mechanics
The Daily Grind: What MMO systems do you consider necessary evils?
I'm disinclined to run pretty much any tabletop game that outright uses character levels as a form of progress, and fortunately for me I...
MMO Mechanics: Four inspiring indie developments worth watching
The MMO genre has immense sticking power in terms of tenure, staying relevant to players for decades despite such fluid and rapid development in...
Path of Exile wipes beta progress with latest patch
Beta testing for Path of Exile's next major update, The Awakening, is going about as well as testing ever does. The newest patch for...
MMO Mechanics: Three non-combat mechanics to love
The wheels in my head have been turning over non-combat mechanics in MMOs for a while now, perhaps because of the buzz surrounding Wander,...
Neverwinter outlines new and upcoming changes
When lead designer Scott Shicoff took point on Neverwinter, his first dispatch to the community was a statement that he and the rest of...
MMO Mechanics: Three favourite action combat systems
Virtually every MMO contains dangerous places that are filled with other players or NPCs that will attack characters on site, and many also feature...
Everything you need to know about Crowfall’s combat testing
As nifty as Crowfall's mechanical goals are, they're not going to help the game much in the long run if the fundamental combat engine...
Neverwinter’s new lead designer takes a ‘hard look’ at Elemental Evil
Neverwinter's Elemental Evil update had some issues that extend beyond some ill-distributed reward codes. A letter to the community from new lead designer Scott...
How to unleash divine wrath in Skyforge
Sure, you get the idea that Skyforge is all about being a deity. But what does that mean? When do you get to unleash...
Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns interview unwraps specializations and traits
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, readers of all races, professions, and levels: I finally have the news we've all been waiting for! Today...
Landmark shows off its upcoming achievement-based progression
The next big update to Landmark will bring a major update to progression, and that means a major update to how the game's achievements...
Anarchy Online overhauls its world and professions
Anarchy Online is deploying patch 18.7.0 to the live servers on Tuesday, but if you play the game, you'll probably want to look at...
MMO Mechanics: How strong communities are barriers-to-exit
MMOs occupy a unique position in our game libraries because they include a wide range of clever mechanics that keep us logging in day...
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...
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...
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...
