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[Column] General: 5 Reasons MMORPGs Aren't More Enjoyable
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
In case anyone doesn't know it already, my MMORPG background began back in the days when you could count all of them your hands and still have a few fingers left over. After playing them as well as observing how the genre has evolved for nearly two decades now, it strikes me that I don't find them to be as much fun as they once were – or perhaps more importantly, as I feel they should be.
Read more of Richard Aihoshi's The List: 5 Reasons MMORPGs Aren't More Enjoyable.
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Comments
My first MMO was Anarchy Online
That was back when failure (mostly Death) had consequences, you lost XP and thus your time investment.
It was also when the game was highly skill based, a feature that changed gradually over each expansion towards a more Item Based feel.
These days I play Eve, because CCP have remembered that it's the consequences of failure that are important.
Timmy is not a special snowflake, Timmy came last and therefore gets no prize.
I really agree about #2, MMOs are generally far too easy nowadays and bosses fight really badly. Giving a zillion hitpoints is not as fun as actually giving us some smarter mobs.
With the story point I must point out that too much story isn't good either. Story should be optional but if you enjoy story you should be able to have plenty of it. A zillion cutscenes and crap like a certain Star wars MMO gets too much.
you have some valid points, but it's perhaps not the full picture for everyone? and that is the problem for game-designers who want to cater to a wide audience to maximize profits.
regarding story - how much is really necessary? considering that a majority of (vocal) people just click through it, maybe less would be more. heck, if you think SWG, aside from the IP lore, there wasn't much in the game from the designers and it still worked. SWTOR probably took it too far to the other spectrum.
which perhaps has to do with the type of quests - many complain about fed-ex and kill-x-rat quests, but how much variety other than an overall story arc can you do where you don't end up fetching/delivering something, destroying something, killing something? and if you play a game for hundreds of hours as MMO (expect you to) do, then it can get pretty boring after a while. maybe that's why some of the older MMO generation players tend to go MMO vacationing - switching from one to the other, waiting for the next big thing, just to have some variety.
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Youtube newb:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC96N3cxBuqKTPV2BQNlzGUw
OP should play Gw2 while he still can and try to defeat Liadri on his own without peeking at the gazillion builds at youtube. Speak of sense of achievement then.
Maybe next halloween you could try to climb the mad king's clocktower xD or perhaps do a guild tequatl or guild great jungle wurm. Yeah, those are fun times. Speak for yourself mate...
1. Personal Expectations
2-5. Irrelevant
I agree completely with 1, 4 and 5. Somewhat with 2.
My disagreement with 2 is the definition of challenge. Prime example is Asherons Call 1.
In that game you could literally fight 20+ mobs at the same time and walk away, but it was designed that way with at times, massive spawns. but, it was still a challenge because you had to get past those spawns and at times you didn't. So, challenge is relative. Many companies mistake what it means and will go over the top like EverQuest 1 did where if you got a single add, you could die because they made it where mobs were on par with a player and wanted a 1 on 1 or group on group game.
I completely disagree with 3 because the perception that only new games has solo content is incorrect. You could solo completely in Meridian 59, the Realm, Ultima Online. Most of the content in Asherons Call 1 was soloable. SWG was all soloable except for Kryats and a few other places. Solo is not new, nor is it bad. However this should not be mistaken with a game being TOO EASY. A game can have solo content that provides a challenge and being able to do that alone does not mean you cant or should not group, it just means that you can solo if you chose and allows those that don't have the time to form one, to still play.
3
If it's so much fun, why wouldn't people naturally group instead of trying it alone (or perhaps with one other person who happens to be a friend they know)?
I think people like to have control over their limited play time, and when you are having to stop so everyone can go to the bathroom, finish fixing dinner, pay attention to a child, feed a pet, answer the door bell, pretend they aren't playing to talk to their boss, etc...that isn't fun.
It's no coincidence that what usually comes with group-only content is better rewards that can 'not' be attained via solo content. It's the only way to force us to do it.
I'm not saying I don't like people, or meeting new people and adventuring with them from time to time, or doing it totally anonymous. But when I do, it usually happens after I've gotten 'all' my achievements for the night/weekend done (goals, dailies, etc). That play time is reserved for when I just feel like doing a dungeon, and there isn't any time pressure for me to do it, as I know all the above will inevitably happen while trying to complete it.
I don't know, I think the pseudo-MMORPG console games like Destiny and The Division are going to have a huge impact on the "traditional" PC MMO.
They have-
1. No trinity - yet varied and customized builds and loadouts etc.
2. Challenge - apparently there is some really challenging group content in the games, and console games have always been known for their "choose your difficulty setting"
3. Copious amounts of co-op / group content and competitive action. With Destiny being more separated while the Division looks to blend them all together in a more open world
4. With upgradeable gear and a more Borderlands-esque ARPG looting, hopefully the gear grinds won't be as bad as your typical MMO
5. Destiny has a very large story element, I have no idea about Division but it's Ubisoft, so probably
6. The "Action Combat" everyone is always craving
7. No additional sub fees (B2P)
8. Built in voice chat
9. No general/trade chat spam haha
10. I'd bet without question Xbox Live will handle the Destiny/Division launch on XB360 and XB1 without the usual MMO launch issues. Hopefully PSN does the same.
Couldn't have said this any better myself. Time is limited, and I love to play only with my spouse @ times so when a game throws up a "this is an MMO DUDE" wall like TESO just did with their Craglorn expansion... I just quietly unsubscribe and re-direct my hard earned income to some other game. One of these days some publisher is going to see that the majority of players wish to CHOOSE how they play a game and that publisher is going to be sitting on mountain of cash when the people flood in from all corners of the Internet.
1 - not so much, I love the holy trinity and I feel to many games that try and move away from it end up having characters that are either too powerful or just end up having people make builds for the holy trinity because that's what people know how to do and/or that's whats needed for the game. There are a few games that move away from it well, but when it comes down to it, I prefer having the trinity in place.
2 - I agree that there isn't enough true challenege. Most things that are considered "challenging" you can complete without even having to do the challenging parts. If it is challenging then players complain till it is nerfed so hard that anyone can do it. I feel like challenge is partly linked to solo content but imo there has been some solo content that is challenging, just few n far between to be sure.
3 - This I completely agree. I still play mainly group only games, cause I just can't stand the solo play. If I wanted to play by myself, I would grab a RPG and call it a day. I go for MMO's because I like playing with other people. One of the biggest gripes I see with this is people say, "Well I have limited time to play games, and when I do I don't wanna sit waiting for a group..." and I say to that, Well then you DONT want an MMO. That's the point, you take out the social interaction and there is no point being an MMO. I have quit jumping from MMO to MMO since wow, there is no point, they are all RPG's with multiplayer, I play EQ1 pre-velious, because that's what I like, hard game, group centric. Not to mention, you can solo in EQ1, it's just really hard, cause the PREFERRABLE way to lvl is by group, ya know as a MMO should be.
4 - Gear grinding is never fun IMO, however n it is an important aspect of any MMORPG. I agree that you need to work for your gear, but I also agree that sometimes it goes WAY over board and becomes way to much of a grind. Some grind but not a ton is how I think it should be.
5 - Story I honestly don't care much about. I feel this should be changed too an "Immersive World". If there world is immersive than people will want to know about it, hence the story. However if it's not immersive, like most MMO's out today, IMO, you won't care one bit about the story and will just try too lvl. Story should be there for the folks that want it, but I still feel that if the world/game is not immersive from the start, than no matter how good the story is, people just wont care.
Agree!
I agree with much of what is being said here. I've felt forever that 1 of the main problems is the cookie-cutter reliance of class/level system in these games. the "devs" like them because they're easy. Too bad. And the whole dash for "end game" that the whole class/level system brings with it.
Wanna make a good game make a world, a living breathing world for people to do whatever in. Some companies supposedly working on this but not sure what happened to them, haven't heard. Systems where the graveyard is starting to churn up some badness, if players don't do something more and more spawn and over time more powerful, if they clean it out other things happen, And no this isn't the same old thing. The idea is it's actually all dynamic, it doesn't just restart like "events" in some current games that are constantly re-starting. Also npc's that aren't just simple faction based, but have particular interactions with individual players according to that players actions. Make a skill based living breathing dynamic interactive world. I can't believe the technology can't manage this today.
AC back in the day (I left like 10 years ago, a Poor choice on my part overall). It had a customized skill set which leveled both from use and pouring xp into (though the use was slow). It had a monthly story update that was often interesting and engaging and you had to give town criers loot to get info for. Magic components were unique to the person for each spell (though 3p programs cheated in finding them). Corpses were seen on the ground and were lootable by all after timer (like min for monsters, longer for player bodies) and when they decayed their items dropped to the ground (ITEMS COULD BE ON THE GROUND!!). AND DEATH MEANT SOMETHING!!! You left 5-10 of your most expensive items (random) and significant amounts of pyreals on the body. People carried lightweight expensive orbs or mage robes so those would be more likely to drop than their weapons/armor. Plus you lost 5% of your stats until you gain xp to make up for it.... and it was cumulative. Plus vendors had the items from players you could buy.
Sorry for the long AC rant. I miss it. I know it is up still but it is very hard returning to a game you gave up. I have tried it several times on many games.
Major or Current Characters
AC - The Brute lvl 85 macer -HG (retired)
SWG - Lihone Su'alkn Master Ranger/ MCH - Flurry (Retired)
EVE - Sulone - Cruiser Lover (Retired)
LOTRO - Sandric lvl 50 Burg (and others)- Brandywine (Retired)
GW2 - Sandric lvl 80 Thief - Dragonbrand (Retired)
NeverWinter - Sandric lvl 60 Rogue - Dragonshard (Retired)
Archage - Sandric lvl 50 everything - Naima (Active)
Others (Lots) (Retired)
this column is joke
almost all new mmorpg's are focused on action combas without trinity and they are story driven ,all those mmorpgs are crap,with longevity 1-3 months
At end , we back to play old school mmorpg's games what is make before 5-10 years ago,they are still fun and they are MMO's not SP games with MP.
You should to know holly trinity forcing players to corporate , today happening all players just simple dpsing without any interaction,just same as they are npc's,not need for tactics or use brain.
(column is about MMORPG's not action Shooter MMO's, right?)
DMKano is my alt. jk/jk
I agree.
Disagree about Trinity and solo content.
1. Trinity is needed in group games. Otherwise everyone just runs around playing solo, but in a group. There is little coordination. Also, the entire threat-tank mechanisms is needed so that bosses and encounters can be scripted in interesting ways. If you don´t have interesting mechanisms, then every boss is basically the same fight with a different graphic
3. Solo play is needed, and more of it. To me, the MM part of MMORPG means there is a vibrant economy that is driven mainly by players. But I would love it if a game could design endgame, very challenging solo player dungeons. I Absolutely love the dungeon/quest system in DDO because of this. You go into a dungeon, and it is scripted and designed exaclty like a 5 man dungeon in WOW, but you only have you and your skills to get through it. WOW has started to add single-player scenerios which are basically the same thing, but they are tuned to be really easy and only used for storytelling.
Here's my issues with MMOs today.
1. Pointless leveling grind. We all know its a waste of time and want to rush to end game asap.
2. Crafting hindered by PVE, BOE,BOP. Its hard to be a crafter when you cant even trade good items or have to beat a high end raid to get a material to craft with.
3. PVP being a CC fest. Why do other players have so much control over my toon?
4. Lack of Solo/Duo end game content. im not sure what games the OP is playing cause most MMOs have NO solo content besides hte pointless leveling system. End game is always forced grouping.
No successor yet, but if you have interest soon you can play it all you like for $10 old or new account.
Subscription Model to End in July
"Aren't more enjoyable" would imply they are enjoyable, just not to the degree that they could be but could easily be fixed by adjusting the dial, so to speak.
So if WoW is enjoyable as easy mode... simply turning the dial will make it even more enjoyable? Easier or harder? Normal mode, Hard mode, Mythic mode, Super-duper-omgfg mode. They've dialed it up and dialed it down. Subs are still dwindling.
5 Reasons MMORPGs Aren't Enjoyable is less ambiguous. Then it's not a matter of dialing up or down, but rather eliminating or adding. Holy Trinity out. Holy Trinity in. Holy Trinity sort of out but also in just doesn't cut it.