2013-12-14, 04:22 AM
Savage Wrote:Here's the question I have for everyone:
Since removing the potential system is off the table now that players have invested hundreds (or thousands) of dollars to cube equipment, what can be done to modify the system? Obviously, Nexon is not willing to release cash shop cubes that guarantee a higher tier potential. That's pretty obvious by the new red/black cubes and the new meister (and whatever the other one is called) cubes available out of the CS. In my mind, this is just a band aid - smoke in mirrors to make players think that the potential system has hope. Woopdeedoo, we can now decide if we don't want to use the crappy potential we just got for $2. Great. Thank you SO much!
If potential was more of a guaranteed thing - or if the rates were at least higher than they are now - then I could see the potential system existing alongside scrolling. When the potential system was first implemented, I actually thought it was a secondary group of stats that we could ultimately use scrolls to upgrade or change. It's disappointing how potential was such a missed opportunity.
Like [MENTION=6823]Polantaris[/MENTION]; and others, have said...things may be too far gone. Has anyone looked at the consecutive users on today? Horrible. The game should just be thrown back to 3-5 servers so that people can actually PQ before 8 PM when there's no one to PQ with.
IMO, there should be 2 separate Cubing pools, the normal with the current possible outcomes and the cash ones with a smaller pool which removes some commonly unwanted lines. Make the non cash cubes moderately hard to obtain(sorta how the current system works minus event shop) so that there's incentives for buying the cash variant. people without cash are happy that they have access to cubes if they work for it(through the profession system) and people with cash have the incentive to spend due to both bypassing the requirements to make the normal cubes, as well as being guaranteed a better more succinct pool of potentials.
@topic: the game has much more content than before. the only thing that I wish nexon did was significantly increase the amount of EXP gained from party quests(enough that PQing can rival, preferably surpass conventional grinding methods). Party Questing back then built community and friendships(as well as enemies) and ever since the leveling system changed, as well as overpowered grinding spots, party questing fell off the map.I liked it when I had the option to say do LMPQ, OPQ etc for moderate exp gain with a party then now where its almost entirely grinding mobs because the PQ area is basically deserted. Nexon continually tries to revamp PQ's by doing duration changes, zone changes, lobby changes and such, even changing the prizepool, but the key thing they keep missing by a longshot is purely incentive.
going through time what were the incentives:
KPQ: old school leveling was slow, 2nd job was an accomplishment, KPQ gave moderately good exp, especially if rushed
LPQ: Incentive was mostly capes and EXP, back when capes were a moderate scarcity
LMPQ: Shortest PQ, less frustrating when missed. Decent EXP, pots sell at good rates back then to NPC. Was considered the money maker.
OPQ: really only was good during smuggle/glitch periods
Pirate PQ: a pq for fun really, gave a nifty hat that was similar to a Zhelm back then without looking terrible like one if you worked for it
Carnival PQ: Forced parties to compete(or share) exp. Fastest EXP gain during the time
at this point in time, making meso through conventional pot selling like LMPQ is basically gone(LMPQ is gone itself as well). EXP is only okay, prizes are revamped, but really in the end, they are worthless because of being character locked, and taking a bunch of time to get it. there is no incentive to get it because of the time and that it'd probably easily get replaced. Note some of the more popular PQ's over time:
APQ: Gave earrings, capes, gems and most importantly Onyx Apples
CWKPQ: Gave Staves, Khanjars, Swiss Cheese, Capes, Pendants
why were these pq's popular. it certainly wasn't the exp gain that made them popular but the incentive. TBH when CWKPQ was functional, it was pretty much the ONLY pq people were willing to go through because of the bonus incentive. the stuff aren't locked to your characters and making a profit was actually possible based on pure luck of the draw, as well as having a competitive pendant in a different aspect. It could not rival those pendants who had great potentials, but being a high base stat pendant made it a worthy adversary for best budget pendant which made it so sought after(similar to Zhelms).
to end this banter; PQ's could potentially be great, the problem is how nexon is approaching them. No one wants things like a chefs hat/suit set for a stat bonus. No one wants to go through a bunch of different pq's in order to get pq items(that are locked onto character) just for a minor set bonus. the only thing the players want is either:
A) A PQ that gives EXP, Dimension PQ is a good example of this for recent comparisons
B) A PQ that actually gives out good prizes. (APQ, CWKPQ, HBPQ(back when rex earrings were popular), Visitor PQ(original)) the new visitor pq was a step in the right direction with items that give moderately good stats and a pretty good set bonus. The problem was that Nexon made it too hard to even acquire any of the items, let alone that the level requirement for the PQ is extremely high. Because Bossing have tons more incentives, no one even bothers to PQ anymore. they need to make pqs with good tradables that can can potentially rival average scrolled/potential goods without totally dominating it.
the other method would be creating a party quest world where all worlds are merged on a single channel by default(similar to Evolution Lab) to enhance pq lobby growth, but it probably would be a pain to program.
heck, it'd be interesting if occasionally nexon did 2x/3x quest exp periods rather than normal exp periods if pqs actually gave good stuff/exp