Best ways to make capitals useful???

[Beloren]

What would be a meaningful way to give capitals enough use to they would be developed, updated, or even expanded on a regular basis?

I've been waiting for a Silvermoon update since TBC started - and we constantly topics about homeless races getting new capitals.. the big problem is, aside from a difficult piece of art to do (so much easier to do deserts and mountains, even forests than cities - which works against cities), they have no other use. The functions of a city can be carried out by a bunch of npcs standing round a camp fire.

Yet they are really important to fans, constantly asked for.. what would be a great way to make them useful?.


1. I think cities should be a unique type of quest zone that is integral to a race's story - but for that to happen, races have to be a thing again and blizzard willing to tell their story - then do you do all cities at once, or do you jump form race to race like they did for heritage armor?

2. Turn cities into dungeons and raids - this is a great way to have a great looking city, part of the story etc.. problem is most races alreayd have not great cities with nothing to do. if they could remake all of them - but then the time that would take. .. From Suramar onwards cities became that quest/raid/dungoen - Suramar, Dazar'alor, Boralus, Mechagon all raids that end in playable races winning it at home, you get a cool piece of real estate.. the dungeon/raid justified the development, but it still has no use after.


the best solution would have cities

1. Always having a value even after being a focus in the expansion raid - [for all their grandness, no one goes to suramar or Dazar'alor anymore]
2. Growth - can cities be a system that can actually expand them so they are always a relevant part of your adventure like the Class order halls were for legion, but more than that?

Maybe you can collect resources to build your city up and expand it every patch - but how many cities should that apply to.

What would you do to necessitate always using them and constantly updating them? Or is the current approach better.

Current Approach
Current approach, is actually a sub-race story being developed and it being or having a new city.. so for example instead of redoing Silvermoon, they instead do a city for void elves in the Thalassian style updated with new graphics but adapted to reflect the void elves. In this vein, Suramar can be viewed as hte night elf city (and blood elves move in), with the void elf city (having night elves move in0. Dazar'alor is the troll city, with Darkspears in it, Mecahgon the gnome city with Gnomes in it, Boralus the new human city and so forth.

This way you're not technically updating anything but instead giving brand new cities. I think this is kinda how it seems to be going, they're just giving new cities to subraces that can be places for existing races.


Anyway, what would you want? And wouldn't you want cities to have some continuous purpose outside being vendor slots? does that mean they should design a system and game specific for cities to make them more relevant?

[VinceVega]

I would be satisfied if:

1. The homeless races get either a big zone in one of the existing cities or a own zone somewhere. (nichtelves -> Duskwood, Undead -> Desolace) or somethinh like that
2. Rotate the AH between cities. Only one AH, every month it is in another city. So cities like thunderbluff and Exodar get used at least. Right now they are entirely useless.

[KOUNTERPARTS]

Make "The Sims" like activities you can only do in cities to create more immersion.

[Lochton]

Bring more of the game story down-to-Azeroth (Earth), by bringing quests back into the capitals as well as add-in events limited to each capital. Give racial reputation an actual value by doing quests for currencies within the capitals or the likes.

[Beloren]

Make "The Sims" like activities you can only do in cities to create more immersion.

Can you tie it to your power levels or professions? Should it matter that. You are famous in your city for adventuring ?

[Raetary]

If we ever get a heavy race focused expansion, they could turn cities into what class halls have been during legion.
Just, minus the bit where you get kicked out if you are different race.

[Blackmist]

Do we want them to be useful?

That typically just means taking something away from other places and forcing you to go there instead.

Honestly, I think if you took a poll, most players would be in favour of a mount that had a banker, an AH, a transmog guy, a repairer, a postman and trade goods vendor NPCs on the back so they never have to go there at all.

[KOUNTERPARTS]

Can you tie it to your power levels or professions? Should it matter that. You are famous in your city for adventuring ?

I don't see why not. That could be an option.


Your professions tying in to certain activities you can participate in within the city -- even have other players watch you do it -- would be neat.


I think about "GTA V" and sheer amount of things you can do when not stealing cars, doing missions, or killing hookers. That game has a metric fuck ton of depth in regards to minor-detail-activities. Perhaps adding things similar to major cities?

[Beloren]

I don't see why not. That could be an option.


Your professions tying in to certain activities you can participate in within the city -- even have other players watch you do it -- would be neat.


I think about "GTA V" and sheer amount of things you can do when not stealing cars, doing missions, or killing hookers. That game has a metric fuck ton of depth in regards to minor-detail-activities. Perhaps adding things similar to major cities?

They could give each Cory very unique activities. Like the Goblin city of Kezan could be the place you do that sort of thing.

[Razion]

As time passes in lore and new expansions come around, the Capitals could grow, adding new wings. These wings could be zones to quest through during expansions, if only initially. It might be interesting to have some questing take place in these sprawling cities that perpetually keep growing and getting larger over time to reflect the increasing culture and diversity of the various races and what they're capable of and what they've accomplished. They could keep old areas of capitals relevant by having quests go back to the cities to find and interact with NPCs to help solve various problems we may be having. This would also be a good excuse to revisit NPCs that should normally have some staying power and relevance to a race's ongoing narrative. It also allows us as players to get an idea of what day to day life may be like for NPCs during expansions, and what NPCs have to say about ongoing events and how it's impacting life for them.

If we're just talking useful, we could have capitals more readily supply transportation to other areas with things like zeppelins and boats. Nowadays it seems like there are portals everywhere, but having capitals being major transportation hubs is also another way to make them useful beyond a portal room people are in for a second at a time.

[Amnaught]

Remember that brief moment where Blizzard was passionate about equalizing the cities? Just do that again. Add a transmog vendor and portals to every city. Boom, problem solved.

I really want a city-based campaign though. Like Legion had for every class, but for the core racial capitals.

- - - Updated - - -

If we're just talking useful, we could have capitals more readily supply transportation to other areas with things like zeppelins and boats. Nowadays it seems like there are portals everywhere, but having capitals being major transportation hubs is also another way to make them useful beyond a portal room people are in for a second at a time.

Honestly hadnt considered that. Make the zeppelins and ships smaller so you can fit more of them, and literally just have them lead everywhere. I'm not a fan of jumping from one zep to the next to the next like getting from Silvermoon to Thunder Bluff back in the day, but the zeppelins have a lot better of a feel in the open world than portals.

Now just fucking connect the whole of Azeroth so we can actually seamlessly travel everywhere again.

[Hellobolis]

large capitals are obsolete.

a lot of the auxiliary useful things to populate them have simply been removed from the game. a target dummy, AH, flight master and mission table isn't enough. and let's be honest, many players have portable alternatives for those things too.

[Twdft]

Do we want them to be useful?

That typically just means taking something away from other places and forcing you to go there instead.

Blizzard always tries to steer us into current expansions main city. Boralus was nice but Oribos is a boring piece of shit. If they don't care anymore we should be able to choose our hang out place to our liking. Give every main city a mage tower, problem solved.

I am not hanging out ingame anymore. During BfA waiting for the fifth person to run some dungeons we would hang out on the fence infront of Snug Harbor Inn using toys or showing off mounts or whatever. As we did in Legion Dalaran at the little coin fountain, someone was always fishing in it. Now I log through my alts or afk at the covenant doing something out of game because Oribos sucks.

[Amnaught]

Also, vendors that are actually useful would be awesome. The cheese vendor can sell cheese with a world buff. Sword vendors can sell random transmog swords.

Yknow how Zandalar and Kul Tiras have all of those fun side/world quests rotating every day? Silvermoon and Orgrimmar would benefit greatly from things like that.

[Nutri]

Add portals to each capital, done. People will spread out to what they think is the nicest city.

[Garretdejiko]

Cities should have more social points, stages, fighting pits with a few terraces, benches. Made a post about it long ago, but it all boiled down to "make more fun things for rp players and guys standing idle in front of grommash hold while wating their q"

[Beuargh]

bring the story back to the old continents, where capitals are the main hubs. get rid of the AH mounts.

[Kokolums]

1. make rest xp for reputation bars. Have different places throughout the city where you gain rest xp for 1 particular rep.
2. have seedy slums where you can help clean up the town and get rewarded for it.
3. have posh sections of town where the other faction can come and kill, loot, and burn and get rewarded for it.

[ravenmoon]

Cities have sentimental and lore value. Already this is motivation to do them.. wow's racial architectural style has capitvated many a fan of their races and when Garrisons came out the biggest complaint was that it was only orc and human architecture used.


With that in mind, Mace and I came up with a comprehensive system of making cities relevant, I will just greatly summarise the post.

Comprehensive Capital System and side game

This basically weaves into expansions, but it's biggest value is offering a measure of progression that doesn't reset like player power levels do. The idea is that you build your race up: This is showcased in its Capital zone which is it's Capital city and surrounding zone - you will never finish this because new updates and extensions will come every patch with new race quests that give more to unlock, but once you've upgraded something, it will always be there on your client. Though cities are open to everyone (not instanced like Garrisons were), the buildings are client based including the ones in extensions - they will last through out expansions and give you an opportunity to plan and design your city to a certain degree of freedom.

In order for this to work, the opening expansion this is introduced in will have many additional features that do tie to player power levels for that expansion while also allowing you to extend your city. though the next expansion will do something different, you will still be able to continuing growing your city and the non-player power related activities will still continue to matter and not reset. future expansions might tie their power system into your city, but it would be in a fair way that doesn't require everyone to have advanced to your degree.

1. New resource system allows you to upgrade cities over time.
2. Expansion must be race centred, and 12 capitals serve as the base for which racial campaigns of new quests expanding and continuing racial lore will happen alongside main expansion storyline -this is an expanded version of class order halls.
3. First expansion will have players needing to help develop their race by tapping into their races natural power in up to 3 stages for each of the expansion patches: e.g. Night elves in opening patch unlock the Well of Eternity, in first patch unlock the world tree's emerald dream connection, in 3rd patch unlock the power of the moon and stars via the Font of Elune, this can involve the night warrior dark side of the moon. [Blood elves opening patch is Arcane side of the Sunwell, patch 1 is Light side of the Sunwell, part 3, Evergreen Ban'dinoriel is the ancient wards powered by the sun, the Sunwell and the old world tree in Eversong forest, last patch can be the blood crystals involving the anima golems. Draenei will go through key 2 atam'al crystals, the Naaru, the Power of Argus to restore their civilization: Orcs would tap into the power of their originator, the ancestors, and the elements, dwarves would seek a way to activate their latent titan Valarjar dormant powers - path of Golganneth, path of Khaz'goroth, Path .. m humans tap into the Path of Aggramar (warrior), Path of Norgannon (mage) Path of Eonar (priest), Goblins its Kajamite, Alchemy and Norgannon]

These like covenants, Azerite necklace, and artifact weapons unlock ability and power up enhancements, for your character, but most important difference is boost to racial s, new racials and racial base extensions.

Each class will have racial abilities in it's power up system that correspond to the power being exploited for that patch.

4. Building your races power source is the anima of this expansion as well as covenant system. The resources you u use to power you up also have other visual benefits:
a) main storyline quests that usually have faction soldiers will now instead use your races soldiers, if you have the corresponding class
b) you can have troops of certain class types follow you, you can unlock different class types, and champions of that class which are wc3 style hero characters (famous people in lore to lead the troops e.g. blood elf player can unlock Farstrider rangers, Blood knight paladins or a team of blood elf magisters and finally Illidari blood elf demon hunters - what type of troops follow you will depend on what the race is good at in lore [night elves can have druid troops, Moonguard mage troops, Sentinel troops led by a caster Moon Priestess, or demon hunter troops)

5. The city is the heart of your races campaign, what your race has been doing and continuing from it's lore, showing it's developments and how it is where it is will be part of quests, especially in the intro section, and then it will delve into quests to empower your people, rebuild your people and restore them, as well as deal with the new threats, local, international and whatever is going on with the current expansion plot. You will see famous characters, lore for different classes and characters would be expanded, for the main classes of your race. some races have a lot of stuff going on so will have less involvement in the expansion plot to cover that stuff, some races don't have much going on so most of your quests might involve new avenues regarding the current or previous expansions where you were relevant.

6. You can use resources to upgrade your buildings, and every expansion blizzard release a small upgrade for your city you have to unlock - this allows them to continuously grow your city over time without having to do all the work at once for 12 cities.

The improvements and upgrades you make to the city last throughout the expansions as a reward for your continuous efforts.

The city upgrade is not based on level, so anyone can start , the racial campaigns aren't based on level either, but many of the later quests wand subsequent expansion racial campaigns revolve around what the race is doing with regards tot he new

7. you can also divert resources to building a rather incredible building for yourself in the player quarters of the city.. Now blizzard could try something new, by linking handful of racial characters to an area of they have a fixed spot or making that section instanced

8. expanded sections open up more activity and quests you can do. You can build power locally, choose to become a military leader, a noble running for president/king even, choose to be the head of your profession or your class instead - each of these pursuits come with benefits that help direct where your race's growth will be and how

9. It's not just the city that is expanded, your capital zone is also worked on, some races would have more work in the surrounding area than the city, some with already established cities will have few city improvements and instead would work on building infrastructure round the zone. Zones cleaned up, establishing new towns etc.

10. Family life, Watch out for this, if you chose to get married to an NPC character or another player character in game, you can raise fa ily that has benefits and boosts to improve your city, securing certain positions, and ohter character perks.

How they backgroudn system works:

The city is server based and shared like Order halls were, but with specific differences:
1. the buildings of the city and how far you have expanded are client based
2. the city centre, sanctuary poriton, the first to build or unlock, is server wide and shared by everyone like legion class halls
3. the streets or paths are also server wide, if you haven't built in an area yet, you will just see what was originally there, while another player who has built will see buildings on his client, you will see the other player and they will see you, but they will not now how far you've developed.
4. your guild house and player house or room are instnaced like garrisons were, players can travel to your home or guild home the same way they could to garrisons.

[Razion]

- - - Updated - - -

Honestly hadnt considered that. Make the zeppelins and ships smaller so you can fit more of them, and literally just have them lead everywhere. I'm not a fan of jumping from one zep to the next to the next like getting from Silvermoon to Thunder Bluff back in the day, but the zeppelins have a lot better of a feel in the open world than portals.

Now just fucking connect the whole of Azeroth so we can actually seamlessly travel everywhere again.

If it's faster than flying, it can also serve as a temporary solve to flying between Pathfinder unlocks or releases of an expac, and also doubles as a way to potentially socialize if people are sharing transports. People may group up after seeing they're going to the same thing too.

There definitely needs to be more in rotation so people aren't waiting so long and to make them appealing. The tech they used for the flightpaths of SL between zones and Oribos could be used with waves and/or clouds to allow faster travel while offsetting load times and getting rid of the loading screens entirely.