I have a lot of reasons for playing SWG Legends: its crafting is unbeatable and its housing is still good, and also it’s the only Star Wars sandbox in town. But I think the reason it sticks so well for me is one of those things that is illuminated only in contrast with other games.
See, Star Wars Galaxies, like many other sandboxes, does take up a truly excessive amount of time. I wager I spend more time running my business in there than most raiders spend on their favorite pastime. But it’s not particularly demanding about when I devote that time. While a raider is going to have a set schedule based on lockouts and guild availability, I can kinda do things on my own schedule, in small spurts or big ones. Sometimes I will spend the whole weekend prepping factory runs that I might not even turn on for weeks, sort of like the equivalent of meal prep in real life. I’m not penalized for not being able to log in at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, which means the game mostly works with my weird schedule, even though it still demands the time investment.
Obviously, SWG is not alone, though I wonder whether its factory and vendor system gives it a leg up. What would you say are are the best MMOs for weird schedules?
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!
