Vague Patch Notes: MMO gameplay by enhancement
A while back, I was talking in the comments of an article about how bad The Secret World's combat was. It was the game's...
Why I Play(ed): Remembering WildStar’s sunset, five years later
Time shouldn't zip along as quickly as it often does, especially when it taps us on the shoulder to look back and see how...
The Daily Grind: Do you have any MMO goals you want to accomplish before 2023 ends?
There are a lot of ways to set your MMO goals over the years and months, and the most obvious one is trying to...
Massively Overthinking: Penalties for failure in MMORPGs (beyond death)
MMOs generally have one big obvious penalty for failure, right? You die. Oh, usually not forever, not unless it's some niche hardcore realm, and...
Wandering Wraeclast: Introducing Path of Exile 2’s Mercenary crossbow class and WASD
Looking forward to new Path of Exile updates has been a quarterly spectacle for many years. It's only recently, however, that fans also can...
WoW Factor: The story issues World of Warcraft must address going into The War Within
It's telling that we're now very much in the back nine for World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, and the general consensus has not shifted much...
Casually Classic: Which version of WoW Classic is right for you?
Choice is a double-edged sword: Too little of it is restricting and frustrating, yet too much can lead to decision paralysis and feeling overwhelmed....
The Daily Grind: Which MMO studio had the best dev communication in 2023?
Later this month, we'll be dishing out our awards, including our award for best MMO studio. But I know as well as anyone that...
End-of-Year Eleven: The biggest MMO surprises of 2023
2023 was definitely a year of surprises for me. Not all of them were pleasant! If you've been watching my columns, you probably have...
Fight or Kite: SMITE has the right vibes but the wrong gameplay for this PvP fan
SMITE is one of the largest MOBAs on the planet and has been for years now. In fact, it's currently celebrating its 10th anniversary!...
Choose My Adventure: I still don’t know if I like Tree of Savior even after hitting triple-digit levels
You'd be forgiven for thinking that I would have made up my mind about Tree of Savior after making it to character level 150,...
The Daily Grind: What was the best new race added to an MMORPG in 2023?
This question is an easy one for me because I play Lord of the Rings Online, which added River Hobbits this year. While there...
Vague Patch Notes: The myth of the ‘first’ MMORPG
One of the things I like to joke about every so often is various myths about the history of MMOs, and a lot of...
Wisdom of Nym: Why Final Fantasy XIV’s next limited job is (probably) not Pictomancer or Green Mage
Despite the fact that it is not coming out until significantly later, I'm willing to bet that a large part of the work for...
The Daily Grind: What was the most important innovation in MMOs in 2023?
It's weird to think about, but I don't really think MMORPGs are particularly innovative. Maybe they never have been. They're always walking a fine...
Global Chat: Tarisland is the real deal, folks
As Tarisland winds its way through the beta process on its way to our grubby little hands in 2024, there are more and more...
One Shots: Soft and squishy, yet fierce and determined
If MMORPGs, anime, and children's cartoons have taught me anything -- and really, it's where I get most of my learning these days --...
The Daily Grind: What’s your least favorite death penalty in an MMO?
Just going to throw out a controversial statement here: Nobody really wants to die in a video game. When your health reaches zero and...
LOTRO Legendarium: Six very tiny LOTRO details that I love
It's a sign that you're a passionate fan of a franchise when you get so familiar with the source material that small details delight...
WoW Factor: Fine, let’s talk about Blizzard being dumb with early access
All right, let's get it over with.
I didn't really want to write this column, not because I didn't think there was anything to talk...
