Vague Patch Notes: The dark side of meaningful MMO leveling
We've been in Leveling Month over here in Vague Patch Notes, and I had intended for this particular column to close off that discussion...
The Daily Grind: Which MMO has the best level up effects?
It'd be nice if real life worked like an MMO in terms of getting a shine and a burst of light the moment you...
Four Winds: Throne & Liberty’s opening hours were fun AF, but I’m still on my guard
After what feels like an absolute eternity, Throne and Liberty is finally here. In my younger, less jaded years, I'd feel excited and elated...
Perfect Ten: 10 MMOs that let you bring a whole squad of pets and minions
Pet classes are not really my jam. I don't want my companion to be doing the tanking or damage or healing or whatever, and...
The Daily Grind: What are the advantages of playing MMOs as a hobby?
Have you ever had to explain or defend your hobby to someone who doesn't share that? Sometimes that can be a positive experience with...
Massively OP Podcast Episode 487: Give me Throne and Liberty
Justin and Bree discuss Throne & Liberty's launch, the new book on Blizzard, ArcheAge 2's morph into ArcheAge Chronicles, and New World Aeternum's impending release, with adventures in LOTRO, WoW, and Guild Wars 2, plus a mailbag topic on MMO history and games preservation.
Choose My Adventure: The progression conflict in Once Human
I don't want to claim that I necessarily hit a wall with my time in Once Human during my playtime for Choose My Adventure...
The Daily Grind: Does quality or economic pressure matter more when you’re spending in MMOs?
During a recent investor call, NetEase made an interesting statement about gamers' spending habits that I wanted to pluck out and discuss. The question...
Wisdom of Nym: The key takeaways from Final Fantasy XIV’s Crossroads update live letter
I can't believe that after we've gone so many different places, at long last, Final Fantasy XIV is going to have Soken do a...
The Daily Grind: How many actions do you want to juggle at a time in an MMORPG?
Back in August, Heartless Gamer penned a blog about his "rule of 10." Here's how he defines it:
"s a player, I can manage 10...
The Daily Grind: Which MMORPG offers the best options for punching stuff?
In pretty much every MMORPG with a fantasy theme, you have people with gigantic swords. You have spellcasters of some variety with arcane arts....
Super Mario Party Jamboree confirms 8-player and 20-player online party modes
As we get closer to Super Mario Party Jamboree's October 17th, 2024 release date, we haven't gotten much more info out of Nintendo than...
LOTRO Legendarium: Five ways to fully fix LOTRO’s virtue system
Newer players to Lord of the Rings Online may not be aware that the game's virtue system used to be very difficult, requiring certain...
The Daily Grind: Do you have a cozy (pumpkin spice) autumn MMO?
Autumn is upon us in the northern hemisphere, and that means comfy clothes, crisp smells, trips to the cider mill, and supermarkets stocked with...
Massively on the Go: Pokemon Go’s October outlook offers more tricks than treats
It's almost October, and that means Halloween in Pokemon Go, where the tricks are expected and the treats come with bugs, no matter how...
Why I Play: Satisfactory scratches my MMO crafting itch
My first real exposure to Satisfactory was long, long before playing it or even being more than peripherally aware of it, because I really...
The Daily Grind: How long do you stick with a failing MMO PUG?
MOP's Carlo recently brought this question to the MOP team after he suffered through a particularly bad PUG - that he put together himself...
Massively Overthinking: Do you expect compensation for MMORPG trainwrecks?
Earlier this week, Blizzard admitted that a major bug had resulted in serious and permanent data loss for some World of Warcraft players, including...
First Impressions: Throne and Liberty blends the overly familiar with the intriguingly unique
Throne and Liberty represents a new big-label MMORPG launch, which is something that feels like a rare occurrence, particularly as most players are likely...
Vague Patch Notes: When leveling too quickly becomes a problem in MMORPGs
Last week, I talked about how slow leveling design could become a problem. In that piece (and the one before it - it's become...
