I do definitely agree with your point Elad, that the idea of a game (especially one geared humorously such as DR) is to play for the enjoyment value first and the acheivement/advancement value second (as this is how I play most of the time). However, I would also say that its more than fair to say that most players (of any game, not just DR) ARENT that way - since we do have a lot of teenage players and a lot of players that play multiple MMOs and just want to "get in, get out, get over" when they play. That being said, I would wager that if the quests were more "rewarding" to players, new and old alike, that DR would see a happier "general" population of people playing and contributing the $$ to the devs.

And THAT in turn makes yours and my "casual" play style benefit from new updates, content, etc. So, I guess I wouldnt personally complain about quest rewards being better anyway (since Ive done almost 100% of them like Fseries) because IM going to enjoy myself either way.

Along the same lines, now that I HAVE done almost all the quests in the game, I would be lying to say that Ive done them all with my newest chars - because I haven't. And I havent simply because, like FSeries said, experienced players realize that they get more "reward" by just re-grinding/re-farming rather than doing quests. And I definitely have leveled and gotten better loot faster by doing so. Heck, I must have 4 rbws on each char of mine (2) just by farming SC 100 times in a couple of weeks.

In general, I enjoy playing - whether its quests or farming.

My only two real personal suggestions that I would like to see for quests, IF they get more rewards or not, are that:

1. Some quests (like killing rattletooth in dew valley before noob can enter townston, or having to kill the boss of each dungeon before being able to kill the next one - or something ) be REQUIRED to be able to enter a level/advance to some certain things. That would make the reward system on quests understandable and reasonable - giving them a reward that is equal to the neccessity of having to do them. Maybe then, half of the quests could be required and have better/different rewards than the half that you dont have to do.

2. Group quests would be an excellent idea. Im thinking along the lines of how I always get groups for farming a boss, and if there were group only quests, with excellent rewards, then that would be fun. As it stands now, I really dont know any ppl (besides myself and three really good friends) that group simply just to run levels unless theyre plvling. Along those lines, we could maybe have a side dungeon or two in every dungeon that only groups could enter, with mini-bosses...ooooo....

K, got too far off the beaten path there, lol.

At any rate - YAY for the new 55 quests coming to DR; bc apparently there was enough desire/request for more quests that they made'em into this update - whether they have "good" rewards or not.

So, how do we balance this? If experience is rewarded for quests and, ultimately, we'd prefer that the majority of gamers actually do the awesome quests, do we lower the experience/per mob in order to balance the xp gained for questing? This would make it more worthwhile to actually play the game and enjoy the content than simply grind through levels and levels could be gained at ~ the same rate. Of course, this would mean that there would have to be an adequate number and, probably, diversity in quests and dungeons for all levels, which doesn't currently exist today (it is coming, however).

Other than giving experience for quest rewards, I do think that quest-specific rewards like an exclusive piece of gear would be very nice (much like is done in other games like LotR and WoW).

::nods for quest specific items/rewards::

I thought that Sissirats Dreamcatcher would be a usable item when I first started and did the quest - kinda like the Butchers Cleaver item in Diablo (yeah the first one). You had to get it for a quest, but it was also a unique item you could choose to use for your character.

Nunja, its a quest from, uh, oh, whats his name at the top of town near the stream and the cart. You have to go see him and cash in your dreamcatcher (since you must already have the quest if its dropping for you). I think its worth 10k gold or something - but, I still thought I could use it as an item and think that would be cooler than the "reward."

I know where you are coming from with this suggestion FSeries but this has been addressed before and knocked down by the devs. Is the past when this has been suggested Stephen said that they could give Exp for quests but it would cost you. They would have to revamp the entire XP/level in order to keep the time to level 100 relatively the same. By giving XP for every quest, of which there are hundreds, you would shorten the game. Then we would have even more people at level 100 complaining that there is nothing to do. Do you really think they would give you XP for completing quests so you level faster?

The suggestion for usable quest specific items that you receive on completion could be interesting. Only problem I see with it is that drops are random at this point. Also think there are plenty of drops in the game already.

There are a few reasons why we don't give XP for quests:

Practically speaking, there aren't enough quests for the entire level range yet. If we gave XP for quests then folks without quests for their level would have a much harder grind. Of course, we could ensure XP requirements match the number of quests avaiable for a level. That's doable. Annyoing, but doable.

Dungeon Runners, unlike many games, is truly a work in progress and a collaborative effort. We release features early and often; critically using player feedback to hone and improve our game. This means the game isn't complete yet. Nor will it ever likely be complete. Welcome to the game!

Aesthetically speaking, I don't think we should give XP for quests because it requires players to actually do the quests. Don't get me wrong. I love our quests. I can't remember a time that I laughed as hard at another game's quests. That being said, I feel that players should feel free to not do quests.

Should quests have a stronger reward? Perhaps. But is tying XP to quests a reasonable solution? I'm not sold on that yet.

steve

First off, Stephen, let me thank you for responding in this thread on a day off. One of the amazing things about this community and game is the opportunity for getting direct feedback right from the development team. I've been involved in other MMOs, but you could wait years without hearing from any of the developers on the issues that interest you. Thank you!

Now to your post...

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Practically speaking, there aren't enough quests for the entire level range yet. If we gave XP for quests then folks without quests for their level would have a much harder grind. Of course, we could ensure XP requirements match the number of quests avaiable for a level. That's doable. Annyoing, but doable.

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Stephen - I think you'd find that the people who don't do quests wouldn't care whether or not they had a harder grind anyway since they wouldn't bother with the quests to begin with. Also, given the time consuming nature of some of the quests, I think you'd find that people doing quests would actually fall behind those that just grinded it out. That's my contention anyway...I don't know if you have data mining capabilities or something similar to see rates of xp advancement, so you'd know best.

Also, I know this game is a work in progress. Perhaps adding xp to quests could be implemented when quests are more readily available at every level range.

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Dungeon Runners, unlike many games, is truly a work in progress and a collaborative effort. We release features early and often; critically using player feedback to hone and improve our game. This means the game isn't complete yet. Nor will it ever likely be complete. Welcome to the game!

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I can certainly appreciate that and it looks like every update - you improve this game more and more. I've met a few players who played this game months ago only to come back, and they keep remarking on how much "different" this game was compared to when they played. Keep up the good work!

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Aesthetically speaking, I don't think we should give XP for quests because it requires players to actually do the quests. Don't get me wrong. I love our quests. I can't remember a time that I laughed as hard at another game's quests. That being said, I feel that players should feel free to not do quests.

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I'd always want the quests to be optional. I just want a realistic alternative to just grinding out instances - after a while, no matter how much you enjoy the game, it just gets monotonous. Quests right now, aren't worth doing if you're looking to advance in level and get loot. As written, they're distactions and they take away from leveling, which means often case, they get ignored.

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Should quests have a stronger reward? Perhaps. But is tying XP to quests a reasonable solution? I'm not sold on that yet.

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I realize that as the game designer and big boss, you have to look at the big picture instead of just one player's perspective (regardless of how vocal that player is ). However, consider these points:

* Quests are some of the funniest parts of the game, and past Algeron Terror Dome, I think they are basically ignored. It would not be a bad thing to incentivize the thing that makes this game unique / fun.

* Doing quests *takes longer* than just grinding instances or just killing bosses. I'm convinced of that. Adding xp to quests won't speed players to 100...on the contrary, I think they'd end up staying longer.

* From a big picture standpoint, you also should look at replayability. After getting a character to 100, does a player really look forward to getting another character to 100 by grinding it out? Or would an alternate means of advancing that character be appealing? My contention is that adding quest xp would significanlty enhance replayability.

Anyway, Stephen, thanks again for your reply. Just because I don't get my way on this issue won't mean I will storm off in a huff. As a player who enjoys this game, I really want to see it grow and be enhanced.