Tgmage
... The biggest thing that concerns me so far about this game is that there doesn't seem to be any point to it.
Whats the point of doing all this work on a toon and building it up? Whats it for? There are no instances. There are no tournaments. There is no competition as there is no way for me to see how I stack up against another player. There is nothing that I can see that I'm shooting for. There is no overall user level (which I'm slowly coming to terms with). There is no colored gear. Its very difficult here to get any kind of sense of progress or those moments when you find that rare item and its awesome cause your toon is a little bit better (again) for that end game content.
I like to strive for something but there doesn't seem to be anything to strive for here and thats causing me some hesitation. ...
Just a few examples on what people do as end-game content, what they strive for, as an explanation.
Ryzom is a sandbox mmo, and that means you have to pick your own goals (it doesn't mean there are no goals worthwhile, it's just designed in a way that you can pick what you want to do and still not be in a vast disadvantage).
1. Good gear (starting with this because you mentioned it and this is useful for any other goals)
In Ryzom this is an effort in many layers. We think about what we want gear for. Then we design a receipe to match the purpose(s). Then we go and try to find those boss mobs, find a team to kill them, and hopefully get those bodyparts we want. And/or go to dig in prime roots. After we got all the materials required we need a crafter to make the gear. There is another level of even better gear that can only be created by chance (we need LOTS of raw materials to make these).
2. Hunting
Hunting is so much fun on itself. Of course there are some established tactics but in the end it comes down to improvising your way through a boss fight. Ryzom offers a good variety of different means to do so, vastly changing the tactics that can be used to kill that boss. Hunting comes in various forms too: hunting for nameds in a team, hunting for bosses in a team, scouting boss places to find some alone. Hunting gets a lot better with better gear (1).
3. Digging
Surface digging is appreciated by those who want to do something that does not fully occupy your mind. You can get large amounts of materials to become a good crafter and supply average/good gear to your friends and/or (sell to) strangers. Prime roots digging is a completely different activity, it's more about staying alive in a most hostile environment, waiting for the right moment to run somewhere and dig the most precious resources there. PR digging is sometimes done in teams (few diggers and lots of guards).
4. PvP
It's always something very exciting to directly compare to other players. This requires a lot of player skill and equipment (1,2,3). Goals in PvP can be pure fun and/or owning outposts. I agree there could be more pvp in ryzom.
5. Trekking/Sightseeing
I think that's a very wothwhile activity too (some disagree). Learning how to walk the lands and survive, how to handle large groups of people, finding and showing nice places to others.
6. NPC boss hunts
Teams of 25...40 people frequently gather to kill npc bosses (marauders). Some hunting groups have tactics similar to those you applied in other game's instances. Some don't (and need more people). Personally i don't like this one, but i know many who enjoy it very much.
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You might think now 'oh yeah, nice activities, but no goal, as i said!'. But is doing an instance 200 times waiting for the random uber drop a goal? The goal is never to get all those drops so you can move on to your next toon, because there is nothing left your main would want. The journey is the reward.
Oh... and teamwork. Very important in ryzom, teamwork is not limited to teams! For example: if you want to make good gear, you want both digged and quartered materials to make them. And a trustworthy crafter to make it. And it's (almost) impossible to grind up all those skills yourself. You will need other people to rely on - and other people relying on you.
Roleplaying on the different levels of roleplaying perfection is also big fun for many players. Trying to find a role that fits into (or collides with?) the society you live in, giving your character some personality different from your own, seeing where the game carries your character.
Sorry for not being well organised on this topic, there are so many worthwhile activities i like in ryzom.