Top 10 lore developments of 2012, part 2

How things can improve That issue has already been at least partially addressed with the introduction of the scenarios in patch 5.1. In the case of the Dominance Offensive, part of the lead-in quests for the event involve the sudden appearance of Vol'jin, who is then told to head where the scenario Dagger in the Dark begins. We see this as players, and when we are asked to assist Vol'jin, the scenario seems like a natural inclusion in the storyline.
More importantly, the events that occur in Dagger in the Dark are later reflected in the overall storyline for the Dominance Offensive. What you do in that scenario, and what you witness while you are in there, has a direct effect on everything that comes after. Because of this, the scenario has weight and substance within the game world, and it feels like there is a definitive point, a reason for completing it.
It's that kind of treatment that should be applied to scenarios from here on out. They aren't just a replacement for group quests. They've evolved beyond that, and they have the potential of being a really strong vehicle for delivering story in a significant way. It's just a matter of figuring out how to weight them in the world, and I think patch 5.1 shows that Blizzard is on the right track.
The good Cataclysm saw a marked reduction in daily quests. While some factions like Therazane had chains of daily quests that could be completed every day, others like Ramkahen relied solely on a tabard and endless dungeon runs to gain reputation. For some this was fine, for others, it felt like a marked reduction in available endgame content. Mists marked the return of daily quests in spectacular fashion, offering a dizzying array of new reputations and new daily quests to complete.
More importantly, it offered a story and a point to all of those daily quests. The Tillers, the Order of the Cloud Serpent, the Shado-pan, the Golden Lotus, the Klaxxi -- all of these factions had reasons for you to be doing quests for them. As you did the quests, stories played out in different ways. Each faction felt like it had its own unique purpose, with a unique way of grinding out all of that reputation. And each had its own story with its own unique ending, once exalted reputation was reached.
It's a far cry from the days of Therazane, where one simply did errands and didn't really get any significant story out of the bargain. Now players are doing errands and performing tasks for these factions for a reason, one that is explained and culminates in a unique climax that ends up with something good for the player, to boot. It's taken daily quests to a new space where they feel a little better than a chore that one must complete every day.
The not-so-good You'll notice some factions are missing from the list above. It's because while Mists did a wonderful job of offering more daily quests, not all of these factions were presented in a way that worked. While some seemed effortless and fun, others didn't really offer the same experience. I did a series of reviews of each reputation grind that highlights what worked and didn't work for each, so I won't go further into that here -- but I would suggest that you take a look at those articles if you're interested in individual factions.
However, there was one other glaring error to the daily quests system that made a lot of players incredibly upset. Valor point rewards were placed behind a reputation wall. If players wanted to spend their valor points on rewards, they were pretty much required to complete the daily quests in order to unlock those vendors. While the gear wasn't necessarily needed to progress, it still felt like a brick wall placed between the valor earned, and the items they could spend those points on.
This had the unfortunate side effect of placing that stigma of "dailies as a chore" back upon the daily quest system. Because of this, it overshadowed any and all story information that was contained within that daily grind. If a player feels like they are being forced to do something, they won't pay attention to any of the good that may be presented along the way -- all they are doing is focusing on the fact that they don't want to be doing it. There's no enjoyment in that.
How things can improve Dailies need a purpose. They stand as something that can work hand-in-hand with scenarios and story, if that's the direction Blizzard wants to take them. Or they can stand as a gating method for reputation and gear, if that's the direction Blizzard wants to take them. But blurring them into a space that is somewhere in the middle of a story-vehicle, a reputation grind, and a gearing mechanism does not do them the justice that they deserve.
It's clear when you look at the opening selection of faction and daily quests that Blizzard was experimenting with different systems. Likely it was just to gauge which methods were wildly successful, and which didn't work. The daily quests in patch 5.1 seem to reflect this, because they have taken everything that was good out of that original selection and squished it all together into a story-driven vehicle that was, quite frankly, utterly brilliant.
Operation Shieldwall and the Dominance Offensive proved that daily quests can be an enjoyable experience, if they're given the attention that they deserve. And I really think that daily quests work far better as a story vehicle than they do as a method for obtaining gear and items. We've got dungeons, scenarios, and raids to provide gear for players -- what we don't have is a tool that is designed specifically to deliver story. Daily quests have the potential to do that, if they're given the correct treatment. Next week, we'll wrap up the top 10 with a look at the final four developments that have rocketed lore to new levels of fun in 2012.
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