Sun's Refuge as "Expansion like content"

[Astraea.6075]

I think one issue with future expansion of Sun's Refuge is whether it can be done without creating a dependence that someone playing a future episode must have played ep4 first. It's probably not impossible if Sun's Refuge related content is optional in future episodes, but it may be why ANet are reluctant to make substantial changes in future.

[Hannelore.8153]

Its useless, tens of thousands of gold worth of home instance nodes, cats, etc. do not transfer to it. The whole point to have something like this would to be to keep all of those things and have them placeable, like the guild hall..instead we have some weird trophy show.

 

This isn't even content, let alone "expansion-like" content.

[Glider.5792]

It will most likely be at least still used in next episode. There is a path in there(currently locked) which leads west, most likely into the future map.

[Dami.5046]

I never thought for a second SS would be a 'home away from home'. I certainly don't think that was the idea, contrary to the wiki page proclaiming it was something the devs had hoped for the actual Home instance. It was for quests and collections nothing else was said about it.

So i have no idea why people were expecting nodes and the like in it.

However I do wonder how much we missed due to time restrains, maybe something to think about when you complain the next season is late.

[Manasa Devi.7958]

> @"Glider.5792" said:

> It will most likely be at least still used in next episode. There is a path in there(currently locked) which leads west, most likely into the future map.

There's also the empty Old Command Post section. Lots of room for more features.

[Evil.1580]

We have 1 more world boss, sun's refuge with several collections and nice armor collection, which may continue to evolve in the next episodes - III and IV probably.

Who knows, at the end we may be able to get legendary armor.

The map layout is interesting also and love the open ending.

I like this episode very much.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

> @"Dami.5046" said:

> I never thought for a second SS would be a 'home away from home'. I certainly don't think that was the idea, contrary to the wiki page proclaiming it was something the devs had hoped for the actual Home instance. It was for quests and collections nothing else was said about it.

> So i have no idea why people were expecting nodes and the like in it.

> However I do wonder how much we missed due to time restrains, maybe something to think about when you complain the next season is late.

 

The Wiki page is literally quoting the Devs stating that it was what they had hoped the Home Instance would be.

 

Quote: _*Linsey Murdock*: When we originally were working on home instances and talking about what we wanted to do with home instances, we talked a lot about it being a content hub. We didn't really get to realize that dream largely because of time, and so when we decided to make this little instance out of Sun's Refuge, that was kind of the direction that I gave to the designer who was working on it: think of it as a place that you come to and you get to learn more about the area, you get a lot of lore, you get a lot of NPC interaction, but think of it as also a jumping off point for content._

[Hannelore.8153]

> @"Dami.5046" said:

> I never thought for a second SS would be a 'home away from home'. I certainly don't think that was the idea, contrary to the wiki page proclaiming it was something the devs had hoped for the actual Home instance. It was for quests and collections nothing else was said about it.

> So i have no idea why people were expecting nodes and the like in it.

> However I do wonder how much we missed due to time restrains, maybe something to think about when you complain the next season is late.

 

A home instance where you could chose where to place everything you earned (nodes, etc.) and add your own decorations, similar to guild halls, are exactly what players have been asking for since the start of the game..in other games its called "player housing".

 

They literally teased players about it being similar and then it turned out to be something completely unrelated.

 

Player housing would be "expansion-like' content. This.. is not.

[Dami.5046]

> @"Inculpatus cedo.9234" said:

> > @"Dami.5046" said:

> > I never thought for a second SS would be a 'home away from home'. I certainly don't think that was the idea, contrary to the wiki page proclaiming it was something the devs had hoped for the actual Home instance. It was for quests and collections nothing else was said about it.

> > So i have no idea why people were expecting nodes and the like in it.

> > However I do wonder how much we missed due to time restrains, maybe something to think about when you complain the next season is late.

>

> The Wiki page is literally quoting the Devs stating that it was what they had hoped the Home Instance would be.

>

> Quote: _*Linsey Murdock*: When we originally were working on home instances and talking about what we wanted to do with home instances, we talked a lot about it being a content hub. We didn't really get to realize that dream largely because of time, and so when we decided to make this little instance out of Sun's Refuge, that was kind of the direction that I gave to the designer who was working on it: think of it as a place that you come to and you get to learn more about the area, you get a lot of lore, you get a lot of NPC interaction, but think of it as also a jumping off point for content._

 

Just because it was an idea for the home instance doesn't still mean it's a 'home' instance. They have made this into a content hub, a place as Linsey states ' a place to come and learn about the area.....but think of it as also a jumping point for content.' nothing about nodes being moved over, nothing to say you will be able to decorate it. They are saying it was what they *hoped* the home instance would of been at the start. This isn't player housing. This has been made different.

I know all about player housing.

I'm just disappointed that it has been said there are no more plans with it, I think it could offer much more.

[Menadena.7482]

> @"DeanBB.4268" said:

> The way I see it, this content doesn't go away in 3-6 months. Maybe for the players that run through everything right now, but that content remains indefinitely for slower or newer players to enjoy. So it was designed to be relevant forever, but not necessarily for everyone always.

>

> Isn't that the nature of MMO content?

 

Look at guild halls. How many guilds changed to the new hall soon after the new expansion came out? The same with this, nobody will want to still be using it when a new one comes out. If a new one never comes out what will be the point of going to something in a LS map currently far away from everything except POF/S4?

[Menadena.7482]

> @"Teratus.2859" said:

> If we could at least access our unlocked nodes in the Refuge at some point, that alone would probably be enough for most of us.

 

Yes, the reason most vets call CT home for some characters are things like the home instances. Now that the action is not there we would not need to be parked up there as much, but nope. I have yet to hear how this is better than (or a replacement for) the CT home instances in any way.

[LucianDK.8615]

Suns refuge is rather uninspired, and its a severe annoyance to be placed at the far north entrance when you teleport there. Makes it severely unlikely that id ever bother finishing it. Doubly so when its just 'temporary' content and not something lasting.

[WhatLiesBeneath.9018]

> @"LucianDK.8615" said:

> Suns refuge is rather uninspired, and its a severe annoyance to be placed at the far north entrance when you teleport there. Makes it severely unlikely that id ever bother finishing it. Doubly so when its just 'temporary' content and not something lasting.

 

”Placed far away” is the ridiculous thing I have evee heard. There’s a WP outside of it, multiple entranced and two different portal items to get you there instantly. LOL.

[LucianDK.8615]

think you misunderstood what I said.

When using a portal item, you get placed at the far entrance inside the suns refuge and have to trundle all the way down there. Should place you right in the middle. Less time wasted.

[TheNecrosanct.4028]

> @"Donari.5237" said:

> > @"Illconceived Was Na.9781" said:

>

> > * As many people have requested, it includes a "return to sender feature," so you can enter the instance for a vendor and return to your previous location.

>

> I am intrigued -- how does it do that? I haven't thought to click the scroll/Plea again while inside the Refuge, does that do that trick?

 

If you click the "Exit instance" button like in any instance (dungeons, Fractals, home instance, story instance) you will return to your previous location. I didn't try clicking the scroll again, since in my experience those scrolls don't work if you're already in the map/instance (at least not with the LS map scrolls).

[Teratus.2859]

> @"LucianDK.8615" said:

> think you misunderstood what I said.

> When using a portal item, you get placed at the far entrance inside the suns refuge and have to trundle all the way down there. Should place you right in the middle. Less time wasted.

 

I know what you mean, although to be fair it really doesn't take long to hop on the beetle, pop the new mastery ability and boost yourself down to the main area.

[Donari.5237]

> @"TheNecrosanct.4028" said:

> > @"Donari.5237" said:

> > > @"Illconceived Was Na.9781" said:

> >

> > > * As many people have requested, it includes a "return to sender feature," so you can enter the instance for a vendor and return to your previous location.

> >

> > I am intrigued -- how does it do that? I haven't thought to click the scroll/Plea again while inside the Refuge, does that do that trick?

>

> If you click the "Exit instance" button like in any instance (dungeons, Fractals, home instance, story instance) you will return to your previous location. I didn't try clicking the scroll again, since in my experience those scrolls don't work if you're already in the map/instance (at least not with the LS map scrolls).

 

Oh thanks! I'll have to get that in muscle memory instead of opening inventory and clicking a transport item there.

[Eloc Freidon.5692]

It feels like they're using words that is normally used for features that effects the rest of the game on whatever this piece of content is. It was overhyped as something it isn't.

[Drecien.4508]

Expansion "like"? Oh how far we've fallen then. If an expansion took one day to totally finish then we've got problems.

[Ganathar.4956]

I am pretty sure that Mike Z was saying that season 5 would have some expansion like content. I have never heard of Sun's refuge being described like that.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

> @"Ganathar.4956" said:

> I am pretty sure that Mike Z was saying that season 5 would have some expansion like content. I have never heard of Sun's refuge being described like that.

 

I hadn't either. It's like when players say ArenaNet hypes something too much, when all they have done is release a couple of statements. The hype comes from players....kind of like Sun's Refuge being 'player housing'. /shrug

[Tekoneiric.6817]

I'm really disappointed by how they did the Sun's Refuge. They could have done so much more. I was hoping for guild hall like features. They could have incorporated the displaced areas of the world (each region) with it and allowed the player to step into various parts of the world from it. The displaced regions could be from some of those small fuzzed out gaps in between maps and locked off map space. The Sealed Cavern from the Silverwastes would have been a good displaced area to link to it.

[Pifil.5193]

> @"LucianDK.8615" said:

> Not terribly impressed with the suns refuge, just loaded with collections and nothing else.

 

I quite enjoy the collections myself but increasingly I feel that they're being used as a way of implementing account-wide but otherwise standard MMO style quests, the starting NPCs even have icons over their heads to signify that they're quest givers, so just bite the bullet and add a way to better and and track quests to the game.

[LucianDK.8615]

Well given the massive number of npcs in there, people wouldnt ever find them if they werent marked out.

 

I got around to finish all the collections there. For what? Seemed truly pointless, little to no changes in there.

[Kitty La Boom Boom.4065]

> @"Donari.5237" said:

> > @"TheNecrosanct.4028" said:

> > > @"Donari.5237" said:

> > > > @"Illconceived Was Na.9781" said:

> > >

> > > > * As many people have requested, it includes a "return to sender feature," so you can enter the instance for a vendor and return to your previous location.

> > >

> > > I am intrigued -- how does it do that? I haven't thought to click the scroll/Plea again while inside the Refuge, does that do that trick?

> >

> > If you click the "Exit instance" button like in any instance (dungeons, Fractals, home instance, story instance) you will return to your previous location. I didn't try clicking the scroll again, since in my experience those scrolls don't work if you're already in the map/instance (at least not with the LS map scrolls).

>

> Oh thanks! I'll have to get that in muscle memory instead of opening inventory and clicking a transport item there.

 

It's especially handy for instant access to a repair station/merchant and then zapping right back into the action.