This past weekend, MMO designer Greg “Ghostcrawler” Street lobbed another bomb rather cavalierly into the MMORPG discourse, this one about tab targeting. And maybe unsurprisingly, he’s not actually opposed to tab target in MMOs.
“This is the kind of thing we will iterate on a lot, but we don’t think tab targeting is the problem in western MMO combat,” he wrote. “We think it’s the focus on a bajillion buff and debuff icons to convey info and produce depth.”
Naturally, the MMO folks who follow him on Twitter had Opinions, ranging from claims that tab target is antiquated and The Kids hate it to claims that action combat is actually a sloppy mess that doesn’t resolve button bloat or rotation spam or any of the problems with tab target anyway. Both extremes maintain that the other is a gatekeeper for a large segment of the MMO playerbase, while others sit in the center on the side of hybrid approaches.
Let’s Overthink it. Where do we stand on tab target vs. action combat in 2024? Is action combat the only acceptable type of combat in the modern age for a new MMORPG? And is Ghostcrawler right that solving the buff/debuff bloat renders the tab target/action combat debate moot?
Brianna Royce (@nbrianna, blog): I personally tend to prefer tab target, but the middle is good too; I really enjoy the hybrid style of Guild Wars 2, for example. It’s clearly possible to build something that is technically and functionally tab target but still feels fluid and flashy and fast like action combat. But generally, action combat annoys me largely because it’s imprecise. I’m just not always hitting what I want to be hitting the way I want to be hitting it, and I usually don’t have a lot of options anyway. I often find that this style raises both the effort required and the boredom I feel doing it, which is a fast way to get me to nope out.
I do think Street is correct, though, that most of the things people complain about with tab targeting aren’t actually the tab targeting but rather things that tend to come along for the ride with tab target MMORPGs. He mentions buff/debuffs out the wazoo, which has forever annoyed me, but it also includes a static or slow pace to combat (rooting or GCDs) and button/hotkey bloat – none of which are actually requirements of tab target, though many older MMOs certainly do them too.
MMORPGs work better with tab target because of the associated complexity; I think combat complexity is a key part of MMORPGs, and losing it slowly over time (crowd control, preventive healing, pulling, maintained pulse, mana maintenance, marks and calling, buffs and debuffs) makes them feel small, repetitive, soloish, and unsticky. But a lot of MMOs suck at actually developing that complexity, so I understand why action combat fans revolt against bad tab target: They’re not getting the payoff they wanted for putting up with bad tab target. I feel the same way about bad action combat!
This has always seemed like the turn-based/real-time strategy argument to me, and it has all the same problems and answers. Games can be (and have to be) more complex if the player is given time to think, and games can be (and have to be) less complex if the player is acting on speed and instinct. But the real contention is the type and application of complexity. Street is right.
Carlo Lacsina (@UltraMudkipEX, YouTube, Twitch): I like both, but I personally prefer my MMOs tab target because its what makes MMOs feel like MMOs. Action combat to me is best in single-player games, especially character action games like Devil May Cry. For some odd reason, games like Genshin Impact also feel good as action games. I think what matters more to me at this point is “punchiness.” I like those big meaty sounds, screen shakes, and cool animations in tab target games. I’m also in the same camp thinking that we need to do less visual clutter and more ways to communicate the myriad debuffs/debuffs that clutter our screen. I enjoy how many single-player games have cut their UI down somehow to a single health bar to show more of the game. That would be awesome.
Chris Neal (@wolfyseyes, blog):Â I’m going to be one of those obnoxious middling sorts who enjoys both combat models, though obviously execution in either is the real sauce as opposed to whether tab-targeting is superior to action combat. I’ve played plenty of MMORPGs where both combat models were fun, engaging, and deep enough to make fighting tactical without getting into buff/debuff bloat.
And that really is the big deal that Street brings up: That bloat is definitely something that has to be managed, either through making debuffing a core component of combat (a la City of Heroes) or throwing it aside wholesale to make direct attacking far more impactful. And those choices matter more than whether combat is tab-target, active, or hybrid in my view.
Justin Olivetti (@Sypster, blog): Let’s throw it all out and go back to turn-based combat with menus! YEAH! Actually, that’s what MMOs have to consider, the strategic depth of RPG combat decisions with keeping fights looking cool and not going on too long. And you can frankly do this with any method. I vastly prefer tab-targeting, as I’ve never met a pure action combat MMORPG that felt right. Tab targeting gives my brain a chance to breathe and consider possibilities. But yeah, Ghostcrawler might have a point about buff/debuff bloat when it’s just a sea of icons. Could those effects be better portrayed visually? Fewer of them with more significant impact? Perhaps.
Sam Kash (@thesamkash): I am solidly on the action combat side. Many games that try to go back and make tab targeting a thing end up feeling clunky to me. If I swing my sword, I really expect it to hit someone near me. I think Ravendawn Online required you to tab target an enemy otherwise your skills wouldn’t activate. That was a bit annoying.
With that said, I did really enjoy tab targeting in Guild Wars. I spammed the C key like crazy though. I think I had pretty much worn the print out.
Tyler Edwards (blog):Â I’ve been pretty clear throughout the years that I’m team action combat through and through. I think tab target is an outdated model that was necessary in the days when Internet connections were slower but serves no purpose now.
Tab target doesn’t have to be a deal-breaker for me — I’m back in WoW now, after all — but I definitely enjoy games despite it rather than because of it. It just makes everything feel so stilted and artificial. It’s immersion breaking — that’s my real problem with it. Having so much of combat automated takes me out of the experience.
Also, it’s really hard to go back to a game without mouselook once you’re use to it. It just feels unnatural.
I’m trying to think of a positive to tab target and I’m really coming up blank. Usually the argument is something related to accessibility, that tab target is slower and more forgiving to those with slower reflexes, but that’s really a matter of tuning and not inherent to either model. There are mechanics in WoW’s mythic raids that will instagib you if you hesitate a moment, and there are some faster-paced tab target rotations that are incredibly APM heavy. Meanwhile New World’s warhammer, for example, is quite a slow and stately playstyle.
I actually have pretty slow reflexes, come to think of it. I can’t play Overwatch against anything but bots without embarrassing myself because I’m just too slow on the draw. And yet I still do fine in action combat MMOs.
I think there’s a lot that could be done to modernize and improve tab target, like more reactive abilities, less button bloat, and the like… but really all you’re accomplishing by doing so is making it more like action combat, so why not go all the way?
Every week, join the Massively OP staff for Massively Overthinking column, a multi-writer roundtable in which we discuss the MMO industry topics du jour – and then invite you to join the fray in the comments. Overthinking it is literally the whole point. Your turn!
