New questing info

[Kaellan]

MMO champion had this info on questing this morning

•The Jade Forest quests had a very clear story, but it also had a lot of side quests that could bog you down.
•In Warlords of Draenor, your map will show you where to go to continue the main storyline, along with the locations of bonus objectives.
•The bonus objectives no longer have any story text that go with them, just a list of objectives. Now when there is quest text, you will know that it is really worth reading.

Why are they taking the story text out of the bonus objectives? Was there complaints? One of the reasons I like WOW is the stories..is it going to be "go collect 5 wolf skins?" and that's it? Or am I reading this wrong? (I wouldn't mind being wrong in this case)

[Danielfboone]

I don't think I'm going to like this. I thought the questing in all the Pandaria zones was very good and I never felt "bogged down". If you're given an objective, there should at least be a reason given for doing it.

[Lisaara]

I did. I am tickled they'll have the main storyline marked. Side quests never ever had main story stuff. They were just "go grab this. go kill that. Great. Go do it again."

[Makoes]

But but but...WoW is an mmoRPG. I love reafing quest text and having a reason to go out and collect the quest objectives...I dont agree with removing the text from side objective quests...I like how its done now, where you can read it if you want or just view the footnotes on the quest tracker...

[Wain]

Hmm, I really loved the Jade Forest too. The story there felt more real and involved to me than any other part of Pandaria, and I liked how you wandered to many places and got to understand the people of the continent. But especially, certain scenes during the culminating disaster I thought were just beautifully cut together. More dramatic than anything I'd experienced before or since.

There were other chains in other zones that were certainly a lot more linear, but some of them I felt were kind of bleak and not so interesting or colourful.

[Lisaara]

Am I the only one that didn't read quest text unless it was relevant other than them lining up what I need to get?

Okay I don't feel so bad. Poll says most occasionally do, followed by No, then Yes in last

[Vephriel]

Well this is upsetting. :/ One of the main reasons I love questing, particularly the first time in a zone, is immersing myself into the reasons behind my actions. That's really damn boring if they take out the flavour text, even if it's for side quests.

Not happy about this at all.

[peanutbuttercup]

Am I the only one that didn't read quest text unless it was relevant other than them lining up what I need to get?

Okay I don't feel so bad. Poll says most occasionally do, followed by No, then Yes in last

I don't read quest text, especially on my main (I'm usually just trying to blast through content to level, or get rep, or loremaster type achieves). I've always wished there was an option to switch it off, so that for people who don't care about lore whatsoever, they can toggle off quest text and just get the necessary info when picking up quests (i.e. go west, get 10 bear pelts). Even though this is a story driven game, I play it for the social aspect (i.e. raiding) rather than any interest in the lore.

That said, I don't see any reason to NOT have quest text available in side quests. Or else what's the point in doing them if story is what you're after?

[Lisaara]

Extra gold, perhaps? It's why I do extra stuff.

[GormanGhaste]

All that quest text was costing us a raid tier?

[SylviaDragon]

That makes me really sad. I hope they don't implement this. I pretty much solo rp through every zone, especially on my main. (reading the quests, walking with the npcs, imagining how my character would react to the tasks and snarky comments of the nps given her personally vrs that of one of my alts. stuff like that.) Jade forest was pretty awesome and I probably took a bit longer to level because I was just so incredibly interested in the story of the dread wastes as well. Why not just color the quest for main and side stories a slightly different color or mark them with some kind of symbol in the quest journal to let players know what's a side and what's a main quest?

[Rower]

I actually never read quest texts, unless it's something really important or one really enjoyable quest chain, like the one in Jade Forest with Shokia & co. I don't like to quest (expecially so close to level cap) so yeah, I rush the fastest I can
But it should only be those side "bring me 5 bones" quests right?

[Equeon]

Why not just remove the bonus questgiver NPCs entirely, and automatically give us sidequests' objectives?
In fact, come to think of it, why have any questgivers at all? Just give us a list of stuff to kill and collect upon entering a new zone, with items automatically deposited into your inventory upon completion. An short summary of what would have been the zone's "main storyline" could be accessed online, at Battle.net.

/s

[Kayb]

I read every quest I do if it's the first time I've ever done that quest. This change, while game breaking, is a tad sad however. Those side quests are what the world that extra flavor. It's to show us that Azeroth, Outland and now Draenor, are just the sum of the adventurers, lore heroes and racial leaders. These are entire worlds, filled to the brim with various people and cultures. Any single NPC has their own story or background. Yes, many may not be in the caliber of hero or even beyond mundane. But they're there, part of that universe no matter how small. They are what heroes and adventurers fight for, and are the seasoning to the main dish.

Yeah, the vast majority of them we'll likely never hear from, but every single one has potential for story, no matter what level or depth. Sure, an army of Orcz might be invading a far off part of the world and maybe even conquer the entire world some day, but "Mary's"only concern right now is hoping her home in the woods is secure enough at night to stop a wandering Gnoll from breaking in and eating her young kids. Varian sure don't give a hoot about that.

As a writer and sometimes role player, I find this change disappointing. For those who don't read quest text anyway, there is no change for you. There are plenty of folks who do enjoy these extras though.

[Vephriel]

I'm just concerned with how it feels like they keep moving away from the RPG aspects of the game. I'm not even an active roleplayer, but I love to headcanon as I play, and the quests, lore, and storylines are a big part of my enjoyment. It seems more and more as though they're just wanting everyone to rush through content without putting as much detail in as they used to, and it saddens me.

Sure, side quests don't have very exciting objectives, but I love going off and finding random breadcrumb missions or one shot quests that flesh out the world with the NPCs that start them. It's one of the aspects I miss a bit from pre-Cata. Many zones did need streamlining, but they completely erased most of the optional and freeform atmosphere of being able to just wander about and find quests as you go. I'm glad they moved away from the severe questing-on-rails from that expansion, but it just sounds plain lazy to stop caring about writing some interesting dialogue or backstory for "unimportant" quests.

[GormanGhaste]

While I approve of them highlighting a main quest-line, I do think they will lose a lot if they get rid of optional story-lines. It's no secret that I'm not a fan of the 1-60 revamp. Objectives without quest text should be reserved for repeatable content.

[Danielfboone]

Leveling and questing are the best parts of the game to me. I always read the text and do every quest in a zone before moving on. The end game stuff, including raiding, is the filler in between when I can do what I really like. As time goes by, the social aspects and even being in a guild at all are becoming less and less important to me. I love LFR because I can raid if and when I want and not be tied to a schedule or dependent on others to show up. PvP I couldn't care less about. I find myself becoming more and more a solo player and liking it that way.

I hate rushing through the leveling, questing, and exploring phase of a new expansion and want it to last as long as possible. I would love it if reaching max level took months. It always goes too fast. Please Blizzard, do not make this part of the game go even faster and be less engaging and interesting.

[Lisaara]

That's just it...side quests don't typically have story. They're the boring quests no one wants to do(like the majority of Hellfire Penn.). I'm an rper myself and have been since the days of AOL 4.0. Ever since BC, I can't name many side quests that stood out to me enough for me to get upset over this. Most are forgotten or not bothered with.

[Danielfboone]

I also think they may be shooting themselves in the foot with this. The biggest complaint I see from people is the time between raid tiers and the time between the last one and the next expansion. If they made the leveling period more complicated and time consuming, that would give them more time after launch to work on the end game content, raid tiers, and even preparation for the next installment of the saga. (The next expansion). I fear that taking the approach they seem to be set on will result in even more discontent and loss of interest in the game, causing the subscription numbers to fall even more.

[SpiritBinder]

Personally, I think it's a bit of a shame. I do get that "go collect me 10 bones" quests can be boring, but that not the objectives fault, but the stories.

There have been many, many memorable quests in wow that have been adored and remembered for different reasons. Darrow Shire, The Day Deathwing Came, the Twilight Skymaster, Wrathgate, Hero of Mag’har, etc. etc.

Some of these were a part of the main story line, but some of them were not. The main difference is how well they the sorties involved are designed and written. The “collect this, slay that” do help in the emersion of the stories sure, but they are not the be all and end all of the quest, and never should be if can be helped.

If they can’t be bothered adding any “story telling” into the game and wish to add more simple “Loot” orientated quests for bulking out item upgrades or what have you, they could just add more mob bounties, or simple quest drop items from mobs, or lootable items from specific areas or zones that require exploration, etc.

But personally, the whole point of any quest was to help create the "World" of warcraft, side quest or not. I also find it ironic that they are making flying unavailable even after hitting level cap as they what to keep people “immersed” in the game content, yet think that a well written side quest just bog you down and aren’t worth reading.

Annnyway, that’s just my gripe. If they don’t think their side quests aren’t worth reading/aren’t good enough to include anymore, how about instead of just removing them, maybe try make/write them in a way it's worth it? … meh.