For players who feel as though they’re never being pushed very hard in the modern era of MMORPGs, one concept has bubbled up to provide the challenge that studios won’t. This is what’s colloquially called an ironman mode or ironman challenge.
The idea here is that players will create a character that will voluntarily submit to a stringent set of rules designed to make leveling and questing dangerous and difficult. The specific rules for ironman modes change from game to game and player to player, but typically there is no use of any external help, no talent points, and no good gear. Additionally, most ironman challenges will require a player to delete his or her character and restart upon that character’s sole death.
Is this something that sounds interesting to you? Have you ever tried an ironman challenge or something like it to give a new and more difficult twist on an MMO playthrough?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
