NPC & Environmental interaction

I like the idea of coming across npcs in the wild. I always felt the barbs in act 5 and what's her face in act 1 (end of first area) made the game feel more alive.

Quests that require intelligence to complete would also be good, but the problem with them would be that after a week guides would pop-up online. They'd need to change every week or so, which could be good.

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trappist wrote:

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Boryoku wrote:

I'm surprised, these ideas are actually pretty solid. It might be worth it for GGG to take a look at implementing some of these once they have the time/resources.

Thanks, once you start thinking about mobs and NPCs interms of being friendly; neutral or hostile it opens up loads of options for variety within the gameplay:

Escort/rescue missions.
Defending ensieged enclaves.
Robbing or rescuing fleeing merchant wagons.
Arbitraiting peace between 2 waring factions (or deciding to fight for one side).
Joining in NPC counter attacks against the mobs.

etc etc!

Also I just read the Beta charter, I'm happy to say that answered all my concerns about the storyline!

I was going to start a new topic about NPCs in the wild, but thought I'd better check first, and lo and behold, here it is.

Anyway, I wholeheartedly agree with all of these suggestions. When I've been watching the gameplay videos, I've been asking myself 'Where are the NPCs in this area?' For me, stumbling across NPCs in an area helps to build immersion in the game world, and it adds more opportunity for region-specific side quests. Being able to help someone in trouble and complete a few side quests also helps to give more meaning to each area.

It can also lend an air of intrigue and mystery to a region, if you stumble across someone who asks you to investigate something. Anything from stumbling across a broken wagon with a dying merchant who tasks you with rescuing his daughter, to uncovering dire sub-plots of the main quest in order to piece together the overarching storyline.

As I've recently been replaying Sacred, that game (and it's sequel) had some nicely thought out side quests, including escort missions, murders, political intrigue, NPCs who task you with something then betray you, etc., amidst the dross of fetch-and-carry quests.

I know PoE is still in Beta, and much of the storyline is still not in place yet, and the devs probably have such things planned already, but I think it's worth emphasising how important these kinds of encounters are to building atmosphere, and adding that 'human' element that makes the monster-slaying more worthwhile.

There could be rare 'hidden' map areas with spectacle sights, and some NPCs that will reward you for telling about them.

I mean a shipwreck on the shore in a distance, or a settings sun glimpsing over the pool of water in a forest.
Or some special tapestries hanging in a forgotten tower or something like that.

It would give more meaning for exploration and make the world feel more alive.