A while back, I was hanging out in Lord of the Rings Online when I spied a conversation in world chat that we’ve all probably seen and participated in a thousand times before. Essentially, players were complaining about gear-related progression resets – specifically, the habit of themepark MMOs to drive you to grind away on a gear treadmill for months, only to add new content that basically renders the old gear obsolete, so you’ve got to start the whole process over again.
LOTRO is honestly not a big offender for this as the raid scene is entirely skippable anyhow. But I empathize with the players griping about this as well as the players pointing out how it’s come to be so common in MMOs. Let’s talk about it: Does the treadmill of gear obsolescence drive you batty in MMORPGs? Does its presence as a design mechanic in MMOs ever drive you out of certain MMOs and into others? Where do you go to escape it?
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!
