The Ossiranth Chronicles

Tonight, my guild and I went to ROFLSTOMP though Molten Core for fun. One of the bosses dropped the Eye of Benediction. One of our priests got it, and then went and farmed for the other pieces to do their epic priest quest. They now have a shiny new epic priest staff, which while once a symbol that someone knew exactly how to play their class, is now just a trophy that looks nice and has no additional meaning (as the encounter has already been nerfed several times, and a level 80 can run roughshod over it).

It got me thinking though: Are class specific quests a good thing? I honestly think they are. They teach players how to play their class in endgame situations, which are normally quite different than situations encountered while leveling. In addition, they do provide those epic trophies which show everyone around you "Hey. If you bring me to a raid, I won't be a nub and stand in fire/not heal/not kite/not whatever. You can depend on me to do my job." The class specific quests provided a measuring stick with which people could tell that someone knew what they were doing. "That hunter has the epic quest bow. They know how to kite mobs and would be useful on Saurfang for handling blood beasts."

I think it was a bad idea for Blizzard to remove all class specific quests and content. Sure, it was a good business move. But like many of Blizzard's recent decisions, I believe it was a bad game move (and bad game moves made when listening to forum whining are often the start of a game's decline).

I think that the class specific quests are an amazing concept though, and should have not only been left in the game, but expanded to include all the roles for each class.

It gave me an idea for them for my own game. The class specific quests would be quests which define the flavor of the classes. This is only a rough idea at the moment, but what if in addition to some trophy showing you completed the quest, you also got some new ability or bonuses which cover your weaknesses? What if you could extend a bonus to others of your own class? I had the idea of player alignment as a defining factor in how NPCs interact with characters, maybe they could also define the bonuses for those who complete the quests? The players who complete the Barbarian quest only get bonuses when their alignment is chaotic neutral. Paladins only get bonuses when Lawful Good. Or maybe the bonuses would be different when under a different alignment.

Or are these extras strictly not necessary and the prestige of completing the difficult tasks enough?