I have to admit I allow myself a little self-satisfied giggle every time I see a major or minor MMORPG adding or enhancing farming – and I mean the kind with crops and cute critters, not the kind where you grind repetitive content for money or loot. I have always loved farming in games, but I remember the endless ridicule PC and console gamers pointed at popular iterations like FarmVille, whose chief crime was its monetization and spam, not the casual content itself. Nowadays, games that feature farming prominently are ubiquitous. Even WoW did farming for a turn (at least until like most of its best systems it was effectively discarded with the next expansion).
It’s been several years since we talked about the genre’s versions of farming and gardening, and in that time period, several games have planted the seeds of it, including my own main MMO home, SWG Legends. And just in the last few weeks, we’ve seen teases and releases of similarly idyllic pastoral content from The Wagadu Chronicles to Final Fantasy XIV. I adore this stuff, but of course, not all farming minigames are created equal.
Tell me what I should be playing: Which MMO farming system is the most fun?
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!
