Quests are now essential in modern MMORPGs. Or are they? How would you feel about an MMORPG completely without quests?
The concept of quests is as old as the RPG genre itself and was often used during the early “Pen and Paper” rounds of Dungeons and Dragons.
Together with their companions, players received a task from the Game Master, a quest, which could take various forms:
- Eliminate the gang of robbers that is terrorizing the area
- Defeat the great monster threatening a village
- An important item has been stolen. Retrieve it
- A mysterious disease is spreading in the town. Find a cure
- The princess has been kidnapped!
The list can go on endlessly. As the RPG genre expanded into MMORPGs, the well-known concept of quests was also employed here.
This is the problem: However, quests in MMORPGs often face criticism. Especially “fetch quests” are often unpopular among players and are seen as cheap fillers. These are quests that keep players occupied with relatively trivial tasks.
These include timeless classics like: “Bring me 50 more wolf pelts” or “Kill 200 orcs in this area”. They are tasks that do not promise hours of fun and excitement.
However, they often provide sufficient rewards in the form of EXP and money, making players want to or even have to do them, as otherwise leveling up progresses slowly.
Accordingly, players often wish for quest design in MMORPGs to be reworked and made more exciting. But how would you feel about an MMORPG completely without quests? Would you play such a game?
Are quests perhaps an outdated concept that has no place in modern MMORPGs anymore? Or are quests still indispensable? What do you think makes good quests? Vote and let us know in the comments!
Update: 01/13/2021 – The survey is closed.
