The MMORPG genre is arguably in decline with a few hopeful titles on the horizon. These titles could revive the genre by breathing much needed life back into it. This website has become the bastion of MMORPG news. It is the first place we the players go to find new games, read about current ones, and watch video reviews. In the past year or so a host of articles have flooded the main page of MMORPG.com that, by most accounts, seem to be biased. What the writers and reviewers on MMORPG.com say and do has a huge impact on the genre at large.
It would seem that this website now possesses the power to dissuade the reader from ever trying a game or encourage them to try a different one due to bias or heavily opinionated reviews that seem to turn the tides of the genre. The sponsoring of certain article also has the potential to pollute the mind of the reader and I don't agree with turning this into MMORPG nascar(speaking on sponsors).
I will be the first to say I love this site but I do believe there needs to be a larger emphasis on remaining unbiased and allowing the reader to formulate their own opinion before a game is inadvertently "damned." We put a lot of faith in this site to steer us in the right direction but MMORPG.com should be careful not to reshape the entire genre with its articles.
Use your power for good.
Comments
I guess it's just me, but I'm extremely stubborn and if I wanna play something I'll play it whether everyone says it's bad or not, I've found a lot of hidden gems a lot of people consider garbage lol.
I am glad you keep an open mind but not all of us do and put a large amount of faith in this site and its writers. Which isn't a bad thing it just needs to be realized.
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What this article fails to do is point out that tanking is a necessity in early levels and in most games, like World of Warcraft, you can over gear content and delete archetype from your group. That said the article doesn't go into detail about Trials or use the word "Raid" (trials) at all which would be impossible without a tank.
Further, many Veteran Dungeons would be impossible to complete without a tank such as Ruins of Mazzatun, Bloodroot Forge, White-Gold Tower, Imperial City Prison, and Falkreath Hold, especially on hard mode for the last boss.
As you know there is a divide among players regarding the "trinity" in games. BDO and GW2 removed the trinity and many dislike this while others don't. By reading that article about the Dragon Knight the reader, who may be looking for a trinity-type game, would be dissuaded from trying it.
The article misinforms the reader very eloquently and gives inaccurate information.
Here's another example: https://www.mmorpg.com/star-wars-the-old-republic/editorials/the-end-of-the-republic-swtor-analysis-1000012421
The context of this article would, at face value, dissuade some from even trying the game. I don't personally like the game but the power this site has over the reader and this genre should be respected. By questioning if the game will actually "survive" this year it will make some avoid it all together. Would you want to play a game where all of your progress *might* be deleted in under a year?
The article doesn't prove the game will indeed die and we should again respect the power this site has as I am certain it would dissuade people from trying the game.
Someone commented on this article stating:
"lmao .. no .. its not going anywhere till 2023 at the earliest
worthless clickbait ... you have to do better than this ..."
Making informed decisions requires critical thinking and research into any topic, not just those attached to gaming.
I have more faith in our readers than to think they'll ever take our word alone for anything.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Aloha Mr Hand !
Personally... I love the site. I am free to challenge articles when I feel the need. That's what makes for good discussion.
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What you're asking for is that hat we ONLY post fact based news. That would make a very dull site. If you want that, and only that, I’d suggest just reading GamesPress. At least here you get gamer’s opinions in articles and on the forums.
Or, smartly, you could just read the news and avoid the features.
Try to be excellent to everyone you meet. You never know what someone else has seen or endured.
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BillMurphy asked for your input on which "opinionated reviews" you were referring to, so that they could improve; he's being very open-minded. Stomping your foot and saying "well, if you don't agree with me, then there's no point in discussing it" is kind of silly, especially when you still haven't provided evidence to your asserted claim.
Furthermore, there really isn't anything wrong with opinionated reviews, as already pointed out; otherwise, you'd really just be looking at a feature list, which is better saved for the back of game boxes or store front pages.
I believe that any article posted on the site, regardless of tag, has the potential to dissuade players or point them in the right direction. This has the potential to shape the genre in meaningful ways.
Articles falsely claiming that there is no trinity in a game or that another game could die in a year, without any evidence, is a bit troubling. it also has the power to change a persons perspective on a game they were once willing to try. This can create droughts in one title and promote growth in another.
If you don't think posting "this game could be dead soon" on the front of this very well-established and powerful site, without any evidence, isn't troubling than you and I will not agree on this point.
So, even if you wanted to restructure your argument based on that (that MMORPG.com is spreading false information), you'd still have no evidence for your assertion.
The article tries to create some sort of dilemma for Dragon Knights that seemingly only exists in that article or in the authors mind. I doubt they are doing end game content.
Again, the blog post doesn't even say you can do end game content that way, but you seem to continually read that into it. In fact, the words "end game" don't even appear at all in the blog post. Moreover, the author is mostly asking for advice from the reader, rather than stating *anything* about how end game is completed.
I've never not played a game because of a single article from here or any other site. I've never paid for a game because of any single article here or anywhere else. I will admit I have tried some free to play games because of an article. Not because it said I should or should not so much as because it brought a game to my attention.
What game that you like did they publish a bad opinion piece on? Or what game that you don't like did they publish a glowing one on? What's your bias?
" I think that is where Dragon Knight gets screwed the most, they have an amazing skill tree dedicated to tanking in a game that I feel like really doesn’t NEED a tank to succeed. "
If "success" in a game is spamming the easiest content with four DPS using Resto Staves then casual has been redefined.
Succeeding in the game is doing undaunted pledges on veteran and even regular trials. Even non veteran trials will need that "dedicated tanking skill tree."
Also, saying a game won't make it through the year is a bit ridiculous. Especially given there's content coming out for SW:TOR, there's a healthy player base, and the game developers have stated nothing of the sort.