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]

Boat.

The Daily Grind: What very un-you-like MMO content do you play anyway?

14
Guild Wars 2 has somehow gotten me into fishing again. I generally have less than zero interest in fishing, in video games and in...
Pop?

Wisdom of Nym: The dark side of role quests in Final Fantasy XIV

2
I haven't been shy talking about liking the role quests that are currently available in Dawntrail. Indeed, I think that Final Fantasy XIV has...

The Daily Grind: How detailed should MMORPG character creation sliders be?

35
A few weeks back, there was a fabulous thread on Twitter that dug deeply into the concept of character creation in video games, specifically...

Stick and Rudder: On CitizenCon day two, Star Citizen talked MMO design and full 1.0 release

59
Sure, we've had one day of CitizenCon, but what about second day? The weekend event for the 12 year-old sci-fi sandbox Star Citizen has...

One Shots: Come into my lair, sweetling

6
As we creep toward Halloween, our crack One Shots photojournalists were on the ground in various games grabbing us first-hand demonstrations of the season's...
Blues?

The Daily Grind: Do you fight wipes or try to reset in MMO group content?

13
So a mechanic just turned half of your group from being participants in a fight into rapidly expanding clouds of vapor. There are two...

LOTRO Legendarium: The rise and fall and rise of Mines of Moria

16
With Lord of the Rings Online's Angmar and Mordor progression servers looking forward to entering the first expansion sometime in December, thoughts have once...

Fight or Kite: Dungeonborne gives Elder Scrolls vibes with a hint of battle royale

0
Over the past couple of weeks, my gaming time hasn't been amenable to long sessions thanks to work travel, but I was prepared: I've...

Massively Overthinking: Are we over early access MMOs and the ‘early access trap’ yet?

19
A few weeks back, Shadow's Kiss, a Kickstarted vampire MMORPG that probably most of our readers never even knew about, threw in the towel,...
Probably as close as we'll get.

Design Mockument: How might we build a Stormlight Archive MMORPG?

9
So when I was talking with MOP editor Bree a while back, I mentioned how one of my early ideas for the most recent...

The Daily Grind: Which MMORPGs actually have *good* escort quests?

11
I've been playing a lot of Guild Wars 2 lately, and my fellow fans will know that traditional escort quests aren't just present in...
I have a thought.

Vague Patch Notes: MMOs rely on other people – but what does that really mean?

12
Now that we're done with Leveling Month in Vague Patch Notes, is there another topic I can turn into a month-and-change of column topics?...
SIR

Perfect Ten: Ranking the top 10 cities in Final Fantasy XIV

10
I can't speak for my fellow writer Justin (he apparently doesn't want to install the mind-probe that would make this really easy to find...
spidew

The Daily Grind: What would entice you to a fresh start server in an MMORPG?

27
Fresh start servers knock every player of an MMORPG back to zero. Nobody has more money, or more gear, or more advantage beyond learned...

Four Winds: Looking back at the early Throne and Liberty journey from the vantage of endgame

2
In the last edition of Four Winds, I found myself cautiously enjoying Throne and Liberty. The game had its hooks in me. I found an engaging game...

Vitae Aeternum: New World Aeternum leaves veterans, casuals, and PC players behind

43
The time has finally come. New World's semi-relaunch under the New World: Aeternum banner is here. Regular readers of this column will recall that...

Choose My Adventure: The steady climb upward in Throne & Liberty levels and power

4
I've finally gotten to a point of reasonable comfort in Throne and Liberty. I've definitely settled on my weapons, obviously. I'm starting to get...
hands across whatever this fantasy world is called

MMO Hype Train: Concern for the fragile labor and delivery of Pantheon

5
Welcome to MMO Hype Train, a new column here at Massively OP! In this space, I'll be channeling my excitement, speculation, and curiosity about...

The Daily Grind: Are you giving New World a second chance?

23
As this post is going live and you're reading this, it's Tuesday morning, the New World Aeternum servers are online for Europe and about...

Not So Massively: Songs of Silence is a stylish blend of multiplayer 4X and auto-battler

1
Considering I don't even do that it often, you'd be surprised how often I find interesting games just by scrolling through Steam's home page....