When Middling MMOs Surprise You

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middle ground mmo, middling mmo, MMO, mmorpg, mmorpgs, mmos, this shit is fun dont ignore it, trove, trove mmo

I’m having a lot of fun in Trove and I didn’t really expect to.

I mean, I sort of did expect to. It’s a colorful little romp of a game that really leans in on just wandering the world, stumbling into points of interest, and blowing up enemies for goodies. It’s got all of the hooks of a good ARPG and all of the color of a fresh box of crayons. When I lay that all out like that, it shouldn’t be shocking that I find Trove to be enjoyable. Yet here I am, surprised. And delightedly so.

The Cold Water of Bad Presentation

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arenanet, dev livestream, dev stream, developers, end of dragons, give me the bottles mother, guild wars 2, gw2, livestream, MMO, mmorpg, mmorpgs, mmos, presentation, stream

So a few days ago I put out a tweet and wrote a blog about expansion hype, both of which was prompted by Guild Wars 2 and the incoming End of Dragons expansion. Initially, I was very curious about the three elite specs that were previewed and was eager to try my hand at the game again to see if perhaps I’m in the right mood for the MMO.

That was all before I watched a large portion of an official beta preview stream, primarily for MOP work purposes and also partially for my own curiosity. And after having gone through that video, I am now significantly less interested in both End of Dragons and GW2. And it’s all thanks to some extremely bad presentation.

Storytelling via Clothing

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character customization, character development, ffxiv, final fantasy xiv, MMO, mmo character customization, mmo cosmetics, mmorpg, mmorpg cosmetics, mmorpgs, mmos, no promises though, roleplay, roleplayers, rp, this will maybe be the last time i talk about this topic, xiv

This will probably be my last post about MMO outfits. Maybe.

Before I begin I should update you all on the personal goings-on of my Final Fantasy XIV character. She recently has had a couple of character breakthroughs involving an in-character fight with another member of my guild, some introspection about how good that fight felt, learning how to harness her combative strength and come to grips with it by learning how to use a gunblade on the sly, and slowly sinking deeper into a life of underground crime and debauchery as the person she fought with takes her under his wing to learn how to be a contraband smuggler.

All of this has been a delight for a number of reasons. It’s finally allowed my character to have some progression; it’s finally seen some character daggers actually get used by people; and as a writing exercise, it’s given me the opportunity to finally challenge myself by writing a character that can be soft, alluring, and loving as well as a badass without falling into edgelord traps. On top of that, though, it’s allowed me the chance to create new outfits.

That Old Expansion Hype Again

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expansion, expansion pack, fomo, guild wars, guild wars 2, gw2, hype, MMO, mmo dlc, mmorpg, mmorpg dlc, mmorpg expansion, mmorpgs, mmos, new game, new games, new things

Something about Guild Wars 2 continues to not sink in even though I feel like it should. It’s got a nice little open world vibe. It’s combat is… well, it’s something I’ve gotten used to even if it’s not something I’m in love with. It has a big fluffy cat race. It has raids that I’d like to try and see someday. And it has a more relaxed, open, and cooperative sort of leveling playstyle. Yet I still can’t get into it.

Even knowing this, I still find myself becoming enthralled by the siren song of the End of Dragons expansion and I’m reminded that this is a trap I just can’t stop falling in to.

How to design MMO character customization correctly (according to someone who is not a game dev lol)

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customization, game design, game dev, MMO, mmo character, mmo character customization, mmo characters, mmorpg, mmorpgs, mmos, probably bad ideas

This post was inspired by a question posed by Mark Yetter, the director of Riot Games’ developing Runeterra MMO, and on the face of it the question sounds a little silly. In the tweet, Yetter ponders “what can be done to encourage players to try new things and differentiate their looks,” eliciting a bunch of people referencing systems already done by various other games as well as some concern that Yetter has never seen the inside of an MMORPG. That said, I’m not sure that’s what he’s asking for here. I think what was intended is ways to incentivize and reward creativity. So that’s what I’m going to try and focus on in this post.

Style Matters in MMO Classes

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city of heroes, class, classes, coh, doing it wrong, ffxiv, final fantasy xiv, MMO, mmo class, mmo classes, mmorpg, mmorpg class, mmorpg classes, mmorpgs, mmos, roleplay, tera, xiv

One of the Discords that I’m a part of featured a conversation among some players of Final Fantasy XIV who were discussing the different tank classes in the game. It was interesting to watch unfold, as the tete-a-tete mostly featured one person who was all about the DPS numbers and skill potency figures while the other was about how the class felt, and it’s not often I get to witness two disparate viewpoints discuss things (let alone in a rational matter).

It got me to thinking about my own experiences with classes in FFXIV, and then with other classes in other MMOs, and throughout the little bit of navel gazing, one common thread stood out: When it comes to MMO classes, style will always trump substance for me.

When Home Games Become Fortresses

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community, ffxiv, final fantasy xiv, gatekeeping, MMO, mmo communities, mmo community, mmo games, mmorpg, mmorpgs, mmos, white knight, white knighting, xiv

I’m going to have to thank MOP’s editor in chief and my awesome boss Bree for this prompted post. We were talking in the work chat about how sad and dangerous it was when people wrap their entire identity around a single MMO or single game, and that got me thinking a lot about the topic.

If you’ve been even near gaming discourse on any platform or website, you pretty much know the type. They’re often referred to as “white knights” and usually charge headlong into keyboard battle to defend the honor of their favorite game and, by extension, their home. And while I can certainly appreciate the desire to battle back against misinformation or misconception, or even the need to argue online (in good faith, ideally), there’s also a point where it becomes clear that a home game — a place meant to escape to in comfort — turns into a fortress that must be protected against all comers.

The Thrival Sandbox or How I Learned to Love the Grind

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elite dangerous, MMO, mmos, multiplayer, multiplayer gaming, no man's sky, sandbox, sandbox mmo, survival, survival sandbox, survival sandbox mmo

I’ve made no attempts to hide my distaste for survival sandbox MMOs and games. They’re one of the laziest forms of game design and I still hold to that opinion for the most part. That said, I have slowly begun to find a few exceptions to the rule that have endeared me to at least a couple of aspects to the sub-genre and, perhaps in some small way, helped me to build a bit of empathy and appreciation for those who love these kinds of games.

Fanning Flames for Final Fantasy XIV

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burnout, final fantasy xiv, games, gaming, gaming burnout, MMO, mmo burnout, mmorpg, mmos, wildstar

MMO burnout. It’s a thing that every MMO gamer has gone through multiple times. Whether it’s specific to a single game or just general malaise at the genre entire, it’s kind of a regular cycle. Especially for those of us who play to raise stats and progress for hours on end over the course of months, like a nerdy flagellation in offering to Gary Gygax.

“Just a few more swings and my dailies are complete…”

So it is with myself and Final Fantasy XIV, and I wanted to babble on about why it’s happened and ideas on how to fix it.

The Value of a Schedule

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first-world problem, free time, gaming, how to, mmos, schedule, time management, writing

My life is dominated by a general lack of time, as is the case with many humans. Working at a 3 to midnight leaves me bare little time for lots of leisure.

Also, sleeping is super nice.

Combined that with the mass of gaming choices and you could see the problem I’m having…first-world though it may be. So I figured setting up a schedule would be helpful. Here’s how my thought processes went.