column
Perfect Ten: MMOs with the most needlessly obtuse stats
One of my favorite reviewers of tabletop RPGs at one point opined that percentile systems were one of the best tabletop mechanics possible, simply...
Working As Intended: Returning to Star Wars Galaxies – in 2018
If you've followed the Massively OP Podcast this summer or read any of my ramblings in Daily Grinds and WRUPs, you probably know that...
Massively on the Go: Guide to Pokemon Go’s battle system basics
As much as I love some of the game's systems that encourage social play, Pokemon Go's obtuse battle system from the start was problematic. It's...
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV hits the big five-year mark
Game anniversaries are a little weird. The anniversary we're celebrating now for Final Fantasy XIV is from its relaunch, not its original launch. For...
The Game Archaeologist: City of Villains, enhancement diversification, and Going Rogue
It's always easy to look back at the making of City of Heroes and its first year with a memory tinted toward the good...
The Survivalist: Which sci-fi crash site survival sandbox should you play?
Survival sandboxes have certainly come a long way in the last couple of years. Not only has the number of new genres exploded (as...
Vague Patch Notes: On scaling and meaningful advancement in WoW and other MMORPGs
It seems like pretty much nobody is happy with how scaling is working in World of Warcraft at the moment. The game's scaling means...
Massively on the Go: Our guide to which Pokemon you should keep (or send away)
There's so much involved with Pokemon Go for new (or returning) players to adjust to that even knowing what's "good" can be hard to figure out....
Perfect Ten: Anticipated MMOs I want to know a lot more about
One of the most exciting parts of covering the news here at Massively OP is that we challenge ourselves to stay on top of...
EverQuesting: The history of the EverQuest franchise
Back in 2013, I took a walk through the annals of the EverQuest franchise's history. What started as one title not only blossomed into...
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV’s weekly caps and whether they’re useful
One of the elements of Final Fantasy XIV that has remained remarkably uniform throughout the game's history is how Allagan Tomestones work. Aside from...
First impressions of World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth, part 4: Conclusions
Part four covers expansion odds and ends plus the conclusion to our series: the problem with Azerite, progression, and why the expansion isn't bad, just weakly executed.
EVE Evolved: Ship fittings for EVE Online’s Secrets of the Abyss event
EVE Online's recent Into the Abyss expansion has been live now for several months, adding the first ever solo instanced PvE game mode in...
First impressions of World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth, part 3: Narrative
Part three covers expansion story: narrative design, the text, the intended emotional reaction, good vs. evil, comparisons to Wrathgate, and how the game's cinematic presentation is let down by its plot.
Tamriel Infinium: Three key takeaways from the Elder Scrolls Online Murkmire teaser
Hopefully, everyone saw the Elder Scrolls Online presentation at Quakecon. If not, I'll have that whole video just past the break. Game Director Matt...
First impressions of World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth, part 2: Content
Part two covers expansion content: the storyline, the new zones, the War Campaign, questing, rewards, Inscription, professions, dungeons, and environments.
First impressions of World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth, part 1: Mechanics
Part one covers chiefly the expansion's mechanics: the basics of leveling, the Heart of Azeroth, level scaling, Azerite powers, combat, spec changes, War Mode, and the campaign.
Massively on the Go: Our basic guide to Pokemon Go gameplay and questing
Pokemon Go has come a long way since its early days of just catching and gym battling. Those are still core gameplay elements, but there's...
Wisdom of Nym: Hunting the monster in Final Fantasy XIV
Patch 4.36 sure seems as if it's has been dragged out. Realistically, that's not what has happened at all; the time between patches has remained...
The Survivalist: Excited for ARK’s Extinction
I finally broke down and watched ARK: Survival Evolved's Extinction trailer. It's not that I didn't want to! On the contrary, I was very...