The best Massively OP community Daily Grinds of 2018

Assuming the archives are correct, the first Daily Grind ever was penned by Krystalle Voecks on November 3rd, 2007, a day after Old Massively was founded – or I suppose to be more accurate, a day after it was rechristened from a Second Life blog into a multi-MMO website under AOL.

In other words, a Daily Grind has been written almost every single day for the last 11 years. That’s like over 4000 Daily Grinds. That is a legacy, people. We’ve been kicking off the day with a community discussion topic for a very, very long time.

So today, in honor of that legacy, I’m gonna pick out my top favorite Daily Grinds from 2018 – one from each month!

January: Would you play a PvE game with full item decay?

This TDG provoked interesting discussion but no consensus other than “it depends.” While some folks are against it no matter what, others are willing to consider it if the mechanics make sense and it doesn’t become a grind.

February: How do you feel about the increased focus on PvP in upcoming MMOs?

Again, the comments were mixed. Folks seem to agree on two points: PvP content is definitely cheaper to make, and nobody wants to be forced into PvP or PvE content against his or her will.

March: Can a sub still work for MMORPGs in 2018?

In spite of the continuing decline of the pay-to-play MMO market, most folks seem to believe the sub model can work and certainly wish that it will return again, though I don’t think they have “battle/season pass” nonsense in mind.

April: Which non-MMORPGs would make good MMORPGs?

Our community had so many great ideas that would make wonderful MMOs. Diablo! Shadowrun! Dragon Age! Dune! Mass Effect! Discworld! PlaneScape! Even Fortnite! And Fallout and Torchlight made that list so many times. Little did we know…

May: Is it possible for an MMORPG to offer an optional sub that isn’t pay-to-win?

Sometimes I think that monetization analysts who work for these MMO companies just sit and laugh and laugh and laugh when we ask a question like this and a lot of the answers basically spiral into semantic debate over words like “pay” and “win” and “sub” such that people forget the gross monetization analysts were the enemy. Sometimes the answers really are simple and don’t in fact require an essay on the meaning of win. Keep your eye on the ball, people.

June: How much dough have you dropped on Steam in its lifetime?

“WHY DID YOU TELL US ABOUT THIS TOOL?!” commenter Targeter moaned about the tool that calculates your total Steam spend over its lifetime. “They should just call it ‘REGRET SIMULATOR.'” The winner (?) was over $13,000. Wow!

July: What MMO is theoretically perfect but fails to click with you?

Everyone’s got one of these MMOs, right? It’s kind of amazing how many times Final Fantasy XIV comes up in the comments. A lot of people think it looks amazing on paper and enjoy its success… but can’t get into it. Guilty here too.

August: How much of an MMO graphics snob are you?

Yeah, for the most part, you guys are total graphics snobs!

September: Do you think you’ve aged out of MMOs?

Ouch, uncomfortable topic, right? I approached it from the angle of aging but not aging out: “I might play less than I did as a teenager when I had plenty of free time, but I enjoy the time I spend much more because it’s more focused and more tailored to my personal tastes.” Other folks argued that the problem isn’t us or our age; it’s the MMOs themselves that have degraded too much.

October: Has an MMO ever been ruined for you by the community?

Heads-up, MMO companies: The vast majority of our commenters say yes. And many, many of them turn off chat. Our genre has a community problem. It needs fixing.

November: Which MMO NPC do you hate with an undying passion?

The right answer is still Sara Oakheart. It’s been Sara Oakheart for 11 years.

December: What’s the meanest thing you can say about an MMO you adore?

This one was a follow-up to the “say something nice about an MMO you don’t like” Daily Grind and I loved the responses. Look, being honest about the faults and flaws of your darlings helps keep you centered and them in check. Be a fan! Fangirl/fanboys aren’t helping anyone.

And the bonus because I want to do a bonus and nobody can stop me: Would you play a Wheel of Time MMO?

I had no idea how many people were going to go nuts for this one. It’s a travesty that no such game has ever been completed.

We’d love to hear your favorites too!