Quests and long-term Entertainment:
The game quests aren't made for long-term entertainment. The stories behind them are most often not very interesting and they simply involve running to 2-4 different NPCs, greet them, and then return. Or the same but with killing 20 mobs in between. As a reward you get a few exp once and perhaps rarely a minor item. Then you can repeat the quest as often as you want with fewer exp.
This is not the stuff of fantasy. The game is in dire need of some really interesting long-term quests, requiring days or weeks of gameplay, finding NPCs and locations hidden in far corners of the world (without getting a note with the coords) and solving some story-related riddles. Such quests should encourage players to work together and to scout the world.
World Building:
The world of Istaria currently is not really exciting. Apart from finding the resources for crafting there is no reason to further scout the world, although there are many locations inspiring curiosity, as I can attest from my days roaming the continent far and wide. But such curiosity is short-lived, for all that locations are simple empty spaces of nothing. Looking awe-inspiring but with no NPCs, no treasure, no dangerous creatures, nothing. The aspect of unknown and hidden locationsand secret treasures is a very crucial point with any fantasy world in a MMORPG and should be addressed properly.
World Events:
The idea of events deciding the destiny of the world of Istaria as a whole or to free some new races for play was perhaps one of THE major reasons I had to give Horizons a try in the first place. All players - adventurers and crafters - were required to work together for the benefit of their world. That is something that gives the world of Istaria some greater depth and once again sets Horizons apart from most other games. It has been neglected the past few months, perhaps due to more pressing matters. I nonetheless strongly recommend to continue this major part of gaming experience since it makes up much of the atmosphere of the game and is one of the very own trademarks of Horizons that is dearly missed.
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Narkano