mechanics
Design Mockument: In defense of visual ability customization in MMORPGs
I will never know who it was working behind the scenes at City of Heroes who first had the idea to let players customize...
Perfect Ten: A primer on 10 very basic MMO fight mechanics
When the first two humans decided to get into a fight, they were just pushing one another and telling the other person to quit...
The Daily Grind: What’s your favorite abandoned MMO system?
Some MMOs are really good about refining and updating systems introduced early in the game's lifespan, and while they may not be perfect, you can...
The Daily Grind: How fastidious are you when following MMO mechanics that no longer matter?
If you run Syrcus Tower in Final Fantasy XIV, a lot of the mechanics no longer matter. The first boss, Scylla, literally will not...
The Daily Grind: What kills your interest in a pre-release MMO?
We see it a lot in our comment section: A game is either in very early testing or not even yet available for consistent...
The Daily Grind: What’s your least favorite mechanic in an MMO you like?
It's not a surprise to anyone who reads this that I like Final Fantasy XIV. That having been said, there are also things I really...
Project Gorgon brings out its Attack of the World Bosses event with new signposts and fewer adds
Eager to go fight some world bosses in Project Gorgon? The Attack of the World Bosses event is kind of the time to do that,...
The Daily Grind: Should MMOs have hunger and thirst mechanics?
I swear this isn't a Thanksgiving-motivated Daily Grind, but it might as well be!
I am a big fan of video game cooking skills and...
The Daily Grind: What systems do you avoid learning properly in MMOs?
Enhancement Diversification in City of Heroes was meant to break some degenerate enhancement effects, but it also meant that you had to think a...
The Daily Grind: What widely loathed system in an MMO do you really like?
As broken as it was, I still did like the foundations behind Final Fantasy XIV's launch setup of abilities. The down side to this system,...
MMO Mechanics: The Fair Play Alliance and mechanising fairness
News of over 30 gaming companies taking a united stand against unfairness and toxicity in online game communities sprung out of GDC 2018 a...
Wisdom of Nym: Mechanical issues for jobs in Final Fantasy XIV, part two
Last week, we covered the mechanical issues for about half of the Final Fantasy XIV job lineup. This week, we're covering the other half....
MMO Mechanics: 2017’s MMO Mechanics in review
I cannot quite believe that we're saying goodbye to 2017 and ringing in 2018 so quickly: It certainly doesn't feel as though an entire...
MMO Mechanics: What can be learned from Guild Wars 2 Mountgate?
Most often, MMO Mechanics articles focus on the gameplay mechanics that both make the MMO genre unique and those that diversify MMOs from one...
Wisdom of Nym: The key bits of Final Fantasy XIV’s 4.1 patch notes
Here we are, folks, staring down the barrel of the latest major patch. If you're feeling a minor set of trepidation simply because that...
MMO Mechanics: Material storage and the Guild Wars 2 economy
Guild Wars 2 launched its second expansion, Path of Fire, a few days ago, and as you might expect, a new expansion means some immediate...
The Daily Grind: What simple tasks does your favorite MMO make unnecessarily difficult?
For the longest time, logging out of Final Fantasy XI was something of a nightmare. First, you had to get to a mog room,...
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...
MMO Mechanics: Making healing interesting in MMORPGs
I was reading a recent Daily Grind article on the topic of unique healing classes and it prompted me to think about the variety...
