Ember Online

This is mainly for the road but having them occasionally other places may be nice. What I am suggesting is squares that are safe from monster drag and a place of respite for people out leveling or traveling. Think of them as the various outposts in RoK. The main reason I think they would be good to have on the road is they would provide a place of rest and interaction for players. The description and even NPCs can be tailored to point the player in the right direction. Having these in "safe squares" allow the players to stop and take the time to read or interact at their own speed without fear of monster spawn or drag. Right now the roads just end in wilderness. If the person doesn't know where they are going it is VERY easy for them to get lost. I can think of at least four spots on the roadway between cities where some type of guide would be handy.

Also, consider Gate Guards at the entrance to the cities. These NPCs can welcome new players and even say things pertinent to lore. Honestly I think having a few NPCs in the cities is a good idea to tell the story of the city/area. Canopia would do well with a injured logger somewhere to tell his story about being attacked by the trees. I also understand there has to be a nice story for where the Druid spawns with the changed animals. That "vale like" area has no lore and I wasn't even sure what it was called when I was working on the wiki. NPCs can help introduce players to an area and point them on the right path.

This is already on my list of things to be implemented with the reworking of the lore and remapping of the game. They may have to be few and far between in some stretches though, sorry.

Kruell wrote:Also, consider Gate Guards at the entrance to the cities. These NPCs can welcome new players and even say things pertinent to lore.

Already exists. And I'm pretty sure there will be more.

Kruell wrote:This is mainly for the road but having them occasionally other places may be nice. What I am suggesting is squares that are safe from monster drag and a place of respite for people out leveling or traveling. Think of them as the various outposts in RoK. The main reason I think they would be good to have on the road is they would provide a place of rest and interaction for players. The description and even NPCs can be tailored to point the player in the right direction. Having these in "safe squares" allow the players to stop and take the time to read or interact at their own speed without fear of monster spawn or drag. Right now the roads just end in wilderness. If the person doesn't know where they are going it is VERY easy for them to get lost. I can think of at least four spots on the roadway between cities where some type of guide would be handy.

Also, consider Gate Guards at the entrance to the cities. These NPCs can welcome new players and even say things pertinent to lore. Honestly I think having a few NPCs in the cities is a good idea to tell the story of the city/area. Canopia would do well with a injured logger somewhere to tell his story about being attacked by the trees. I also understand there has to be a nice story for where the Druid spawns with the changed animals. That "vale like" area has no lore and I wasn't even sure what it was called when I was working on the wiki. NPCs can help introduce players to an area and point them on the right path.

I agree with the gate guards. I also agree with outposts but not all over the place. Here and there would be good.I need to do a quest system and improve on the NPCs capabilities though too.

Yea there's already quite a few of these in game (Canopia and a bunch in the wastelands). I think it's a good idea for lower level areas for sure.

so just my opinion:

each leveling zone have 1-2*max guard outpost/safe squares with a guard/captain npc that gives a daily kill/scavenge quest for the zone.

reward for under max would be gold + xp + potions/mana. max lv could give slightly increased gold to encourage returning...maybe even token/insignias for trade-in....

Will they have a small shop with minor provisions? I am sure ambitious traders would taker the opportunity, if allowed.

I think this might make sense for roads or flat areas where camps or guard towers could be posted. But I think some areas should be very much wild. If there are things like hermit huts or hag hovels etc, that might be a decent alternative. But I'd suggest against arbitrarily throwing in safe zones with small shops or quest giving guards in every area.