Story content can be engaging again
This is a bit of a lengthy thread, but if you are involved in end game MCOC to any degree, please take the time if you have it to read though this in its entirety. This is an in-depth suggestion of how story content should be changed and improved upon in the near future.
I’ve played this game for the entirety of its lifespan, and throughout that time I’ve seen the evolution of story content and its purpose in the game. In the early days and mostly throughout book 1’s release, story mode was the driving content piece that carried the game on its shoulders. Sure, there were pieces of challenge content like labyrinth, abyss, boss rushes, etc., and alliance modes, but story quests were the mainstream consistent piece that we had to look forward to. The game has changed drastically since then, and battlegrounds in recent years has become the game’s main focus. With book 2, Kabam listened to our feedback regarding story quests on multiple occasions, making it more simple and less grindy. While these changes were good, keeping the same formula for several years has made the core mode become stale and repetitive. Additionally, the allure and challenge that came alongside completing early story quests is completely gone.
I don’t see anyone replaying any new piece of act content aside from completing the new crucibles when they come out. Additionally, story content for most people, if not all, has largely just become a process of using the biggest nukes possible to get through the majority of it quickly. The biggest and really only incentives the player base has is fighting the newest final boss and collecting the new chapters’ rewards.
Story content was not perfect during the release of book 1, and as we can remember from most of act 6’s release, was far from it. However, I do want to highlight specific quests, in particular 4.3.6, 5.1-2, 5.4, 6.2.6, and 6.4.6.
4.3.6: Players are given the option to either directly fight a large venom boss without completing a path prior, or weaken the final
boss through the completion of longer paths.
5.1-2: A new global node (ex. Bane, Masochism), is introduced each quest, giving a unique identity to it.
5.4 (old version): Players camera vision is locked in place, they are unable to see the path ahead, similar to Labyrinth or Abyss.
6.2.6: Players are given the option to either take a shorter path which quickly leads to the Champion boss, or take a longer route through optional side paths.
6.4.6: The Grandmaster boss feels like a monumental one, and his significance is shown through the addition of unique linked nodes affecting his abilities, and class-based sentinel mini bosses.
Every single one of these quests and chapters either introduces a new mechanic, breaks free from the standard questing format, or provides a different level of challenge. And I’m sure when reading through my description of each quest, you could recall playing through it yourself, or at least seeing each for the first time. There’s a reason why you were able to recall these quests so easily, and a reason why many of them were replayed multiple times by the player base after their release. These quests were memorable, interesting, and brought something new. And besides the chapter final bosses, I really can’t say the same thing about any particular quest in acts 7-9.
Sure, most of Act 6 was too grindy upon its initial release. The same thing can be said about the 36 path format acts 7-8.2 have. Kabam has done a great job of listening to our feedback regarding this content in the past, and I hope they’ll continue to do so. As someone who can see story quests being a pivotal piece of content again, I’m really hoping they see this.
Kabam has been doing a great job recently of trying out new things. While the directions they chose to go down and reception of these various modes has been mixed so far, I commend their attempt to try new things. Coliseum, rampant evolution AQ, Squad Builders, Fortress Assault, BGs 40/5 were all good attempts at doing so, and some were more successful than others. I realize that they will and should continue to make new modes and content, and have limited resources to make major changes to older game modes.
That’s why I am going to suggest a starting point for changing story quests. I don’t think this is the endgame goal, and there are further steps to be taken in the future, but for now this is what the mode needs. A new format, and not just at the start of act 10, but with every chapter moving forward.
Current Story Quest Format-
Q1-5: 3 paths, 6 fights/path, 3 bosses
Q6: 3 paths, 6 fights/path, 1 boss (x3)
Total: 18 paths, 108 path fights, 16 unique bosses
Future Story Quest Format Example-
Q1: 6 paths, 8 fights per path, 4 bosses
- One path based on each class, paths provide major bonuses to their given classes
- Simple/shorter fights
- Normal story quest bosses
Q2: 3 paths, 5 fights per path, 2 bosses
- Difficult nodes and paths
- Longer fights
- Difficult and specific bosses
Q3: 1 path, 1 boss
- No path fights, straight to the boss
- Massive eternity of pain style fight with millions of health
Q4: 4 paths, 4 fights per path, 3 bosses
- Moderately difficult and long fights
- Focused on learning the new chapter’s node mechanic (ex. scourge)
- Normal story quest bosses
Q5: 2 paths, 6 fights per path, 2 bosses
- Long and difficult fights
- New chapter’s node mechanic included on some or all fights
- Champion switch node placed halfway through path fights instead of before the boss
- Easier bosses, difficulty focused on the path itself
Q6: 4 paths, 8 fights per path, 1 boss (x4)
- 4 paths to give players the experience of fighting the chapter boss an additional time
- Path fights easier, focused on giving ramp up for champions that need it (ex. Cull Obsidian, Sentry, Star Lord SF)
- Final chapter boss can be extremely difficult to encourage using ramp-up champions
Total: 20 paths, 123 path fights, 13 unique boss fights
This is an example of how story quests could look going forward, not a perfect template to follow and repeat for every chapter. The point of this is to show how different and more interesting story quests can become, and if this format were to be used, I would strongly suggest changing it upon every chapter’s release. Each quest has its own identity, and different types and classes of champions are given their time in the spotlight.
As seen by the totals, this format includes an additional 2 paths and 15 path fights as opposed to the current format, but 3 less boss fights. I included the totals to show that this change can be done without the content becoming more grindy, but instead requiring additional insight, for both players and Kabam. Theoretically, completing this content should take the same amount of time as it does currently, and creating the nodes, paths, and bosses should also. The only additional time requirement would come from trying to figure out how to complete and uniquely format these quests, not the time it takes to implement or go through them.
To make this all clearer, here’s what implementing these changes could provide for story quests, the player base, and the game.
- Drastically more interesting story content
- Higher replay value
- Storyline in turn becomes more memorable
- Higher overall game engagement
- Another area for ramp up and non-BG champions to shine and be used
- More anticipated release of new non-BG champions (ex. Blue Marvel)
- Testing grounds for new champions
- Relevant area for champion showcase content and videos (especially for ramp up characters)
- Rewards roster depth, not just the top end
- Most importantly, a more fun piece of content that excites players and repeatedly feels fresh
As I said before, I do think there are additional things which could help story content, but the formatting aspect is probably the most important piece in everything. I urge that anyone at Kabam who reads this strongly consider making these changes with Act 10, or at least somewhat discuss it. This thread isn’t a knock at how you get things done or the work the team puts in, but is just a strong suggestion for moving forward.
Thanks to anyone that takes the time to read through this. If you have, please help this thread get as much attention as possible. I’m just a player that wants the game to be at its best state possible, and I know that these changes would drastically help it get there faster. Help Kabam see this if you at all agree with anything I’ve said. If you don’t, or have additional ideas to add, please discuss it below.
