What is vital to you?

The one thing I hope to immerse myself in the game is for people to not make metas. I feel like metas have been created in games and are all about following a gear score or meta build. I want to be able to choose whatever talents or whatever is used and still be allowed to raid or do dungeons.

One thing I have not seen in MMOs is lore for all named NPCs. I guess I shouldn't say all but at leas those that you may encounter in a dungeon. It doesn't have to be too in depth but maybe just a quick blurb about them and then more important ones get more lore.

Class lore is a big thing for me personally. We all know the various fantasy classes but it's always fun to hear about the specific lore for that world. Where did this ancient race of warrior come from? Why and how did people start practicing necromancy? What drives the righteousness of the paladins? and so on. I love class identity in MMO's and knowing all about the background of my class plays a big part in that!

I would think a little of both would be good. Give us tid bits on some smaller stuff and then write a novel in the mean time on something really important in the lore and then release that.

In terms of lore bits that grip me into the game...oh man. How to narrow that down? I really like to see the back stories for all the races/denizens of the world and why they interact the way they do. Why do certain races not like each other? In terms of playable races, really gotta get into the way back machine and dig into the reasons that specific race is the way it is. And a big part of what can drawn me in is some sort of tangible reason for things. Like if you have a race that has excellent night vision and are resistant to poison, what in their race's past makes that make sense?

In regards to class lore, I'd say its more or less the same thing. And I really like it when classes have either a building or even a full city dedicated to that class. I get really into my class if there is a strong sense of unity in that class. Best thing I can think of right now to describe that would be something like the Houses in Hogwarts of Harry Potter. Each House has a very distinct feel, and a long standing reason for being the way they are. Toss that kind of design and mentality into Class halls or deeper lore and that is a great draw for me.

Take the Clerics for example. Lots of juicy lore behind why clerics are clerics and what they represent. If there is some big Cleric building where Only clerics can go and learn more about what the Cleric "brotherhood" is all about, I fall deep into that stuff!

Keep up the good work DtN Team!

Ok, this is odd. I posted a reply here a couple of days ago yet it's vanished into the aether! Nevermind, I'll just repost it, and I might be throwing another spanner in the works

Lore, for me, is one of the most important aspects of any game. It sets the scene, defines the characters and gives the player something to read in downtimes and here I'll list them in order of importance (at least to me).

The most important category for any game lore should be the realm itself; what planet, any moons, how the known world is divided into kingdoms, who (or what) formed them, the general geography (can't be too detailed as players won't need to make maps!), climate and the major locations. Most of this could be classed as general knowledge, most educated folk would know it and, with adventurers being (hopefully!) not-so-stupid people, they and their players should too. Of course, not all information would be totally accurate as, unless the entire world has been mapped fully, there will be gaps, mistakes and even total fabrications. 'Here be Dragons' could actually be true in this case! This should be the only detailed information that is generally available to anyone and the lore that follows below only available in a limited fashion.

Next in line would be racial lore; how the races evolved, why they have specific traits, why they're more suited to certain tasks, their faiths (or lack of it), their allies and enemies and how those bonds and enmities were formed. Each race would also have a better understanding and knowledge of their own kingdoms so this knowledge would, initially, only be available to players of a that race. They would have a better knowledge of it's geography, the creatures that live there, major landmarks and settlements with maybe a very limited knowledge of any neighbouring kingdoms. After all, the Celts didn't know anything about the Maori tribes and vice versa.

Finally, class lore. I think that this type of lore should only be given, initially, in the broadest form to all players. Only when they choose a certain class should they be introduced into the deeper aspects. This more advanced lore could also contain information on other classes in a slightly skewed manner. For example, Bob the Warrior found a scroll in the guildhall explaining that Enchanters are not to be trusted as you can never be sure if you're under their influence and that Druids just sit in the forests communing with nature. So, the information is not necessarily untrue but it has a bias as seen from a Warriors point-of-view.

So, while I've placed three layers of importance, it can be seen that the lines between them are slightly blurred. This will help keep a certain mystique about the various realms, races and classes by not giving out all the information in one go and by letting the players uncover it as they play.

Hmm, good question. I am going to start with the following that may not seems like it's on topic, but bare with me.

1. Interactive combat, kinda of like Neverwinter (not old Neverwinter, the update since mod16). Being able to right click or shift click (or whatever) to activate my shield so I can block an attack, forcing me to engage incombat. No auto-attack. Being able to know when to move outta the way of an attack, block an attack, etc, has to be the best part of neverwinter. I would love to see that in a new mmo.

2. No exp from Quest BS!!! Honest, I just want to see this done away with. The exp should come from doing the quest, not the reward. Doing quest is a good way to engage in lore but local, global, etc, and storytelling. Also a good way to earn coins! We are adventures, doing quest, odd jobs, etc, is how we earn some of our coins. Collecting items, loot, etc is the other.

3. Diversity in not only class but in other aspects, with the freedom for players to build their own. I want each class to play and feel different. I don't want to play a paladin and be like, oh, it's just a warrior and cleric mixed. I want to feel that each class is unique, able to stand toe to toe with others within it's type without feeling like it isn't as good. I want that diversity to extend to races as well, not just reskinned humans. I want them to look and feel like they are their own race. The history, lore, storytelling, language, etc is also diverse. Races should have their own mounts that is influenced by their lore. Humans riding horses, Elves, riding birds or giant foxs, Dwarves on bears or Ram, you get the idea. The way their towns are built, the way the make their equipment, etc. With all that said, there should still be room for a player to find the freedom to design within their class. I honestly, after all these years of playing MMOs and games, do not understand the restrictions on gear. I understand in terms of design and uniqueiness how a class might have restriction in this, but to be honest, I think its gotten to the point where its just so overly used. I instead would like to see, for example, paladin has access to 1h weapons, but restricted on certian 2h weapons. I can see a paladin using a spear, sword, axe, hammer, mace, flair, dagger, etc but because of their training, they might be restricted in using certain 2h weapons. Why? Because they trained to be a shield user, and you can't use a 2h weapon with a shield. Where as a Shadowknight did the opposite, so he would have access to more 2h weapon choices, while maybe limited in 1h choices. Warriors on the otherhand have the freedom to use whatever they want because that's the kind of training they have done.

So how does this all help me, the player, immerse into the world I am playing in. Well a good combat system that is both interactive and engaging, means that I am focused on what my task is. If i'm the tank, then i'm paying attention to the target's actions, movements, I'm having to learn as I go, I am having to make decision on attacks, skills, abilities, when to step aside and when to take a hit. Helps me feel like I am that class, I am that role, I am that character. A good and well design race with lore, environment and storytelling, helps me immerse into that environment. I feel like i'm this race, I feel like this race is different than mine, I feel like I've enter a whole other world within a world. Having the freedom to pick and decide on what skills I use, my equipment I use, what abilities I use, helps me immerse into my class even more, while having that freedom to play my class the way I want to play it. Knowing that quest isn't just something I click through for the experience and move on the next and then the next because it's the best way to level and instead have it be a way for me to earn coins, helps me because then I am focusing not on leveling but what is being told before me, Storytelling.

Anyways, that's my two cents.