We really need to get out of this mindset of excusing things just because they can be worked around. In every other game I have ever played with a "follow without getting caught" quest/mission/task/whatever, there is a warning when you get too close. That is a basic game expectation nowadays. It is definitely worth reporting that it would be preferred if there was a warning.
It could have been a cool finale to the quest line in the zone, but it simply seems to not have been coded very well. The best method of completion should probably not be standing on prediscovered update points and waiting, and those update points themselves are suspect. I received updated for multiple steps from the same spot. The quest notes says "follow" which is funny as I was in front of her the entire time and it didn't feel very sneaky as she walked right through me on the way to her next update point.
To me it seems like the required range is about perfect for spying on someone in an mmorpg. It's RP specific. If it was real life you would need to be much further but mmos typically shorten sight range for npc's.
I'm not a fan of this mechanic. Once you give up and just move to each location its cake. If you actually try to follow ... LOADING ... please wait.
You know, if I am spying on someone in real life, I always like the heads up of someone telling me "You are too close" so that I can back away from the person I am spying on.
Not sure if anyone mentioned this as I just skimmed through the arguing back and forth, but she only punts you to Paludal Depths once she stops. If she is on the move, you can run by her and beat her to the next spot. Position 4 she walks past you without punting you. While, yes, this shouldn't be so hard to do without someone having done it before, someone has. I got punted a few times at first before I stared at Good's map and realized he had marked where to stand as the Commander paths around the zone. Once I figured that out, it went smooth.
This is a much better way of putting it than how I usually explain it to people. Don't think of it as following her. Only the individual spots matter and trying to always keep a perfect distance is a disaster. It's implemented horribly, but works per its design.
If you are following someone in real life you don't have to worry about a random lag spike jumping you next to them, or them magically being able to see through walls. But whatever. You all seem to think this is a wonderful mechanic, working perfectly.
I don't think it's a wonderful mechanic. But it does function as designed. It's just not accurate that you need to follow her from a distance. She only checks at specific points, both for credit and banish.
As someone who has done this in Beta, spent 3-4 hours figuring it out without Good's maps, it was kind of fun. On the live server, not punted once because the mechanics make sense once you get the hang of it. With Good's maps, just stay out of sight when following, hit the marks, and bingo - quest done.
Well, if you try to beat someone to death to take items from them in real life, and die in the process, you don't respawn either. That isn't a mechanic people are screaming at daybreak to implement.
Personally, I found it fun to run the first time the real way, following behind, but not too close. Got punted twice, and figured out the safe distance.
That's funny. I was actually thinking about Najena jail but I don't know how they could fit it in the story with NoS.