Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Downfalls to the path system
Here is what I think. The path system is further limiting options that players have. Why do I think this?
For instance, this game feature is taken from the bartle test, and the idea that players will lean toward a certain aspect of gameplay more than others. That they can be categorized into certain types. The issue here is that once you choose a path for your character, you cannot change that path unless you roll another character. I know what some people are thinking.
"Well, I can roll an alt and have all the different paths on different characters. "
Here's the issue. While this is a true statement, it is skirting around the main problem. You are being limited from experiencing certain features of the game that many games would have as a normal feature that is available to anyone.
I don't believe for a second that the majority of players fall into a single category on the bartle test, and have no interest in any of the other areas. That means the majority of players would ideally like to experience a little bit of something from each category.
If you choose to be a scientist on your main, you will be able to get extra tidbits of lore and experiences related to learning more about the game world. However, you will not be able to explore areas that are available to explorers. You will also not be able to fight in some of the interesting events that occur for soldiers around the world. Well, not unless you were to group with a member of the related path. Will this encourage grouping? Possibly, but I'm not convinced. Often times I feel that adventuring solo is the best way to enjoy the gaming experience, but by doing so I will be limited in my options.
I think it's a good idea in theory, but in addition to the other option limiting and oversimplification that this game has attempted to impose upon players, I am certainly not seeing how this design choice will be lucrative.
Thoughts?
Comments
There's also the problem of giving people too much freedom which eliminates the basic mechanics of every game revolving around the triangle of risk-effort-reward. If the path content of the game would be accessible to anyone without any "unique" requirements then it would be just as easily overlooked or overshadowed by other content.
The whole idea of paths is to add additional functionality to players that will enhance their individual experience, but also and more importantly enhance the experience of others during cooperative play. SWTOR did something similar although at least on paper several orders of magnitude smaller with professions where each profession had some unique impact on certain group quests and instances.
The problem with MMO's these days, and i think also that Wildstar will have to some extent is too much freedom and leniency. When you have a game where the composition of a group and dedicated specs are irrelevant it only reduces the overall experience of players especially in a large group.
My only beef with the paths is that i think they should be similar to professions than classes, in the builds we've seen so far playable at conventions and events you choose the path when you choose a class. I would much rather see some path content in the starting zone which the players can experience prior to choosing a path, but then again leaving the starting zone is only a matter of an hour or so at most like it's with most MMO's so it's not that big of an issue.
If any thing i had hope they'll give classes a more stricter role with different utility than just stick dual roles to each class, but considering how people these confused flexibility with multiple roles and spec swapping other than smart class design with emphasis on utility around your role rather than making jack of all trade classes i don't really blame them for doing so.
It does seem stupid,but i assume they have a good reason and without playing explorer and combat versions i don't know what that reasoning is.
Perhaps it has to do with the combat player being too powerful for the exploration mode,i really don't know.
Either way it is imo a poor decision and could have been fixed with better thought put into the design.
My only assumption is that they were thinking of the players that ONLY want exploration and puzzles and absolutely no combat what so ever,but just guessing on my part.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
But you can play with other people, to get the achievements.
So an explorer will unlock some steps and if your playing with them, you can use them as well.
So while your character might not be able to unlock the items, anyone in the group can use them.
So if you have a soldier in the group, you can all do the killing quests together, the settler can unlock campfires and others can use them.
Unless your planning on playing the whole game solo, I don't think it would be much of a problem.
Are you familiar with GW2's Personal Stories? In particular the major choice of Priory/Vigil/Whispers faction about 1/3rd the way through? That's along the lines of the same concept where you cannot get the weapons/armor sets from the other factions that you don't choose.
SW:TOR has similar issue with it's Light/Dark system on it's Story Line.
So, it's not unique to this game in the least. Paths are basically an extension of your character creation in a permanent fashion. It's a choice that defines who you character is. You are not the all-in-one, end-all, save-all, do-all hero of the world. You are either the Explorer, discovering new locations and things; or the Settler, building locations for your friends to utilize and ease the gameplay of those around you; or the Soldier, clearing the wildlife of the land so that your allies can partake the area safely; or the Scientist, studying remains of ancient civilizations and other things. It's a sub-class choice that supplements your main class choice. But again, you can't have it all!
Its the same problem with different classes, different races, and different factions at character creation. However, with paths it makes that choice much more significant.
It means they have to reward alting more. Synergize progression towards an account for shared long term goals. For example all have access to houses bought by diffrent characters on the same server.
Also by not restricting as much as the first character at end game it opens up the game for alts. This could mean that gear already attained at end game for pvp, or raids are easier to get or already attained. I personally think it is a bad problem to put so much gear grind into end game and then expect alts to do the same, since it limits different combat, and roles. And in wild star's case it even discourages others from trying to replay the game ( which tries to make the lvling fun, and different oaths fun) due to huge downtime and time investment of end game expected to be repeated for exactly the same content of end game:
So while they should make alting at end game easier, they could keep it interesting fir example by making dungeons randomly generate.
For pvp, its already going to be fun and competitive, and also different with different pvp situations but from the players perspective with a new charscters, a new story, and most importantky a new combat system to have fun with.
Write bad things that are done to you in sand, but write the good things that happen to you on a piece of marble
ive definitely thought this, but at this point it seems to be largely fluff / optional content in which case having all 4 quest types littering your screen / quest journal becomes more of a nuisance to me.
LFD tools are great for cramming people into content, but quality > quantity.
I am, usually on the sandbox .. more "hardcore" side of things, but I also do just want to have fun. So lighten up already