Dungeon Finder feature announced in new game plan

It largely depends on how it's implemented. Considering that AQ3D isn't that big of a game, it's hard to predict the outcome, but I think incentivizing players to use the feature could help boost its popularity (e.g. reward XP boosts, gold boosts, class tokens, and/or other stuff, or maybe even incorporate quests with tiered rewards for people that complete a dungeon using that feature depending on the difficulty of the dungeon).

But as for difficulty of the dungeon, I don't think we could expect tiered rewards since the majority of dungeons are easy. But I would like to see incentives implemented one way or another, if we're going to have a finder feature.

 

The first problem with Discord servers is that server owners try to build their own community sub-groups, and these servers act more like guilds than actual servers for all AQ3D players to ask questions and hang out; almost all AQ3D Discord servers are managed like guilds and have certain entitlements. You pretty much have to join a guild for specific help, or search hard for a good server, and there's not really a centralized server for everyone.

The second problem is there's no official AQ3D Discord server, just an Artix Entertainment server, and a lot of players don't like the restrictions on that server because it's managed by AE. People want a little more freedom so they go back to square one, and just join their own decentralized Discord servers (or guilds).

The third problem is that there has already been a solution long time ago (use the Battleon Forums to ask for help), but people generally aren't as interested in forums. There's an overwhelming amount of players that prefer using social media, like Twitter, while others prefer asking for help in-game. It's very conflicting where people ask for help.

I think the solution is to have a feature in the game itself, especially since the game is the source for where help is needed anyway. There was already a suggestion long time ago to use the Adventurer Help Board in Yulgar's Inn to request for help (and it didn't have to be dungeon-specific), but there's no guarantees AE would make that a feature, and if they did, the feature would probably be missing some useful things.

 

Anything AE manages, they're pretty much liable for the consequences. They can't just create their own official Discord server and let players act free, because they're still a company and people expect them to act in a professional setting. I don't think there's really a simple in-between solution. Maybe if the game had a larger population, there'd be more various sub-communities willing to help players.

 

Discord servers that are created by players are up to those players to decide, so they're still not going to be close to perfect. There's almost never going be 100% conformity for everyone to join a particular server (even if you tag it with the word 'official'), because Discord servers provide their own niche with their own set of solutions, and players just have different opinions for what they enjoy about a server. One person's idea for a server might feel antiquated compared to another person's idea, and each server would have their set of rules and activities. And besides, the chunk of Discord servers that are quite popular use methods of persuasion by offering things and doing giveaways, which just doesn't feel genuine for actually building a community. It doesn't actually fix the problems that community members are concerned about.

I think the closest solution would still be relying on a larger population for the game itself. The more people there are in-game, the easier it is to ask for help and talk to people.

 

There is no correct path, only endeavors. AE has experimented with a lot of features, and some features are favorable while other features are unfavorable. It's all part of testing, and while I think testing is necessary for the game, I just don't think the game needs to be a sandbox of half-baked features for the general public. I'd like to see them release features when they actually are ready.

 

AQ3D community is rly good now, and players are always willing to help, am afraid that adding this will make this community same as one in WOW.
Ppl arent talking, just press button, do dung and go out, 0 words exchanged, and that can be rly bad for game.

 

Depends. Considering World of Warcraft has a larger playerbase, I don't think it's that much of an issue for WoW itself. The thing about WoW is that it's more constructed, so you have established features like guilds in place. For AQ3D, not so much, and it's hard to know how a dungeon finder would even affect the game.

 

I dont know that its needed. The games isnt so large and the travel system is so user friendly that it almost feels useless. And if it ends up being a queue system for dungeons, well that brings up a bunch of other issues, some good some bad. Just hope it doesnt end up with everyone sitting in town and queue for dungeons. If/when they get more crafts going on the world will feel empty.