game mechanics
Diablo III’s Patch 2.2.0 adds and improves items
Health potions are one of the core elements of Diablo III, but they're not actually interesting to stock up on. The game has thus...
Skyforge’s beta is surprisingly satisfying
I can safely say that what I got when I first fired up Skyforge was not, in fact, what I had been hoping I...
Crowfall video shows off siege concepts
Crowfall's siege mechanics are on display today in a new video highlighting the Artcraft Entertainment's current plans for taking on player-controlled cities. The video...
RIFT chronicles the remaking of the Hammerknell raid
If you came into RIFT late in its life cycle, you missed Hammerknell. If you weren't raiding when Hammerknell was super relevant to the...
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV’s Steps of Faith
It happened, just as expected. A day after I posted a lengthy column discussing Final Fantasy XIV's last big pre-expansion patch, that patch dropped, and...
WoW Factor: Flying ruined everything and shouldn’t be removed
Allowing flying mounts in World of Warcraft was a terrible mistake that should never have been corrected.
For those not up on their history, here's...
EverQuest II is testing class balance updates
EverQuest II's latest producer's letter is a bit lower key than previous entries, perhaps, but no less vital for it. The letter outlines new...
Five players clear most of WoW’s current high-end raid
How many players does it take to clear a high-end raid in World of Warcraft? If you said "20," you would be correct for...
Pathfinder Online launches head start access on April 1st
Early Enrollment players are now playing Pathfinder Online. Explorer Enrollment players, too. Starting on April 1st, Head Start players from the game's second Kickstarter...
Skyforge developers respond to beta feedback
The Skyforge development team has been listening to player feedback during the second closed beta test for the game. A new post on the...
Skyforge unveils its 13 launch day classes
A given character in Skyforge can explore all of the game's classes, and advancing in one class helps bolster progress in other classes as...
Star Trek Online lines up a new feature episode, improved Pilot spec
The entirety of Star Trek Online's run to date has featured an obvious villain waiting in the wings: the Iconians. Everyone knows they're out...
Crowfall details mount mechanics as it clears $1.2 million
There's no doubt at this point that Crowfall will be funded, but there is some question about how much extra stuff will be in...
MMO Mechanics: Navigating fast-travel systems
I'm delighted to resurrect the column that brought me to Massively-that-was, MMO Mechanics, for the ravenous readers of MOP. The column focused on the...
The Daily Grind: What are the minimum criteria for an online game?
It's pretty definite that Second Life is not a game in the strictest sense of the word, and by "the strictest" I of course...
Pathfinder Online lays out its territory control design roadmap
While Pathfinder Online has been playable for many of its backers for a few months now, it's still only in an early deployment phase....
The Crew unveils the Speed Live update
Would you like to take part in a race that's all about eliminating your opponents just through skillful driving? The most recent update for...
Final Fantasy XI previews its February version update
February's a short month, so it's easy to not expect much out of it. The team behind Final Fantasy XI is still bringing new...
Guild Wars 2 shows off Stronghold gameplay
Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns is bringing a new type of PvP to the game with Strongholds. There are shades of the original...
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV endures
Don't call it a comeback; I've been here for years.
Last week, I wrote a farewell, and I wasn't happy to be doing so. I...