Instancing: harmful or helpful?
by Jennie Lees 
Jan 23rd 2006 at 10:00AM
MMORPG.com has started a
weekly debate feature, and the current topic is instancing. How does instancing PvE areas impact the community of a
game like World of Warcraft?Instancing has its pros and cons; on the plus side, instancing (especially at lower levels) can help you find competent players to adventure with, and help you develop your own play style. Rather than worry about competing with other groups for the boss kill, and wasting time, instances let you efficiently handle a difficult PvE task. Instances are often billed as a major selling point of games thanks to this lack of competition.
However, when it gets to the endgame, instances either alienate players who don't have the time or guild support to play through 40-man raids, or they swallow players who are doomed to repeat the same experiences again and again on a comparatively small scale. Twenty or forty players, compared to a realm's population, have very little impact on the world--and the instance resets, leaving the world the same as it was before you entered through the portal.
World events, such as the recent Ahn'Qiraj gate opening, manage to involve a huge number of people all working towards a common storyline. That's where the "massive" in "massively multiplayer online game" really starts to hit home. Unfortunately, as we've seen, game server infrastructure (and dealing with player behaviour) can't always stand up to this onslaught. Is there a midpoint? Quests that permanently impact the game but require a large number of players to contribute? An actual war, with hundreds of Horde and Alliance players clashing for blood and glory?
Having played through many instance dungeons, I have met many competent--and not so competent--players, but the "community" spirit certainly doesn't seem present when there are only five of you struggling through some scripted NPC attacks. When there are thousands of you all working for a common goal--when your raptor flesh farming gets interrupted by a troll who also had the same idea--then you start feeling like part of a community, and not just yet another faceless night elf.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jordan Jan 23rd 2006 2:30PM
I dont know if instancing is a good or bad thing. But i do agree with you on the point of the sense of community. I feel a sense of community and fellowship with my guildmates but I wish that could be felt on a larger scale. I think the AQ stuff added in 1.9 is progressing towards this goal and I hope Blizzard will continue to add more global content like this. If only they could keep the servers up...
Phix Jan 23rd 2006 3:03PM
I personally have had horrible experiences in instances, my first real try at an instance was stockades, which seemed pointless, i really didnt understand the need for it, and only finding one quest for it, and none had quests to share.
My worst experience was in ZF, 2 days in a row we would get a diverse group of mid 40's to 50's and maybe a 50 or 2 at best. We would walk in, and if we were lucky, the first or second mob wouldnt kill the healer. Every run there would be someone drop out right at the beginning or at the end, or after we killed our first objective. No one was ever in it for the long haul, and this instance took me a week to finish.
Now im lvl 53, and i want to do sunken temple or mara, but am too afraid of literally wanting to quit the game because of some of the idiots i find to join. I belong to a medium sized helpful guild, but all are either too high or too low to help.
All i seem to ever do is quest, and every once and a while i find someone to join, and it works out great for a good 5 quests, and after that were on different pages and different quests, and its pointless to even stay in communication.
Aurielias Jan 24th 2006 5:06AM
I've had experience with two MMOGs before WoW, Everquest & Guild Wars and I think the two pretty much illustrate the two extremes of instancing well. EQ had none (at least when I was playing, and at the levels I was playing) and the inevitable squabbles over high end mobs and camping them were a disincentive to play. Guild Wars is the other extremes where almost everywhere is an instance and feels mighty lonely especially when soloing.
WoW strikes a nice balance between the two IMO. Most areas are open to all and its nice to be in that situation where a fellow palyer can help you out of a tight spot, drop a buff on you or just talk and swap advice. On the other hand, getting a group together for an instance (my main is only 27 so I don't have a view of the end game) and running it is fun. My guild often pull people together for these runs, and extra pick ups are usually easy to get.
There are always going to be hassles, but at least no body is fighting over who turn to kill Arugal it is.
Stormgaard Jan 24th 2006 8:39AM
I agree with Aurielias - WoW strikes a balance between the two, and a balance is needed.
I have a well functioning guild, and there are many evenings we play that our guild teams enjoy running instances - but we are well established teams that know how to work together, not like the previous poster who has to use pick up groups.
On the other hand one of our more active members was really excited about DDO - until he beta tested it and found that it relied on instancing TOO MUCH. In his own words he came away disliking the game because it didn't "Feel like a World" the same way WoW does. There was no motivation to explore, no sense of awe, depth, or adventure.
PodMonkeys Jan 24th 2006 9:52AM
I ditto 3 and 4.
I've played instanceless MMOs since UO, and the almost complete instance based ones turn me off. WoW really is a well done game.
Warcraft Dude Jan 24th 2006 11:02AM
To Phix:
You might want to check with the other members of your party before starting the instance about their objectives and also, the loot rules. It would reflect their commitment to the instance, as well as their experience and behaviour within the instance.
I've had more positive luck instancing than not, but it isn't always easy getting a group together for some of the less rewarding dungeons.
scarymage Jan 24th 2006 2:44PM
Phix,
You got a lot to learn. You obviously suck at grouping. The healer died on the first couple of mobs??
Hello, aggro management? pulling? Simple concepts if you practice a little. Try joining a no-obligation guild, ask people to group with you. You'll learn all about aggro and protecting your healers. I had a pretty good handle on things by level 25 with a guild.
Baron Samedi Jan 24th 2006 3:07PM
Frankly, all this hair-splitting about whether instancing is good or not seems pretty moot to me. Because of the inherent unreliability of the WoW servers over the past week or two, I'm not interested in taking on any lengthy in-game commitments like tackling an instance would require. Given what I've seen on multiple servers recently, it appeard you'd just be setting yourself up for failure, either because of lag, key party member's inability to log on, disconnects and server freezes, etc. ad nauseum.
As I write this, not only are all the WoW servers unavailable a full hour after "scheduled maintenance" was to end, but worldofwarcraft.com is totally unreachable. The problem with an MMORPG is that all your investment is useless if the responsible company can't provide a decent, steady reliable world. Right now, Blizzard is a victim of their own success, with WoW rapidly becoming unplayable.
Blizzard should realize that they don't just compete with other MMORPGs, especially in instances that require a big commitment in time. They compete with Cable, movies, going to the gym, and hanging out with my friends. As it stands right now, I can't get on to play, I'm frustrated, and I'm asking myself if I evven want to conitnue to pay $15/mo for something that isn't reliable enough to fit into my schedule. Maybe that $15 would be better spent on beer, or the hours I spend in WoW every month might be better spent at the gym.
Mark my words, Blizzard is running out of grace period with the crappy reliability. Those 5 million subs could disappear overnight, just like they did in UO and Lineage (two other games that once alse were "most played RPG on the planet").
Forget all this zaprudering talk about infinitesimal hunter tweaks and the mechanics of instances. There's a huge elephant in the room and it'd be nice to see WoW Insider talk about it a little.