99% of my time in WoW was spent just hanging out in one of the cities or off soloing some random instance to get some rare mount or pet. I'm sure that sounds really boring for a lot of people, but to me it was awesome and loads of fun.

  • QuirhidQuirhid Member UncommonPosts: 6,230

    If the PvP is any good, I stick with it. But if not, I usually go through the endgame content once and thats it: I quit. If there is replay value I might roll out an alt.

    I don't play games that are not interesting to me - not fun anymore. No amount of peer pressure will make me stick around and I am not fond of grind (gear, achievements or any other form). I've grown out of playing with virtual dollhouse and exploring a dead static world is not fun. There is rarely anything worthwhile to find.

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

  • HeroEvermoreHeroEvermore Member Posts: 672

    Community and in game "functions".

    I may be a hamster but i need a LOT of wheels if you want me to keep busy. Im a hyper hypo (mike meyers)

    Hero Evermore
    Guild Master of Dragonspine since 1982.
    Playing Path of Exile and deeply in love with it.

  • TheocritusTheocritus Member LegendaryPosts: 9,739
    Unless there is some sort of solid progression system, once I reach end game in a MMO its the end of the game, at least for that character.
  • AeonbladesAeonblades Member Posts: 2,083
    Good PvP. Or strong 5man/2man/solo progression. I like small group content. I have no desire to get 20 kids together to bump wangs and talk about how much better they are than other raiders.

    Currently Playing: ESO and FFXIV
    Have played: You name it
    If you mention rose tinted glasses, you better be referring to Mitch Hedberg.

  • VesaviusVesavius Member RarePosts: 7,908

    In EQ2 it is housing, events, the community, alts.

    I don't do 'end game' though... I don't raid. It's just 'game' to me. That way I have fun from Level 1.

     

  • rojoArcueidrojoArcueid Member EpicPosts: 10,722

    i never cared for end game in mmos. I reach level cap and i switch to other character. The game has to have different paths per race (lore and starting areas) and different maps of the same level range to avoid doing the same quests at the same hubs over and over with all new characters. (WoW and GW2 offer variety in leveling maps which is good,  more variety would be even better). So yeah, that is how i play mmos. My end game is when i stop playing, like the name implies.

    That is what keep me playing after level cap. Varied content to start new characters. Each race with its own story behind it

     

    EDIT: also, since i dont rush to level cap, by the time i reach level cap with some of my characters that would be enough time for devs to add new high level content to keep going up and new areas and expand the lore





  • winterwinter Member UncommonPosts: 2,281
     End game is just that the end of the game. If I'm done achieving, make my desired levels, and crafting, getting whatever said items I'might be wanting i quit till a expansion comes out. theres enough MMO's there thats always something to play 9some better some worse)
  • OgreRaperOgreRaper Member Posts: 376
    DAOC was the only end game I liked. You could continue to progress your character (realm points) while helping your realm. I hope TESO gets this right.
  • AeonbladesAeonblades Member Posts: 2,083
    Would like to add if the game isn't a quest hub based game and I can make good experience mercilessly slaughtering creatures (EQ, DAoC before updates) Then I will make alts. Not a fan of quest hubs.

    Currently Playing: ESO and FFXIV
    Have played: You name it
    If you mention rose tinted glasses, you better be referring to Mitch Hedberg.

  • JaedorJaedor Member UncommonPosts: 1,173

    Played WoW for almost six years and managed to thoroughly burn out on the grind. So these days, I mix up my activities.


    I don't strive for endgame or sign up for raids but often end up in them as a fill-in. I roll alts if there is something new to be seen, craft for alts and guildies, explore, fish, but all that goes out the window if there's housing. Housing is my endgame if it's available, and these days I'm looking for games with housing in them.

  • MMOGamer71MMOGamer71 Member UncommonPosts: 1,988
    MMO's should not have endgame.
  • AeonbladesAeonblades Member Posts: 2,083
    Originally posted by MMOGamer71
    MMO's should not have endgame.

    Wouldn't that be nice!

    Currently Playing: ESO and FFXIV
    Have played: You name it
    If you mention rose tinted glasses, you better be referring to Mitch Hedberg.

  • HomituHomitu Member UncommonPosts: 2,030

    For me it's when the game continues to present many goals to pursue, and hopefully those goals have tremendous variety.  Here's a small checklist of goals that have held or would hold my attention for considerable time in an MMO: 

    • Progression raiding when there is still content to progress through. Although I haven't played an MMO where I've dedicated time to a raid schedule in over 3 years now, I can't deny how important this was in keeping me around in my hayday.  Competing against other guilds for server-firsts was incredibly rewarding.  Once all the hardest content was conquered, farming the raids for new gear would remain gratifying for a few weeks; but most of the satisfaction (for me) came from the challenge and competition. 
    • As a subset to my previous point, gear progression.  Lottery-style random loot from difficult encounters held my attention a lot in the begging of my MMO career, but I feel it's dissipated over time.  The days of DKP and getting 1 new upgrade every 4 months were exhilirating, but undoubtedly would have gotten stale over the years. Since then, gear progression in most games has gone on steroids and has lost most of its luster to me.  
    • Collectibles with persistent in game relevance.  I grew up catching 'em all on the gameboy.  As such, I was obviously happy to hear about WoW's whatever-it's-called pet combat system.  I haven't played the game since it's been out, but I know I'd spend a ton of time finally collecting those little monsters that I never gave 2 shits about before.  Rift's Dimensions system is also pretty incredible in this regard, offering a constant gold sink with seemingly infinite rewards and infinite possibilities.  
    • As a subset to the above point again, player creations.  When you allow players to create stuff within the game world, like the housing in Rift, the replayability can feel like it lasts forever.
    • "Horizontal progression." A game like FFXI had you pursuing sometimes dozens of progression goals at any given time.  From unlocking subjobs by doing their lengthy quests, to your nation's missions, to limit breaks, to unlocking keys to areas, airships and chocobos.  Most of the things you pursued in FFXI (when I played in vanilla through the first 2 xpacs) were not gear and stats.  That was there, to be sure, but there were so many other important goals that gear just took a backseat.  These things kept me playing for longer than the game probably deserved.
    • Friends.  Can't ignore those guys.  They tend to be the reason you find yourself just jumping around town for months after you would have preferred to stop playing.    
  • nariusseldonnariusseldon Member EpicPosts: 27,775
    That is why random stat on gear is a good thing. You almost always have the chance to progress.
  • RoxtarrRoxtarr Member CommonPosts: 1,122

    #1-9: Guild

    #10: good two way developer communication.

    If in 1982 we played with the current mentality, we would have burned down all the pac man games since the red ghost was clearly OP. Instead we just got better at the game.
    image

  • Joseph_KerrJoseph_Kerr Member RarePosts: 1,113
    Nothing, I usually try to reach 'end-game' as slowly as possible because I know thats where all the fun stops and the sound of inevitability becomes a screaming banshee and all she says is, 'theres no point!'
  • PhaserlightPhaserlight Member EpicPosts: 3,071
    Community
    Player-run events
    Designing content
    Refining skill
    Resource control

    "The simple is the seal of the true and beauty is the splendor of truth" -Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
    Authored 139 missions in Vendetta Online and 6 tracks in Distance

  • Allacore69Allacore69 Member Posts: 839

    This is why i'm going to play Neverwinter. The Foundry alone offers endless gameplay.

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