column
The Daily Grind: What ‘ambassador’ MMO would you recommend to a first-timer?
Whenever someone opens up to me about a particular hobby or entertainment franchise that they greatly enjoy, it can feel a bit like drinking...
Choose My Adventure: Mission runs cap off a welcoming return to Elite Dangerous
What a difference a month makes. When I first started these series of Elite Dangerous posts for Choose My Adventure, I had gone into...
Fight or Kite: Marvel Rivals replaces Overwatch heroes with Marvel flair
I don’t think we’ll ever be certain, but I am pretty sure I can guess exactly how Marvel Rivals was initially created. Someone walked...
The Daily Grind: What MMO should Daybreak buy next?
One of the surprise news bits out of July was the announcement that EG7-owned Daybreak - which had just been scrambling for cash, to...
Wisdom of Nym: The story beats that really work in Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail
Before I dive into this week's column, I want to start things off by noting a weird aspect of storytelling that's true in Final...
The Daily Grind: What’s the best volcano zone in an MMORPG?
Today's Daily Grind is inspired by Neverwinter, whose last module revamped the volcanic Mount Hotenow and dropped a ton of Mountain of Flame screenshots...
The Daily Grind: When do you give up your MMO goals?
Giving up on things is usually presented as a direct negative, and for understandable reasons. We don't like to think of giving up on...
LOTRO Legendarium: My six-month leveling plan for Lord of the Rings Online’s fresh legendary server
If all goes well, the new legendary servers -- the first in three years -- will roll out this week for Lord of the...
The Daily Grind: What quality-of-life update revitalized your MMO experience?
You know what, sometimes I don't need a full-fledged expansion to renew my love and involvement in an MMO. Sometimes all it takes is...
Not So Massively: Stormgate was not ready for early access
As the first of StarCraft II's spiritual successors to make it to a public launch, Stormgate will be releasing free to play for all...
Design Mockument: How to make housing work in World of Warcraft
Editor's note: This column was originally published in August 2024, a full three months before we knew WoW is actually getting housing with the...
The Daily Grind: Is there an MMO you wish had never been made?
Before I dig into today's Daily Grind, I want to make clear that I don't seriously wish any MMOs had never been made, not...
Vague Patch Notes: The player-provided guidance problem in MMORPGs
Final Fantasy XIV has a player-based mentor program and an automatic guidance network for new players. The idea is that certain players can volunteer...
The Daily Grind: Do you see your MMO characters as characters or as playing pieces?
There's an interesting element to a lot of games where you have places where the layers of gameplay break down. Your character in World...
Perfect Ten: MMOs with outstanding tutorial sections
Tutorials! They're important. I even wrote an entire column about them recently, talking about how important they are in getting people into a new...
The Daily Grind: Would you warn your past self against getting attached to an MMO that would die?
Is ignorance bliss? Perhaps, but perhaps not -- especially if it might save yourself some time and heartbreak in the end.
Today I want to...
Choose My Adventure: Blowing up rocks for fun and profit in Elite Dangerous
When I first started my run in Elite: Dangerous for this week's Choose My Adventure, I was just barely over the amount of credits...
Vitae Aeternum: Let’s design some New World artifacts
The New World community is currently waiting not so patiently for the big Aeternum update in October. While we're killing time, I thought it...
The Daily Grind: What’s the most difficult MMO crafting profession to master?
I have been a die-hard crafter in a lot of MMOs over my lifetime, but I am also the first to admit that some...
Wisdom of Nym: The actual storytelling issues with Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail
I'm not exactly surprised that basically any controversy vis-a-vis Final Fantasy XIV's most recent expansion is pretty much completely focused on the story (with...
