There is only one way

| Thursday, January 13, 2011
Does it ever seem strange that all classes complete quests is pretty much the same way? We all kill someone, loot something, and then run back to get a reward. A priest might use a different method to kill a mob than a warrior would, but ultimately both will be killing, probably looting, and then heading back.

It's perhaps asking a bit much to expect every quest to be flexible, but here and there are places where I think Blizzard could add some flavor, make class matter.

Many of the looting quests are for small items: coins or trinkets. Any sensible rogue would see that it's a lot easier, and safer, to sneak in and pickpocket the item rather than cut a path in and back out again. Of course a warrior would opt for the cutting of paths, and by paths I mean people and by people I mean limbs. A sneaky mage might make a very small portal and drop the item somewhere convenient, such as his own bag.

At times we're sent to beat someone up for information. It makes some sense that in general we'd carry out more or less the same brutally physical torture. But why is a warlock or a priest getting his hands dirty with that? Surely fear is a direct path to the outcome of fear. Similarly, mind flay seems like a convenient way to break a mind, through repeated flaying.

Not to leave warriors out of the fun, why is it so often necessary to kill dozens of enemies to drive them away? Surely the exceptionally bloody dissection by axe of a few visible people would help get the point across. Or the sight of the leader screaming in fear could have a similar effect. Turning him into a sheep might not inspire fear, but surely it would cause a bit of disruption in the chain of command, making the remaining enemies less willing to stick around.

This would surely increase replay value as well, making classes play a bit differently, without requiring entirely separate quests for each class. That sounds like a good idea for a company that wants to keep people around.

5 comments:

Tesh said...

I've argued this before. It's especially strong with Rogues and Priests, I think. I wrote about the Quest for Glory games and how they have different resolution playstyles for the different classes. I'd love to see that in MMOs.

If nothing else, it would make me far more likely to play a Rogue and Mage.

Shintar said...

I've found myself thinking things like that on occasion, especially on my priest. I hate it when I'm supposed to help an NPC fight some baddie for example, and the NPC is unhealable so I have to dps myself, even though I would do much better and it would feel much more natural to just heal the NPC instead (even if it's slower).

Klepsacovic said...

@Tesh: Rogues really are a mess. I feel like that have the most potential for a unique playstyle and instead they pretty much just stand behind bosses poking them like anyone else.

@Shintar: I didn't even think of that part, but you're right! Even worse is when the NPC has a scripted death.

Len said...

I was SO excited when I came across a quest in Twilight Highlands where you could either save your allocated number of gryphons by killing NPCs to free them, or by healing up injured ones that were dotted about. Options!!

Klepsacovic said...

I somehow forgot that quest. But yes, I liked that we didn't use the same method fore very single gryphon.

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