Suppose I’ll throw some posts in here. Don’t know how comprehensive I’ll be in this first post, so if I never get on the council this time around might as well post some thoughts here.
I’ll start with zones:
Location is extremely important with RP. We have to pretend so much is there, or use other places as proxy. While that’s well good and what a lot of people and places do, it would only be more attractive to add more acccess and options to locations to RP in no matter how useless it is.
Examples in Hidden Details here so my big writing doesn’t frighten people:
Access to Battle Grounds Maps
Summary
A big worry I can see with bg maps being open is I suppose pvpers using it to their advantage to practice rehearsed movements in a competitive mode. But the catering already leans so heavily to PVPers, they likely don’t need any help at all.
We already have a couple of battlegrounds unphased such as Ashran and I’m not sure you would count Tol Barad. But these are two spots heavily used by event planners and RPers as an extended form of RP be it one on one, imaginary housing, events, guild bases and so on.
To add an option to phase into an unphased BG would vastly open up more places to explore and enjoy. So many BGs have a lot of wonderful nook and crannies, design and art, that you can’t really -enjoy- them in the 40 minutes to an hour or two you’re there clenching your teeth into shoving through the battle in the most tunnel visioned way possible.
By adding an NPC to the location of where the BG naturally is, be it in the world, racial captial or the scenario npc, would allow people to go to these places no matter how useless or unnecessary it may be.
It would allow for immersive exploration and story creation for dwarves, trolls, and orcs in Alterac. As well as Twin Peaks for the Dragonmaw and Wildhammer, two groups who I feel have been a little sidelined.
Island living, beach parties, camping, sea exploration on the Seething Shore.
Deep Wind Gorge for market places and guild recruitment. (Though, I actually have not checked the location this is suppose to be in if its a location that can be visited.)
But this goes for all battlegrounds. They can be used for anything, it doesn’t have to reflect the area its suppose to be. No one uses Ashran in its correct location anyhow! And its messed up Frostwolf Village is hidden behind a BG.
Dungeons and Raids
Summary
Many of the same sentiments above, but the ability speak to an NPC outside to teleport into an “phased” “unphased” version of the raid or dungeon. While RP can be done in raids and dungeons with a group, with a place like Ragefire Chasm and the Stormwind’s Stockades, you’re barring off interesting extended parts of the city that could actually be used and make the cities bigger and would open up far more player driven creativity.
This also brings me to several options that can possibly be done with raids and dungeons for RP phases.
- The ability to phase into a public use of the location, making it no different then zoning into booty bay and meeting up with friends.
- The ability to speak to an NPC attached to that raid or dungeon and pick between four different phases. One being the world, and the other four being separate phases incase there is a party going on in one phase, and a guild event going on in another. This is to eliminate needing to be a raid or party and still allow outside people to join up without over lapping someone else’s event.
- Creative Raids or Party. This is an idea I had recently, that isn’t fully developed. But this would be the ability to queue with a group for the sole purpose of entering into you’re own unphased version of a raid that is explicitly only for the people in your raid. This can be done now of course, but the creative mode will automatically remove every npc and event tied obstacle to open it purely for the purpose of exploring. No need to go through and clear it out first.
Island Expeditions
Summary
Probably the most upsetting of zones that we cant enjoy are these islands. Full of hidden lore, homes and interesting terrain that cannot be enjoyed. Opening up islands opens up even MORE locations to explore. With solo mode now implemented , I wonder how if this is a stretch to add.
The idea for my island expedition expasion would be to add a Zandalari (Or what ever the Kul’tiran version of this would be) sitting in small wooden boat right in the water next to where you would sign up and wait for an island. Upon interacting him , he’ll offer to take you on a trip to return to some of these islands for fun. After all the adventurers went and stripped them of their resources, not many people go to these islands anymore but still have a lot of land to explore. All that’s left there now are many of the animals. He’ll ask you where you want to go , and it is not determined what Island is up for PVE, every island should be available, and once you pick your destination you hop in the boat and load into an a cleared, unphased version of the island. He’ll wait there for you in the same location the Alliance or Horde vessel, but instead, it is a little wooden boat.
To return to Dazar’alor or Kul’tiras, you just simply talk to the npc and off you go. Much like how you visit Mechagon.
These will all be open world and will provide extended locations for story, events, exploration and world building. Plus, being able to better appreciate the work that went into making them and perhaps finding any hidden lore bits that might of been missed.
Suramar
Summary
Suramar is a bit of a unique situation, because it’s not phased like a raid or dungeon, but a very intricate and highly detailed city that is unusable and hard to appriciate without worrying about aggro, or seeing fel and demons ruining aesthetic. An NPC like Zidormi could be added just outside the bubble for her to show you the current liberated Suramar free from hate and violence. This would remove all world quests and quests from the area, hostile npcs, fel, demons, and anything associated with the Legion or Elisande. You would get FULL access to all of Suramar. General NPCs could be milling about to make it actually reflect the fact that it is an open and living city.
You would be able to appriciate and go on dates or outing with your high society friends to the arc-wine vinyard, marvel at the absolutely astonishing beasts in the Menegerie, or host actual classy parties. New vendors could be added with new items. New toys, pets and plushies. High society items to make you feel fancy. Possibly costing those mana rocks to make those relevant again (or not.)
The things are endless. And if those things make people roll their eyes and say “Well, I see where they put all their work in. Fix your trinkets, Blizzard”, then I’d say a job well done.
I’m in the minority here where I don’t want player housing to be the focus first. I know that is the easiest and quickest thing to think of that would give people more options to feel unique and personal - I feel that without giving players more options on their own housing should not be the first the thing to be tacked on.
I would much rather have more zones hidden behind swirling vortexes available for exploration first and the ability to visit and enjoy certain areas without worrying about pretending certain enemies or npcs are there. This makes the world bigger, creates more places for people to host events and expand the community. Housing is wonderful, but its a very a lonely venture even if you can invite people.
If not considered properly, housing will completely devastate the RP community. People will be holed up in their homes, only doing things in a small manner and never experience the world. I know that anxiety is a thing, trust me. And it’s okay if thats what you enjoy. The reality is still there. That housing, I feel, is what stands between a bustling world with people enjoying the world and meeting each other, and the community split down the middle. Disappeared behind a phased wall for their little home.
Sure, the novelty wears off and people head back out. Things need to be put in place outside of the homes. No AH or Bank in the home. No access to to profession trainers.
So first. Work on the world. Work on the characters. Pad them with lively things…and with a bigger world , who knows, more housing plots.
I should clarify, I’m not anti-housing. I just want it done right and want to see other zones opened up too.
. This is obviously a major topic though, GD has a number of large megathreads requesting various races to be playable. Adding in new playable races adds depth to the game and the player experience, and creates new storytelling opportunities. In particular, there are a number of highly requested races already established in the game and lore. It would be easy to add these races given they already have a backstory and a in-game model to work off of. Adding in highly requested playable races would go a long way in earning goodwill and increasing time played metrics. I know when Mag’har came out I spent so much time running around doing WoD questing as one. I wasn’t looking for achievements or transmogs or anything, I just wanted to be a Mag’har in Draenor.