Irrelevant Sidequest: Difference between revisions

 

Can become a [[Plot Tumor]]. Related to [[Apathetic Citizens]] (your clients), [[It's Up to You]] (nobody else will do these things for you), and [[Take Your Time]] (do as many sidequests as you want!).

 

* ''[[Baldur's Gate]]'' has lots of them, where you need to pick up rings, gems, books, nymphs... whatever, for no real reason that has anything to do with the plot. Fortunately, many provide experience, gold, and reputation, as well as making your journal quite an interesting read.

** ''[[Baldur's Gate]]'' 2 is much better about it: the sidequests are ''just'' as irrelevant, but you either a) have a personal stake, b) make it clear that you're looking for a large sum of cash for a personal quest, or c) given to you ''because'' you're an ass-kicking demi-god. Throne of Bhaal is also significant in that there are ''no'' irrelevant sidequests ''per se'': some seem that way, but end up being relevant later.

* In ''[[Okami]]'', you can end up helping an old lady with her laundry, getting ingredients for a restaurant (twice!), racing messengers, taking vases as offerings to shrines, feeding kittens, and what-have-you. And you're playing as ''god''. Heck, the plot ''requires'' you to do some of the odder ones, like helping clueless people fish with no line and having a turnip-digging contest with a kid's pet dog. Vaguely justified in that you need to re-earn the people's faith, but still, you'd think that there would be better ways to do it.

* [[Borderlands]], which provide the fastest route for experience to level up your characters. They're less important late-game.

* In ''[[Grand Theft Auto IV]]'' and ''[[Red Dead Redemption]]'', you are frequently tasked with doing silly side missions, oftentimes to get NPCs out of debt. If you are someone who spends a lot of time roaming the [[Wide Open Sandbox]], you can easily have enough money to settle these debts for your friend without jumping through the hoops, but this is not an option.

** Many Grand Theft Auto games are like this. In ''San Andreas'' your beloved Grove Street is overrun by drug dealers, smackheads and people who personally hate you. But hey, let's go race cars and dance!