This quest is pretty much required for everyone, as we all know, for our Epic Weapon questline (now optional) and our Epic Repercussions quest. I personally have completed this quest on one of my toons years ago, and know that I can speak to the Shady Swashbuckler to get the tablet for all my other toons who haven't. However, my friend, who is new to the game, has never completed it. So my question is this: since the game is almost a decade old and this is such an antiquated quest, I don't suppose they have made it easier on new players to complete this quest without running around for half a day collecting the pieces, have they? For such an important quest (ER) in the progression of enjoying the end game content, this pain in the butt quest could prove to be a roadblock to enjoyment for those needing to complete it for the first time. Any knowledge on this matter as it pertains to new to the game players who need to complete it for the first time?
No, they haven't made it easier. I really don't think they should either. So much has been done to this game to make it more accessible and new player friendly already, and I really appreciate those things. However, There are a few things in this game that epitomize the epic stories and the heart of EverQuest. This quest line is extremely rich and rewarding in many ways and there isn't much else like it. Sure, some people just want to bulldoze their way through it and get it out of the way, but that's their problem. People don't even have to figure it out anymore. Instead all they have to do is look on the internet and print out the waypoints. If they are too lazy to even bother with that then they don't deserve the rewards anyway. They have to do it one time. At what point do you just make everything available and get rid of the quests because "they take too long"? At that point why even bother playing at all? It's not like they have to do it with the same degree of difficulty as in the base game. No, now they just have to mentor down to do it which is quite a different experience.
Eloquently put and very valid points! I love lore and medieval storylines, and Norrath contains many of these types of stories. However, I have found that for me personally, getting involved and delving deep into the lore takes away from the time it takes to get to the grouping aspects of the game. If this was somehow a local PC game or I had never participated in end-game content and play styles, I would be much more prone to exploring the deep storylines we have been provided. I was merely asking about the shortcuts for my friend so that he too could get into the heart of the end game content with the rest of his friends and guildmates. Thank you Palomidus, for your words.
Unfortunately, with the way the game has evolved over the course of its life, this is true. As I mentioned above, if certain aspects were either missing or I was inexperienced with, questing and actually reading the dialogue would be much more fun.
