Introduction:
After playing the game passionately for over seven years, I have a lot of suggestions for Mabinogi, and I do not really know the extent to which Nexon NA can modify the game outside of adapting the Korean Content. I have read the guidelines and I know I can only post one suggestion per thread, so let me start with this suggestion first as I think it it the most important:
What I'd like to see fixed:
Sorry if this post gets really long winded, I just want to explain everything as thoroughly as possible. I would like to see chest rewards (both end chests and even dead ends) for dungeons, theater missions, and secret missions be modified to make the time invested in these challenges feel rewarding and valuable.
I love the dungeon rework, it introduced Phantasm (which despite some gripes I have, is a good challenge that has it's own unique awards, though the gold given for completing does need some fixing), it limits the amount of people who can enter a dungeon allowing for a more controlled experience (rather then an entire guild finishing high end dungeons like nothing), allows the player to buy basic dungeon passes, gives the player a chance to relog after disconnecting from a dungeon, and it did beef up the creatures a minor amount. I just think in order for people play this content more actively, the dungeons should have a greater average reward.
The Problem:
Dungeons in their current state, require the player not only to spend more gold then they gain, if they're using strong equipment. A player could choose to use disposable equipment like I do, but still gain very little from doing most non hard mode dungeons. The hard mode dungeons drop some really nice rewards, but in my opinion the drop table is too large, it would be nice if it were smaller and more localized depending one which dungeon you were doing. It would also be nice if you could potentially make your money back on the cost that making a mangled pass into a hard mode pass, without also having to sell the items you got to other players to do so. Unlike Shadow Missions, you cannot save as much durability by splitting up the work, you cannot make decent profits by using a cash shop item to boost the amount of gold given at the end, and you cannot get any items that come even remotely close to competing with the cash shop items.
Dungeons may be bad, but Theater Missions are almost completely forgotten about. Not only is it even harder to get the mission you want from the RNG that comes with shearing sheep, but the passes do not even have a chance of recycling themselves from the missions themselves (unlike finding a better pass or the same pass in a dungeon). Hardly any of the drops are useful, at least in comparison to most of the other content in the game. They also do not scale to current players at all, these missions could use a lot of work.
Secret Missions are unique, they do drop some really cool rewards sometimes. However these missions, like Theater Missions are hard to obtain, do not drop nearly the same amount of gold as a dungeon, which in my opinion is really sad. They have cool mechanics and could be expanded upon to make the game feel rewarding, but as of right now these challenges just don't feel like they are worth the time invested in getting the passes, doing the challenge, and losing the durability/crystals/ammo. And before someone comments, no, picking up all the gold that drops from mobs either by hand or with doll bags, will not net you nearly the same amount you'll get from buying gatcha or doing shadow missions, or even commercing (which also could use some help).
My Proposed Solutions:
I know I've been really negative towards the game, but I really love it and want it to succeed, and I do not see that happening without saying something or seeing something about these problems change. So here are a few of my suggestions for making this type of content more rewarding, and not just for end game players, but for everyone.
1) I would like to see the gold given for these challenges change, I think that if the money you got at the end chest at least covered the amount of money it takes to run the challenges, if not made a reasonable profit, these activities would be worth investing time in. Giving players the ability to make some decent money, and participate in the in game economy would be beneficial in my opinion. You could even balance the amount of money players earn depending on how far they've progressing in the game, by giving different difficulties, a variety different gold amounts. For example you could make Theater Missions give money that would appeal the mid-game players, make Secret Missions appeal more to end-game players, and give dungeons a balanced mix of mid and end game rewards.
2) The drop tables could really use some work, I would like to see Hard Mode Alby, Rabbie, and Ciar have smaller drop tables, but the same content. If Alby gave the Ruptured Black Metals and the materials for the celtic weapons that needed them, Rabbie gave Shattered Black Metals and the corresponding celtic weapon materials, and Ciar gave the giant materials only, the drop table wouldn't feel as daunting, and you would still have to go through the same challenges to get the awards. The Giant update just added a lot to the list and now it feels almost impossible to get specific materials from these hard mode dungeons, and these hard mode dungeons should reward you for the hours and hundreds of thousands of gold it takes to do them. Again, I don't mean to say this is the only solution, but something similar could really help in my opinion.
3) Please add old gatchapon life skill manuals to the drop tables of various dungeons, theater missions, and secret missions. Grinding life skills is incredibly hard without real money or an event, and this would give players a variety of options for ranking the skills. I am not saying add all the manuals (though that would be awesome), I'd settle for any. Even if this is not a reality, then could either get some updated vintage stuff, or even some a currency that allows players to buy things on par with gatcha and reforges? (I recognize that Echo Stones are a good step in this direction, but I would like a bit more).
4) Another potential solution I have thought of is a points system, maybe something similar to how some of the new gatcha work (like the spring garden box) or even like the rafting stars, where you can earn points by doing a dungeon so that if you get really unlucky with the drops, you can eventually use the points to purchase some of a few of the drops (even if it is an absurd number of points), just some guaranteed way players can get the materials they are looking for in a dungeon.
5) Last thing I swear, maybe expanding on daily dungeons, and adding daily secret/theater missions, that would be as rewarding or more rewarding the shadow mission dailies.
Comments
I very much agree with point #2, to make drop tables smaller and more dependent on which dungeon you're in.
I don't have an opinion on Point #3 about adding old patterns to dungeon rewards.
I disagree with Point #4 about adding some sort of point system to buy rare dungeon mats with brute force grind. I feel adding yet another point system to keep track of complicates mabi.
I can't comment on Point #5 about a daily theater mission because I can't even enter Avon.