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]

The Daily Grind: What’s the most frustrating misperception the general public has about MMORPGs?

25
MOP reader Orca7 tipped us a funny piece from The Onion from last week that reminds me MMORPGs are still not regarded in the...

Massively Overthinking: Is there a feature or item in MMORPGs you won’t play without?

39
I was jolted into a near panic earlier this past weekend when I saw a tweet from Lord of the Rings Online in which...
WRONG!

Vague Patch Notes: When MMO designers build traps for players

16
So last week, I spent a whole lot of words talking about what "the meta" actually means when it comes to MMOs. Put very...

Tamriel Infinium: Will Elder Scrolls Online Gold Road’s spell scribing be a gamechanger?

0
All the way back in 1996, Bethesda introduced an interesting feature with its second Elder Scrolls RPG. Daggerfall included "spellcrafting," a system that allowed...
is that a monkey?

The Daily Grind: Which MMORPG with level scaling handles it worst?

21
Considering the fact that every MMORPG is in a war of content basically forever, I say it makes sense that they would embrace level...

Perfect Ten: Great MMO April Fools’ Day pranks from back in the day

10
There are two types of people on April 1st: those who are annoyed and indifferent to the tomfoolery going on all around them, and...

Vitae Aeternum: So just what is New World’s big June announcement?

10
For the past few months, Amazon Games has repeated the same mantra in regards to New World's future: Wait for the announcement in June....

Choose My Adventure: Elder Scrolls Online makes a play to be my second home MMO

5
When it comes to MMORPG games, most of the time I hold just one home title -- an MMO that I stay subscribed to...

The Daily Grind: Do your visits to new MMOs just make you want to return your home MMO?

9
Last weekend, I was away on a mini-vacation with my kids; we zipped down to Florida for my brother's beach wedding, then zipped back,...
Fight!

Wisdom of Nym: Does Final Fantasy XIV not have enough minigames?

5
Based on a wholly out-of-context reading, the headline for this edition of Wisdom of Nym might sound completely ridiculous. Final Fantasy XIV is not...

The Daily Grind: Are there any standard MMO UI elements you consider ‘optional’?

10
Back in February, MMO YouTuber MarleMMO reminded me that Ashes of Creation is planning to obscure enemy health bars during PvP - a concept...
TRY AGAIN

The Daily Grind: How much do graphics matter to you in an MMORPG?

29
Anyone who says that graphics in an MMORPG don't matter at all who is not playing a MUSH is gently lying to you because...

LOTRO Legendarium: Looking back and ahead at LOTRO’s 17th birthday

3
At the start of Fellowship of the Ring, Bilbo Baggins famously celebrates his 111th birthday (alongside Frodo's own 33rd birthday). He looks back at...
Somehow, Palpatine returned

Betawatch: World of Warcraft heads for another expansion test cycle with The War Within

0
Like Oscar Isaac folding his arms and lowering his head with an exasperated sigh, we must report to you that somehow, World of Warcraft...
HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG

WoW Factor: The strange excitement split for World of Warcraft’s The War Within

48
There's an interesting aspect I've observed about World of Warcraft as we slowly creep toward the release of The War Within. No one who...

The Daily Grind: Do alternate and classic servers risk alienating existing MMO fans?

10
Back in December, Guild Wars 2 boss Josh Davis told fans that "alternate servers and hardcore modes aren’t a priority for ArenaNet," as the...

Massively Overthinking: MMOs and ‘fresh piece of gum’ syndrome

11
Back in March, MOP reader Exarch Cathedra posted a comment to a Daily Grind about daily logins and sticky MMOs that caught my attention,...
Meness and Ausrine, sittin' in a tree...

Not So Massively: Godsworn made me break my ‘no early access’ rule

1
I'm pretty blasé about most monetization in games, but there are a few things that I don't like, and charging for early access is...
See, not all things are the same.

Vague Patch Notes: Getting meta in MMORPGs

30
This week, MOP's Chris ran afoul of the MMO meta when he was going through New World. Only he... didn't, not really. He ran...
STORM!

The Daily Grind: Have you ever backed an MMO kickstarter?

56
Back around the time when I first was getting my sea legs on Massively-that-was, donating to an MMO Kickstarter was basically a rite of...