design
EVE Evolved: Four changes to improve EVE Online for new players
A few months ago, I created a new character and ran through the new player experience for an article on how to get new...
Overwatch is performing a little surgery on its healers and planning another free PC weekend
Healers are important in Overwatch, but they also have the potential to get out of hand. Sure, it's good to be able to patch...
Vague Patch Notes: On balance and differentiation in MMOs
Do you like fighting games? I don't. Let's talk about fighting games. But bear with me because you'll get where this is going.
While I...
Neverwinter details the creation of the Atropal boss
The Atropal boss in Neverwinter is not something you want to run into in a dark alley. Heck, it's probably not something you want...
Cliff Bleszinski asserts that Lawbreakers is ‘fine’ on PS4 while planning to be ‘less of a dick’
So what's the key element in revitalizing the flagging player numbers for Lawbreakers? Cliff Bleszinski puts forth that part of the onus is on...
Final Fantasy XIV asks players to help design some new furniture
Are there furnishings you wish were in Final Fantasy XIV but keep not getting added? Perhaps you can take matters into your own hands...
Valiance Online says its alpha is coming soon
Hearing that something is coming "soon" is the bane of every MMO player; it technically qualifies as a time frame, but it's vague and...
World of Warcraft’s class design AMA examines the how and why of tuning changes
No matter what class you play in World of Warcraft, you're probably certain that the developers hate your class in particular and love some...
The Daily Grind: Are MMOs in the same category as other video games for you?
The funny thing about MMOs is that while they're very obviously video games, they're not really in the same wheelhouse as single-player games. They're...
Chronicles of Elyria recaps development over the month of March
It's been a busy time for Chronicles of Elyria as the development team has worked on putting together a portion of the game to...
The Daily Grind: What’s the most overused cute creature in an MMO?
The Quaggan, without a doubt, are the cutest race in Guild Wars 2. They also don't show up constantly, which helps. An awful lot...
Crowfall shows off the design of the Fort architectural set
The next big development milestone for Crowfall is work being done on the game's Eternal Kingdoms, a place for players to build a spot...
WoW Factor: New classes in a post-Legion world
So World of Warcraft patch 7.1.5 is out now... but I'm going to be honest, that doesn't feel like much of anything. It's there,...
Star Trek Online details the creation of the Tzenkethi
The Tzenkethi are coming to Star Trek Online, which should make any franchise lore nerd at least moderately happy. No television series has ever...
Recapping MMORPG science in 2016
You guys may not have consciously noticed it, but we've been working harder and harder on our science-related articles in the past couple of...
Path of Exile celebrates a smooth content launch with two new videos
Launching something new always involves a certain amount of pulling the trigger and then apprehensively waiting. What's going to go wrong? Are the servers...
Wisdom of Nym: Thankfulness for Final Fantasy XIV
I haven't exactly made a secret of the fact that I'm on a bit of a low pulse for Final Fantasy XIV at the...
Gigantic offers a video spotlight on Tyto the Swift
There are only two kinds of people who would really try to have "the Swift" after their name: really quick people and really slow...
Gigantic walks through the process of making a MOBA hero
There's a reason why MOBAs don't simply have players piloting featureless gray blobs with names like "Shooty Man" and "Punchy Monster" on their chests....
League of Legends introduces the Nexus for editorial content
Sometimes, the best way to find out if something has an audience is just to put out what you have and see if people...
