vanilla
Massively on the Go: Our planning guide for Pokemon Go Global Go Fest 2023
While the timing and quantity of events change each year, Pokemon Go is holding its global Go Fest 2023 August 26th and 27th this round....
Take a look behind the scenes of WoW Classic’s hardcore realm development
Those of you who are flashing back to another game that loved including the word "hardcore" in as much material as possible can breathe...
Perfect Ten: Every expansion era of World of Warcraft ranked
For a long time, I have been considering this particular column just because, well, it's an obvious one. If you have a column whose...
World of Warcraft Classic gets Hardcore realms on August 24
Once again, Blizzard has released its "This Week in World of Warcraft" announcement where its biggest news item does not actually release this week....
WoW Factor: Hardcore progression, speedrunning, and closed environments
So in one of the least surprising surprises ever, we're getting official support for hardcore realms in WoW Classic. That's not a bad thing,...
Vague Patch Notes: Why do people remember an MMO past that didn’t exist?
Let's just start with the premise out of the gate. World of Warcraft launched to sales of 240,000 units on its first day. The...
Casually Classic: Six problems Blizzard has to solve for WoW Classic’s official hardcore mode
Hey, look at that: Blizzard's going and making Hardcore Classic an official thing. As well it should, considering how this community-driven ruleset's been the...
Casually Classic: Eight legacy MMOs to satisfy that old school craving
It was just five years ago in 2018 that MassivelyOP formally recognized an interesting and heartening trend in the MMO space: the rise of...
WoW Classic’s permadeath community may be prompting Blizzard to create a new ruleset
While the thrill and buzz around WoW Classic has fallen off sharply in the past half-year, there's a segment that's actually on the rise...
WoW Factor: Does World of Warcraft need more classes?
So how many classes are there in World of Warcraft? There are wrong answers, but there's more than one right answer.
If your answer was...
Vague Patch Notes: Diversions are what makes the MMO
I am going to put forth a theory today in the Vague Patch Notes column. It is potentially an odd theory, and as sometimes...
Massively Overthinking: Changing ‘mains’ in MMOs
When I first started MMOs, the idea of mains and alts was bizarre to me. Why would I spend time on a second character...
WoW Factor: Was the faction split ever good for World of Warcraft?
Before I had played World of Warcraft and back in the time when I allowed myself to speculate more freely on what games would...
WoW Factor: Updating our World of Warcraft expansion data set with the Dragonflight release date
Aw yeah, who likes math? I like math. I really like math, and you all know it, and you have to consistently sit there...
WoW Factor: Just be honest about what WoW Classic is now
So here's something funny to consider: No matter what happens, Blizzard has collectively backed itself into a corner with World of Warcraft expansions over...
Massively Overthinking: The weirdest ways we’ve leveled in MMOs
One of my favor flavors of fluff post we do occasionally is report on folks who have accomplished fame by leveling "wrong" in MMOs,...
Blizzard begs WoW Classic players to transfer away from queues as tech can’t resolve capacity chaos
As we've been noting for the last week, the WoW Classic Wrath of the Lich King pre-patch launch hasn't gone to plan, largely thanks...
WoW Factor: When your MMO design is hooked on a feeling
To start this off, I want you to summon up a feeling. I want you think back to the first time you can remember...
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King launches its pre-patch and fresh start realms on August 30
Still eager to go back to the days of World of Warcraft when everyone was trampling across Northrend? Your journey starts on August 30th,...
The Daily Grind: Which MMO is *least* focused on fashion wars?
I've been thinking about this topic ever since Blizzard tweeted a joke about "cursed mogs" in World of Warcraft. Honestly, while vanilla WoW definitely...
