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Free roam or Instance for MMOs?

Discussion in 'General MMORPG Discussion' started by soupsalad, Dec 17, 2013.

  1. soupsalad

    soupsalad Member

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    So I was wondering what you guys think about free roam vs instances for MMORPGs. By instance I mean only fighting in dungeons or mainly dungeon based games in comparison to the more typical free roam style games where you can find monsters everywhere.
    I feel that dungeon only games have structure and direction that a lot of free roam games don't have and it makes it easier for newer players to get into and play since everything is straight forward. What are your thoughts?
     
    #1 soupsalad, Dec 17, 2013
  2. Rice

    Rice Active Member

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    Both are great for players of any experience, honestly, it just depends if you enjoy exploration in an open world or being able to take down bosses in a dungeon. Or maybe if you just enjoy getting into combat quickly, you may prefer instance based games, since there isn't a need to travel.

    Personally, I prefer free roaming for MMOs because exploration has always been an enjoyable aspect of MMOs for me. Besides, if I'm grinding, I rather do it in a single location where I can stop at any time, rather than having to complete the entire dungeon once more. Instances do have their quirks as well though, as dungeons can have some interesting aspects and bosses can be rather refreshing and fun. However, seeing the quest system in more instance based games, repeating the same dungeon several times in different difficulties just feels rather bland. It gets frustrating at times too. Some MMOs do combine both of these aspects together though, such as Mabinogi, where you can choose to enter dungeons as you please and do plot-based mainstream quests, or roam the open world and do as you please.
     
    #2 Rice, Dec 18, 2013
  3. RMCMage

    RMCMage Well-Known Member

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    I prefer Free roam to me it just doesn't feel right when an MMO or even an RPG doesn't have it in my opinion.
     
    #3 RMCMage, Dec 18, 2013
  4. William Quah

    William Quah Well-Known Member

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    Not exactly "massive" if it isn't free roam in my opinion so I prefer free roam. I like exploring and discover new things in games, a too linear MMO will just make the experience stale. Kinda missing the point of being an MMO if you know what I mean.
     
    #4 William Quah, Dec 18, 2013
  5. heyhowareyou

    heyhowareyou Well-Known Member

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    Instanced dungeons are fine, but one of the defining factors about MMOs is the idea of being able to interact and fight with other players in the world. Instances really limit that, but they give you something to do when there's not a bunch of people around to help you defeat a big boss.
    WoW has begun heavily adding "phases", which are not quite instances, but close (basically a difference instance of the portion of the map you're own, based on your quest progression), and I really feel like it has hurt the multiplayer interaction.
     
    #5 heyhowareyou, Dec 18, 2013
  6. kjl.leblanc

    kjl.leblanc Member

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    I've yet to see a free roam MMO pulled off in a way that worked well. However I really like the concept and think it could be done. Instanced content really just breaks immersion a lot.
     
    #6 kjl.leblanc, Dec 18, 2013
  7. Astdua

    Astdua Well-Known Member
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    Free roam, sandbox-style, that's how MMO's should be, and that's always been one of the exciting things about the genre. The notion that you are in this big open world, exploring and developing with other players, you know? Instead of just clicking something, then entering an instance with a select few as if you are playing co-op. But then again, instances worlds can be fun too, just look at Guild Wars and I surely had fun there.
     
    #7 Astdua, Dec 19, 2013
  8. pr0xx1d

    pr0xx1d Well-Known Member

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    Free roam has to happen in for a game to appear to have scale. Instances are great, but should only be accessible when desired, not by default. It is also important to make sure that world bosses and events exist. It is important to make the player feel like the world is changing around them and feels more alive.
     
    #8 pr0xx1d, Dec 20, 2013
  9. Orz

    Orz Well-Known Member

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    A mix, instanced zones provide for much more content. Free roam to me at least gives an idea of a scaled down, restricted area.
     
    #9 Orz, Dec 20, 2013
  10. jbeavis100

    jbeavis100 Well-Known Member

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    I don't like instanced. Free roam all the way. To randomly go somewhere and suddenly.. no players? That's boring!
     
    #10 jbeavis100, Dec 21, 2013
  11. Psybe

    Psybe Well-Known Member

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    I prefer free roam. It seems like if you're not a true MMO fan though, you just give up on a game if it's not free roam. Every MMO freeroam game I've known as weened out the noobs who don't care about MMOs. I think that's a good thing. Freeroam is much more fun, instance is for less experienced players IMO
     
    #11 Psybe, Jan 1, 2014
  12. NimChimpsky

    NimChimpsky Member

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    Free roam is the way to go, especially if you are trying to go for the persistent online world advertising angle. Nothing breaks the immersion of a world more than running into a zone and hitting a loading screen - or worse, having some trite device to activate the loading screen. (I'm looking at you City of Heroes with your damn train/security door system.)
     
    #12 NimChimpsky, Jan 1, 2014
  13. mauricioq

    mauricioq Well-Known Member
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    Free roam is the best for me. I have the feeling that I'm in a real world and it just feels "better".
    But instances are okay too, it's just personal preference.
     
    #13 mauricioq, Jan 6, 2014
  14. alxsnow

    alxsnow Active Member

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    I really dislike instance based games. After playing Tera, RaiderZ, Dragon Prophet, I could never look at an instance based game the same again. Same with tab-targeting, if it's not a non-targeting action based game I can't play :(
     
    #14 alxsnow, Jan 7, 2014
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