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Beating the Grind.
Tendril
Member Posts: 12
Everyone, and their dog complains about the continuous level grind in most current MMORPGs. I can recall playing a number of MMOs and having all of them based around completing quests, and gaining levels through slaughtering hundreds of enemies.
Now, I'm sure a thread like this has been started, but I have yet to see an actual solution to the problem. Or even a way to reduce the grind. From what I have thought, the best ways to reduce the grind is:
Story run / Grind run: Think of some MMORPGs with a deep, evolving plot. It's pretty hard to name even a few. And, I don't mean, this person is bad, everyone's goal is to kill him. I mean an evolving conflict that is suggested, analyzed, and solved. Like the story in a novel, or a single player RPG. If you focus on getting through the story, and solving the problem, there will be less emphasis on the endless grind. I now this in the end is hard to incorporate into an MMO, but it can be done.
Minigames: Yes, something to branch you off of the main story, and have you socialize, and hang out with players. For instance, if an MMORPG had something like a card game in it, there would be card collectors, who play against each other. Now, don't make these things too big, but if you had many small minigames, it would take emphasis on even killing monsters. Everyone is fed up with killing monsters, and everyone is looking for something new to do.
Lessen the Enemies: Instead of killing 500 thousand goblins, couldn't battles be set encountered? Not just a field where weak monsters re-spawn, but as soon as you "visit" this area, a massive boss monster will stand in your way of getting to the next area? So, you have to defeat a stronger monster through strategy to continue. Plus, grouping would make it easier to defeat the monster, so it's win-win.
Skill based, not grind based: If a person has to pull off big combos, and accurate timing when fighting, then would there need to even be experience? The best players in fighting games are the ones who can pull off quick combos when the enemy is down, and parry swiftly when the enemy is attacking. Couldn't an MMORPG be the same?
Just my thoughts, it would be appreciated if you added in your own comments, or criticized my ideas. It's always nice to have an important topic like this last over a few posts.
- Tendril
Thank you for accepting me into your forums.
Comments
Bot your account
Get banned=No grind :P
No seriously I agree with your sollutions. I especially like the boss spawn. Personally I wish there were more unique spawns in games. That would definitely Keep the game interesting/challenging, especially if the spawned "special" mob dropped nice loot.
Eve = no grind.
Make a difference!
He did say most current MMORPG's... and if i can count right, i believe Eve is 1 MMORPG
Okay. Great for Eve, and great for you. Now, can you tell us why it has no grind? What it has done to insure that killing monsters is a thing of the past? Or, the toils of gaining experience are over? Just saying three words helps the discussion like a kick in the pants.
- Tendril
Thank you for accepting me into your forums.
i dont think a kick in the pants ever helped anybody
Physics is like sex... sure it has some practical benefits, but that's not why we do it.
- Feinman