World Wynn Should Reuse Quest Characters More

Hi,

so I feel that in most cases Wynn fails to establish a connection between the player and the NPCs that you spend time with.
I know this is a block game and there are only so many "feels" you can make someone feel in Minecraft compared to other games especially with no voice acting. But Realm of Light questline proved that it is possible because the epilogue of Realm of Light Part V legit gave me goosebumps like twice.

Gavel rework definitely went in the right direction with reused characters like Lari, Axelus and Elphaba. You meet Lari in two quests before RoL and then you spend a 5 part questline with her (well maybe except part 3), Lari is a character that is well written (so well written that I actually hated her so much for the first 4 parts lol) but then has a great redemption and I start to like her a lot in Part 5 only for her to disappear (I know opinions on this will vary a lot, but I personally just disliked pacifist Lari a lot, so when she changed it was awesome)

One bad thing I would point out about Lari is the fact, that her starting dialogue in RoL Part 1 doesn't change no matter if you've done Rise of the Quartron and Death Whistle

Axelus you meet in From the Mountains and even has a bigger part in that quest, so when you meet him again in D&D and you already go "Oh, hey I know that guy, now I care more about this stuff."

Then Elphaba you meet in Reclaiming the House finally connecting some characters from AJB to quests earlier in the game (even tho, in my opinion, Elphaba doesn't really fit in the quest she's in, but I don't mind it that much)

So as I said I definitely think Gavel went in the right direction, however, we lack this kind of stuff in Wynn and Ocean greatly.

Admittedly there is only so much you can do with Ocean, but Wynn is lacking a lot.

How am I supposed to feel for Aledar in AJB and AJF when I only met him in the tutorial? Sure I might get a small nostalgic feeling since I will remember him from the very beginning but what about the story in between? what about the journey both me and him had to go through to get to that point. What adventures did he go on?

I feel like Aledar should have an entire questline with him in like early midgame or spread out his quests. Get one at lvl 10, 25, 40, 65, 70 you know, so that you feel the progression with him.

Tasim is completely wasted only appearing in the alternate timeline in AHC, but other than that, you don't meet him at all. He should also definitely have at least one quest in Wynn.

Lucio (not Lucas lol) from AJB also wouldn't suffer from having his own quest.

I'm not saying that you need to have a past with every endgame NPC in the game, but AJB and AJF are quests that are one of the best in the game (imo) and since Lucio, Elphaba and Aledar die in this quest, it would have a much bigger impact if we knew these characters for a longer period of time.

There are probably a lot more instances where characters could be reused in different quests to create more of a story, but these and in my opinion the most notable ones. So do you agree with me that Wynn should do this more?

 

yea i want doan more

 

characters you see multiple times are often the best ones and allows for more development

 

I like this idea alot
Will make a separate suggestion with ideas since I don't want to make a comment paragraphs long.

 

When are we getting another quest with the captain from Fantastic Voyage?

 

You know the character is underused when his actual name is lucio iirc

 

you're joking right

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I think Tasim is probably planned to be in the Fruma intro quest

 

Yeah but this doesn't tie in with the end of AJF, he wouldnt have recruited someone he already knew for well for their plan.

Tasim should come up again though

 

Id really like it if Aledar was like the pokemon rival, bumping into you here and there through the Adventure

 

Now I cant stop thinking of Aledar saying “smell ya later!”

 

y e s. this would be a great addition, and would add so much more depth to the game! i do feel like tasim is being saved for later intentionally, but seeing more of aledar, lucio, elphaba, and maybe some other characters would be great! randomly running into the corkus council members around the map was a nice touch too, hope things like that are added more too

 

Joking about the fact that I want a quest with him or about the fact that I messed up his name? haha

 

it could be made so that that one of them was willing to sacrifice themselves and they didn't tell you in case the idea of sacrificing one of them scared you away

 

OwO, YES! DEFINITELY! ABSOULTELY! 100% approve, no question about this.

Pre.1.20, I had a talk between guildmates about how Wynncraft has the grounds for a very deep, grim and interesting story to make it a cult classic. It does have that in the Lore, but for some reason, it wasn't as memorable or impactful as other dark stories as other cult classics with a sizable fan base, (for examples, Super Paper Mario from the Wii, Ib, and Omori from RPG Maker, Doki Doki Literature Club on PC, Guardian Tales on Mobile, Kirby Series surprisingly, Bioshock debatable) and we can to the conclusion that it's the feeling of disconnectedness from the story of the quests. This is due to Wynn being a very free form open world MMORPG, but also cause most of the lore can be locked behind grindy tasks you could skip over (not quest with quests, but also secret discoveries giving huge important lore information). We all agreed that Silent Expanse however was Wynn story telling at it's finest, since it used it's whole environment where you and the characters interact with a lot more, than the disconnected feeling of the world and generic NPC, which is awesome for story building and caring about characters, precisely cause it's a linear narrative rather than an ambitious one where you can see or even skip by it, and go "oh, neat", then go along your day since you don't feel any investment towards it other than, Generic Villager is complaining the Corrowoption infested his pig, go fight. Sure, we see the implications of Corruption and the impact on it's people, but we don't have any investment to the world around us to feel attached towards them or to care. When 1.17 Corkus Update came out, I loved Maxie's character, since he had a certain charm to him that made him distinct from the other NPCs, he's shown to have personality, interact with other people, appear more than once, and have so much life into him while showing up worldbuilding, which made me invested in his quests. That, and in general, since Questlines are supposed to have an overarching linear plot, I really apricated it with a distinct NPC that felt alive.

Now comes 1.20, and this pleases me. Lari is the best character in Wynn, and major props for Imaxe and Grian for developing her and her narrative. Some (maybe even many) people disliked her, but I've played a pacifist player for D&D before, and I feel in love with her story and her character growth and the huge worldbuilding Realm of Light offered. While I do admit, I felt like she had a bit too much of a presence outside of the Realm of Light quests like the Secret Discoveries and having alternative dialogue after meeting her would be really cool, I'm still glad she got the spotlight she deserves. Also, the linear nature of the long questline of RoL felt really impactful and memorable, something Wynncraft really needed since it felt like you indeed where changing the world around you and show how both the characters of this world impact the world, and how you do, which makes you really invested into it. The Feathers Fly is also a good questline. We see a new character, her confliction with the world around her, how people interact with her struggle, making feel all the more real and impactful, a lot of fun, free form sequences, and how she changed with you helping along the way.

Now, as for the another questlines or recurring characters... hmm. I felt like Axelus from From the Mountains is a really good addition. It establishes the character and what he's like far before starting Dwarfs and Doguns which makes the impact far more meaningful in the later storyline, and most importantly, it gave him character and reason to care about him beyond just the fact that he has a special NPC skin. However, I haven't finished Dwarfs and Doguns and stopped around when I finished Part 2. Why? Bugs. I played D&D Part 2 about two weeks after it came out, and I had to /kill 4 times before I can continue the quest and it finally worked, but I also had another glitch happened and got sent a Stage backwards to the bugged segment where I /killed 4 times (it was the door with the guards Stage if you were curious), then I had to do a puzzle I was very confused about, and after I finished the quest, I went, nope, I think I'm good and when off the info from the wiki. Yeaaaaa, while my experience with RoL on release was surprising bug free, bugs like this can suck the joy out of it and create big bias towards stuff like this. Wynn Team really needs to iron out bugs before releasing BIG storylines, since if there are bugs, then I feel all the less invested to keep playing or go back to the storyline once it's ironed out. Then we have Elphaba, which was, fine I guess? Look, it showed her character, and you got some wacky business with her, but like, it feels like such an empty quest? Unlike with Axelus, I felt like he made much more of an impact since they spent more time on how his personality affects his actions like how he says to contain the Fleris showing his mindfulness, what his opinions of the matter are, and how the reflects later with his mindfulness and opinion in D&D storyline. But for Elphaba, you could slap any other NPC there and you would have no difference since her personality didn't get to shine that much, the quest was just a bunch of tasks like other quests, and no foreknowledge of doing Reclaiming the House changes you opinion on her in AJB. In fact, I felt like General Graken had more personality and impact than Elphaba just cause of his brief appearance and dialect that really grips you in, and he was only in one quest for a small moment!

Tho, with Aledar, oddly enough, I'm okay with them not appearing in other quests before AJB, simply due to him being a major symbol. You have to journey far and wide to reach Level 100 to join his party, which implies that he is really powerful (which we even see in AHC). He was with you at the start just like you, and you don't know what he's also done for his journey. He reflects the player in that he also went on a journey like you, and is just as powerful as you are while not telling or showing it. Then, to see him get decimated in this unknown lands that you've also never seen reflects how even a person like you can be obliterated from the Silent Expanse, and nearing the end of your journey is by slaying the person who's been with you at the beginning that could have been like you, an end to your beginning. The ambiguity adds onto how heroes crumble in SE, and Aledar is a subtle symbol of a reflection that this could also be you. Honestly, I can be either, or for Aledar having a questline to further his character, but when you look deep into it, what we got with him and SE is actually pretty good already.

Also, one NPC that barely no one talks about but has been considered a major NPC for years for a long questline that really needs more attention is Amadel. For me, I felt like he was the first of the Major bosses you fight in Wynncraft and is supposed to be a big epic battle over an overarching story of quests, but as years gone one, he is very out shadowed and is quite shallow. I feel like the WynnExcavation questline needs to be reworked not only cause it's outdated, but also Amadel can be a very impactful NPC. Have him be introduced early on, and go more into his ideals, why he came to be, what made him seek power or how did he get this knowledge of the Crystals? Sure, the lore dump at WynnExcacation D is good and you see WynnExcaction outside of just the questline, but Amadel and this questline has such potential and is the first big questline most players come across and it just comes off as forgettable now, so make an interesting bad guy NPC that you'd come to learn and respect that's reoccurring and how his impact of WynnExcaction came to be and not paint such a black and white view of "Defeat bad guys cause they just want to take over Za Waurdo". Also, I agree, with Tasim and Lucio, they really need a quest to give us more investment into these characters, but Samsam101 said, Tasim will probs be in Fruma questline.

Lastly, something I really wanted to see (and is technically my own suggestion), is a Sky Pirate storyline. Think about it, you've already seen they're presence in other quests (Acquiring Credentials, and Flight in Distress), and established what they're like. Then you become they're queen later on in Royal Trials, then... nothing. Nothing happens after you become Queen of the Sky Pirates, so something I've always wanted to see if a NPC from the perspective of an unlawful side of Wynncraft that admires you and truly see you as a hero but also see you as a big sister to seek support from. You are already established to how the Sky Pirates operate, now you get to see their perspective on life, you get to bond with said NPC to feel all the more human to their side of things, and you see why they have to fight with their lives on the line. You could even add a sad note in showing how Sky Pirates steal out of necessity, and in one final heist or adventure to a distant land, every goes down south and you lose the character you've come to bond close too, showing the reality of how these people have to steal to survive and how grim and the weight of the world is from losing someone you've spent time with. Thus, combining the notes of what made two other storylines great. The Hunger of Gerts with seeing another side of a group of people. D&D and how the character you've came to know died and what led to their demise and what society needs to do to change. All tied together with a theme of adventure and grimness that Wynncraft is all about.

So, yep, I support moar reoccurring characters to better build the worldbuilding and investment to the world around me in Wynncraft to create many memorable experience that I would be willing to tell others just for the story alone that could make this a cult classic.
(Also, jeevees, I have got to stop writing essay length responses to forums posts like this and actually motivate myself to write like this for schoolwork :/)

Edit: Forgot to add this in, but Siegfried/Gurix is also a good example of a good character, despite only being in one quest and not adding a lot to additional worldbuilding (except for the original worldbuilding with his "Legend" told among people of Gavel being flipped around actually being false). The focus was just between you and him and him just talking to you. It felt natural, friendly, and made me invested about this character. I would love to see him again, though due to the creative nature of this quest going two ways, it's likely not to be the case. Such a sacrifice for such a cool quest divergence to feel like your actions matter, I would love to see Gurix pop up again since he definitely left an impact and the set up to his legend was a good payoff as it is so seeing just him as a character be expanded into a friendship would be neato. :3

 

Remember that he pretends to be fighting against wynnexcavation until the end of part 4, but having him in earlier quests could be a good idea, just not ones centred around him.

This was pretty obvious to me from when I entered gavel.

Corruptor of Worlds is sad now, being ignored even though he's far harder than amadel.

 

Oop, I meant Amadel was the first boss that felt like it had a lot more weight into it. You did a huge storyline for this and felt like a climatic boss fight. I wanted to say it felt like one of the game's Final Bosses for a journey, but after 1.19 I can't really say that's the case anymore.

 

Im ok with having more "story lines" like ROL or D&D but I think that what get's Wynn so special and original is having these one time quests where you just help someone and it makes you feel that you are like an adventurer constently discovering new things and meeting new characters

 

I agree that more reocurring characters would be great, though it must be done properly, not just putting into ten random quests (reference to certain suggestion on the same topic).