Topic

Don't Bogart that Barnacle! (new quest?)

Or how to encourage group participation while harvesting barnacles. If these ideas have already been posted, sorry....gee there is a lot to read out there. 

There's been so much talk about not harvesting barnacles as a solo player. Maybe by making it easier for players to join groups for this activity, the problem would go away by itself. I'd like to see barnacle scraping evolve a bit so that it is more beneficial for each participant when you do it with a group. Some ideas are:

1. Rewards could incrementally increase based on the number of harvesters. The increases might max out at 3 but groups could be as large as 6. Then when a 7th wants to join some could choose to leave group one to help the 2nd group form. 
2. When you hover over the barnacle an option is given to join the group. 
3. An individual entering an empty area and wanting to harvest could activate a signal to invite others to join them for harvesting making them show red on the map for instance (or for an existing group to show in red). This could make joining with friends (or potential friends) much easier, thus creating another avenue for building a great community. 
4. Maybe the barnacle dust could be a higher quality when harvested in a group thus yielding more powder.
5. A new skill or quest tied to teaching/mentoring someone in group harvesting. 
These ideas could be just as effective in the peat bogs. 

Posted 20 months ago by Riverwalker Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • Good ideas! The question I have is whether barnacles are actually intended to be a group harvest item, or if that is really a bug?

    Another potential target for group harvesting improvements is digging patches for earth/loam.
    Posted 20 months ago by Merek Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Sometimes, in the dark of night, when the other glitches are asleep, I harvest barnacles and jellisacs by myself.  If it's wrong, then I don't want to be right.

    Of course, if other people are around, I'm happy to harvest with them.  :)  I'd rather not see any penalties for solo harvesting, though, especially since scraping isn't something everyone enjoys.
    Posted 20 months ago by glum pudding Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Don't worry glum Pudding.. i harvest them by myself all the time!  My not so guilty pleasure :)
    Posted 20 months ago by RainyRain Subscriber! | Permalink
  • the barnacle multiharvest thing is a bug that I think should be fixed.

    I think that some other more "logical" multiharvest ought to replace it tho.
    Posted 20 months ago by striatic Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Glum: I harvest alone if no one else is there. I'm totally against anything that penalizes solo play. I also get really cranky when people decide harvesting alone is "rude". People have a right to utilize resources as the game allows. I like fair play and creating a friendly environment. So my choice would be to move to a different area to harvest or try to join the group. But that's because I now know it irritates people to have an individual harvesting. Insisting that people join a group is just as "bad" as scarfing up all the resources for yourself...maybe worse since all resources do regenerate but hurt feeling don't heal as quickly. Just my opinion. 

    I'd be way more inclined to join a group for any purpose if: 
    1. It was quick and easy to do so.
    2. There was an in game benefit above and beyond doing the activity alone. 

    Your reply is the first time I've realized that this also applies to jellisacs. 
    Posted 20 months ago by Riverwalker Subscriber! | Permalink
  • i really kinda don't want to argue this point all over again. but there's time where it is just as silly to walk past a barnacle/jellsac/dirt patch as it is to harvest it yourself. I am only bringing that up in here now because I find the "rules" that govern that interaction / etiquette would be too hard to strictly define in a quest - other than introducing the idea that the actions /can/ be done by multiple people - just like the peat quest does***

    - late night when so few people are in the world
    - when there's no freakin quest
    - when i'm standing on a screen at one shrine/vendor/location for 20 minutes in the middle of nowhere and not a sole is coming by (cause they're all half a world away on another project
    - (now) in your house

    Harvesting parties are super and I try to participate when I'm not on some other personal mission, but try getting one together when there isn't a project going on 4 streets away. These things DO respawn.

    ***but we dont' yell at solo peat digers for keeping the world waway from unfilled peat piles that make it harder to do that dumb, dumb quest.
    Posted 20 months ago by Another Chris Subscriber! | Permalink
  • obviously if there are currently no barnacle parties active, harvesting alone should not be a considered a problem, let alone rude.

    I do think it is rude if you are asked to join a party and more than just refuse to join, continue harvesting in advance of the group, hogging all the barnacles to yourself.

    otherwise there is no problem, and harvesting alone is actually a good thing.
    Posted 20 months ago by striatic Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Just out of curiousity, anyone know the respawn time for a barnacle? 10 minutes?
    Posted 20 months ago by Merek Subscriber! | Permalink
  • this is the first I've heard of no solo harvesting.  Hummm  what did I miss?  I haven't seen any group harvesting either.  

    Note to self:  do you ever get tired of being a wee bit slow regarding new things?
    Posted 20 months ago by Mystbecky Subscriber! | Permalink
  • i never realized you were supposed to do it in a group and at times it is silly and time wasting. sometimes it is probably tons of fun.

    maybe there is a way to promote or reward for group harvesting but i agree +1000 that there should be no penalty for solo playing.
    Posted 20 months ago by Mimi Subscriber! | Permalink
  • the group harvesting is a thing that comes from the players that participate in the new street projects... some of the projects require many many barnacles/dirts/etc and if more than 1 player harvests the item at the same time they all get 1 in their pack

    so the "bonus" is getting 4, 5 or 6 total items for the project from the 1 spot before you have to wait for the regeneration.
    Posted 20 months ago by Another Chris Subscriber! | Permalink