Quests
Learning paths through this topic
Find and resolve the last enemy that is stuck in a place nobody can reach
Ninety-nine enemies are down, one is wedged behind a crate or inside a wall, and the mission shows one left forever. Players write angry reviews. Here is how to notice the straggler, help the player look for it, and in the end settle the matter without feeling cheated.
Count "clear 30 red gems" once per gem, also in cascades and special pieces
A quest that counts matches instead of pieces pays out too early with crossing lines and too late with chain reactions. Here is what to count, what a piece that turns into a power-up does to the number, and how to make the total match what the player saw.
Award level medals across several runs, but keep "perfect" for one run
A player is fast in one run, clean in another and complete in a third. Should that be perfect? Saving only the best run loses real achievements, while mixing everything makes the top medal worthless. Here is how to keep both honest.
Count "create three level-4 items" correctly when merges chain on
One drop merges into a bigger item, which merges again, and the quest asks for an item that existed for only an instant. Here is the rule for what counts as created, how the chain is resolved, and why checking the board afterwards gets it wrong.
Merge two save slots so found secrets and claimed rewards survive
A player finds secrets on the laptop, plays on the handheld, and later both saves meet. One wins and the other's finds vanish, or a reward is paid a second time. Here is how to combine progress so that nothing earned is lost and nothing is paid twice.
Count only levels cleared for the first time after the quest started
"Beat five new levels" is finished at once when the counter looks at old progress, and farmable when replays count. Here is a small history of first clears that gives the right answer even if the player replays, skips ahead or accepts the quest late.
Decide which hits break a "finish without being hit" challenge
The player blocked the blow, the shield soaked it up, a rocket jump hurt them, or they were flashing and the hit did nothing. Did the challenge fail? Here is how to sort the cases so the rule feels fair, and why the log must record more than lost health.
Point the objective arrow along the route the player can actually walk
In a level with ledges, drops and ladders, a straight arrow to the goal points at a wall, or into a pit with no way back. And an arrow that flips between two nearly equal routes makes players dizzy. Here is how to point the way that works and keep the arrow calm.
Finish a whole chain of idle quests offline and carry the surplus forward
Three quests follow one another, the player is away all night, and on return only the first is finished while the progress that came after it is lost. Here is a way to credit every step in order, with the right finishing times and the leftover on the one still open.
Count "defeat four enemies with one explosion" when chain reactions are involved
The player blasts a barrel, which sets off two more, which finish several enemies. Did that take one action or three? And a different blast later should not add to the first. Here is how to trace every defeat back to the single act that started it.
Let one kill advance every matching quest, and complete two quests on the same hit
A burning enemy dies and the player holds two quests: defeat fifty enemies, defeat ten burning ones. Only one moves, or both complete but one reward is lost in the shuffle. Here is how to hand each event to every quest that wants it, exactly once.
Keep an "eliminate the targets in order" quest alive after a wrong kill
The order is guard, sniper, guard, captain. The player does guard, sniper, guard, then the wrong sniper, then continues correctly, and the quest has lost track and starts again from nothing. Here is how to reset only as much as the mistake deserves.