https://massivelyop.com MMORPG news and opinions Mon, 12 Feb 2024 23:57:52 +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/2024/02/12/first-impressions-nightingales-survival-and-realmwalking-blend-could-make-it-a-stand-out-in-the-sub-genre/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/12/first-impressions-nightingales-survival-and-realmwalking-blend-could-make-it-a-stand-out-in-the-sub-genre/#comments Mon, 12 Feb 2024 16:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=479144 Our regular readers know that the survival sandbox sub-genre is suddenly getting very crowded in very short order, which means that the upcoming gaslamp survivalbox Nightingale has to make some noise in order to be heard above the din. I was granted the opportunity to dive into an early build of the game for a […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/12/first-impressions-nightingales-survival-and-realmwalking-blend-could-make-it-a-stand-out-in-the-sub-genre/feed/ 5 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/12/the-daily-grind-is-there-an-mmorpg-you-think-shouldnt-be-classified-as-an-mmorpg/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/12/the-daily-grind-is-there-an-mmorpg-you-think-shouldnt-be-classified-as-an-mmorpg/#comments Mon, 12 Feb 2024 13:00:44 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=475522 We have the MMORPG subreddit to thank for this morning’s Daily Grind: At the beginning of January, some bright spark over there posted a thread insisting that EVE Online, a long-running sci-fi MMORPG, is not in fact an MMORPG. Now, I didn’t click on the thread; insert the “I’m not falling for that hot take/that’s […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/12/the-daily-grind-is-there-an-mmorpg-you-think-shouldnt-be-classified-as-an-mmorpg/feed/ 20 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/lotro-legendarium-how-to-walk-away-from-lotro-for-a-while/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/10/lotro-legendarium-how-to-walk-away-from-lotro-for-a-while/#comments Sat, 10 Feb 2024 17:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=479021 Even when you love an MMORPG a whole lot, it’s rarely feasible to play it as steadily and at the same intensity over the long duration of its lifespan. Life happens, burnout creeps in, and sometimes you simply need a break or a change of scenery. So you make the decision to walk away from […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/10/lotro-legendarium-how-to-walk-away-from-lotro-for-a-while/feed/ 10 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/10/the-daily-grind-which-mmo-character-do-you-identify-with-the-strongest/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/10/the-daily-grind-which-mmo-character-do-you-identify-with-the-strongest/#comments Sat, 10 Feb 2024 13:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=479222 Pause and think for a moment about how many MMO characters you’ve created in your lifetime. Is it in the dozens? Hundreds? Thousands? Or are you the type of person who has one and only one special someone in your virtual life? Out of that (probably) large roster, which one do you identify with the […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/10/the-daily-grind-which-mmo-character-do-you-identify-with-the-strongest/feed/ 21 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/working-as-intended-a-guide-to-city-of-heroes-homecomings-best-player-crafted-portal-bases/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/09/working-as-intended-a-guide-to-city-of-heroes-homecomings-best-player-crafted-portal-bases/#comments Fri, 09 Feb 2024 16:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=478317 A few years ago, I was wandering around in City of Heroes when someone advertised a cool base in chat. All I had to do was head over to a supergroup base portal, type in the code flashed in text, and be welcomed into this person’s custom base. I was expecting something akin to the […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/09/working-as-intended-a-guide-to-city-of-heroes-homecomings-best-player-crafted-portal-bases/feed/ 11 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/09/the-daily-grind-have-you-ever-lost-a-house-in-an-mmo/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/09/the-daily-grind-have-you-ever-lost-a-house-in-an-mmo/#comments Fri, 09 Feb 2024 13:00:28 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=478378 Last week, fellow MMO blogger Belghast wrote a blog post that sent a shot of panic through my own heart: He tells the tale of forgetting to log into Final Fantasy XIV for a few months and having his character’s house be repossessed by the game while he wasn’t paying it any mind. Now, the […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/09/the-daily-grind-have-you-ever-lost-a-house-in-an-mmo/feed/ 24 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/08/massively-overthinking-when-the-original-mmo-is-better-than-the-sequel/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/08/massively-overthinking-when-the-original-mmo-is-better-than-the-sequel/#comments Fri, 09 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=478693 A few weeks ago, two lovely gamers I follow on Bluesky were discussing how let down they felt by Diablo IV, less because Diablo IV is particularly bad and more because Diablo III is really good and holding up better over time. It caught my attention because y’all know I really enjoyed the heck out […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/08/massively-overthinking-when-the-original-mmo-is-better-than-the-sequel/feed/ 18 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/fight-or-kite-ravendawn-has-a-great-class-system-but-gameplay-needs-polish/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/08/fight-or-kite-ravendawn-has-a-great-class-system-but-gameplay-needs-polish/#comments Thu, 08 Feb 2024 16:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=478411 As an avid gamer of the ’80s and ’90s, I’ve got a real soft spot for all things retro-inspired. A lot of my favorites lean into the action adventure-style games, but I also enjoyed turn based RPGs as well. There’s hardly any Metroidvania-style games that I haven’t played – minus, for some reason, Metroid or […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/08/fight-or-kite-ravendawn-has-a-great-class-system-but-gameplay-needs-polish/feed/ 6 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/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/2024/02/07/not-so-massively-stormgate-isnt-delivering-a-revolution-yet/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/07/not-so-massively-stormgate-isnt-delivering-a-revolution-yet/#comments Wed, 07 Feb 2024 16:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=478776 Stormgate’s marketing is laser-focused on studio Frost Giant’s plan to deliver an “RTS revolution.” With StarCraft II still popular but slowly waning as it languishes in maintenance mode, the genre needs a new champion, and hot off its massive Kickstarter success, Stormgate is one of the best candidates to become just that. As a lifelong […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/07/not-so-massively-stormgate-isnt-delivering-a-revolution-yet/feed/ 19 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/07/the-daily-grind-which-mmo-is-the-worst-at-balancing-its-classes/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/07/the-daily-grind-which-mmo-is-the-worst-at-balancing-its-classes/#comments Wed, 07 Feb 2024 13:00:43 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477589 A few weeks back – and before we realized the game was slated for execution – MOP’s Sam wrote a piece about balance in Warhaven, and in it, there was a quote about character balance (more specifically, the game’s lack thereof) that leaped out at me. “There is a large imbalance in the game right […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/07/the-daily-grind-which-mmo-is-the-worst-at-balancing-its-classes/feed/ 7 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/06/massively-op-podcast-episode-456-the-mmo-housing-show/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/06/massively-op-podcast-episode-456-the-mmo-housing-show/#comments Tue, 06 Feb 2024 21:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477379 Justin and Bree tackle a theme proposed by the listeners, as this show is all about MMORPG housing, including why housing matters, post-launch housing patches, placement tools, prefab vs. custom houses, housing as part of the gameplay loop, apartments vs. instanced vs. open-world housing, incentivizing housing use, taxes and monetization, and integrating housing into MMO ecosystems.]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/06/massively-op-podcast-episode-456-the-mmo-housing-show/feed/ 27 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/06/the-daily-grind-when-was-the-last-time-an-mmo-studio-truly-impressed-you/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/06/the-daily-grind-when-was-the-last-time-an-mmo-studio-truly-impressed-you/#comments Tue, 06 Feb 2024 13:00:34 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=478126 Embers Adrift is probably never going to be my MMORPG, but damn I’m proud of Stormhaven Studios. Yes, I have a soft spot for true indie MMORPGs – there’s a reason I’m obsessed with Project Gorgon – but Embers Adrift was already a longshot, having managed to launch after weathering a Kickstarter, development controversies, the […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/06/the-daily-grind-when-was-the-last-time-an-mmo-studio-truly-impressed-you/feed/ 26 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/2024/02/05/the-daily-grind-how-do-you-cope-with-losing-someone-in-an-mmorpg/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/05/the-daily-grind-how-do-you-cope-with-losing-someone-in-an-mmorpg/#comments Mon, 05 Feb 2024 13:00:35 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=478569 I have been immeasurably lucky in that I have never lost a close online friend to death, only to drifting away. But unfortunately, you don’t have to tour an in-game memorial to know it’s incredibly lucky and that it eventually touches everyone in gaming. Over the weekend, a Final Fantasy XIV player posted a touching […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/05/the-daily-grind-how-do-you-cope-with-losing-someone-in-an-mmorpg/feed/ 17 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/the-daily-grind-how-driven-or-chill-are-you-toward-your-mmo-progress/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/03/the-daily-grind-how-driven-or-chill-are-you-toward-your-mmo-progress/#comments Sat, 03 Feb 2024 13:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477384 I’ve always been a very goals- and projects-oriented person, even in my gameplay. I figure that if I’m going to spend time in a game, I want it to be more productive than simply a stress relieving experience. I should channel that time toward projects that are fun and rewarding. But what I’m discovering in […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/03/the-daily-grind-how-driven-or-chill-are-you-toward-your-mmo-progress/feed/ 25 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/first-impressions-palworld-copied-all-the-right-homework-to-graduate-as-its-own-enjoyable-game/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/02/first-impressions-palworld-copied-all-the-right-homework-to-graduate-as-its-own-enjoyable-game/#comments Fri, 02 Feb 2024 16:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477793 You know how the back of a box of Hamburger Helper or other boxed dinner mixes encourage you to toss in extra ingredients to “make it your own”? That’s a lot like what Palworld has done in my view: taken the base dinner mix that it created in Craftopia – itself a game that cribs […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/02/first-impressions-palworld-copied-all-the-right-homework-to-graduate-as-its-own-enjoyable-game/feed/ 7 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/02/the-daily-grind-do-you-even-want-an-mmo-with-transmedia-synergy/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/02/the-daily-grind-do-you-even-want-an-mmo-with-transmedia-synergy/#comments Fri, 02 Feb 2024 13:00:42 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=475521 We’ve been talking about transmedia synergy again thanks to Dune Awakening, so I want to go at it from a new angle. The term “transmedia synergy,” of course, became a common term in the MMORPG genre following the introduction of then-Trion Worlds’ MMO Defiance, which was supposed to be directly tied in with the sci-fi […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/02/the-daily-grind-do-you-even-want-an-mmo-with-transmedia-synergy/feed/ 31 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/01/massively-overthinking-do-you-care-more-about-mmo-stats-or-looks/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/01/massively-overthinking-do-you-care-more-about-mmo-stats-or-looks/#comments Fri, 02 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477582 This week's Massively Overthinking is fully inspired by the unicorn backpack meme, which Black Desert studio Pearl Abyss tweeted out last week with the caption "stats over looks any day." You know we have to talk about this.]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/01/massively-overthinking-do-you-care-more-about-mmo-stats-or-looks/feed/ 27 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/01/massively-on-the-go-preparing-for-pokemon-gos-los-angeles-sinnoh-tour/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/01/massively-on-the-go-preparing-for-pokemon-gos-los-angeles-sinnoh-tour/#comments Thu, 01 Feb 2024 18:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=476737 Pokemon GO’s Sinnoh Tour is coming to Los Angeles February 16th-18th, but despite its already being sold out, Niantic is still dangling some key features behind closed curtains, such as mythicals and the actual “city-wide” addon locations. To note for those attending from out of town who haven’t seen the relatively newly added suggested hotels, […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/01/massively-on-the-go-preparing-for-pokemon-gos-los-angeles-sinnoh-tour/feed/ 4 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/01/casually-classic-when-will-wow-classic-stop-adding-expansions/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/01/casually-classic-when-will-wow-classic-stop-adding-expansions/#comments Thu, 01 Feb 2024 17:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477396 This spring, the era of Wrath Classic will officially come to an end when the Cataclysm Classic pre-patch hits ahead of the summer launch. With no current option to stay in Wrath’s setting and design, the WoW Classic community has to choose whether to bail, go forward into the next expansion, or jump to one […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/01/casually-classic-when-will-wow-classic-stop-adding-expansions/feed/ 24 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/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/perfect-ten-why-mmos-should-never-ditch-text-chat/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/31/perfect-ten-why-mmos-should-never-ditch-text-chat/#comments Wed, 31 Jan 2024 16:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=464027 If you ever want to feel what an MMO is like without any sort of text chat, then spend a stretch of time in Fallout 76. The silence in that online RPG is deafening because outside of proximity voice chat and a limited selection of emotes, there’s no way to hold conversations, coordinate efforts, or […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/31/perfect-ten-why-mmos-should-never-ditch-text-chat/feed/ 26 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/31/the-daily-grind-what-are-some-of-the-prettiest-high-level-zones-in-mmos/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/31/the-daily-grind-what-are-some-of-the-prettiest-high-level-zones-in-mmos/#comments Wed, 31 Jan 2024 13:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477391 Back in the day, it used to be common for the early game in MMO to be nothing but verdant forests, lush meadows, and serene landscapes… while the endgame got hell-blasted death zones, volcano fields, and This Region is Brought to You By the Color Brown. In a way, we were punished by progressing, which […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/31/the-daily-grind-what-are-some-of-the-prettiest-high-level-zones-in-mmos/feed/ 16 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/30/massively-op-podcast-episode-455-odyssey-to-the-abyss/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/30/massively-op-podcast-episode-455-odyssey-to-the-abyss/#comments Tue, 30 Jan 2024 21:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477377 Justin and Bree discuss Riot's and Blizzard's layoffs, the death of Blizzard's Odyssey, Palworld, Kritika, The Day Before, and Star Trek Online, with adventures in Guild Wars 2 and City of Heroes, plus a mailbag topic on memorable fluff loot.]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/30/massively-op-podcast-episode-455-odyssey-to-the-abyss/feed/ 9 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/30/massively-on-the-go-pokemon-go-shows-little-love-for-february/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/30/massively-on-the-go-pokemon-go-shows-little-love-for-february/#respond Tue, 30 Jan 2024 19:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477107 Pokemon Go‘s roadmap for February is out, but once again leakers have deflated some of that potential hype Niantic tends to squander anyway. While Niantic is trying to build interest for the Sinnoh Tours this month, the Los Angeles event already seems problematic because of its locations, and the poké-pics for the event seem oddly […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/30/massively-on-the-go-pokemon-go-shows-little-love-for-february/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/30/choose-my-adventure-genshin-impact-is-a-perfectly-lovely-single-player-rpg/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/30/choose-my-adventure-genshin-impact-is-a-perfectly-lovely-single-player-rpg/#comments Tue, 30 Jan 2024 17:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477455 Before I begin, I want to point out that I promise I didn’t write that headline just to get anger clicks. I don’t want anger. Seriously, I have enough reasons to feel awful. I want to cut off any rage at the pass by saying that Genshin Impact is still a wonderful bit of gaming […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/30/choose-my-adventure-genshin-impact-is-a-perfectly-lovely-single-player-rpg/feed/ 13 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/30/the-soapbox-casuals-and-soloers-need-challenging-mmo-content-too/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/30/the-soapbox-casuals-and-soloers-need-challenging-mmo-content-too/#comments Tue, 30 Jan 2024 16:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477243 In a recent press Q&A around the announcement of Elder Scrolls Online‘s Gold Road chapter, Zenimax creative director Rich Lambert appeared to dismiss the idea of offering more challenging open world content, instead pointing to dungeons as a more difficult alternative. I’m going off an indirect quotation, so I’m not going to read too much […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/30/the-soapbox-casuals-and-soloers-need-challenging-mmo-content-too/feed/ 27 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/30/the-daily-grind-what-do-you-think-the-next-viral-mmo-will-look-like/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/30/the-daily-grind-what-do-you-think-the-next-viral-mmo-will-look-like/#comments Tue, 30 Jan 2024 13:00:41 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477588 I am the first to admit that I didn’t see Palworld coming. Oh, I knew about Palworld; we’d covered Palworld. We’d also been covering Craftopia, Pocketpair’s other survival MMO, for years and years. So when I say I didn’t see it coming, please understand that I don’t mean that our surprise was born of ignorance; […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/30/the-daily-grind-what-do-you-think-the-next-viral-mmo-will-look-like/feed/ 11 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/2024/01/28/the-daily-grind-which-mmo-offers-the-best-book-and-paper-features/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/28/the-daily-grind-which-mmo-offers-the-best-book-and-paper-features/#comments Sun, 28 Jan 2024 13:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=428607 A while back, I casually mentioned that I make paper journals for fun. I am an extremely online person, mind you. I work online. I read online. I play online. I talk online. I back up everything online. Even my diaries and task lists and calendars… they’re all online. I just can’t beat the efficiency […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/28/the-daily-grind-which-mmo-offers-the-best-book-and-paper-features/feed/ 8 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/27/the-game-archaeologist-dragon-ball-online-the-mmo-that-never-made-it-to-the-west/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/27/the-game-archaeologist-dragon-ball-online-the-mmo-that-never-made-it-to-the-west/#comments Sat, 27 Jan 2024 19:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=477059 It was back in 1986 that Toei Animation, a Japanese company, brought a new series called Dragon Ball into the world. The initial run of the series proved successful, spawning film adaptations and then, in 1989, the even more popular Dragon Ball Z. As Dragon Ball became a mammoth franchise in Japan and then globally, […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/27/the-game-archaeologist-dragon-ball-online-the-mmo-that-never-made-it-to-the-west/feed/ 3 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/27/the-daily-grind-which-mmo-has-the-best-fishing-system-2/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/27/the-daily-grind-which-mmo-has-the-best-fishing-system-2/#comments Sat, 27 Jan 2024 13:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=476364 Fishing absolutely mystifies me. Oh, in real life, I get it: It’s a way to be completely lazy, drink beer, and still catch your dinner. But in a video games where you’re often go-go-go, fishing demands you stop and stare at a little bobber for a while so that you can haul a slimy fish […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/27/the-daily-grind-which-mmo-has-the-best-fishing-system-2/feed/ 19 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/26/tamriel-infinium-the-history-of-elder-scrolls-games-before-and-after-elder-scrolls-online/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/26/tamriel-infinium-the-history-of-elder-scrolls-games-before-and-after-elder-scrolls-online/#comments Fri, 26 Jan 2024 17:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=476366 There’s nothing quite like that feeling when you first dip your toes into a particular game only to discover that it’s part of a massive franchise that’s been going on for decades. I have no doubt that there are plenty of Elder Scrolls Online players who are ignorant of the series’ long history on the PC — Skyrim memes […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/26/tamriel-infinium-the-history-of-elder-scrolls-games-before-and-after-elder-scrolls-online/feed/ 16 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/massively-overthinking-open-world-difficulty-and-puzzles-in-mmos/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/25/massively-overthinking-open-world-difficulty-and-puzzles-in-mmos/#comments Fri, 26 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=476496 During last week’s press event ahead of the Gold Road announcement, Elder Scrolls Online’s Rich Lambert said something I thought would turn out to be pretty provocative. Apparently, there’s a small contingent of ESO players who are persistent in agitating for the open world to be made much harder than it is, and his pushback […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/25/massively-overthinking-open-world-difficulty-and-puzzles-in-mmos/feed/ 28 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-daily-grind-whats-some-weird-or-forgotten-terminology-or-concept-from-an-mmo-of-yore/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/25/the-daily-grind-whats-some-weird-or-forgotten-terminology-or-concept-from-an-mmo-of-yore/#comments Thu, 25 Jan 2024 13:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=475523 Way, way back in the day – and for only a relatively brief run – Ultima Online had a system that came to be known as “power hour.” Every day, for the first hour you logged in, any skills you were working on raised more quickly. I assume it did some weird things to balance […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/25/the-daily-grind-whats-some-weird-or-forgotten-terminology-or-concept-from-an-mmo-of-yore/feed/ 39 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/2024/01/24/the-daily-grind-whats-the-key-thought-that-keeps-you-from-returning-to-mmos/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/24/the-daily-grind-whats-the-key-thought-that-keeps-you-from-returning-to-mmos/#comments Wed, 24 Jan 2024 13:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=476361 In my decades of playing and writing about MMORPGs, there’s one thing I’ve found to be incredibly true: There is no such thing as a perfect MMO. Every title has its flaws, some of which are crippling or personally off-putting. The question is, can you stomach those flaws to enjoy the rest of the game? […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/24/the-daily-grind-whats-the-key-thought-that-keeps-you-from-returning-to-mmos/feed/ 24