I doubt that anyone would’ve predicted that in 2023, Wurm Online of all MMOs would be embroiled in controversy, developer walkouts, and predictions of imminent demise. Yet recent actions by the sandbox’s new owners have sent this title into a spiral, which MMOQuests notes.
“An enormous number of staff have left this week, more than I’ve ever seen before in the history of Wurm Online — and that worries me. The overall health of the game worries me. As a 15+ year player I am considering that it might be time to move on before it gets bad. I’m not one to make that decision lightly.”
Read on for more MMO essays covering SWTOR, Path of Exile, Sea of Thieves, and more!
24 Hours In noted how weird it is that SWTOR’s Bounty Hunters aren’t Mandolorians: “You’re the scrappy underdog, and they’re the elitest jerks sneering at you for not being one of them. I’m more than okay with that. I’ve taken a different role model.”
Contains Moderate Peril thinks it’s pretty funny we jog all the time in MMOs: “Running in an MMO is usually the most expedient way of travelling. It’s not mandatory though, which is why you will sometimes see role players walking everywhere for realism. The tradeoff is that it takes longer and you look like a fool doing it.”
Tales of the Aggronaut gives you tips on starting out in Path of Exile: “Path of Exile is by far the most complete package out there, but it has an extremely steep learning curve in order to get to the point where you feel comfortable with all of the concepts. For example, I am well over 1200 hours into the game and I still feel like I am just getting started.”
Mailvatar encourages you to play at your own pace: “Bottom line is, I couldn’t play as much as I’d have liked due to the disgustingly long queues during my off-hours, and whenever I finally did play I was always in a rush. As it turns out this had much more of an impact on how I perceived the game as a whole than I realized at the time.”
Frostilyte Writes shares five things that all gamers should know when getting into Sea of Thieves: “Speaking of promotions, once you hit level 15 with the Merchant Alliance, Order of Souls, or Gold Hoarders then you’ll be able to fly an Emissary Flag to represent them. By flying an Emissary Flag, you’ll accumulate a bonus to both your gold, and reputation earned while selling items related to the faction who’s flag your flying.”
Inventory Full lacked praise for the recent-ish Ethyrial: Echoes of Yore, saying, “I’m starting to realise that a great deal of the kind of experience I used to enjoy back in the days games like Ethyrial are hoping to bring back are better replicated not by MMORPGs but by the newish hybrids, the survival-MMOs.”
Every day there are tons of terrific, insightful, and unusual articles posted across the MMO gaming blogosphere — and every day, Justin reads as many as he can. Global Chat is a sampling of noteworthy essays, rants, and guides from the past few weeks of MMO discourse.
