My thoughts on Hiddens.

[WasteWalk]

I can't overstate how much I think making hiddens easier to get and not harder than they used to be has been a net positive for this game

[ScarecrowVT]

i feel like to a certain extent you are devaluing other's achievements and effort put forward just because you don't know about it...

Not devaluing them. I'm sure they've put in a bunch of work. I just feel as though that hiddens that were once rare in the past and had impact on the story are seen too much now days. Maybe that's due to the journal system that more people feel comfortable with than the app system of the past. Maybe that's why more people are seen with them. IDK. Also there is a lot of people I know who are like "Who is this? Why do they have a hidden?" over someone they've never seen before or heard of ever. ICly and oocly. 

People don't afk because they get hiddens. They afk because they feel like they've accomplished what they've set out to do, or just burn out. This typically happens when they've pushed the story, not the opposite. 

Gatekeeping hiddens because someone 'is' irrelevant or hasn't done as much as another person who has it is really toxic and annoying af in my eyes.

I'm not saying to gate keep them. I just remember when I first started playing the game and people would get mad at me for RPing things wrong or doing things wrong. Would correct me and give me criticism. I'd take what they said and take it into account then apply it. What I see a lot now days is people not doing things proper from a lore aspect of things set in stone by the wiki when it comes to specific things. Things like occult should be making someone crazy. While I can't tell you the last time I saw an actual crazy occultist.

 I just think the level of effort needs to be brought up to show this. Not just showing five logs and you're good to go.   

As for the afk when they get hiddens? 
If you make a character just to get a hidden and stop there... Idk chief. What was the point of that character? Cool you got super magi. What are you gonna do with it? To me if someone gets a hidden it should be to drive the story further and keep going. 

You don't see Goku get super saiyan and do nothing. 
You don't see Naruto get Sage mode and sit around. 
You don't see Deku get a quirk then say "why do I need to keep training?" 

They keep going and developing things. 
And honestly maybe that's why this world grows stale so quickly. People keep looking at hiddens as the end goal when really it should be the CLIMAX.

[CrystikRage]

okay one; medic I guess is technically a hidden, in that it takes like two whole scenes of dev and basically showing that you're going to put effort into doing it.

two; there are like 50+ hidden spells, and if someone that you've never heard of has one... Who the fuck cares? It's not your job to be the census taker of Eternia, and if they're enjoying interacting with the world and earned a hidden with dev and the like, then congratulations to them. I hope to never in my life see 'Sorry, you're denied for a shiny aura because you're not important and not many people have heard of you'

Yeah, it was a major leader thing in E1, and E1 was a dark age with extreme cliques and a rotating cast of the same players in various positions of leadership that others flocked to.

in short; no hiddens don't need to be hit with gatekeeping. We have the extraordinarily powerful and impactful exalted status if you really want some 'if they have this they're really at the top of the world' hidden like death magic or holy guardian.

[InThePooPoo]

I don't think hiddens are actually all that much easier to get.

I believe more people simply understand how to get them now, and the way journals are formatted make it easier to focus on just telling a good story than gearing yourself to 'dev for' a hidden, with the option to ask for the ability you want at the end of it all when you feel like your character has grown significantly enough to warrant it.

You'll still see people who aren't quite there yet, maybe brand new players, who talk about getting denied. Especially when it comes time they ask for a second hidden. This problem is not a problem, in my opinion.

[Shadovarn]

Hold up.

You don't see Goku get super saiyan and do nothing.

Did you miss the part where he spent a few years in space after Namek, even when he had the ability to literally teleport home after a point?

Goku is prime example of "Getting a hidden, doing a scene and fucking off due to irl".

[Teemo]

People don't get hiddens to achieve something. They are rewarded hiddens for achieving something. If that achievement is where they want to end their character, I don't see an issue with it at all.

"I don't see x get this and do nothing."

It's called Mastery Magic for a reason. You start with innate magical ability and DEVELOP it. Hiddens are the final form of that development. You've been given a base, hiddens are the pinnacle of that most of the time, depending on what you wish to do.

and getting mad at someone because they're 'not getting a hidden right' is gatekeeping. shit's meant to be freeform for a reason

[Hoovyking]

this may be the only time I actually agree with scarecrow over something, but my issue lies with the overall state of the game rather than people being over-rewarded.

putting it bluntly, the "collaborative" element of E3 feels almost dead. rather than work with people to create interesting interpersonal conflict that affects the game world, there's been a shift into a more selfish mindset. maybe it's the way the journal system is currently working that makes people feel like they're entitled to something because they've put work in, forcing people into dangerous, but ultimately meaningless conflict for the sake of "dev".

even death magic, which was seen as the "ultimate" hidden in spires had little in the way of presence when Xian got it because even though they'd achieved something only Tragedy could on Agartha, they still weren't considered "strong" as a pc. they had it, they immediately got capped, and they died.

the game is hyper-focused on PVP and personal achievement to the point that the story has been stuck in an eternal war while each side goes through ups and downs, with little in the way of actually changing development on Esshar. maybe the most impactful event I can think of was the vampires burning down their cafe after killing isana and ariande, since it left a physical imprint on the event by Baleford.

as a side note, this game state has limited what "kinds" of characters can get prominence. when's the last time you've seen a courier, or bounty-hunter kind of character break out into their own during this timeskip?

tl;dr i don't think hiddens feel important because they're the equivalent of getting a dbz powerup. their use always amounts to, "and then I go fight with them." while the narrative stays stagnant. the world should be impacted more by the powerful magi of e3 to show that their feats mean something more.

this is nothing against Xian, who was a wonderful character, or anyone who's recently gotten a hidden.

[ScarecrowVT]

Hold up.

You don't see Goku get super saiyan and do nothing.

Did you miss the part where he spent a few years in space after Namek, even when he had the ability to literally teleport home after a point?

Goku is prime example of "Getting a hidden, doing a scene and fucking off due to irl".

ok maybe I should've said Vegeta. because at least he came home immediately to kick ass after getting it. 

Also didn't spend years. He spent a year at most.

[Seraphite]

As someone who uses their journal for creative writing practice most of the time? I can absolutely confirm what Why has said. As a newer player to the game, the way the journals are formatted feels really, REALLY good. You can just... tell a good story, and then at the end, you go "hey do you have anything for me" and get a cosmetic stance. (I'm not actually upset about that, either! I genuinely think it's cool, and I have intent to cash in on that some time this week.)

That's why I'd actually say that hiddens -are- more about character growth than getting stronger. You see people devving hiddens, sure, but it's not just because it makes them more powerful. Some people like the aesthetic, some people like the fluff of it, and some people just really want something neat. Their characters are growing by sheer virtue of existing, even if they don't exist within your sphere of awareness.

Sometimes, you've just got to trust that other people in a collaborative game that involves working together with fellow players know at least a little bit of what they're doing, y'know?

[Chance]

...

I'd say the opposite is true. Interpersonal conflict has been the focus and if anything and what I see a lot more of personal arcs, and that shines more when you have built up rivalries and relationships rather than fixing on destroying the other team's sand castle. Just because a city isn't being blown up and rebuilt every few months doesn't mean people aren't writing compelling stories.

So you said that the most 'notable' thing to happen was a cafe being destroyed, but I could disagree easily by just linking dozens of archived journals where far more happened within that character's lifetime than stones being flattened.  I do have a lot more to say on this and I'll (probably) elaborate later beyond touching on the surface of it.