The Orders of Tyria are calling their members to aid them in the field. They are doing their part to cull the enemy forces by slaying and gathering information from them. Once a week, the Orders each station a post in one of the regions. Members report to the region and can get right to work having already been sent instructions through the mail. For more information, they can report to their Field Marshal on one of the maps in that region. Orders helping each other is much appreciated, just report to the Field Marshal to receive your instructions in how to help. Something big is brewing, report now to aid the cause!
Implementation
The Vigil, The Durmand Priory, and The Order of Whispers each set up a post in a chosen map. The post doesn’t need to be anything big, just a number of NPC’s who look like they belong together and are from that Order. One is a Field Marshal that you can talk to for more information. Each individually focus on a particular enemy for that week, whether it be the Branded, Ogres, Skelk, Flame Legion, etc. The duties of each Order will be different and be focused more on what the Order is about. Here are some examples:
The Vigil
“The Flame Legion forces are rising to high levels in the Iron Marches. We need all members to report for duty to cull their forces before we become overrun! Some of these forces are even making their way into Blazeridge Steppes and we could use a hand in pushing them back there as well. If you so choose, you may hit them at their hearts in Fireheart Rise! Report to Field Marshall Turk Ironclaw stationed near Bloodfin Lake for more information.”
The Durmand Priory
“We are beginning to understand how the dredge work so efficiently. On the verge of a major breakthrough, we call any and all members willing to aid us in our research of the creatures. We need scans to be taken of the creatures to determine their mental capacity. Many of these will be needed to make an accurate assumption. Remember, the creatures must be alive to get a reading, a dead body won’t help! Report to Field Marshal Tia Holmes at The Durmand Priory in Lornar’s Pass to receive a body scanner.”
The Order of Whispers
“The Nightmare Court is almost as secretive as we are. They are venturing out to places they’re not supposed to be, and we fear they are plotting a major attack. We have information that their scouts are carrying orders for their next attacks. They are a smart group, the Court is, and not all of the orders they carry are true to their word. We must collect many of them so that we may weed out the fake ones and understand their next move. The orders can be found on their dead bodies, or in their camps. She may be hard to find, but Field Marshal Miranda Mist at Sandycove Beach in Caledon Forest has more information.”
This Order can help the others by culling the enemy forces and finding their weaknesses. Report to the Field Marshals of the other Orders to get specific information in how to aid them.
The Durmand Priory
This Order gathers information about the subjects whether it’s collecting items and studying the creatures. Report to the Field Marshals of the other Orders to get specific information in how to aid them.
The Order of Whispers
This Order gathers secretive information of future attack plans or affiliation with other forces. Report to the Field Marshals of the other Orders to get specific information in how to aid them.
Reward System
The reward system will be a tier based system with a repeating cap. As one helps the Order, they fill up a progress bar and after it is filled they receive the reward. It fills quick at first, and the player receives a small loot chest when it is filled. The bar resets and as they continue to help, the it takes longer to fill, but they receive a larger loot chest with a higher chance at rare items. A third, large chest, takes even longer to get as the progress bar fills slower, but the rewards are again higher. The cycle ends on a fourth chest that is very large, takes longer to get, but has a guaranteed rare with an extra chest. (much like a world boss chest) This cycle restarts back at the beginning with the small chest if the player chooses to continue.
For helping other Orders, the rate at which the bar is filled is reduced, but not to a great amount. This will allow players to still play with friends that are in different Orders and still get rewards, but disencourage people to disregard what Order they help and go for the one that gives the quickest reward, as helping their own Order will give the quickest reward.
Other Options
There could be that after doing five cycles or so helping your Order that they give you orders to help the others and then return to them. This will get people to go help the others more often, and in this case, maybe there doesn’t have to be a differentiation between duties performed by people of that order and those that are helping from different orders.
Why
End game has mostly turned to Champ and World Boss trains. This would give a little more variation and have people split up a little more on different maps as they help their Orders rather than have everyone trying to go to one map after another to fight the World Bosses. This also gives a little more support to the Order that you chose. It feels like the Order that you choose only plays a part in the Personal Story, and once that’s over, all that’s left is to choose some gear if you want. This is by no means an answer to all the concerns that people have, simply a suggestion that I would like to see implemented in some form.
93 views and not a single reply? Apparently I’m not the only one thinking something like this would be a good idea, as seen in this thread posted 3 days after mine:
Actually I read the summary, but couldn’t figure out what the post was about. Quests? Suggestion for living story? Fan fiction?
The “dr” part of that “tl;dr” is why you’re confused. =P I broke it down into sections so that hopefully it would be an easier read. The Implementation section covers how it’d be implemented.
It’d be a new system that would work much like dailies and monthlies, and would probably be listed under the same tab in achievements. It’d be set on a weekly rotation as I have it written out. If it makes more sense to be on a shorter or longer then so be it, that’s just what made sense to me as a way to set it apart from dailies and seem like it’s more meaningful since it’s tied to a major decision in your character’s story.
It’s similar to the Zaishen dailies that appeared in GW1. There were daily missions to take down a certain boss, wipe a map of all mobs, do a certain dungeon, that sort of thing. The rewards were so good that it was a gold mine for end gamers.
The idea has merit, but the tendency to zerg means you’ll just have zergs all over the place now.
If anything, there should be a rotation of 5 (possibly more) missions that are randomly handed out to players, something sufficiently challenging for parties but needs to be implemented in such a away as to discourage zerging.
Here’s my more general take on it
Vigil mission
There’s been a surprise attack by Aetherblades/Flame Legion/Dredge/Molten alliance/Destroyers in some underground region (preferably level 80 like Frostgorge, or some other high level area with underground zones) and the Vigil calls out to its members (see being part of an order makes sense now!) to respond. Barricades have been thrown up to hold back the enemy forces (thus acting as instance gates)
Players form parties and accept the mission from the Missions Warmaster at the Keep then go to the zone. There they will find 5 portal controllers that the party will need to activate together (much like the control panels in Crucible of Eternity to turn off the laser trap or the wisps in swamp fractal) to port past the barricade (i.e. entering the instance). This particular instance will support only 20 players at a time, i.e 4 parties who will have to hold off increasing numbers of waves that are breaching the cave walls. (kinda like a last stand survival mode). So in the first wave there will only be 1 breach then 2 in the second wave, 3 then 4 at which point it will cap and will basically force the parties to hold a breach each. With each successive wave, more and more veterans and champions spawn until the final assault by 4 legendary mobs. Defeating the 4 legendary mobs will bring a respite in the assault (i.e you win)
Upon completion of the challenge, you are granted your rewards with a gold bonus chest if no players are defeated, a silver if 10 players or more are defeated, a bronze if 15 or more are defeated then ported out. Multiple defeats by the same players count as extra ticks for the purposes of this bonus chest. This reward focuses on survivability and encourages players to decide what gear they need to take in. There will be no repair location as they will be fighting beyond the barricade with little access to rear line support
Order of Whispers mission
With the surge of Aetherblades/Flame Legion/Dredge/Molten alliance/Destroyers from the depths of Tyria, the Order of Whispers has to find out where they’re coming from and attempt to close the portal/gate/tunnel/breach before more flood out from the depths. Whispers couriers have been sent out to rendezvous with agents. (Basically, Whispers agents will get a mail telling them to go to a certain location where a courier will give them the mission, this can change, which will give the Order more of a sense of secrecy that they sorely lack).
Players who take on the mission form parties and go to the mission location. The mission will be less of a bash mission and more creeping around will be required. The zone will be the same as the one where the vigil soldiers are fighting but entry will be from a different direction so as to stop huge numbers of players gathering in one location. This mission will be more like Arah in that skipping through the various mobs is actually the point and a bonus reward will be granted for the least number of mobs killed. Whispers is, after all, a clandestine organisation. The aim of the mission will be to reach the centre of the assault where the portal/gate/tunnel is and close it down. But rather than a straight forward attack of the gate, the mission will depend on the type of entry point.
- Portals (Aetherblades): remove and destroy 5 crystals at various points around the cavern.
- Gates (Flame legion/Molten Alliance): Sabotage the gate by destroying gear mechanisms or stealing critical components.
- Tunnels (Dredge/Molten Alliance): Obtain explosives and blow up the tunnel so it collapses.
- Lava pits (Destroyers): Steal weapons from various kitten nals and bring down the ceiling onto the pits.
My mission idea is designed to appeal to those who like skipping and stealthy combat. Patrol pathing should be designed to make players think about their cool downs and not just spam stealth skills or teleport skills. For added challenge, certain zones will have stealth detectors which will reveal players if they get too close to them
Upon destruction of the breaches, the party is granted its reward and a bonus chest for the least number of mobs killed. A gold bonus chest is awarded for killing less than 5 mobs, a silver for 5-10 kills and a bronze for 10-20 kills. This mission prizes stealth above all else.
Durmand Priory mission
(This mission concept is designed more for those who enjoy puzzles, so there will be a some jumping and key puzzles.) To support the operations of the Vigil and Whispers, the Durmand Priory calls out to its members to find out more about the latest incursions. Members are to go to the Priory and accept the mission from a Magister.
Priory members will go to the same location as the other orders, but again will be at a different entry point to the other orders to avoid masses of players.
Parties are required to maneuver through the tunnels avoiding patrols and fighting as necessary. Retrieve keys parts and form keys to open gates or doors, to activate bridges or lower platforms to jump across. Information such as data terminals, plans from veteran/champion mobs, examination of lava pits with special scanners that will be provided upon accepting the mission, must be collected. There will be a “gauge of data” that needs to be filled to complete the mission, but rather than a single level, there will be differing levels depending on the number of players involved. This level should be designed so that it is doable with as few as 2 players. when the gauge fills, the party is ported out.
Upon completion of the mission, players are ported out and hand over the documents/scanner to a waiting NPC and obtain their reward. A bronze bonus chest is awarded for doing it with 4 party members, a silver for 3 and a gold for completion with only 2 party members. This missions is designed to appeal to players who like to solo or duo dungeons.
My ideas are meant to appeal to each sort of player who looks for a particular challenge. Some, like me, love a good stand up fight, while others enjoy sneaking around and others like solo or duo challenges.
Each mission will favour certain classes, Vigil will favour those with good survivability, support and damage, warriors, guardians, necros, rangers, engineers. Whispers will favour mesmers, thieves, rangers to an extent. Durmand priory missions would probably favour races over classes depending on how a jumping puzzle would be incorporated into the mission. Norn and Charr have a notoriously hard time on those.
The rewards are granted to all players regardless of which order they chose. However, there will be a bonus reward in the chests for players who do missions for their own order. Each order would have their own set of tokens, which are only rewarded to players if they are from that order. i.e. Vigil tokens for Vigil members and so on. These can be traded in, along with a lesser amount of gold, for the orders weapons and armour.
Given the nature of the new missions, new exotic level armour and weapons for each order needs to be introduced, which would also gel with the fact that after the fight with Zhaitan and then Scarlet, new weaponry needs to be developed for the upcoming fight with Mordremoth or whichever other dragon appears. Makes no sense that the three Orders only have rare weapons.
Normally a good suggestion will get no replies on a forum. Nobody has anything bad to say about it.
In this case though, you need to be careful about giving players low quality content. More content or more variety of content seems good but players can tire of it. In this case players seem to be doing something that they can already do easily at any time (kill open world mobs) and the longer they persist at it the more loot they get. That is grind.
The answer would be to design new enemies and encounters, but if a developer is creating new content why would it be hidden behind a guild invitation?
Normally a good suggestion will get no replies on a forum. Nobody has anything bad to say about it.
In this case though, you need to be careful about giving players low quality content. More content or more variety of content seems good but players can tire of it. In this case players seem to be doing something that they can already do easily at any time (kill open world mobs) and the longer they persist at it the more loot they get. That is grind.
The answer would be to design new enemies and encounters, but if a developer is creating new content why would it be hidden behind a guild invitation?
That’s true. The content needs more variety than “kill x” then “kill y.” Something closer to Tequatl in that there are different duties that must be done and there must be coordination between multiple parties. It’s hard to draw people away from zerging content though, but maybe less so if it’s designed right.
Durmand Priory mission
(This mission concept is designed more for those who enjoy puzzles, so there will be a some jumping and key puzzles.) To support the operations of the Vigil and Whispers, the Durmand Priory calls out to its members to find out more about the latest incursions. Members are to go to the Priory and accept the mission from a Magister.
Priory members will go to the same location as the other orders, but again will be at a different entry point to the other orders to avoid masses of players.
Parties are required to maneuver through the tunnels avoiding patrols and fighting as necessary. Retrieve keys parts and form keys to open gates or doors, to activate bridges or lower platforms to jump across. Information such as data terminals, plans from veteran/champion mobs, examination of lava pits with special scanners that will be provided upon accepting the mission, must be collected. There will be a “gauge of data” that needs to be filled to complete the mission, but rather than a single level, there will be differing levels depending on the number of players involved. This level should be designed so that it is doable with as few as 2 players. when the gauge fills, the party is ported out.
Upon completion of the mission, players are ported out and hand over the documents/scanner to a waiting NPC and obtain their reward. A bronze bonus chest is awarded for doing it with 4 party members, a silver for 3 and a gold for completion with only 2 party members. This missions is designed to appeal to players who like to solo or duo dungeons.
My ideas are meant to appeal to each sort of player who looks for a particular challenge. Some, like me, love a good stand up fight, while others enjoy sneaking around and others like solo or duo challenges.
Each mission will favour certain classes, Vigil will favour those with good survivability, support and damage, warriors, guardians, necros, rangers, engineers. Whispers will favour mesmers, thieves, rangers to an extent. Durmand priory missions would probably favour races over classes depending on how a jumping puzzle would be incorporated into the mission. Norn and Charr have a notoriously hard time on those.
The rewards are granted to all players regardless of which order they chose. However, there will be a bonus reward in the chests for players who do missions for their own order. Each order would have their own set of tokens, which are only rewarded to players if they are from that order. i.e. Vigil tokens for Vigil members and so on. These can be traded in, along with a lesser amount of gold, for the orders weapons and armour.
Given the nature of the new missions, new exotic level armour and weapons for each order needs to be introduced, which would also gel with the fact that after the fight with Zhaitan and then Scarlet, new weaponry needs to be developed for the upcoming fight with Mordremoth or whichever other dragon appears. Makes no sense that the three Orders only have rare weapons.
I really like what you’ve added! The more ideas the better, it gets discussion going. =) I agree that the missions need to focus on tactics that are at the heart of the orders. People did choose them for that purpose afterall, and we only get to see a few steps in the personally story that displays the orders’ character.
Fighting for the Vigil.
Stealth for the Order of Whispers.
Puzzles for the Durmand Priory.
Sounds good, I’d be really interested in figuring out the puzzles! And orders forging new weapons and armor would be a nice move to transition to getting ready for Mordremoth, though I’m thinking maybe it’d be only one piece, as we don’t want everyone feeling like they have to upgrade their whole set. Shoulders maybe? I’d say back cause we could use more skins, but there’s plenty of choices for Ascended back items. Maybe it’s an upgrade piece to slot in on accessories, and they could add some visual effects such as glowing around the hands in a color that indicates your order. (might not be a good idea, just what popped in my head)
Oo, what about buffs or slot abilities that you can unlock through doing missions with your order? This could be a way to introduce a few abilities that maybe they’ve been working on but don’t know quite how to implement. The abilities could be stronger the more people that are of the same order around you.
