https://massivelyop.com MMORPG news and opinions Mon, 12 Feb 2024 13:18:07 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.1 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/12/wisdom-of-nym-what-the-hey-is-up-with-final-fantasy-xivs-xbox-pricing/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/12/wisdom-of-nym-what-the-hey-is-up-with-final-fantasy-xivs-xbox-pricing/#comments Mon, 12 Feb 2024 17:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=479454 In another theoretical timeline, there’s a place where Final Fantasy XIV really would have stepped in it when it subtly noted that the game’s subscription on Xbox would require also subscribing to Game Pass. This is, in and of itself, not all that unusual; it’s pretty normal for games that require a subscription online. But […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/12/wisdom-of-nym-what-the-hey-is-up-with-final-fantasy-xivs-xbox-pricing/feed/ 14 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/11/the-daily-grind-are-there-mmo-systems-you-long-ago-gave-up-on-understanding/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/11/the-daily-grind-are-there-mmo-systems-you-long-ago-gave-up-on-understanding/#comments Sun, 11 Feb 2024 13:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=479042 “I do not understand how Ninja is supposed to be played,” he said, “and at this point I have given up on understanding it.” This was, in fact, a defensible statement; Ninja in Final Fantasy XIV is a complicated job with a whole lot of messy parts that are not immediately obvious when you start […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/11/the-daily-grind-are-there-mmo-systems-you-long-ago-gave-up-on-understanding/feed/ 34 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/10/wrup-taylor-swift-throws-the-first-football-at-the-superbowl-edition/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/10/wrup-taylor-swift-throws-the-first-football-at-the-superbowl-edition/#comments Sat, 10 Feb 2024 15:00:09 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=479320 Before any contest for initial possession of the football begins, a visibly tired Taylor Swift walks onto the field wearing sweatpants, a loose blouse covered by a jean jacket, and her hair up in a makeshift bun. She walks over to the football, picks it up, and beckons for the camera crews to follow her. […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/10/wrup-taylor-swift-throws-the-first-football-at-the-superbowl-edition/feed/ 25 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/09/betawatch-skull-bones-lands-washes-ashore-in-open-beta-at-long-last/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/09/betawatch-skull-bones-lands-washes-ashore-in-open-beta-at-long-last/#comments Sat, 10 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=479303 If you didn’t believe that Skull and Bones would ever hit open beta, or really any beta, you aren’t alone. I have been making this joke for the past several weeks. But when we’ve even had a stream showing off the game’s open beta, it is possible that the game has actually gone into something […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/09/betawatch-skull-bones-lands-washes-ashore-in-open-beta-at-long-last/feed/ 3 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/09/final-fantasy-xi-adds-a-new-master-trial-against-the-guardians-of-adoulin/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/09/final-fantasy-xi-adds-a-new-master-trial-against-the-guardians-of-adoulin/#respond Fri, 09 Feb 2024 21:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=479152 The next major Final Fantasy XI patch will not actually involve going to war against a month, but it certainly sounds like it will. Why? Because the new Master Trial will involve going up against August, the king and founder of Adoulin. Of course, his partner in this operation is not June or July, but […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/09/final-fantasy-xi-adds-a-new-master-trial-against-the-guardians-of-adoulin/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/09/vague-patch-notes-mmorpgs-and-the-pc-gaming-market/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/09/vague-patch-notes-mmorpgs-and-the-pc-gaming-market/#comments Fri, 09 Feb 2024 17:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=479180 I find myself thinking a lot about the MMORPG industry lately and the ways in which the gaming industry as a whole has changed over the course of the past couple decades, because it seems clear to me that things have been changing. Did you know that up until 2004, PC gaming accounted for less […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/09/vague-patch-notes-mmorpgs-and-the-pc-gaming-market/feed/ 11 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/09/former-overwatch-2-lead-vfx-artist-calls-out-blizzard-for-deceptive-promotion-and-pay-behavior/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/09/former-overwatch-2-lead-vfx-artist-calls-out-blizzard-for-deceptive-promotion-and-pay-behavior/#comments Fri, 09 Feb 2024 14:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=479177 Workers and former workers at the various substudios at Activision-Blizzard have been calling it out as an unpleasant workplace for a while now since the whole scandal with the company began, and Blizzard was not spared (just remember how Brian Birmingham was treated last year). But now we’ve got even more evidence that company has […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/09/former-overwatch-2-lead-vfx-artist-calls-out-blizzard-for-deceptive-promotion-and-pay-behavior/feed/ 21 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/08/into-the-super-verse-whats-wrong-with-city-of-heroes-incarnate-system/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/08/into-the-super-verse-whats-wrong-with-city-of-heroes-incarnate-system/#comments Thu, 08 Feb 2024 17:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=479049 It hasn’t been all that long since I said that what City of Heroes needs to focus on right now is not endgame content, and I stand by that. In fact, there’s arguably a whole other column to be written about where the game really does need more content and more stuff to do, although […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/08/into-the-super-verse-whats-wrong-with-city-of-heroes-incarnate-system/feed/ 16 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/08/ftc-files-a-complaint-against-microsoft-following-activision-blizzard-layoffs/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/08/ftc-files-a-complaint-against-microsoft-following-activision-blizzard-layoffs/#comments Thu, 08 Feb 2024 13:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=479046 When Microsoft outlined its plans for what would happen following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, one of the things that the company stated was that there would not be layoffs as the acquisition would be treated in a strictly vertical fashion. Of course, this was perhaps an obvious prevarication even before the raft of 1900 […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/08/ftc-files-a-complaint-against-microsoft-following-activision-blizzard-layoffs/feed/ 17 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/08/the-daily-grind-how-difficult-should-it-be-to-respec-in-an-mmorpg/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/08/the-daily-grind-how-difficult-should-it-be-to-respec-in-an-mmorpg/#comments Thu, 08 Feb 2024 13:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=479038 It struck me the other day how my two favorite MMORPGs are wildly different in terms of respecs. Final Fantasy XIV offers effectively infinite respecs simply because there is never anything stopping you from choosing to level and focus on a different job; there is time investment on a few projects like relic weapons or […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/08/the-daily-grind-how-difficult-should-it-be-to-respec-in-an-mmorpg/feed/ 24 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/07/final-fantasy-xis-valentiones-day-arrives-once-more-with-bird-mating/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/07/final-fantasy-xis-valentiones-day-arrives-once-more-with-bird-mating/#comments Wed, 07 Feb 2024 22:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=478787 Once again, Final Fantasy XI will spend its Valentione’s Day celebrating that which matters most: bird mating. Yes, as always, the annual Valentine’s Day event within the game features a quest to find mates for chocobos, and isn’t that the real meaning of the holiday? Getting birds to make lots more baby birds that you […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/07/final-fantasy-xis-valentiones-day-arrives-once-more-with-bird-mating/feed/ 5 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/07/tarisland-discusses-its-business-model-and-in-game-economy-in-a-new-video/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/07/tarisland-discusses-its-business-model-and-in-game-economy-in-a-new-video/#comments Wed, 07 Feb 2024 17:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=478900 Tarisland has airdropped in a new video about its economy this week, but the downside is that the video is a bit vague when it discusses economic activity. It talks a great deal about how its sold items will not be meant to grant any sort of in-game advantage, for example, but it remains vague […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/07/tarisland-discusses-its-business-model-and-in-game-economy-in-a-new-video/feed/ 1 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/07/perfect-ten-the-mmo-franchises-that-cant-count-past-two/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/07/perfect-ten-the-mmo-franchises-that-cant-count-past-two/#comments Wed, 07 Feb 2024 17:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=478922 Back in the day, there was a running joke about how Capcom had shown with Street Fighter that the company could not count higher than two. We had a few dozen different iterations of Street Fighter 2, and then when the developers finally decided to make a new game, it was a prequel, so it […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/07/perfect-ten-the-mmo-franchises-that-cant-count-past-two/feed/ 13 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/06/mortal-online-2-opens-up-its-test-server-for-a-new-balance-patch/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/06/mortal-online-2-opens-up-its-test-server-for-a-new-balance-patch/#respond Tue, 06 Feb 2024 18:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=478792 It’s frankly upsetting when you think of players on Mortal Online 2 who for too long have cowered behind shield, resolute and confident in their knowledge that their stamina will be unaffected even as blow rain upon their shield with furious intensity. Yet no longer with the game’s next balance patch; now stamina shall be […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/06/mortal-online-2-opens-up-its-test-server-for-a-new-balance-patch/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/05/microsoft-will-require-final-fantasy-xiv-players-to-subscribe-to-xbox-game-pass-in-order-to-play-the-game/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/05/microsoft-will-require-final-fantasy-xiv-players-to-subscribe-to-xbox-game-pass-in-order-to-play-the-game/#comments Mon, 05 Feb 2024 21:00:28 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=478737 It’s tucked away in the announcement that Final Fantasy XIV’s beta on the Xbox Series X|S starts on February 21st, but the announcement does confirm that players will be required to pay a monthly subscription to Xbox Game Pass in order to subscribe to the game. That means that at minimum, you will be paying […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/05/microsoft-will-require-final-fantasy-xiv-players-to-subscribe-to-xbox-game-pass-in-order-to-play-the-game/feed/ 78 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/05/wisdom-of-nym-the-franchise-references-in-the-world-of-final-fantasy-xiv/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/05/wisdom-of-nym-the-franchise-references-in-the-world-of-final-fantasy-xiv/#comments Mon, 05 Feb 2024 17:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=478516 There’s a fan theory circulating that Final Fantasy XIV is the nexus of the franchise multiverse. Essentially, the idea is that Hydaelyn and Zodiark are close enough to the usual series-wide meta-deities of Cosmos and Chaos, and so many of the things that other games are built around are also found within the world of […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/05/wisdom-of-nym-the-franchise-references-in-the-world-of-final-fantasy-xiv/feed/ 6 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/04/the-daily-grind-would-you-be-interested-in-a-guild-wars-3/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/04/the-daily-grind-would-you-be-interested-in-a-guild-wars-3/#comments Sun, 04 Feb 2024 13:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=478097 Have you ever noticed how every MMO franchise seems to get to exactly two numbered installments and then stops, at most? Guild Wars 2 is older than Guild Wars was when Guild Wars 2 launched, and it has been a long fun ride over the past decade. But that brings to mind what is, at […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/04/the-daily-grind-would-you-be-interested-in-a-guild-wars-3/feed/ 54 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/03/wrup-how-to-get-ham-from-snakes-edition/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/03/wrup-how-to-get-ham-from-snakes-edition/#comments Sat, 03 Feb 2024 15:00:28 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=478423 All right so I’m not actually sure what you need to learn here. For one thing, ham is a meat that comes from pigs. You do not get ham literally from snakes. If you are trying to do that, stop doing that. You shouldn’t actually try to get any meat from snakes. I don’t think […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/03/wrup-how-to-get-ham-from-snakes-edition/feed/ 21 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/02/betawatch-nightingales-friday-stress-test-is-still-underway/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/02/betawatch-nightingales-friday-stress-test-is-still-underway/#respond Sat, 03 Feb 2024 00:00:33 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=478403 It’s time for Nightingale to enter the beautiful, sometimes dangerous world of stress testing as it kicked off a stress test this afternoon, which apparently was so successful that the devs extended it into the night. It’s far too late to get in, but it doesn’t have an NDA, so a whole lot of people […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/02/betawatch-nightingales-friday-stress-test-is-still-underway/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/02/final-fantasy-xiv-starts-another-free-login-campaign-running-through-february-21/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/02/final-fantasy-xiv-starts-another-free-login-campaign-running-through-february-21/#comments Fri, 02 Feb 2024 20:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=478232 Have you been taking an extended break from Final Fantasy XIV? Because you can take a little trip back into the game as part of the free login campaign running until February 21st. If you have a prior subscription to the game, your subscription has been inactive for at least 30 days, and you haven’t […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/02/final-fantasy-xiv-starts-another-free-login-campaign-running-through-february-21/feed/ 3 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/02/into-the-super-verse-early-sos-pose-a-perplexing-problem-in-city-of-heroes-homecoming/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/02/into-the-super-verse-early-sos-pose-a-perplexing-problem-in-city-of-heroes-homecoming/#comments Fri, 02 Feb 2024 17:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=478282 Last week, I talked a bit about how to gear yourself up in City of Heroes. Just yesterday, Bree gave an example for how to make money so you can fund yourself in doing so (and it ain’t remotely hard). All good stuff. But today, I want to talk about something else that we sort […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/02/into-the-super-verse-early-sos-pose-a-perplexing-problem-in-city-of-heroes-homecoming/feed/ 35 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/02/world-of-warcrafts-february-trading-post-is-all-about-having-a-lovely-time-of-love/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/02/world-of-warcrafts-february-trading-post-is-all-about-having-a-lovely-time-of-love/#respond Fri, 02 Feb 2024 14:00:33 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=478221 It’s February, and as far as World of Warcraft’s Trading Post is concerned, that means it’s time for an entire month of love. This month’s bonus reward for clearing your log is the Love Witch Attire, and it’s all about spreading love all over the world. But it’s hardly alone. There’s love to be had […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/02/world-of-warcrafts-february-trading-post-is-all-about-having-a-lovely-time-of-love/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/01/vague-patch-notes-why-we-drift-away-from-mmorpgs-we-still-love/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/01/vague-patch-notes-why-we-drift-away-from-mmorpgs-we-still-love/#comments Thu, 01 Feb 2024 16:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=478104 Why did I stop playing Star Trek Online? Was it because there was some change made to the game that made it no longer fun to play? Did it come as a result of some drama at the endgame, some major flaw? I bought the game nearly at launch, but I left. Why did I […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/01/vague-patch-notes-why-we-drift-away-from-mmorpgs-we-still-love/feed/ 42 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/01/final-fantasy-xiv-sets-its-annual-valentiones-event-for-february-7/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/01/final-fantasy-xiv-sets-its-annual-valentiones-event-for-february-7/#comments Thu, 01 Feb 2024 14:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=478101 What the world of Etheirys needs is a summer vacation, but that’s not happening until Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail arrives this summer. Until then, all it needs is love, and that love is arriving when the annual Valentione’s Event starts up on February 7th. If you’ve all gotten enough of shooting hearts at people with […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/01/final-fantasy-xiv-sets-its-annual-valentiones-event-for-february-7/feed/ 1 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/01/the-daily-grind-what-gets-you-to-start-a-new-character-in-an-mmo/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/01/the-daily-grind-what-gets-you-to-start-a-new-character-in-an-mmo/#comments Thu, 01 Feb 2024 13:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=478099 I like making alts. It’s just a thing I do. But before I’m going to make a new alt, I have to have something new that I want to do with that particular character. What that “something new” is going to be can vary a great deal from one occasion to another, but what is […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/01/the-daily-grind-what-gets-you-to-start-a-new-character-in-an-mmo/feed/ 17 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/31/embers-adrift-adds-more-solo-content-and-bulletin-board-system-with-its-january-update/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/31/embers-adrift-adds-more-solo-content-and-bulletin-board-system-with-its-january-update/#comments Wed, 31 Jan 2024 20:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477875 So Embers Adrift has a bit of a situation. The game is very decidedly focused around having people group up and take on challenges as a larger team; that’s a stated design goal. At the same time, when people just start the game, they may not yet want to team up, which can lead to […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/31/embers-adrift-adds-more-solo-content-and-bulletin-board-system-with-its-january-update/feed/ 1 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/31/chimeraland-is-shutting-down-at-the-end-of-march/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/31/chimeraland-is-shutting-down-at-the-end-of-march/#comments Wed, 31 Jan 2024 14:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477895 Back in September of last year, we checked in on Tencent’s strange survival sandbox Chimeraland only to find that very little had happened… followed two days later by an utterly unexpected surprise update. Alas, it appears that was the last gasp rather than the start of a new era for the game, as developer Pixel […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/31/chimeraland-is-shutting-down-at-the-end-of-march/feed/ 3 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/30/former-blizzard-employee-yoinks-a-decade-of-paid-time-for-world-of-warcraft-before-layoffs/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/30/former-blizzard-employee-yoinks-a-decade-of-paid-time-for-world-of-warcraft-before-layoffs/#comments Tue, 30 Jan 2024 19:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477684 It’s one thing to leverage a whole mountain of in-game gold into being able to play World of Warcraft for free, but it’s another thing altogether to cash in a decade’s worth of playtime for the game as part of employee compensation. Adam Holisky, whose name may be familiar to readers from his days on […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/30/former-blizzard-employee-yoinks-a-decade-of-paid-time-for-world-of-warcraft-before-layoffs/feed/ 28 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/30/the-first-two-warcraft-games-and-the-original-diablo-are-now-on-battle-net/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/30/the-first-two-warcraft-games-and-the-original-diablo-are-now-on-battle-net/#comments Tue, 30 Jan 2024 15:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477687 For too long, you have had to live in a universe where your only access to the original Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, its sequel Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, and the not even remotely related but still well-known Diablo were limited to whether or not you had your original CDs. (For our younger readers, CDs […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/30/the-first-two-warcraft-games-and-the-original-diablo-are-now-on-battle-net/feed/ 10 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/29/johanna-faries-is-the-new-president-of-blizzard-following-mike-ybarras-ouster/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/29/johanna-faries-is-the-new-president-of-blizzard-following-mike-ybarras-ouster/#comments Mon, 29 Jan 2024 19:42:53 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477607 Following last week’s layoffs, it didn’t seem likely that the potentially frozen throne at the head of Blizzard Entertainment would remain vacant for long. As of today, Microsoft has announced Johanna Faries as the new president of the subdivision, with a full letter from Faries explaining that she looks forward to starting he new role […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/29/johanna-faries-is-the-new-president-of-blizzard-following-mike-ybarras-ouster/feed/ 67 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/29/wisdom-of-nym-the-franchise-references-for-jobs-in-final-fantasy-xiv/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/29/wisdom-of-nym-the-franchise-references-for-jobs-in-final-fantasy-xiv/#comments Mon, 29 Jan 2024 17:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477318 There is not a single game in the history of the franchise that has not been referenced in some capacity by Final Fantasy XIV. This in and of itself is not exactly surprising; the game postdates all but two mainline entries, and producer and director Naoki Yoshida has made no secret of how much effort […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/29/wisdom-of-nym-the-franchise-references-for-jobs-in-final-fantasy-xiv/feed/ 7 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/29/the-daily-grind-which-mmorpg-have-you-played-the-longest-without-reaching-the-level-cap/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/29/the-daily-grind-which-mmorpg-have-you-played-the-longest-without-reaching-the-level-cap/#comments Mon, 29 Jan 2024 13:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477111 For someone who spent a whole lot of time playing Final Fantasy XI back in the day, I sure as heck didn’t reach the level cap with many jobs. Actually, with almost any jobs; it wasn’t until I first returned to the game after multiple leveling changes and the addition of Trusts that I got […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/29/the-daily-grind-which-mmorpg-have-you-played-the-longest-without-reaching-the-level-cap/feed/ 25 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/27/wrup-chuweo-edition/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/27/wrup-chuweo-edition/#comments Sat, 27 Jan 2024 15:00:58 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477298 Hey everyone, I know that generally speaking these entries for What Are You Playing are just ridiculous and you can totally ignore them if you want to, but this week I actually have something really important to talk about. So I was recently trying to figure out which old HTML tags are still technically supported […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/27/wrup-chuweo-edition/feed/ 27 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/26/betawatch-survival-sandboxes-aplenty-with-enshrouded-palworld-and-fractured-veil/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/26/betawatch-survival-sandboxes-aplenty-with-enshrouded-palworld-and-fractured-veil/#comments Sat, 27 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477282 Today, we celebrate Enshrouded entering into early access this week. Not because this is a game I am deeply invested in or anything like that, but because it turns out Bree had kind of forgot it existed. I feel sad for a game when that happens. Sure, I forget a lot of games exist, because […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/26/betawatch-survival-sandboxes-aplenty-with-enshrouded-palworld-and-fractured-veil/feed/ 1 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/26/nexon-is-shutting-down-its-multiplayer-medieval-war-game-warhaven-in-april/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/26/nexon-is-shutting-down-its-multiplayer-medieval-war-game-warhaven-in-april/#comments Fri, 26 Jan 2024 23:00:13 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477289 You may not have thought much about Warhaven this week prior to reading our PvP columnist Sam Kash’s take on the game’s current state of affairs. That article now sadly serves as a eulogy, as it was written prior to our learning the news that the game has quietly announced an impending shutdown on April […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/26/nexon-is-shutting-down-its-multiplayer-medieval-war-game-warhaven-in-april/feed/ 9 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/26/into-the-super-verse-gearing-up-as-a-newcomer-to-city-of-heroes-homecoming/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/26/into-the-super-verse-gearing-up-as-a-newcomer-to-city-of-heroes-homecoming/#comments Fri, 26 Jan 2024 16:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477135 I was originally going to spend this week opining on why the Incarnate system in City of Heroes didn’t really work and why it will eventually need some work, but just last week I talked about how the endgame is not the game’s top priority right now, and I decided I didn’t feel like two […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/26/into-the-super-verse-gearing-up-as-a-newcomer-to-city-of-heroes-homecoming/feed/ 10 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/26/the-daily-grind-how-often-should-characters-miss-in-combat-in-mmorpgs/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/26/the-daily-grind-how-often-should-characters-miss-in-combat-in-mmorpgs/#comments Fri, 26 Jan 2024 13:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477089 The other day, we were talking about City of Heroes at the Massively OP offices because at this point that’s like 50% of our conversations (25% is work-related and the other 25% is me posting something really depressing, if you’re wondering how the math works out there). In this particular case, our discussion centered around […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/26/the-daily-grind-how-often-should-characters-miss-in-combat-in-mmorpgs/feed/ 30 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/25/vague-patch-notes-early-access-is-just-game-development-as-performance-art/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/25/vague-patch-notes-early-access-is-just-game-development-as-performance-art/#comments Thu, 25 Jan 2024 16:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=476951 I was reminded recently about Valheim. I do not own the game and thus have not played it; I cannot tell you if it is a good game in its current state, whether it is severely lacking content, or how one can reach Bodylande. But I can tell you that the game has now been […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/25/vague-patch-notes-early-access-is-just-game-development-as-performance-art/feed/ 20 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/25/the-final-fantasy-xiv-live-action-tv-series-is-apparently-dead-in-the-water/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/25/the-final-fantasy-xiv-live-action-tv-series-is-apparently-dead-in-the-water/#comments Thu, 25 Jan 2024 15:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=476949 Remember that talk about adapting Final Fantasy XIV into a live-action television series? No, not the Dad of Light series that included FFXIV as a concept, but an actual live-action series set in the universe with all the chocobos, moogles, and Cid beard shots you could ask for. (Unless, like, you could ask for a […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/25/the-final-fantasy-xiv-live-action-tv-series-is-apparently-dead-in-the-water/feed/ 5 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/24/halo-infinite-ends-seasons-after-season-5-switching-to-short-term-operations-instead/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/24/halo-infinite-ends-seasons-after-season-5-switching-to-short-term-operations-instead/#comments Wed, 24 Jan 2024 23:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=476576 We certainly wouldn’t tell anyone that she isn’t allowed to give a game a title that implies infinity, but since doing so inevitably makes it hilarious when the title proves to be resolutely finite, it may be a bad idea. Case in point: Halo Infinite is calling it quits on seasons, with the currently running […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/24/halo-infinite-ends-seasons-after-season-5-switching-to-short-term-operations-instead/feed/ 2 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/24/perfect-ten-the-10-most-utterly-bizarre-final-fantasy-xiv-npc-names/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/24/perfect-ten-the-10-most-utterly-bizarre-final-fantasy-xiv-npc-names/#comments Wed, 24 Jan 2024 17:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=476751 A lot of times when I write these columns, I have either a point to make or a higher concept that I am touching upon. This is not one of those times. This is a time when I simply want to share something that is interesting to me about Final Fantasy XIV, and that is […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/24/perfect-ten-the-10-most-utterly-bizarre-final-fantasy-xiv-npc-names/feed/ 21 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/23/final-fantasy-xiv-prepares-a-new-moogle-treasure-trove-event-with-expanded-challenges-starting-on-january-30/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/23/final-fantasy-xiv-prepares-a-new-moogle-treasure-trove-event-with-expanded-challenges-starting-on-january-30/#comments Wed, 24 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=476689 Generally speaking, Final Fantasy XIV has run the Moogle Treasure Trove event in the lead-up to a major patch, but the upcoming Hunt for Genesis event is going to be a bit different. For one thing, we already know its run time; rather than it running until the next patch, it’s going to be active […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/23/final-fantasy-xiv-prepares-a-new-moogle-treasure-trove-event-with-expanded-challenges-starting-on-january-30/feed/ 6 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/23/albion-onlines-latest-guide-explains-the-nature-of-its-world-and-how-players-can-explore-it/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/23/albion-onlines-latest-guide-explains-the-nature-of-its-world-and-how-players-can-explore-it/#comments Tue, 23 Jan 2024 22:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=476578 If you have never played Albion Online before, it can feel a little bit daunting to start, especially if you know that it’s a game with FFA PvP areas and don’t fancy getting yourself perforated by skilled players for the crime of gathering in the wrong neck of the woods. But the game’s site has […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/23/albion-onlines-latest-guide-explains-the-nature-of-its-world-and-how-players-can-explore-it/feed/ 1 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/22/wisdom-of-nym-impressions-of-final-fantasy-xivs-petite-patch-6-55/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/22/wisdom-of-nym-impressions-of-final-fantasy-xivs-petite-patch-6-55/#comments Mon, 22 Jan 2024 17:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=476429 There’s an odd thing that keeps going back and forth in my head when I look at last week’s patch 6.55 for Final Fantasy XIV, and that’s a simple but also complicated question: Would things have been better if the patch had also contained Aloalo Island? Certainly there’s no indication that there was ever really […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/22/wisdom-of-nym-impressions-of-final-fantasy-xivs-petite-patch-6-55/feed/ 15 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/21/the-daily-grind-which-mmorpg-that-you-love-is-terrible-for-new-players/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/21/the-daily-grind-which-mmorpg-that-you-love-is-terrible-for-new-players/#comments Sun, 21 Jan 2024 13:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=475980 All MMORPGs are kind of garbage at onboarding new players. There are a lot of reasons for that, and a lot of games are genuinely trying their hardest to put the best foot forward, show you the cool things that they have working under the hood, and help ease you into what will be a […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/21/the-daily-grind-which-mmorpg-that-you-love-is-terrible-for-new-players/feed/ 28 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/20/wrup-a-spectacular-story-about-lyle-with-help-from-wikipedia-edition/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/20/wrup-a-spectacular-story-about-lyle-with-help-from-wikipedia-edition/#comments Sat, 20 Jan 2024 15:00:47 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=476274 Lyle is a great guy who was born in Scotland in 1987! Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Wait, I… look, in order to make What Are You Playing more comprehensible, I’ve installed an automated bot to help define some of the things that I’m talking about with the help […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/20/wrup-a-spectacular-story-about-lyle-with-help-from-wikipedia-edition/feed/ 15 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/19/betawatch-fractured-online-is-rolling-with-its-latest-round-of-rollbacks/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/19/betawatch-fractured-online-is-rolling-with-its-latest-round-of-rollbacks/#respond Sat, 20 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=476238 It’s just hard out here for Fractured Online, sadly. We all know about the struggles that the game had when it was being published by Gamigo, but this week saw a combination of dupes, hardware issues, failures, and multiple rollbacks of progress. That is… not good, and even if you’re still holding onto hope for […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/19/betawatch-fractured-online-is-rolling-with-its-latest-round-of-rollbacks/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/19/albion-online-walks-players-through-the-process-of-crafting-potions-with-alchemy/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/19/albion-online-walks-players-through-the-process-of-crafting-potions-with-alchemy/#respond Fri, 19 Jan 2024 22:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=476124 The first and perhaps most important thing to understand about how crafted potions behave in Albion Online is that these potions are sometimes best used as thrown items rather than imbibed. They’re all potions, sure, but if you drink a potion labeled “Tornado in a Bottle” you are going to have a bad time. But […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/19/albion-online-walks-players-through-the-process-of-crafting-potions-with-alchemy/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/19/vague-patch-notes-what-city-of-heroes-homecoming-means-for-the-wider-mmorpg-industry/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/19/vague-patch-notes-what-city-of-heroes-homecoming-means-for-the-wider-mmorpg-industry/#comments Fri, 19 Jan 2024 16:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=476130 As you have probably noticed from the fact that I have been writing about City of Heroes nonstop since the Homecoming server got its official license to operate, I have been thinking a lot about this game and what it means. Obviously, much of that thought has focused on the game itself because let me […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/19/vague-patch-notes-what-city-of-heroes-homecoming-means-for-the-wider-mmorpg-industry/feed/ 9 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/19/ship-of-heroes-asks-fans-to-sound-off-on-what-makes-raiding-fun/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/19/ship-of-heroes-asks-fans-to-sound-off-on-what-makes-raiding-fun/#comments Fri, 19 Jan 2024 15:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=476127 The last couple of weeks have probably felt a bit weird around the Ship of Heroes offices thanks to the legal revival of City of Heroes, but the upcoming game has reached out to fans with a new survey about a very specific kind of gameplay: raiding. It’s a contentious topic for a lot of […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/19/ship-of-heroes-asks-fans-to-sound-off-on-what-makes-raiding-fun/feed/ 9