Reduce Parkour in quests

[dorothycheung]

I am really poor in parkour and always stuck. It is very frustrating to know that there is a parkour part after I collected the mob parts by hard work. I get no reward. Please add some by-pass like if you are stuck in that part for like 10 min there is a ladder that pop up etc. I stop doing the quest because I know how bad I am at parkour, practising just don't work for me and my lag of my computer. I am serious. I practised and watched parkour youtube but still suck at parkour. Not only me but sometimes people also mention in ingame chats who they are frustrated by parkour. Thank you.

 

[LinScoresby]

I completely agree RE adding an opt-out system for parkour - maybe it could require some extra mats or something to skip the parkour, just so everyone doesn't always skip? I don't have a great laptop & my coordination isn't great, so it's really demoralising to be stuck on one unskippable parkour level for hours.

 

[MattyPoltergeist]

There's always the option to learn how to do Parkour but ye I can see why u wud be annoyed

 

[Nyn]

I find parkour in quests fun, but only sometimes. If there's a very long parkour (especially if it's a hard parkour!), it can become very frustrating and even boring if you continuously fall, and redo the same jumps hundreds of times.

 

[Grace]

I can definitely see how so much parkour would annoy some players if they simply have a hard time doing it. I know quests aren’t supposed to be done extremely fast, but an opt-out option after a certain amount of time would be helpful for some. I’m just not sure how they would be able to do that for each individual player doing a quest or multiple players doing it together as that might be difficult, but still a good idea!

 

[luckiestblock]

Yeah I feel like there should be a opt out for parkour especially because many quests you can only do if you have done the previous quest meaning that a parkour can lock out several other quests which you probably could do. I wish that in towns there could be a "Hint" npc maybe even Tom Riddle that you could speak to and for an ABSURD but still attainable price (like 300 gold) you can skip parkour or get coords/answers to riddles. It would also solve the sometimes ridiculous journey you have to go on to find "Charecter X" who is "On this Side of town".

 

[Sirje_Wildmoon]

The point of quests existing is that they're:

1. Optional
2. meant to be something to challenge you at least a little.


Parkour can be frustrating, but if you keep at it you'll get better and do it eventually. It took me about 6 months to finally complete the memory walker challenges, part 5/6 is pure hell when you're not good at parkour (like me, I'm terrible at it) but I kept at it and I did it.

I hate mazes too, so I'm mega frustrated at the Chamber Of Secrets quest, so I'm just ignoring it for now.

Adding an "opt out" feature would just ruin everything and the whole point of it being a quest/challenge. Same with finding an NPC for that matter, they're never generally that far away.

Plus if you had to actually pay to skip it, or to find an NPC, that defeats the purpose of the quests being a way to obtain gold in the first place.


So, as harsh at it sounds, you can just ignore the quests that have parkour/an npc you cant find, or keep trying like everyone else does.

There are other (albeit slower) ways to earn xp and gold. (though imho there is not enough ways to earn much gold besides quests, as you'll need a LOT of mob drops to sell, or you can get 50gold from the daily gold, and more from daily quests such as finding chests.)

 

[luckiestblock]

The point of quests existing is that they're:

1. Optional
2. meant to be something to challenge you at least a little.


Parkour can be frustrating, but if you keep at it you'll get better and do it eventually. It took me about 6 months to finally complete the memory walker challenges, part 5/6 is pure hell when you're not good at parkour (like me, I'm terrible at it) but I kept at it and I did it.

I hate mazes too, so I'm mega frustrated at the Chamber Of Secrets quest, so I'm just ignoring it for now.

Adding an "opt out" feature would just ruin everything and the whole point of it being a quest/challenge. Same with finding an NPC for that matter, they're never generally that far away.

Plus if you had to actually pay to skip it, or to find an NPC, that defeats the purpose of the quests being a way to obtain gold in the first place.


So, as harsh at it sounds, you can just ignore the quests that have parkour/an npc you cant find, or keep trying like everyone else does.

There are other (albeit slower) ways to earn xp and gold. (though imho there is not enough ways to earn much gold besides quests, as you'll need a LOT of mob drops to sell, or you can get 50gold from the daily gold, and more from daily quests such as finding chests.)

I just wanted to say that while quests are "Technically" optional I would argue that many are simply not. First Year Struggles, the first quest, gives you the Warp Key and is practically mandatory because of how useful the item is. Troubled Waters is the only way to access Ireland, with 4 different monsters and 4 other quests there. Finally The Greenshore Excursion is a grad quest which give you access to the highest level town and two monsters. That quest contains a very LONG parkour course that is required. Quests at least in my eyes were promised to be the biggest part of the update, that quests and the new map would be THE update. So why can't there be an npc that would allow you to skip parkour to get to other areas that are actually fun? To allow you to enjoy the rest of the content instead of being gated by one part of a single quest.

 

[nathan1e]

I have to say, I completely disagree with this thread. I respect your opinion, I just think that the parkour in quests is simple enough to complete with a bit of practice and actually add to the experience of doing quests; for me, they make quests feel more of an achievement rather than just something to breeze through. I didn't complete all parkours in one go either, but that made it more fun for me.

There's a few things said so far in this thread that I would like to respond to:

There's always the option to learn how to do Parkour

Exactly. Learning how to parkour isn't done in a single day, it takes time and a lot of practise. You fall and stand up again, you try and fail as long and as much as is needed in order to succeed. It's a process. Every time you fall is one step closer to being able to consistently not fall; don't be disappointed that you're not at the endgoal but be proud that you're making progress.

The point of quests existing is that they're:

1. Optional
2. meant to be something to challenge you at least a little.

This is a very good point too. Nobody forces you to do quests, they're not mandatory gameplay but merely a means to earning gold. Doing them earns you gold, but there are numerous other ways to earn gold. And as I said, I think that the fact they are somewhat challenging makes them more fun; it makes you more proud once you've completed it. I remember a few days ago when I finished all quests, I was rather proud of myself as I knew it took quite some time and effort. I don't think I would have been equally proud if it had just been super simple quests that everyone could have just done in a single day.

I hate mazes too, so I'm mega frustrated at the Chamber Of Secrets quest, so I'm just ignoring it for now.

I actually mapped out this entire maze, if you want to see the map, @ me on discord.

First Year Struggles, the first quest gives you the Warp Key is practically mandatory because of how useful the item is.

I agree that the Warpkey Bag is imperative to the gameplay, however I do believe that there is an option in /me to get another Bag if you need it. I don't know if this option "unlocks" when completing the quest, but if not, that would make your point relatively invalid. But regardless of that, this specific quest does not contain any parkour (as far as I can remember) or any somewhat challenging gameplay.

Troubled Waters is the only way to access Ireland, with 4 different monsters and 4 other quests there. Finally The Greenshore Excursion is a grad quest which give you access to the highest level town and two monsters. That quest contains a very LONG parkour course that is required.

This is a bit more valid compared to the previous quest mentioned in my opinion, but I would argue that Ireland and Greenshore are islands that don't necessarily have to be visited in order to complete the main goal of the server's gameplay, which is to become level 80. Ireland is an interesting island with quests, hidden chests, beautiful scenery and some interesting mobs, but all of that can potentially be skipped while aiming for level 80. And as someone who has been playing a lot since the update came out, finished The Greenshore Excursion quest relatively quickly and is a graduate on the server I can say that the greenshore island is not really that interesting. While the dragon inclosure gives a nice jurassic park vibe, the mobs on that island are really only useful when you're grinding for specific mob loot, in this case nundoom or dragon loot, which I think would only be useful in professions. (Same logic applies to the mobs on Ireland btw.) And professions are, in a way, skippable as well; that is to say, profession items can be obtained from hidden chests as well for which you don't have to go to Ireland (let alone Greenshore, which doesn't even have any hidden chests to my knowledge).

But that's just my opinion.

 

[luckiestblock]

But regardless of that, this specific quest does not contain any parkour

Just wanted to clarify that I included it as an example of a "mandatory quest", same as Troubled Waters, not as one that needed parkour, sorry if that was not clear.

all of that can potentially be skipped while aiming for level 80

The reason why I have the stance that parkour sections should be skipable if you pay a large amount of gold is that the server is not about parkour and that parkour gates other non parkour stuff that the server is actually about that many non parkour skilled players would like to enjoy. As an example imagine if in Dark Souls, a very difficult game based on combat had a pinball machine that you had to get a certain number of points in to access other areas. Even if those areas were optional I feel like a lot of people who are not good at pinball would say that it was an arbitrary challenge that at least to them has nothing to do with playing Dark Souls and wish that they could skip it so they could easily access more content that they actually enjoy.

 

[LinScoresby]

What I don't understand is why someone would be opposed to adding an optional skip to parkour, if people don't find it fun? Like, no one would force anyone to skip the parkour - it would just be so everyone could have fun with the quests and not be pushed out because of a difficult mandatory parkour section.

I def agree that it shouldn't be a free skip, just to incentivise people to still complete the quest, but I see no reason why this shouldn't be an option.

Plus, I personally don't think the main goal of the server is to get to lvl 80? At least for me, the goal has been to have fun & explore, and I know my experience of the server would be hindered if I couldn't access a whole area because of a difficult parkour quest.

 

[Miss_Strudel]

As someone that works on quests a lot, I’d like to share my perspective on this. I by no means speak for the team as a whole, these are just my personal opinions. I am absolutely god awful at parkour and whenever a parkour is necessary for an event etc, I just straight up don’t attempt it. However, I have written parkour into my quests on the server. The reason for this is it’s gameplay, which can be difficult to come up with, and it’s enjoyable for a lot of people on the server. Though regardless of whether parkour is a type of gameplay you do or don’t like, I don’t want my quests to be entirely impossible for certain players to complete. I prefer for difficulty to be based around whether with practice it can be completed. I’m unsure if you’ve played through the first year A Future Unforetold quest yet, but it’s one I worked on and involves a magical parkour course. I, someone who is not good at parkour, can complete it easily. The jumps really aren’t difficult and the point of it is to see the beautiful themed build and glimpses of things to come in future quests, not to be extremely mechanically challenging. Is there a specific quest with parkour that is simply way too difficult for some to complete? If it’s one of my quests, I’ll push to make it easier because I understand the pain and frustration of being unable to parkour / I want everyone to have fun playing through it. However if this issue is as the initial post mentions due to computer lag, there’s honestly not much we can do. Having a bad computer affects so much, such as sequences, mob / boss fighting, flying, there’s even an elytra course in one of my quests... I’m a major fan of riddles and puzzles, but not everything can be riddle or puzzle-based. That limits quests to the point of no longer being fun and in my opinion there needs to be a balance of gameplay that requires some of these other elements that take a touch of practice or skill. Having a time or gold bypass ruins the feeling of satisfaction when you get through a quest objective or in some cases causes you to miss a bit of the story. To be cheesy for a moment, I really think quests should be more about the journey than the destination. Waiting for a timer to run out before getting the reward ruins it in my opinion. If there’s a genuine balance issue with a specific quest, I’ll take a look at it if it’s one of mine. But we can’t eliminate the element of challenge.

 

[LinScoresby]

I definitely agree RE the element of a challenge, and I wouldn't want to remove parkour from quests. I also completely agree RE not everything being puzzles or riddles - if every quest was just about running around Hogsworth, it would get super dull, super fast.

I’m unsure if you’ve played through the first year A Future Unforetold quest yet, but it’s one I worked on[....]Is there a specific quest with parkour that is simply way too difficult for some to complete? If it’s one of my quests, I’ll push to make it easier because I understand the pain and frustration of being unable to parkour / I want everyone to have fun playing through it.

RE the divination parkour: I have seen people struggle massively with that one, actually - especially the use of Lumen Aestus. Lots of new players have not figured out that they can alter their hotbar yet, let alone that they have acquired more spells - especially one like Lumen Aestus, where it isn't really called for up until that moment. I know that I actually completed that section, sat around for 5 minutes, and then dropped off the ledge to do it all again multiple times. Even once I had completed that section, having asked a staff member for help - I had to go all the way back to help multiple other players who had gotten themselves stuck, the first having sat there for 30 minutes.

Obviously I don't think the game should hold your hand - having signs explaining what Lumen Aestus is and how to modify your hotbar right by this section would ruin the fun of the level. But maybe add signs and prompts earlier on in the course, to prompt players to explore all their spells and help them acquire the knowledge they can apply to the course later on?

I wouldn't have raised this if it was just me, but this is an issue I see a lot - even outside of my completion of the quest, I still see people talk about it on chat. Aside from this, however, I actually found that level really fun - the parkour was just the right mix of challenging but still achievable, and I loved the design variation throughout each level.

This issue is also one I see popping up in different areas of the level (using Lumen in the dark areas of the maze was not something I figured out until a second time through) and in other levels - like the parkour section in the first year Leviomara feathers quest. The parkour is not difficult at all, but many find it very difficult to spot - a friend actually completed that quest by spamming jump, holding down right click and praying they hit the final feather's hitbox. I understand you probably can't edit that quest, since you may not have worked on it, but I'd recommend just slightly altering the Professor's phrasing of the "you have to use Leviomara to find all the feathers" bit, just to suggest the possibility of parkour - obviously not to state it point blank, as it wouldn't be fun, but I see a lot of people in chat who are confused as to what to do. I think this could be because up until this point, the player has only seen floating books as decoration around the castle, and so they wouldn't register as parkour here.

I’m a major fan of riddles and puzzles, but not everything can be riddle or puzzle-based. That limits quests to the point of no longer being fun and in my opinion there needs to be a balance of gameplay that requires some of these other elements that take a touch of practice or skill. Having a time or gold bypass ruins the feeling of satisfaction when you get through a quest objective or in some cases causes you to miss a bit of the story. To be cheesy for a moment, I really think quests should be more about the journey than the destination. Waiting for a timer to run out before getting the reward ruins it in my opinion.

I completely agree! I know that skipping a parkour quest would leave me feeling unsatisfied, and I am a firm believer in games being about the actual gameplay over the final cutscene. But even though I really enjoyed it overall, I sunk hours into that Divination quest, and it was gruelling - I know you said there's nothing you can do RE bad equipment, and it's not fair on other players for me to complain just about Being Bad At Parkour, but it does seem unfair that someone should be punished for something they can't help, like a bad PC or even a disability that affects someone's reflexes, reaction time and/or coordination.

I don't think a time bypass would be right, as there's less incentive to complete the quest if you don't have to work for the bypass, and again - I wouldn't want someone to just skip through every vaguely skippable quest. On the other hand, a gold bypass could be too steep, as it's very difficult for new players to acquire gold at the moment - but maybe there could be a mats bypass, with the mats being related to the quest? Maybe an AC bypass, since those can be acquired with classes? Or there could just be the option to file a staff request and skip if necessary, but that wouldn't be broadcast within the level itself - instead in the rules, on the website somewhere, or in the quest book perhaps... but having to ask staff should ensure people only skip when they're really struggling. However, this is probably the least viable option, as it would be an entirely new burden on staff.

In my opinion, the ideal scenario would be a time bypass that then took you to a separate, non-parkour quest as an alternative - probably something like an escape room scenario, so it could still hold an aesthetic resemblance to the parkour level. You would still have to work, but if parkour just isn't an option for you, then you would be able to avoid it. However, again - this would be a real burden on staff.... having to go through and create alternate areas for every single parkour quest would be a very steep ask.

I'm sorry to ramble on about all this - I definitely agree with all your points, and you made them very articulately - I wouldn't want players to have the ability to just fly through their quest book without actually engaging with it. But at the same time, I wouldn't want players to find themselves unable to actually progress through - and thereby, engage with - the quest book either, which is why I support the idea of a skip option in concept.

Sorry for the long response - I hope you're doing well, and having a great day! Thank you for taking the time to post your opinions on this subject.

 

[luckiestblock]

As someone that works on quests a lot, I’d like to share my perspective on this. I by no means speak for the team as a whole, these are just my personal opinions. I am absolutely god awful at parkour and whenever a parkour is necessary for an event etc, I just straight up don’t attempt it. However, I have written parkour into my quests on the server. The reason for this is it’s gameplay, which can be difficult to come up with, and it’s enjoyable for a lot of people on the server. Though regardless of whether parkour is a type of gameplay you do or don’t like, I don’t want my quests to be entirely impossible for certain players to complete. I prefer for difficulty to be based around whether with practice it can be completed. I’m unsure if you’ve played through the first year A Future Unforetold quest yet, but it’s one I worked on and involves a magical parkour course. I, someone who is not good at parkour, can complete it easily. The jumps really aren’t difficult and the point of it is to see the beautiful themed build and glimpses of things to come in future quests, not to be extremely mechanically challenging. Is there a specific quest with parkour that is simply way too difficult for some to complete? If it’s one of my quests, I’ll push to make it easier because I understand the pain and frustration of being unable to parkour / I want everyone to have fun playing through it. However if this issue is as the initial post mentions due to computer lag, there’s honestly not much we can do. Having a bad computer affects so much, such as sequences, mob / boss fighting, flying, there’s even an elytra course in one of my quests... I’m a major fan of riddles and puzzles, but not everything can be riddle or puzzle-based. That limits quests to the point of no longer being fun and in my opinion there needs to be a balance of gameplay that requires some of these other elements that take a touch of practice or skill. Having a time or gold bypass ruins the feeling of satisfaction when you get through a quest objective or in some cases causes you to miss a bit of the story. To be cheesy for a moment, I really think quests should be more about the journey than the destination. Waiting for a timer to run out before getting the reward ruins it in my opinion. If there’s a genuine balance issue with a specific quest, I’ll take a look at it if it’s one of mine. But we can’t eliminate the element of challenge.

I just wanted to say that your incites as a member of GD are interesting and made me focus on my real issue with parkour in quests. That is the Greenshore Excursion parkour section. Personally I agree that the Divinationn's parkour is pretty easy (I am either at or below average and I got through it within a few tries). I just wish that an entire island was not locked behind the most difficult parkour section quests have to offer. So I guess what I would suggest is some form of alternative to get to Greenshore (that is needed anyway because to my knowledge the only way to get there is floo) that would not require the quest so everyone can access it.

 

[Aurora]

Hello everyone!
Thank you for bringing up your feedback and suggestions, as this is something we really appreciate.
I will now bring up your ideas and feedback to the rest of the Poltergeist so that we can discuss it.
Have a magical day!

 

[Keira :D]

I kinda agree with this. I also am very bad at parkour and for the third quest, you have to do a long parkour, I keep missing a jump so close to the end of that level, and keep having to go all the way back to the start of that level, but quests are optional, so you don't have to do it.

 

[dorothycheung]

I disgree. A Future Unforetold quest is difficult. The time is very limited for the leviosa blocks. I tried a few times, and I have already improved my parkour quite a bit since my first start to Minecraft, so I progress to as far as the lumen asestus. I am particularly stuck at the block right after the lumen asestus. Stuck for 45 min for that block and my hands are cramping and sweating. The thing is, I have to do it all in one go, which means I can't do lessons, minigames etc since I will lose my progress. Therefore, I will never going to do that quest all over again. I cant even imagine if I am new to Minecraft and face this.

 

[Hermione_Granger]

I strongly agree that there should be an "opt out" option for parkour on the server. I also agree that it should only be available after a certain amount of time (e.g. 10-20 mins), so that players still TRY doing the parkour first. However, I disagree with the opinion that "you just have to keep trying and eventually you'll get it". For example, I'm currently stuck on the divination parkour and towards the beginning of the parkour, I was having a lot of fun. Sure, it took a few tries, but I eventually got there. However, there is a specific portion of the parkour that is very spell heavy. For instance, I'm constantly using lumen for light (so that I can actually see the parkour), then using levimora for the blocks, then using lumen austus to blow up dirt, and finally using levimora a few more times for two other blocks, all of which is happening in the same 5-10 seconds. And, believe me when I say that my computer cannot handle that much in so little time. I keep trying and every time I get somewhat far, my computer panics, there's lag, and then I'm falling down again. I mean, at one point my computer froze for a full minute with all of this spell casting happening all at once. Now, don't get me wrong, it's a cool course, just like several parkour courses are really cool and really well thought out on the server. So, I'm not criticizing the creator(s) of the course or the course itself, but rather the functionality of the course for all players. Not everyone's computers can run that much spell casting in that little of time. And quite honestly, I'm very fortunate that my computer doesn't lag with basic parkour, as I know that is very common too. So, I would argue that it's not always the "skill set" of the player when it comes to parkour or how "experienced" they are, but rather if their computer can even handle it. We can't all own perfect, non-lag computers, unfortunately. So, I would say that an "opt out" option would be perfect for people who's computers have a hard time handling some courses, as well as helping out those who may not be experiencing lag, but are just overall frustrated with the parkour. Because, quite honestly, it's really disappointing that you could be stuck on a certain parkour course for days, weeks, maybe even months, and when you ask for help, you're told, "just keep trying" or "just Google how to stop lag". Personally, I love the parkour, but the moment that it is too much for a computer to handle or is too frustrating for those who simply don't like parkour, it just sucks all of the fun out of it. And, if you can't move past a certain part of parkour, you can't leave and do something else (as you would lose your progress) and you can't move onto the next task until you have finished. So, if you can't do the course because of a lack of skills or a lack of a strong computer, as well as not being able to leave for fear of losing all that precious progress, you begin to question what the point is and feel less inclined to get back on the server because you are quite literally stuck. And I understand that there are a lot of people who will probably disagree because they are good at parkour and maybe I, as well as others, just aren't "trying hard enough", but I firmly believe that adding an "opt out" option for parkour would create an experience that all players can enjoy, rather than an experience that only those who have a strong computer and/or have a strong skill set for parkour can enjoy. To me, at least, it just seems unfair to have all of these unrealistic expectations (no lag, strong computer, good skill set for parkour) to complete activities. Just because someone isn't good at parkour, doesn't like parkour, and/or doesn't have a strong enough computer for parkour, they can't complete tasks, quests, or other fun missions on the server too? So, overall, I feel that an "opt out" option would be far more successful than mandatory parkour. And I'm sorry for the essay, but I really love PotterworldMC and I really hate to feel like I can't enjoy the server if I'm not good at parkour, don't like parkour, and/or don't have a good enough computer for parkour. Please, staff, I, like many others, would greatly appreciate an "opt out" option for parkour. And thank you to those of you who read this! I sincerely hope you all have a great day!

 

[Hermione_Granger]

Not to mention that when someone else is doing the parkour at the same time as you, the lag is doubled and your hopes for ever completing the course lag-free is thrown out the window. So, if you're already struggling and then someone shows up and amplifies the overall lag with the lag of their spells added to the lag of yours, an "opt-out" option would be absolutely wonderful.

 

[Pillerhikaru]

I'd love an opt-out option after a certain amount of time. "main-quests" such as the year quest should naturally have that option and any quests that restrict access to certain areas unless complete. The issue is that some people will never be more than passible at parkour no matter how much they practice and if you don't enjoy those types of challenges, to begin with, it becomes redundant. I love the server, I love exploring and completing quests, I don't love the parkour and I'm stuck in the middle of the divinations quest. Do some people power through the pain for victory? Absolutely and they're amazing for it, but that's not me. I try for a limited amount of time but once I'm no longer having fun in a game I play to have fun I quit because I have enough to stress about elsewhere. And that's what parkour is for some people, stress, the type that even when it's over and you complete it you don't get happy or excited you just hope it's done.