column
The Soapbox: Casuals and soloers need challenging MMO content too
In a recent press Q&A around the announcement of Elder Scrolls Online's Gold Road chapter, Zenimax creative director Rich Lambert appeared to dismiss the...
The Daily Grind: What do you think the next viral MMO will look like?
I am the first to admit that I didn't see Palworld coming. Oh, I knew about Palworld; we'd covered Palworld. We'd also been covering...
Wisdom of Nym: The franchise references for jobs in Final Fantasy XIV
There is not a single game in the history of the franchise that has not been referenced in some capacity by Final Fantasy XIV....
The Daily Grind: Which MMORPG have you played the longest without reaching the level cap?
For someone who spent a whole lot of time playing Final Fantasy XI back in the day, I sure as heck didn't reach the...
The Daily Grind: Which MMO offers the best book and paper features?
A while back, I casually mentioned that I make paper journals for fun. I am an extremely online person, mind you. I work online....
The Game Archaeologist: Dragon Ball Online, the MMO that never made it to the west
It was back in 1986 that Toei Animation, a Japanese company, brought a new series called Dragon Ball into the world. The initial run...
The Daily Grind: Which MMO has the best fishing system?
Fishing absolutely mystifies me. Oh, in real life, I get it: It's a way to be completely lazy, drink beer, and still catch your...
Fight or Kite: Warhaven’s pre-season 2 is super fun but perilously unbalanced
Update: This column was written before we knew that Nexon has decided to sunset the game in April, unfortunately. Consider this our eulogy and...
Tamriel Infinium: The history of Elder Scrolls games (before and after Elder Scrolls Online)
There's nothing quite like that feeling when you first dip your toes into a particular game only to discover that it's part of a...
Into the Super-Verse: Gearing up as a newcomer to City of Heroes Homecoming
I was originally going to spend this week opining on why the Incarnate system in City of Heroes didn't really work and why it...
The Daily Grind: How often should characters miss in combat in MMORPGs?
The other day, we were talking about City of Heroes at the Massively OP offices because at this point that's like 50% of our...
Working As Intended: How to mod City of Heroes Homecoming the easy way
If you played City of Heroes a long time ago - or even back in 2019, when its secret server blossomed into a public...
Vague Patch Notes: Early access is just game development as performance art
I was reminded recently about Valheim. I do not own the game and thus have not played it; I cannot tell you if it...
The Daily Grind: What’s some weird or forgotten terminology or concept from an MMO of yore?
Way, way back in the day - and for only a relatively brief run - Ultima Online had a system that came to be...
Perfect Ten: The 10 most utterly bizarre Final Fantasy XIV NPC names
A lot of times when I write these columns, I have either a point to make or a higher concept that I am touching...
The Daily Grind: What’s the key thought that keeps you from returning to MMOs?
In my decades of playing and writing about MMORPGs, there's one thing I've found to be incredibly true: There is no such thing as...
Choose My Adventure: Genshin Impact is slowly working its charms on me
Perhaps this is just time away from the game or the full mental and literal reset talking, but I have to say that right...
The Daily Grind: Which MMORPGs have a permanent place on your desktop?
On the MOP Podcast a while back, I mentioned that Project Gorgon had made its way into a permanent home on my PC, which...
Wisdom of Nym: Impressions of Final Fantasy XIV’s petite patch 6.55
There's an odd thing that keeps going back and forth in my head when I look at last week's patch 6.55 for Final Fantasy...
The Daily Grind: How much do you think the whales of your top MMO spend in a year?
A few weeks back, following Korea's Fair Trade Commission ordering Nexon to pay nearly $9M in fines over its deceptive gamble-upgrade mechanics, players went...