Last week, in the comments of Tyler’s Soapbox about Lord of the Rings MMOs, a few commenters were discussing LOTRO’s version of the Shire specifically and how we kinda just never wanted to leave it. It’s not the first MMO I’ve ever felt that about, either. Anyone remember Guild Wars’ Pre-Searing Ascalon? Once you left, you could never go back, and you were deposited into a destroyed version of it. So people would literally create new characters to hang out in Pre, never to leave or visit the rest of the game.
Of course, you can always go back to the Shire, and if your home is there, or you’re super into farming, that’s a necessity. In other games, well, when you finish all the quests in a zone, you’re probably not going to go back, leading to a sad feeling rather than a happy when you complete all the things. I recently had that exact experience with a character leaving the initial Praetorian zones in City of Heroes. Even in a game like Guild Wars 2, which anticipated this problem with excellent level scaling and dailies that push folks around the world, I seldom have new opportunities to go back to some of my fave zones there (huge Frostgorge Sound fangirl right here!).
Are there any MMO zones that you absolutely hate to leave? And as a bonus question, what other ways could devs get us back into the old zones we love so much? (Thanks for the suggestion, Minimalistway!)
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!
