Columns

Enjoy a run-down of our recent long-form pieces, both game-specific and more general. You might also be interested in our list of all of our columns and recurring articles. [Follow this category’s RSS feed]

Forty-six & 2

Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV’s Blue Mage is balanced right, even if you don’t like that

49
This extra this week entirely comes from me doing the intellectual equivalent of pouring a mixture of lemon juice and salt directly into an...
Bye Felicia.

The Daily Grind: What MMO are you thankful for today?

30
A lot of the time, we use this space to ask serious and thought-provoking questions, but today is a holiday in the US, and...

Hyperspace Beacon: Five things you need to do before SWTOR’s 5.10 update

7
Update 5.10 for Star Wars: The Old Republic is coming very soon, possibly next week, but more likely the week after. That's not a...
What can I say except ''you're welcome''

Perfect Ten: How MMOs teach us to be thankful

1
Every year around this time, I try to produce a Perfect Ten about thankfulness. Those of you who know my writing also know that...
This should be obvious.

Wisdom of Nym: The first reactions to Final Fantasy XIV’s fan festival

13
Well, gosh. That was sure a lot of news for Final Fantasy XIV over a weekend, huh? Expected news, sure, but therein lie some of my...

FFXIV Fan Festival 2018: Q&A with Producer and Director Naoki Yoshida

6
The question and answer portion of the Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival actually came before the Letter from the Producer, and as a result it...

One Shots: Take me home, country roads

30
I can't tell if Deekay Plus' headlining shot from Fallout 76 here is that of a gorgeous West Virginia sunrise -- or an in-progress...
Faires past

The Daily Grind: What are your reactions to this year’s Final Fantasy XIV Fanfest?

32
Game-specific conventions are always a wild ride. Square-Enix didn't have to spend the past few days wowing people who had no idea about what...

LOTRO Legendarium: Starting on a legendary journey

10
Part of me was laughing at myself. Here I was, a grown man, shuffling around my weekly schedule to come home in the middle...

FFXIV Fan Festival 2018: Shadowbringers promises new story, new regions, and new jobs

40
The plan was to fan a spark into a flame, but now it's getting dark, so who'll remember your name? (Apologies to Lin-Manuel Miranda...
Actually call it a comeback.

WoW Factor: The smart World of Warcraft stuff from BlizzCon

21
Let's get something out of the way first and foremost. I am not going to count Warcraft III: Reforged as a smart thing for...
Dead in the water.

Vague Patch Notes: When World of Warcraft breaks off your friendship

49
I spent a bunch of time post-BlizzCon thinking about why World of Warcraft personally bothered me. Not why its design pitfalls bothered me; that's...

Hyperspace Beacon: Everything you need to know about Star Wars The Old Republic’s guild changes

5
Since the launch of the game, guilds have been a real weakness for Star Wars: The Old Republic. For the longest time, I have...
Litany of lineups.

The Daily Grind: What’s the ideal length for MMO group content?

58
An average run of content in Final Fantasy XIV is going to take me about half an hour... usually. It's actually more fiddly than...

Perfect Ten: MMOs that cater to the time-limited player

21
Every once in a while we receive emails here at Massively OP that share a similar sentiment. Usually that boils down to, "I love...
How does this need to be said.

Jukebox Heroes: Worlds Adrift’s soundtrack

0
While the actual game of Worlds Adrift probably won't be grapple-hooking me any time soon, there is something about its style that I find...
Sing a song of madness.

Wisdom of Nym: Predictions for Final Fantasy XIV’s fan festival

23
Well, here we go again. This Friday is time for Final Fantasy XIV fans to sit down and find out what the next expansion...

EVE Evolved: Making the most of EVE Online’s Onslaught expansion

4
EVE Online's Onslaught expansion goes live in just a few days on November 13th, and it looks like it has a little bit of...

One Shots: Winter is… here!

23
As I'm prepping this column, we're in the middle of a nice early November snowstorm. I'm sort of wondering where fall went and why...
I AM SO GREAT! *clap* I AM SO GREAT!

The Daily Grind: Do you have authenticators for your MMO accounts?

44
It never seemed to me like I had any need of an authenticator for World of Warcraft... until my wife's account got taken. It...