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]

Wings Over Atreia: Awakened Legacy could be Aion’s rebirth

4
You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have the facts of Aion, the facts of Aion! There's...
What are we even doing here?

Wisdom of Nym: How we missed storyline overload in Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood

2
One of the things that I mentioned back when I was reviewing Heavensward in its totality was that for all the praise I give...

EVE Evolved: Hands-on with EVE Online FPS Project Nova

4
Cast your mind back to 2011 and you'll probably remember the insane hype that was building for DUST 514, CCP Games' ambitious console MMOFPS...

One Shots: Pumpkins Online

26
I know and you know that MMO developers love Halloween perhaps more than their own flesh-and-blood children. And as much as I enjoy how...
There appears to be a Pattern.

The Daily Grind: What MMO has frustrated you the most with trading restrictions?

55
There's a good reason why the rewards for the Doman Reconstruction in Final Fantasy XIV cannot be directly traded; specifically, it's so that players...

LOTRO Legendarium: Wistmead surprises and progression servers

14
What a week this has been! Originally I was all gung-ho to talk about nothing else than all of the new Halloween content that...
The next few months, then.

Betawatch: Fallout 76 enters beta testing

13
That's great, it starts with an NDA and no platform crossplay, Bethesda is not afraid. It's the end of the world as we know...

Wings Over Atreia: Awakened Legacy is Aion’s NGE gut punch

38
Woah! WOA is back! It's only fitting: Wings Over Atreia debuted when Aion launched as a new game, and now it is back for...
And here, we see yet another thing thrown away for no damn reason.

WoW Factor: We’re all farming Nature Resistance gear now

45
First and foremost, I'd like to note that I am writing these columns consecutively and immediately, so all I can do is hope that...

Hyperspace Beacon: Obtaining the Masterwork armor in SWTOR Update 5.10

7
I'm torn on this new armor achievement system in Star Wars: The Old Republic. On the one hand, everyone can get the armor eventually....
Well... it's a box, and one of the people in it is probably a skinner?

Vague Patch Notes: There’s more to Skinner boxes in MMOs than mere repetition

10
As I started watching the latest World of Warcraft video to whip people into a furor, I very nearly turned the thing off as...
If this went away, I would be pissed.

The Daily Grind: Which of Trion’s MMOs are you most worried about in the wake of its buyout?

28
The whole Trion buyout feels like it came completely out of left field, and we've spent the past couple of days just staring and...
Actually developing a title to not be a boring slog is a skill some developers have yet to master.

Perfect Ten: The 10 types of skill in MMOs

9
Everyone has a very strong opinion about player skill in MMOs. This is understandable. Furthermore, I've met a lot of different people with different...

Jukebox Heroes: World of Warcraft Battle for Azeroth’s soundtrack

3
As a fan of video game music, I get ridiculously excited when it comes time for World of Warcraft to release a new expansion....

Massively on the Go: The key MMO features in The Walking Dead Our World

0
As a franchise, The Walking Dead is probably past its prime, but I'm admittedly still a bit of a fan. In fact, I was playing...
Ideas face challenges when born.

Wisdom of Nym: Evaluating Final Fantasy XIV’s job gauges

14
The biggest problem with job gauges in Final Fantasy XIV was always conceptual because there were two jobs built from the ground up to...
No one weekend should have all that power.

Global Chat: Is it time to get rid of MMO factions?

43
Factions in MMORPGs are a "love 'em, hate 'em, or largely ignore 'em until the studio remembers it has 'em and decides to shove...

One Shots: Waifu dreams

30
Make no bones about it, MapleStory 2 is as anime as they come. Need proof beyond the huge eyes, overdone expressions, and ultra-saturated cuteness?...
No, you can't be quite this evil.

The Daily Grind: Do you use Steam for MMOs?

50
Steam took a hold of my PC lifestyle so gradually I barely knew it was happening. I installed it when a friend bought me...

LOTRO Legendarium: Wait a minute, LOTRO, you lost me

24
If WildStar will go down in gaming history as the MMO with the consistently shortest quest text, then Lord of the Rings Online has...