column
The Soapbox: Yes, here
This guest Soapbox was commissioned through MassivelyOP's original Kickstarter back in 2015; the writer has chosen to remain anonymous. The opinions in guest Soapboxes...
The Daily Grind: Do MMO studios favor console or PC players more?
Here's a topic that I'm torn on answering definitively because I think it changes from studio to studio when it comes to prioritizing the...
Choose My Adventure: EVE Online is already a bad time
I knew there was a reason I wasn't looking forward to this one.
I've dipped my toes into this piranha pool before. I first played...
The Daily Grind: Do you bother reporting miscreants in MMORPGs?
Retired MOP writer and all around epic human Mike Foster (yo Mike!) recently tweeted about his days working as a GM for World of...
Wisdom of Nym: The ‘problem jobs’ of Final Fantasy XIV’s Shadowbringers
When Final Fantasy XIV launched Shadowbringers, every job had issues, but most of them were fairly minor. That was not universally the case, to...
Not So Massively: I like survival mechanics, not survival games
When I played We Happy Few, one of the things that surprised me the most was how much I enjoyed the survival mechanics. I...
The Daily Grind: Which MMORPG sees the most multiboxing as of 2020?
A couple of months ago, I read a post on the Nomadic Gamers, Eh! blog where Stargrace begins her post talking about multboxing in...
The Daily Grind: What’s the most irritating bit of MMO randomness you’ve dealt with?
I've frequently said that Final Fantasy XI influenced a lot of my later feelings on MMOs, and this is also true of the crafting. For...
The Game Archaeologist: Were sequels ever a good idea for MMOs?
From movies to books to video games, sequels (and all related spin-offs) are a common sight when a property is sufficiently successful enough. Even...
The Daily Grind: Which lowbie MMO alt have you enjoyed playing the most?
Looking back over all of the characters that I've made in MMOs, I've probably spent half my time on low-level alts that never went...
WoW Factor: Behind blue (elf) eyes (in World of Warcraft)
Players were very excited when blue eye options were datamined out for Blood Elves in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, then less happy when it was...
The Daily Grind: What was the last ‘new’ thing you learned about an MMO you’ve played a long time?
So I've been playing SWG Legends about two years now, and yet I'm constantly learning things that are completely new to me. For example,...
Storyboard: Making fights matter in MMOs (and in roleplay)
You know what's fascinating about the original Guild Wars release, later redubbed as Guild Wars: Prophecies? The Prince Rurik fight works.
Yes, these are spoilers for a...
The Daily Grind: Which MMO antagonists do you still fondly remember?
For some reason, even in the earlier years of World of Warcraft, my favorite antagonists were never the big villains that were supposedly built up...
EVE Evolved: A live event threatens to reshape EVE Online’s map
While EVE Online has always focused on the real stories created by players through player-vs.-player conflict rather than on its NPC storyline, its universe...
LOTRO Legendarium: Are LOTRO’s new PvP servers a good idea?
If you haven't been tracking this, you should be aware that Lord of the Rings Online has been running the new "Tournament of the...
Perfect Ten: An entirely accurate and unassailable history of pet classes in MMORPGs
Pet classes! They're a very important part of MMORPGs, the opportunity to not just go into combat alone but to march in alongside a...
The Daily Grind: Would you do MMO quests if they didn’t offer rewards?
Does everything we do in an MMORPG have to be motivated by a reward? I was thinking about that the other day in Lord...
Path of Exile’s Harvest introduces growth of passive skill tree, brands, and two-handed weapon skills
In an update themed around gardening, it seems only natural that there would be plenty of growth in Path of Exile beyond just the...
Path of Exile’s take on Farmville blooms on June 19 with the Harvest League
After seemingly countless quarterly updates and leagues, you might think Grinding Gear Games would eventually run out of ideas for Path of Exile. Not...
