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LOTRO Legendarium: Six ideas LOTRO totally should steal from other MMOs
It's only natural for people who play multiple MMOs or are aware of what's happening in other titles to foster a sense of envy....
The Daily Grind: Are you hooked on that ‘new character smell’ in MMOs?
Oh man oh man, I do love that new character smell in MMOs. It's about one of my all-time favorite things for online gaming...
First Impresions: Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail is a dense summer getaway for the MMORPG
I finished up Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail's story a while ago, but I've been spending a couple days turning over what I think about...
The Daily Grind: Are you reluctant to start new MMORPGs?
When I sat down a few weeks ago to play Tarisland - whenever I sit down to play any new MMORPG, really - I...
Vague Patch Notes: The stuff that has me excited about Stars Reach
Raph Koster is a smart guy. Not just an experienced one (he's that, too), but a smart one. The man knows his stuff front...
The Daily Grind: Do you have an MMO lore friend?
I do not have an MMO lore friend. This is because I am the MMO lore friend. I am the friend who, when the...
Perfect Ten: 10 more MMOs you’ve already forgotten ever existed, from Elyon to Defiance
Last year, I assembled a list of 10 former MMOs that not only have ceased to exist but have ceased to be remembered (for...
The Game Archaeologist: World of Warcraft in the 1990s
MMORPGs don't pop out of nowhere, ex nihilo, to suddenly be enjoyed by players across the globe. Good ones take several years, dozens of...
The Daily Grind: Which MMOs have the best character select screens?
With The War Within pre-patch arriving in late July, World of Warcraft's character select screen is getting a huge makeover to allow you to...
Choose My Adventure: The Elite Dangerous vs Pax Dei rematch
Nine times out of ten, I generally follow the Will of the Polls here in MOP's Choose My Adventure column without too much question...
Vitae Aeternum: New World Aeternum’s stagger changes could make or break the game
In all the hubbub over New World's controversial Aeternum relaunch, there's one element of the update that's been largely overlooked. The features infographic mentions...
The Daily Grind: How many players constitute a proper MMORPG raid?
Back when Amazon first announced its New World Aeternum rebranding, I noticed an interesting comment about the planned raid. Longtime reader Squid opined that...
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail’s relatively smooth early access isn’t a sign of doom
On Sunday evening, I had to log out from Final Fantasy XIV to take care of an errand. This is not unusual. It is,...
The Daily Grind: Would you rather have disposable minions or true pets with an MMO pet class?
A few weeks back, MOP's Chris and I were talking about Path of Exile 2's forthcoming Witch character and griping about the way a...
The Daily Grind: What’s your favorite example of MMO devs embracing a community meme?
World of Warcraft's Captain Placeholder. Final Fantasy XIV's square grapes. City of Heroes asking you to kill skuls. Lord of the Rings Online putting...
Four Winds: Wuthering Waves, Genshin Impact, and the burgeoning gacha gaming industry
In the early days of the pandemic, I spent a lot of time covering the then newly released Genshin Impact. The first piece was...
The Daily Grind: Should MMOs show blood and battle damage?
At the risk of sounding like a bloodthirsty gorehound, I do kind of wish that MMOs did more to visually represent the damage that...
Massively on the Go: Pokemon Go’s July spread is basically just marking time until Go Fest
It's not particularly surprising that, once again, Pokemon Go isn't really sharing a lot of details about what's in store for the month of...
WoW Factor: MMORPG raiding is not special
You all remember The Incredibles, right? I know that these days the hot take is to try to spin the film as some sort...
Raph Koster’s new MMORPG is called Stars Reach, and yes, it’s basically Star Wars Galaxies 2
It's June 26th, Star Wars Galaxies' 21st birthday, and I'm sitting on Google Meet talking to none other than MMORPG founding father (and SWG...
