Comments on: Does A Grind Equate to More Socialization?

By: Pitrelli

Pitrelli — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:41:28 +0000

‘I feel a sense of accomplishment when I level in Aion. Sure, it’s almost purely based on the amount of time I’ve soaked into the game, but I still feel better about leveling than I have in the past couple MMO’s I’ve played. I never got this feeling in World of Warcraft, or in Warhammer Online.’

I cant agree more with the above, good article. The pace of levelling is one of the things I’ve really enjoyed with Aion along with ‘forced grouping’ dont get me wrong you bump into the odd idiot but overall Im liking the design and mechanics of zonal quest hubs with the build up being taking down some elites with fellow players.

By: Middea

Middea — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:36:39 +0000

I wouldn’t say that grinding forces socialization, but the kinds of quests and just the rewards for grouping outweighing the soloable mobs.

I’d much rather pug or find some friends and do some Mist Mane grinding than kill mobs alone for any decent length of time. Partly because I get much more exp, better loot in the form of the hairs to get blue gear, and partly because I just like pugging in general

By: Tak

Tak — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:47:06 +0000

Well written Slurms, I really enjoyed the read

By: Sarc

Sarc — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:26:20 +0000

i agree that there is fun and opportunity for good socialization due to the forced grind. I’m hoping that people catch up soon so we can all FT together, though i’d probably kill the exp for everyone else They should offer serious experience buffs to group play if they really want to get away with the idea that grinding encourages grouping.

aside from that, my biggest problem with Aion’s grind is that the entire focus is on the end game. Instances arent filled with story, they are simply random loot drops with fair to good expererience drops. If they put in things that made early and mid game cooler so you didnt want to grind as fast as possible to the end to experience all the fun content (i.e. tiered scens in WAR and tiered RvR) it wouldnt be so bad.

as it is, fortresses are a waste because everything i can attack resists approximately 99% of my spells, the abyss is a zergfest, and PvE is … well as described by everyone else.
All i want is end game, and all i want is to not have to mindlessly grind alone to get there. /whine /emo /QQmore ;p

By: Slurms

Slurms — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:45:22 +0000

Yeah, incentive is something that I think very few MMO’s have worked out, and I’m really not sure what the solution is. I really fought with this article for a while because I feel like I’m supporting grinding in it, but I’m really not, I just don’t mind it as much of others.

I really enjoy running quests, but I think they’ve become about as mundane as constantly pulling mobs. To me, the most fun I have is running through an area with a group of friends, and I think Aion has some opportunity to foster that style of play. I do really wish they would incorporate instanced dungeons in the game. That would be fantastic.

By: Dean

Dean — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:40:21 +0000

Got it! Thanks for the context.

By: Winin

Winin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:32:06 +0000

My comment is based on what I see a lot of in PUG situations (i.e. the times when you might, you know, actually meet new people): You go somewhere and have a bunch of quests, maybe you join with someone to finish a tough one, then you separate to go turn in, or you group and everyone is at different stages, so you help the people just starting catch up, then people leave, or you spend too much time traveling back and forth. In EQ, I used to get into a group camped out somewhere and we’d chat and BS while someone (usually me when I was a bard) would go pull monsters back to the camp. The same group would go on for a long time (people would leave, new people would come). In WoW and other quest heavy games, groups were fleeting and often silent as people focused on killing 20 x’s so they could disband and run back to town to get the next step.

By: Dean

Dean — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:20:48 +0000

This is probably totally off topic, but I’ll say it anyway. I don’t necessarily disagree with Winin’s comment, but I think the way that quests are designed in certain games can make a big difference when it comes to promoting socialization. For instance, LOTRO has epic quest lines and lengthy quest chains that often lead to a group-only event or situation. In my experience, this has promoted socialization in that people have a vested interest in completing these chains and will often seek groups in order to do so. I also see WAR’s PQ’s as doing the same thing (well, last year at least) but their PvE content was so blah that many people didn’t care. But I can also see the point of quest-based games doing the opposite thing…when someone has a quest to kill ten rats and they’re done with that, what’s their incentive to help another person kill their ten…? You’re already done and have moved on.

When it comes to grind, all I can say is there was nothing like EQ’s hell levels back in the day…and I never, ever want to revisit that.

By: Slurms

Slurms — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:13:41 +0000

Good point. Maybe that’s the difference. You got into the 30′s rather quick, and you played Chinese Aion. I played in one closed beta weekend, and I’m currently only 25. I’m taking it slow. =D

By: Rer

Rer — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:00:22 +0000

For me, the grind is just one of those things where I can stand it, but I have to take it very, VERY, slowly to avoid burnout. I’m curious to see if your opinion will change once you start to reach ~35 or so.