HOW QUESTS WORK =============== Players often report that they completed a quest but weren't accredited for it. Typically there wasn't a bug, but rather a misunderstanding on how Batmud quests are defined. This document describes how quests are awarded, to help you understand why you may not have received credit for a quest and how to quest more efficiently in the future. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- LEVEL QUESTS Batmud has different types of quests, the most popular of which is the level quest. The very first thing you should do before beginning a level quest is to check that you are even qualified. You must be at or below the level in order to be awarded the quest. If you are higher than the level of the quest, you will not get credit. As an example, to be eligible for the Black butterfly (lq 16), you must be at or below level 16. QUEST PARTS When quests are added to the game, a wizard defines the necessary sub-tasks needed for the quest. A quest is a checklist of sub-tasks which must be completed. For example, in the Visit areaquest, finding each of the locations is a separate sub-task on the checklist. Finding the roulette wheel is check #1, the hospital entrance is check #2, etc. A wizard also assigns how many of the sub-tasks must be completed in order to be awarded the quest. In the Visit quest, you only need to complete 5 of the 6 checks on the list to get credited with the quest. QUEST AWARDING Therefore, since you need a certain number of checks to complete a quest, how you get awarded checks is what really determines if you are awarded the entire quest. When players aren't awarded a quest, often it is because they didn't get enough checks on the checklist, as described above. The default method for awarding a check is when a player performs a specific action. This could be slaying a monster, finding a hidden item or talking to a friendly NPC. Note again that, by _default_, only one player is awarded the check for that item. What that means is that even if you complete all the sub-tasks for a quest except for one, which maybe someone else in your party performed, you won't be awarded the quest because your checklist is incomplete! Not all quests award in this manner, but because that is the default (and wizards tend to be lazy), the majority of quests work that way. TIPS What can you do to make sure you are awarded all the checks needed to complete a quest? The obvious answer is, do the quest entirely by yourself, so no one will take one of your necessary check marks. In practice, however, that's not realistic because many of the quests involve defeating powerful foes in combat. So at the very least, make sure you are in the party and present when major events occur in the course of a quest. Some wizards have taken the time to code their quests so the entire party is awarded and/or those who are present in the room when an action has taken place. When talking with NPC's or searching for hidden items and exits, it's best if one person does all the interaction in order to maximize who is awarded a check for completing the sub-task. If there is a key part in a quest that is reproduceable (such as, for example, pulling a lever), you might want to have everyone in the party perform the action, in case the quest only awards individuals rather than the party. In short, you want to be the person who triggers the awarding of check marks, or at least be present and hope the wizard who coded the quest takes that into account. CONCLUSION Hopefully this description of how quests work will give you insight on how to earn your quests successfully. In the end, if you feel a quest is not fair, you should contact the wizard who coded to quest, and suggest how the quest could be defined better or how the sub-tasks could be awarded more fairly. Shadowjack (PS: If you're one of those wizards who is only using the default awarding method for quests, see me. ;-) ++ Updated March 12, 2012 for quests being completable AT the level. // Tarken

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