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Curious about the word "grind fest" being thrown around
I've recently started following this game, and from I've read, a lot of people say it's a linear grindfest(Mostly in comparison to WoW). Now, having played WoW since the release of the original Naxx, I would love to know how this game can be considered more 'grindy' then WoW.
In WoW, there were never quests so innovative that it broke up the feeling of a grind until TBC, and even then, they were far and few. WotLK introduced a few more, but you still quested on "Kill X, gather Y" 90% of the time. Yes, there are instances, but for anything pre Wrath these days, you have to get a higher level to run you through, which isn't anymore fun then grinding quests. And let's not even mention most of the low level drop quests in WoW, because the rate of getting items you need is usually abysmal until later, more updated quests.
As for being linear, to my knowledge, you had minimal choices when you leveled up, aside from switching racial starter zones(Which is a pain in the ass in itself). Once you hit about 25ish, most good players follow a pretty solid line of where to quest. Regardless of where though, you ended up doing the same things anyway, so it's just like talent trees. You feel like you have inifinite choices, but when it comes down to it, choosing anything but the best path is a waste of time and effort.
I'm not trying to compare WoW to Aion for purposes of why to play or not to play, because quite frankly WoW stalled out for me awhile ago and it's pointless to compare a game that old to a game so new. Just would love some clarification on how the questing system can possibly be SO much different that it needs to be called a grind fest and be knocked on for it.
Comments
You are correct. WoW does it, Aion does it, Almost every other MMO does it.
Why do we play them if they all do the same thing? Because there are OTHER factors to the games that people that complain about Grind do not consider. Like is it fun to level? Is it fun to play my class? Is it a pretty game? Is the PvP fun? Is the PvE fun?
The grind or however you level does not matter. It is whether or not you ENJOY PLAYING THE GAME!
That is how I feel. Nice post OP
It's all relative to how you percieve the grind, if it's boring you'll dislike it, if you are having fun while doing it you won't notice therefore eliminating the "grind" mentality.
I think WoW is the biggest grinder I've ever played, for the simple fact that the reputation system was just massive. However, I had my crew that did our dailys every single day and had a good time doing it, it didn't seem quite so bad.
Perception is realilty in a consumers mind.
As soon as ppl see an Asian MMO, they start yelling grind-fest before they even know what the game is about...
In the case of Aion I think it's not a grind-fest where you have to kill loads of mobs and you're so un-entertained that you wonder why you're even grinding in the first place... There's a good storyline in Aion, one that I suggest you follow (weather it's your 1st char or the 8th - the rewards are worth it too), since it gives you extra background info. Also, the storyline quests are very entertaining (the regular pickup quests are entertaining as well...).
Last but not least, doing quests is the best way to gain xp and item. Speaking about xp... comparing quest-reward xp with mob-killing xp, doing quests is way better!
Anout Aion being linear... Levels 1 tru 10 (the starter area) is indeed extremely linear. I was very disappointed by this when I started my 3rd character in the last beta weekend - I really felt like "Oh no... not again a search for that spoiled kid Rea". When you;re done with the whole intro quest and have changed your job (and you can start to fly), the fun begins. Eventhough the levels 10-20 are semi-linear, you won't notice this a bit. You really have a feeling of a lot of freedom.
Not to mention that in the capital of your side you get a lot of quests. And teleporting to the newbee Deava area (the one where you can actually fly) you can pick up so many quests, that in most cases you out-level a lot of them before you've done them al. To give a small example of this, my level 16 Chanter in 1st beta event followed the main storly ine completely. I picked up only a few quests along the line (mostly if those quests involved the area I had to go to for the main storyline), and I skilled more than 50% of the available normal quests...
I think Aion won't be a grind-fest at all. I do however think you really have to enjoy PvE game-play involving lots of quests to get there where you want to come, before you can start to PvP on level 50/55, do sieges and that kind of stuff.
And as said before here... You have to enjoy playing the game you play. For me, the 2 eta events really showed me that the 2 1/2 years waiting were worth it, and I enjoyed every moment of the 6 days of play I had so far.
Thanks for the input. Nice to see people with actual gameplay experience posting instead of the usual biased people who spew "WoW CLONE OMG" BS. Looking forward to giving this game a run for its money.