Why remove missions?

[gblXsw]

So, yesterday I started a new Inquisitor, because I was curious to see how leveling a fresh lvl 1 would be with 4.0. To my great surprise and disappointment I noticed that several (four that I can think of off the top of my head) missions on Korriban don't seem to be available anymore. When I right click the NPCs who used to give me missions, they only say something along the lines of "you're not ready yet", even after I'm past lvl 10 and completed the class story on Korriban.

 

I get that leveling is faster now and I don't need the exp from those missions, but I can't even chose to do them for the story, dialogue, background?!

 

I've defended A LOT of design decisions that were taken in KotFE, but this - I can't even begin to come up with a reason why you would remove missions.

 

Please tell me my character is just bugged and these missions are still in the game, or at least make me understand why they aren't.

[Tolunart]

Open you world map, at the top right corner there is a box marked "show exploration missions" or somesuch. Click it and these missions will become available.

 

With the release of 4.0 they changed the leveling process to streamline things a bit. "Purple" missions are class and planet storylines, doing these alone give you approximately enough XP to level within range for the planet. Gold missions are optional planetary side missions that give extra XP and exploration missions are disabled unless you check the box, I guess so they don't clutter up the map or something. I don't know why they chose to hide these missions, they're usually simple things like "collect ten boxes" or speak to an NPC, and give relatively little XP.

 

But with the buffed XP from story missions, if you do every mission on every planet, including heroics and a few flashpoints (many are now set for solo play) and some warzones, you should hit level 60 by the fourth planet or so.

 

Also, minor bugs with exploration missions - they are marked on the map, but a lot of times the overhead icons don't appear, so if your mission is to speak with Dr. Soandso, the map shows where to go but he might not have the triangle above his head.

Edited November 12, 2015 by Tolunart

[Asheris]

Aren't they now "explorer" missions and need ot be turned on somehow to be visible? No idea how that works, I am glad to skip them

[gblXsw]

Ugh, they've got to be kidding me. I thought that was just a map feature, but it actually turns the mission on or off!

 

Nevermind then...

 

But what distinguishes "exploration missions" from normal non-essential missions anyway?

[kamennebbie]

Ugh, they've got to be kidding me. I thought that was just a map feature, but it actually turns the mission on or off!

 

Nevermind then...

 

But what distinguishes "exploration missions" from normal non-essential missions anyway?

Core missions are your class missions and the planet's main storyline missions. They get vastly boosted experience compared to the non-essential sidequests.

[gblXsw]

Core missions are your class missions and the planet's main storyline missions. They get vastly boosted experience compared to the non-essential sidequests.

 

The core missions are the purple ones, I get that. But there are other missions that use the "traditional" symbol. For example, speaking of Korriban, the mission where the Abyssin asks you to fetch his "special" food is an exploration mission and has to be enabled, but the one where the guardswoman asks you to find a fallen acolyte in the same tomb is not. Seems rather arbitrary to me.

[Kulyok]

That one was really counterintuitive. I only accidentally found out about the exploration missions on Alderaan, where some kind soul told my alt to turn on those exploration missions in the right upper corner of the map interface. I had no idea! I would've gone straight to Corellia without those missions. Sigh.

 

Really, that's a shame - many of those missions are pretty cool beloved and now the new players may never find out about them.

[KrazieFox]

I was actually about to post something about this myself. I know of two missions on Korriban that are no longer active.

 

I have the 'Explore Missions' on in my map & I also spoke with the specific npc's everytime I progressed my class story - but still these two missions are no longer available. This past fortnight I have created both a new Warrior and Inquisitor and for both these two missions are no longer available.

 

(1) 'Rite of Blood and Bone' - Overseer Regate

(2) 'Creeping Hunger' - Seh-Run

 

Neither of these quests were available to my Warrior or Inquisitor - as I say, I clicked on them several times during my time on Korriban (because the quest Icon has disappeared from some npc's since 4.0).

[PulseRazor]

http://www.swtor.com/blog/core-world-changes

[gblXsw]

I was actually about to post something about this myself. I know of two missions on Korriban that are no longer active.

 

I have the 'Explore Missions' on in my map & I also spoke with the specific npc's everytime I progressed my class story - but still these two missions are no longer available. This past fortnight I have created both a new Warrior and Inquisitor and for both these two missions are no longer available.

 

(1) 'Rite of Blood and Bone' - Overseer Regate

(2) 'Creeping Hunger' - Seh-Run

 

Neither of these quests were available to my Warrior or Inquisitor - as I say, I clicked on them several times during my time on Korriban (because the quest Icon has disappeared from some npc's since 4.0).

 

Those were two of the missions I couldn't do, but after I was told about the exploration toggle I was able to do them. Maybe you accidentally switched it off again?

[Tolunart]

Seems rather arbitrary to me.

 

Pretty much. Someone went through a list of every planet's missions and said "turn off this one... that one... aaaaand... that one there."

[Tolunart]

I was actually about to post something about this myself. I know of two missions on Korriban that are no longer active.

 

I have the 'Explore Missions' on in my map & I also spoke with the specific npc's everytime I progressed my class story - but still these two missions are no longer available. This past fortnight I have created both a new Warrior and Inquisitor and for both these two missions are no longer available.

 

(1) 'Rite of Blood and Bone' - Overseer Regate

(2) 'Creeping Hunger' - Seh-Run

 

Neither of these quests were available to my Warrior or Inquisitor - as I say, I clicked on them several times during my time on Korriban (because the quest Icon has disappeared from some npc's since 4.0).

 

You have to turn them on for each character, including new ones. If it's already checked for those toons you have a bug, those are exploration missions and checking the box *will* enable them. I've done both missions on new toons since the 4.0 update.

Edited November 12, 2015 by Tolunart

[HarleysRule]

Not sure why they did that. The main missions are purple and stand out, so it's not like you would (God forbid) do side missions by accident.

[KrazieFox]

http://www.swtor.com/blog/core-world-changes

 

That doesn't really answer the question of where those two quests have gone.

[Drudenfusz]

I was actually about to post something about this myself. I know of two missions on Korriban that are no longer active.

 

I have the 'Explore Missions' on in my map & I also spoke with the specific npc's everytime I progressed my class story - but still these two missions are no longer available. This past fortnight I have created both a new Warrior and Inquisitor and for both these two missions are no longer available.

 

(1) 'Rite of Blood and Bone' - Overseer Regate

(2) 'Creeping Hunger' - Seh-Run

 

Neither of these quests were available to my Warrior or Inquisitor - as I say, I clicked on them several times during my time on Korriban (because the quest Icon has disappeared from some npc's since 4.0).

That is strange, I could do both of those missions after 4.0 with my level 60+ Inquisitor when I returned to Korriban to clean out the world again, since the change to exploration mission reset them so one can do them all again... and get on quite a few of them some influence for the companions.

[VanorDM]

Not sure why they did that.

 

So people who don't want to do them don't have to see them on the map. Also so new people don't get sidetracked doing missions that no longer really matter.

 

Oh and it was most definitely not arbitrary, they turned off all quests that weren't part of the main story line for your class or for the planet itself.

Edited November 12, 2015 by VanorDM

[Doreian]

That doesn't really answer the question of where those two quests have gone.

 

Two people in this thread have already pointed out that those quests aren't gone. You are either bugged or did not turn on your map toggle.

[gblXsw]

So people who don't want to do them don't have to see them on the map. Also so new people don't get sidetracked doing missions that no longer really matter.

 

Isn't it distinctive enough to have purple ones and non-purple ones? Just do only purple quests and you won't get sidetracked, wether there's a toggle or not.

 

Oh and it was most definitely not arbitrary, they turned off all quests that weren't part of the main story line for your class or for the planet itself.

 

I can't speak for any planet except Korriban, because that's the only low level planet I've done since 4.0, but there it definitely is arbitrary. I gave examples earlier: the quest the guard in front of Naga Sadow's tomb gives you and the quest Seh-run gives you inside the tomb - one has to be enabled, the other doesn't. Both send you to places you wouldn't need to go to if you only followed the class mission, both don't have any impact on any other mission, both can be skipped easily. Why is one an exploration mission and the other isn't?

[KrazieFox]

Two people in this thread have already pointed out that those quests aren't gone. You are either bugged or did not turn on your map toggle.

 

(A) I always have the 'Show Exploration Missions' turned on via the top right corner of the Map

(B) as stated, I approached & clicked on BOTH NPC's every time I moved my Class Quest on - after doing the Heroic's & only having one single quest on the whole of Korriban remaining 'Go to Dromund Kaas' - I clicked on both npc's & still zero.

 

I did this with both a new Warrior and a new Inquisitor. All of this I have already stated in previous posts - it's usually a good idea to read the thread before making a post.

 

The only alternative is, as you say, my account is bugged - but if that is the case, surely I cannot be the sole person experiencing this bug?

[VanorDM]

Just do only purple quests and you won't get sidetracked, wether there's a toggle or not.

 

What if someone new doesn't understand how the system works? In MMO's we've been trained to pick up all quests we see.

 

Plus myself I like not having to see them at all, I like the fact that they're hidden. I will agree that having turned off by default may not be the best answer, but it is again a way to protect new people while they learn how to play the game.

 

Why is one an exploration mission and the other isn't?

 

Because one is and the other isn't. I can't say why they decided that, but Bioware has a master document somewhere that lists each quest and if it's a story, planet or side quest. This document would pre-date the game's release. So when they started flagging quests they used that document.

 

That means it is not arbitrary, because there is a reason behind it. Just because someone can't see the reason, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

[Hebruixe]

Ugh, they've got to be kidding me. I thought that was just a map feature, but it actually turns the mission on or off!

 

Nevermind then...

 

But what distinguishes "exploration missions" from normal non-essential missions anyway?

 

glad this was resolved =P

[Tolunart]

(A) I always have the 'Show Exploration Missions' turned on via the top right corner of the Map

(B) as stated, I approached & clicked on BOTH NPC's every time I moved my Class Quest on - after doing the Heroic's & only having one single quest on the whole of Korriban remaining 'Go to Dromund Kaas' - I clicked on both npc's & still zero.

 

I did this with both a new Warrior and a new Inquisitor. All of this I have already stated in previous posts - it's usually a good idea to read the thread before making a post.

 

The only alternative is, as you say, my account is bugged - but if that is the case, surely I cannot be the sole person experiencing this bug?

 

My wife recently started playing and I have gone through the starting missions with her recently. They are definitely still there, I have done them.

[Tolunart]

Because one is and the other isn't. I can't say why they decided that, but Bioware has a master document somewhere that lists each quest and if it's a story, planet or side quest. This document would pre-date the game's release. So when they started flagging quests they used that document.

 

That means it is not arbitrary, because there is a reason behind it. Just because someone can't see the reason, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

 

Not necessarily. The example provided definitely doesn't show any difference between the two quests, both start at the tomb you visit just before finishing your story quest, and both take you away from the area to return to the academy, then back to the tomb. Neither have anything to do with the planetary quests and can be skipped without consequence. There's no logical reason to classify them differently, therefore it appears to be arbitrary - as if someone ranked quests he liked and made the bottom N quests exploration.

[VanorDM]

The example provided definitely doesn't show any difference between the two quests

 

It doesn't show any difference that we can see. But we have to allow for the fact that there are going to be things we can't see. Again, just because you can't see the reason doesn't mean one doesn't exist.

 

There may not of been much of a reason when the person who wrote those quests did so. But they would of had some reason for deciding one is a planetary quest and one isn't.

 

So when Bioware went and flagged all the quests they did based on whatever the person who wrote it decided.

[Tolunart]

It doesn't show any difference that we can see. But we have to allow for the fact that there are going to be things we can't see. Again, just because you can't see the reason doesn't mean one doesn't exist.

 

There may not of been much of a reason when the person who wrote those quests did so. But they would of had some reason for deciding one is a planetary quest and one isn't.

 

So when Bioware went and flagged all the quests they did based on whatever the person who wrote it decided.

 

I said it *appears* arbitrary - because there is no difference I can see between two quests that start in the same area, require you to travel to another area (the same area for both quests) and speak to an NPC, then return to the area where you picked up the quests. Because we can't sit in on their meetings it's impossible to say for sure, but I still believe that the process goes something like: a manager tells dev Brian "this planet has 15 non-story quests, pick five of them to be exploration missions." And Brian picks five missions.

 

None of the non-story missions affect the class story or planetary narrative, so you can skip any of them without losing more than a few codex entries. There's no functional difference between "gold" triangles and "gold with an asterisk" triangles.

Edited November 12, 2015 by Tolunart