I *think* that I understand what Nightstone was asking about...sorta...so will give it a stab.

I personally like questing.  It has given me good reasons to explore the various zones, and the desire to complete certain quests has given me motivation to improve my skills so I can do those things faster or better. 

As for whether I like to do quests over other things.  A little bit, perhaps.  I enjoy roleplaying -- a lot-- when it happens. But to be honest, I am a very casual player who does not play often and when I do, it's not for long periods of time.  Even though I enjoy roleplay, I am also a very progression oriented person.  I like to complete tasks.  So, if the choice is roleplaying or questing...well, questing will win hands down over routine roleplaying. Example of routine: standing around shooting the bull while mining platinum.  Exceptional roleplaying, or event roleplaying, will get me off a quest. For instance, once I was asked to help 'hunt' someone by a bounty hunter. They approached me and said they had been charged with tracking down another Nolthrir, and they needed a Nolthrir to aid them.  I was intrigued. A conversation ensued, followed by a hunt and an eventual betrayal (on my part) because I did not particularly trust the motives of the bounty hunter.  You get the idea--it was fun, and out of the ordinary.

When I first started playing PS, it was when gold was big.... gold mining near Hydlaa...crowds of people all standing there mining.  Sound familiar?  I was too new to even know where to start on mining. This was fortunate, in hindsight, because it meant that I chose to do quests instead and those were more fulfilling.  HOWEVER, the truth was (and I did not realise this until later) that you need tries -- tons of 'em -- to train to decent levels in the game. Perhaps I should have been mining, because after that the gold was harder to get out of the ground and it took me a LONG time to make enough money to get decent training.  I make this point because I think it highlights a slight problem in the game, which is that it takes an awful lot of trias to pay for training. It's a real challenge to a casual player like me (and there are lots of us) and I think it's why so many people are standing there like zombies with mining picks in their hands instead of RPing or Questing, both of which are more rewarding activities.

I don't know how to fix this (or even if anything is broken) but it's just an observation.  I suppose it depend on how the devs feel and what they want the population doing.  One thing that keeps it interesting, of course, is that mining resources change and new things come (and go).  This in itself keeps the world interesting.

In closing, my advice to newbies is to get your Endurance training as fast as you can (so you can run farther, faster!) and DO those quests!  You can get some very neat stuff.  Ask around, people will tell you which ones to do, and you will probably need help in completing them particularly those that require killing certain monsters. You will find that many people are kind and willing to help, and this is a great way to make friends.

Good luck.

-Tenveren Taniseed

Tales from the Depths
 
Chapter 1: In the Ancient City

Beneath the depths, the shimmering blue light of the Azure Sun casts a dim glow on the ruins of an ancient city. Ages ago, longer even than the memory of the Elders, this necropolis was a magnificent centre of wealth and power. Hints of its former splendour were everywhere, from the intricate carvings, to the many empty insets where great rubies, emeralds and sapphires would have been placed. Only the largest structures remained, and those had crumbled to a point where they would have been unrecognizable by the former inhabitants. Enormous blocks of stone, their edges marred and cracked from tumbling over one another, lie strewn about on the sandy sea floor, with great strands of Lepora seaweeds forming clumps in every crevice. The histories speak of a great earthquake in this region, which was known to have laid waste to most of the remaining buildings.  Slowly, but surely, the city was being claimed by the sea.

Slowly, cautiously, a young Waveglider slides out from under the sands in search of prey. It moves along the bottom, it’s long whiskers feeling deep in search of food. Tenveren Gildor, hidden in a massive stone alcove, watches with curiosity. Suddenly, in a violent explosion of activity, the creature lunges forward. A dense cloud forms around the spot, obscuring his view. Patiently, the elf watches and waits, the dense seaweeds wrapping around him in a forest of camouflage. His gills flare as he takes a deep, slow breath. A strong current pushes into the area, moving the cloud aside to reveal a giant Ghedusa, a large crab-like beast adorned with many deadly claws. It sits above the corpse of the Waveglider, its lifeless body ripped and pinned beneath the pincers of its captor. The big crustacean begins to shuffle, moving back and forth in succession, forcing sand back over its body. Within moments neither hunter nor prey is visible, though the Ghedusa still sits in waiting, ever hungry. Tenveren makes a mental note to avoid the area on his way out, and reflexively grasps his spear.

The elf runs his fingers over alien hieroglyphs on nearby stones, wondering at their meaning and origins. To his people, the Nolthrir, this place was a mystery. Some speculated that it was once inhabited by aquatic elves like themselves, while others believed this was once a terrestrial environment ruled by land dwellers.  One could not be sure, since no one had yet decoded the language. And the decorative elements of these ancient peoples were no help, either.  Everywhere there were symbols from the sea: seashells, fishes and Cetaraeans, massive pelagic mammals of the deep waters. Was this appreciation they were expressing, or actual immersion?  Historians pointed to the lack of fountains as proof that this was an underwater society, but the occasional evidence of staircases seemed to indicate a respect for gravity that ocean dwellers took for granted. Tenveren sighed to himself.  This time of peaceful reflection was ending. It was time to head home.

Pushing hard against the rock, the male Nolthrir bursts from the dark crevice, leaving a trail of torn seaweed and bubbles in his wake. Clutching his sharp spear, Tenveren rapidly beats his webbed feet until he achieves considerable speed.  In moments, he clears the edges of the city and the ruins become dim in the distance. Like an elven torpedo, he darts and spins into schools of silverspools, their tiny bodies sparkling like metallic flecks against the light above. Tenveren slips a few of the tiny fishes into his mouth, enjoying their salty taste and crunchy texture.  Again he whips into a cluster, snapping up another handful. Numbering in the thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, the act is effortless.  Enjoying his triumph, he continues on for many minutes. In the distance, he sights the turquoise towers of Neobra of the Spines, his home. And, his prison.