Milton wrote on Jun 13
th, 2013 at 3:57pm:
Is NWN like that at all? I think I've really been in a holding pattern since those days trying to find that same feeling in another game.
Not really, IMO. There's little to nothing to figure out, every quest is the same solution: fight stuff until you complete. About the only challenge is getting groups to understand that they need to follow basic MMO tactics (manage agro, protect the cleric, kill adds). Admittedly, that teaching can at times be a significant challenge, but unless you're really into teaching dumbasses how MMOs work, it's not a fun challenge.
The foundry could permit what you're seeking, but the reward system for foundries kills that potential. Foundry daily quest rewards discoutage running longer foundry quests, and the inability for foundries to have any chests except the end chest kill the exploration aspect... just zerg along the glittertrail.
It's a shame, NW had a lot of really cool ideas, but their execution is severely lacking. For example, their combat system is refreshingly unique, but at the same time, frustratingly limited. It doesn't take long to realize that you're doing the same exact actions for every single fight. In DDO, I had 5-10 hotbars of different things I could do in any given fight (from weapon combos to spells to consumables). In NW, well, all of the actions you can take add up to maybe 1 hotbar. Maybe.