The PQ Revamp We Need

Beyond the incentives debate, one of the biggest reasons why PQs are dead zones are the level restrictions. The mechanisms of the game (Levels/exp) go directly counter to the replayability of this type of content. This forces players to adopt counter-intuitive methods to keep playing the type of content they need/enjoy by: 1) self-sabotaging their progress by killing themselves repeatedly to stay within the level range or 2) creating new characters, thereby limiting their path towards other areas of content (higher level PQs, bosses).

I would like to suggest making PQs available for all level ranges above the limit, with the balancing itself coming from having your stats normalized to the median level of the PQ range.

I'm sure it has been proposed many times before, but I would like to re-open this discussion.

I personally would love to run PQ content with fellow guildies or even strangers from time to time, but I do not wish to create a character for the sole purpose of running that content. I'm sure many feel the same way. Also, it would be fun to have more facilitated spaces where older players can engage directly with newer players in the community, which is something I think this server desperately needs.

The Tower PQ this last event showed what the social impact of content implemented in this way could look like. Let's implement it for the rest of the content in the server that already exists.

Edit:

Realized I should expand a bit on how I think this should be implemented:

• People who are within the PQ level range will have their own stats
• People who are above the PQ level range will have their stats normalized to the median. These can be pre-determined amounts based on the armor for that level range (hi, new market for lower level equips)
• Skills that are not obtainable within the PQ level range will be blocked (not sure how coding works but preferably this block list would include all skills, including passives, that are unobtainable by PQ levels)

Some benefits of a system like this:
Pros:

• Opens access to PQ content to most everyone in the server, which theoretically should increase number of groups that run PQ. Smegas for PQ recruitment can be answered by everyone, not just people within a barely existent niche.
• Washing INT mules can benefit from running PQs with normalized stats, albeit at an over leveled state. It'll be inefficient, but it's an option to run content instead of hanging on ropes.
• Over-leveled players can go back and complete questlines and hunt for PQ items to complete their collections.
• More content for everyone

Cons:

• Use of dev time/resources to implement a change like this
• Isn't end-game related content
• Potential for muling/abuse, but I can't imagine it'd be any more effective or abusable than self-leeching already is

 

I'm not a dev so I can't speak on the coding side of things, but I'd imagine it could be done by blocking a list of active skills. As for blocking passive skills like mastery, even with those allowed, I don't think it'd make the PQing experience gamebreaking. Regardless, I'm sure Pasta could work his magic and find a way to disable those too. We already know maps have the ability to disable mobility, mounts, buffs, or all skills. We even know that certain maps can cause instadeath if you don't wear certain equips (GPQ). Would it be that much of a jump to map out a table of restricted skills? I'm sure it'd be difficult trying to write around the spaghetti code, but if this is to be seen as a full revamp, I'd reckon the approach would have to be fully custom anyways. Same goes for the AP redistribution.

And forcing players to wear a different set of gears sounds more like a perk to me, not a downside. It'd incentivize players at least having an additional set of gear for certain PQs in case they ever run into a situation where they want to help others out. This adds a bit of value to low level gear and 60% scrolls. I know I'd be more than happy to rock some nostalgic Dark Identities or Guiltians and the assorted weapons in PQs without the worry of ruining my min-maxed character stats.

I'm saying this as someone who already has access to all the PQs through various characters, but never once have I felt inclined to go out of the way to log into those accounts and help someone because it'd mean logging onto a character I don't regularly play. During the Tower Event, I didn't mind helping others out since it was easily available and it felt like I was progressing my main characters in some way. A counter-point to the idea of PQ muling is that making PQ mules is already accessible, yet it seemingly has no effect on PQing availability as a whole.

I am also making this suggestion in anticipation for future content releases like PQ clear leaderboards :V

 

Not sure how the code works, but for those types of skills, I had always thought the base skill was still the lower job skill, and the passive was an application on top of the base skill. So if the passive were to be blocked, the base skill would still function properly. Just a guess, though.

Even so, if Burst Fire were allowed, I don't think it'd be all that game breaking anyways. Same goes for most passives that are applied (homing beacon, wrath of the octopi, etc.).

 

The balance matters have already been addressed in the original post. Normalizing stats to the median level range while restricting skills would make it essentially the same as any other ‘normal’ PQer. Unless you’re talking about other areas of balance such as being able to revisit PQs you’ve outleveled as a point of imbalance, which just seem like a gatekeeping issue to me.

Your suggestion doesn’t address the accessibility issue for new players who want to PQ but can’t find enough players, which is the main point of my suggestion. Removing the level cap would bridge that gap and allow people to participate without the hassle of making mules. It would also facilitate for a space where older players can interact with newer players.

Being extremely custom is not an issue anymore.

 

Your concerns seem like they're coming from someone that is trying to preserve the accomplishments of a niche playstyle -- that of utilizing PQs to advance your main characters and gearing up with PQ-gated equips/rewards -- which is a valid concern, but this is done so by gatekeeping access to content from the large majority of the server that never had a chance to PQ on their characters because of the washing meta. Personally, I think a more active PQ scene would be desirable even if it creates new metas with gear, but that isn't even my primary goal. My goal is to open up access to PQ so that new players don't have to spam smegas only to realize there aren't enough people interested in running this PQ or logging onto their PQ mules - let alone enough people that fit the criteria for their level-restrictive PQ in any given time of the day. A larger audience could help fix this and improve the new player experience greatly.

Additionally, the proposed mechanic of normalizing stats could open up access to people who are washing their characters and have a large portion of their stats assigned to INT. Stat normalization would allow them to progress their characters through PQs, albeit at a slower rate (doing content that's meant for lower levels than their character), but nevertheless, it'd be an option for them. This could be a viable way of progressing for new players who are interested in washing whilst still giving them the fun in spending time on a playable INT-ridden character. (I just realized there could be potential mishaps if someone levels up with PQ-adjusted stats and loses out on bonus MP gains, especially if their goal is to wash. This is something that would probably need to be addressed).

As for access to the Monsterbook Cards & Altaire Earrings, these are moot points. You can already purchase PQ boss cards that you may have missed and you can craft Element Pierces which are far better than Altaire Earrings. However, I could see some higher level players opting to run OPQ specifically for a chance at untradeable higher stat earrings. That being said, the balance is maintained because anyone who levels past the PQ can still have access to those PQs. The only people that 'lose out' are those who already have these level-gated PQ rewards and might feel less special with more people suddenly having access to them.

That said, I'm a bit confused by some of your points - why does it even matter if some characters have a huge advantage? Is that not an advantage that one will eventually come into as they level up themselves? Are there components in PQs that require PvP interaction where this would create an unfair imbalance?

 

The entirety of this suggestion is based on the premise that higher levels want to interact with lower level players. It's weird to speculate that a character that is already giving up their time to participate in a PQ out of charity and good will would be toxic enough to put down new players.

The incentive for higher level players to PQ at lower levels is that it builds community. The game doesn't facilitate for this very well, so changes to things like PQs would be a start.

 

Not an issue. Easily reportable as mass griefing. Just because it happened in a lesser known server doesn't mean it'll take hold and become a problem in Legends, and if it does, there are steps Staff can take to prevent it from happening again.

This is speculation, and probably a wrong one. If the goal is to increase the number of people PQing, increasing the access should naturally increase the floor average.

EXP buffs to PQs are yet another counterintuitive idea for PQ activity as it runs directly against the level cap design.

 

Because charity bossing still exists and contributes to the total number of boss runs as a non-zero factor. If there were a level cap on bossing like we have in PQs, charity bossing would cease to exist and the total number of boss runs would also decrease, presumably. Just apply the inverse logic to PQs and their current level cap restrictions.

This is coming from my own lifestage in the game, but I could find myself running more PQs with strangers or friends in need if I were able to run on my non-mule accounts. Sure, I could run on PQ mules if I wanted to, but I'd argue that there is a huge difference running content on a character you want to versus running content on a character you don't really care about. Removing the level cap restriction would greatly open up the number of people available to answer those disheartened PQ recruitment smegas, and statistically that should have a positive effect on PQs being run.

This is also why I'm not really convinced that buffing rewards to incentivize more PQ muling would be all that effective. Either it gets buffed to the point where established players are farming it (which would soon enough be optimized to exclude inefficient new players anyways), or it's negligible and would get ignored by established players, leaving those who want to run PQ (newer players) in the same conundrum.

Another point I want to add is that if PQ leaderboards ever get implemented like we've seen in recent events, having the leaderboards filled with mule accounts won't have the same effect or satisfaction as one filled with main accounts. Ego-based incentives are key in a late stage server like Legends.