Last week, we covered the bizarre case of a Dragon’s Prophet rogue server, which announced itself as a legitimate, partnered version of the game coming to Steam and multiple other platforms. A few days of digging and prodding on the part of MOP and MMO Fallout exposed the server as just a fan-run emulator, whose operator banned media and lied to my (virtual) face using contract documents Runewaker itself debunked. Obviously, the game won’t actually be approved by Steam, but that won’t stop ravenous fans from handing over money and playing a game run by super shady folks, if Discord is any judge.
The thing is, as we’ve covered at length, most MMO players aren’t really that opposed to rogue servers anymore. Folks have seen too many good games cut down and nuked for reasons that had little to do with quality or profitability, and game preservation is a hot topic lately. But you surely know as well as we do that for every relatively clean server made by people who love an old game, there are many more that are selling perks and cheats under the table – and selling your data to boot.
How do you decide whether or not to play an MMO rogue server? Are there specific things you absolutely need the admins to do to prove they’re as legit as they can be under the circumstances – or specific red flags that warn you away?
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!
