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]

Massively Overthinking: Let’s take the classic Bartle test

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Here's something you probably didn't know: Online worlds researcher Dr. Richard Bartle didn't actually write the Bartle test. His original research explored, analyzed, and defined the...

Chaos Theory: The Secret World’s Halloween event haunts our dreams

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It's finally here! This is truly the holiday I wait for all year, and The Secret World has the MMO event I anticipate all...
It's a fooler.

Perfect Ten: Ten really great races from MMOs

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Here I go, here I go, here I go again. Girls, what's my weakness? Non-human races. But oh, so many MMOs let me down...

Choose My Adventure: Settling the homestead in WildStar

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Hello everyone, and welcome to the latest (and ostensibly greatest, depending on your perspective) installment of Choose My Adventure. This week, we'll be bidding...

Hyperspace Beacon: Spoiler-filled impressions of SWTOR Knights of the Fallen Empire

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By now, everyone who was in early access for Knights of the Fallen Empire has played through the story at least once. If not,...
Gambler.

Wisdom of Nym: The cancelled future of Final Fantasy XIV

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Every game has stuff in it that's dummied out. There are ideas that the developers brought to a certain point without ever finishing, and...

The MOP Up: The secret history of Destiny (October 25, 2015)

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The MMO industry moves along at the speed of information, and sometimes we’re deluged with so much news here at Massively Overpowered that some...

The Soapbox: MMOs and the power of habit

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I've been reading this book by Charles Duhigg called The Power of Habit. Actually, the full title is The Power of Habit: Why We...
Here we go again, not on our own.

Betawatch: Black Desert takes the spotlight by storm (October 23, 2015)

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If you are all a-flutter for news about Black Desert, this week has been kind to you. Super kind, even. A preview of the...
When leveling alts was already the plan...

WoW Factor: A decade of Blizzard’s bad habits

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The funny thing about World of Warcraft - and I should note here that I'm using "funny" in this case as a synonym for...

Nexus Telegraph: The problem with WildStar’s paths – and how to fix them

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When the path system was first revealed close to WildStar's initial announcement, it was presented as a major tentpole of the game to set...

Perfect Ten: The most innovative RuneScape experiments

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RuneScape seems to be an MMO that's incredibly easy to dismiss by the wider MMO community for being "too kiddy" or being a little...

Choose My Adventure: WildStar’s crafting frustrations

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Welcome, everyone, to another installment of Choose My Adventure: WildStar edition. Last week, Bonongo Jazz, Chua Spellslinger-slash-Explorer-slash-Architect extraordinaire, arrived at the Dominion outpost of...

Flameseeker Chronicles: Last-minute hopes and preparation for Guild Wars 2’s Heart of Thorns

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I swear I've been waiting all year to say this: Heart of Thorns hits this Friday, everyone! Cue the massive in-game parties, mass orders...
I need healing.

Wisdom of Nym: The state of Final Fantasy XIV’s healers

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One of the damage dealers in the party can't stay out of damaging effects because moving interrupts his casts, and he thinks finishing a...

EVE Evolved: Does skillpoint trading make EVE pay-to-win?

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EVE Online's realtime skill training system has been a major point of contention throughout the game's lifetime, being a boon for those with little...

One Shots: C.R.E.E.P.S.

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Whatever happened to bad acronyms as titles for movies and TV shows? Where are our C.H.U.D.s? Our C.H.i.P.s? I guess we have Agents of...

Nexus Telegraph: Six little WildStar elements that I love

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With the free-to-play launch calming down somewhat (look man, I can log onto the server!) and fall events kicking off in WildStar, I've been...

Marvel Heroics: Rating Scarlet Witch and Rogue

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I'm back with another installment of rating two Marvel Heroes characters that I've leveled up to 60. Last time I looked at Squirrel Girl...

EverQuesting: Preparing for EQII’s Terrors of Thalumbra expansion

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Time's a-wasting! With just a month left to get ready for those terrors that await down in the subterranean world of Thalumbra, EverQuest II...