Less AFKJ lore is bad news
It's such a bummer they're getting rid of clan reputation quests… I was hoping we'd be helping the royal family or royal guards rebuild the capital and the other clan rep quests will be helping the Mythril Consortium or the Solitaires. Less lore doesn't bode well for someone who plays for the art and story.
I suppose I'm one of those players who complained about clan reputation quests, but it's not because I wanted them gone, just better written and longer. Which was certainly the case for ToD, and even though the quests that season were very wanting, they still provided some valuable tidbits of lore. I couldn't have written my fanfics without them, especially the parts involving Halia.
Also, extremely well done clan rep quests like the EoD ones neatly tie loose ends of the main story. Such as how Zanie was devastated when dwarves weren't allowed to wield their god's weapon because of their past sins, but in the clan rep quests they find a way to mass produce even more powerful weapons. I also liked the ToM clan rep quests where we get to see what happened to the students who lost magic, and how it affects the school and the entire student body. The cosmetic rewards are nice additions too.
I've seen my rankings slipping since the weapons upgrade for whales but still decided to stick around for the lore. Well it looks like they're ditching everyone — the F2Ps or low spenders like myself who stick around for the art, lore, cosmetics, and minor rewards — except for the whales. And it seems Farlight hasn't been doing so well in the business side, which is why they're trying to milk as much as they can out of AFKJ. But can a live service game sustain on whales only?
Well Farlight certainly seems to think so, likely because of AFK Arena... but the thing is, AFK Journey is way more focused on storytelling and lore than AFK Arena. One of the reasons I lost the motivation to keep playing AFK Arena was while I really enjoyed the short stories you get when acquiring heroes, there's pretty much no ongoing main story. It's very hard to see characters change and develop, and the world at large change along with them. I guess that's why I liked Starter Story though many players seem to dismiss them for being boring; it was so exciting to see familiar faces like Hogan and Mirael and Lorsan and Eironn in their elements and getting involved in their stories as the MC.
And I know I'm not the only player who's been enjoying the story and lore is a very big part of why they play the game, since it featured so prominently from the very premise of the game. Yes I will play until Bantus because I'm curious, but this all feels so foreboding for such a young game. I do hope the devs reconsider and truly understand what really sets their game apart and makes it shine.
