It seems that most developers struggle when it comes to end game content for players. I was playing Red Faction Guerilla and it hit me that end game in MMO's needs to have this sort of action. When you hit max level I think the player at this time should be a part of the world. Lets say at max level you now belong to a faction lets say you have chosen the path of the Brotherhood of Steel. Now in the end game it is your duty to go out on Patrols, handle uprisings, and come to the aid of local towns. These quests are not dailies but they are constant. Your rewards would be helping the Brotherhood gain supplies, recruits, and influence in the area. Now if there multiple factions that end game players could belong to like....bandits, NCR, certain towns, and The Enclave. These factions are always warring for the resources the player could use these quests to help their faction rise to the top of the Realm or Server. Maybe as a bandit it is your duty to raid towns and brotherhood outposts. This would help press world PVP and promote good end game fun. Kind of akin to FFXI and there 3 faction system, how the nations are always warring for Zones and resources.

Just an Idea.

I really like the idea of endgame faction conflict, but this should not be the only option for high level gaming. Building advanced prototypes, mining and hauling big chunks of uranium, clearing out super-mutant bases and generally non-PvP goals should be also available.

If there's a lesson to be learnt from the plethora of MMOs that have been churned out since WoW, it's this: All the fantastic end-game content in the world doesn't mean diddly squat if your levelling experience blows. At the end of the day, it's better to lose the 5% of your population that powers straight to max level and then gets bored than it is to lose 40% to a boring-as-hell levelling process.

Make it interesting, make it dynamic, make it varied. Grind quests have their place but so do events, instanced dungeons / encounters, exploration, crafting, PvP, etc. Mix things up a bit and never saturate a particular zone or area with too much of the same thing. The biggest thing though really is just to slow it down. Too many MMOs make levelling too fast, which just results in a bunch of bored max level players and a bunch of skipped low level content. Players should be encouraged to run dungeons multiple times while levelling, to spend a bit of time PvPing, maybe farm some mats for crafting.

At the end of the day, most MMOs aren't going to ship with a fully developed endgame. It's just not really feasible. If players enjoy the levelling process though, then they engage with the game, and when they hit max level they're more likely to roll an alt if they're bored, or come back if Patch 1.1 injects a good chunk of content, as opposed to just quitting altogether.

For my part I think that an MMO's endgame is critical, but that it still needs to be built on a very solid foundation of an enjoyable levelling process. Maybe you'll sit and sigh, wishing that I were near
Then maybe you'll ask me to come back again
And maybe I'll say "Maybe"

I agree on everything with Mex!

@Mex

*rubs chin* Well said, laddy.

I 100% agree with mex on this.

It's true. And I want to add something.
Static end-game content leads to a dead-end. Early or later, it will be done and the boredom will come. The developers are forced to make new content faster then they can, because their time is running out.
But a player-dependent, flexible game world is an almost infinite source of fun. LA2 (almost without PvE end-game content) shows that players can endlessly entertain themselves if they have such an opportunity. Politics, economics and territory conquest - there are three whales that can maintain the game world for many years. Excuse my bad English... I am a Russian bear, it's hard to type with claws.

Endgame is ESSENTIAL for an MMO.

Not really because so many ppl will play it, though ideally most ppl that stick the game out will
But because it gives the players something to look forward to, and aspire to, and thats a BIG part of MMOs.

That being said a leveling proccess that is tedious and dull will kill any MMO today.
The idea that the game doesnt REALLY start till u reach ur last lvl, like in wow, will not make a viable MMO today.

It didnt USED to be that way, we used to accept tedious grind as a part of the proccess, but players evolve with the game, this is not 10 years ago, this is not 5 years ago, we demand better.

The solution as I see it is to not try to create a Game, and adapt it to MMO, but create an MMO and adapt that to a game.


-Exo

Like the OPs idea.

For it to work, it can't revolve solely around PvP. PvE has to play an equal role.

End game for many players is created either though PvP or progressive PvE content.

Really depends what gamesas wants to give us.