https://massivelyop.com MMORPG news and opinions Thu, 07 Jan 2021 15:56:43 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.1 https://massivelyop.com/2021/01/08/the-best-massivelyop-community-daily-grinds-of-2020/ https://massivelyop.com/2021/01/08/the-best-massivelyop-community-daily-grinds-of-2020/#comments Fri, 08 Jan 2021 21:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=306615 Fun fact: The first Daily Grind on Massively was written on November 3rd, 2007, one day after Old Massively transitioned from a Second Life blog into an MMO website. The current count, at 13 years in, is around 4700 Daily Grinds. We’ll cross 5000 next year. And yes, we’re still accidentally rewriting topics we did […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2021/01/08/the-best-massivelyop-community-daily-grinds-of-2020/feed/ 8 https://massivelyop.com/2020/01/01/the-most-popular-mmorpg-conversations-of-2019/ https://massivelyop.com/2020/01/01/the-most-popular-mmorpg-conversations-of-2019/#comments Wed, 01 Jan 2020 17:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=259290 I feel like a broken record saying this, but the success of a blog is not just about page views or ad impressions or click-through or conversions or all those boring things. It’s also about comments and reader engagement! And that’s because the things you like to click on aren’t necessarily the things you like […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2020/01/01/the-most-popular-mmorpg-conversations-of-2019/feed/ 7 https://massivelyop.com/2019/12/30/the-most-popular-mmorpg-articles-of-2019/ https://massivelyop.com/2019/12/30/the-most-popular-mmorpg-articles-of-2019/#comments Mon, 30 Dec 2019 19:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=259332 One of my favorite things to do every year is drill down the top articles on the site for our readers. But in 2018, we didn’t run this post because we had incomplete data and I thought it’d be confusing. This year, we have incomplete data again (we’re missing parts of March and May), but […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2019/12/30/the-most-popular-mmorpg-articles-of-2019/feed/ 11 https://massivelyop.com/2019/12/13/ask-mo-the-hits-and-misses-of-massivelyops-2019-predictions/ https://massivelyop.com/2019/12/13/ask-mo-the-hits-and-misses-of-massivelyops-2019-predictions/#comments Fri, 13 Dec 2019 18:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=254555 The day has come: the day when we look back at last year’s predictions for this year and see how we did. Yep, this is a tradition around these parts – after all, what would be the fun of making predictions if we couldn’t snark about our guesses and marvel at our direct hits a […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2019/12/13/ask-mo-the-hits-and-misses-of-massivelyops-2019-predictions/feed/ 8 https://massivelyop.com/2019/10/05/ask-mo-second-chances-grudges-hate-wagon/ https://massivelyop.com/2019/10/05/ask-mo-second-chances-grudges-hate-wagon/#comments Sat, 05 Oct 2019 18:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=244190 Today’s Ask Mo is not really about comment moderation, but it’s where I want to start. Over the years of trying to cat-herd Massively OP’s comments, I’ve come to believe much more in second chances. You know the old League of Legends lesson that most toxic folks don’t even truly know they’re being toxic? That […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2019/10/05/ask-mo-second-chances-grudges-hate-wagon/feed/ 82 https://massivelyop.com/2019/04/05/ask-mo-introducing-massively-ops-latest-columns-and-columnists/ https://massivelyop.com/2019/04/05/ask-mo-introducing-massively-ops-latest-columns-and-columnists/#comments Fri, 05 Apr 2019 14:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=217816 As part of our planned expansion for 2019, Massively OP brought on a slew of new writers to perk up our pages with new voices and ideas. They’ve now been on the job for a few weeks, and I’d like to introduce them to you more formally along with the work they’re already doing. I’d […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2019/04/05/ask-mo-introducing-massively-ops-latest-columns-and-columnists/feed/ 25 https://massivelyop.com/2018/12/07/ask-mo-the-hits-and-misses-of-massively-ops-2018-predictions/ https://massivelyop.com/2018/12/07/ask-mo-the-hits-and-misses-of-massively-ops-2018-predictions/#comments Fri, 07 Dec 2018 16:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=198629 As we do every year, today we're going to peek back at the horrifying outcomes of last year's MOP staff predictions for the genre and the games within it to determine how well we did. After all, what would be the fun of making predictions if we couldn't giggle over our guesses a year later? So did we nail it or fail it? And did you fare better? Let's find out.]]> https://massivelyop.com/2018/12/07/ask-mo-the-hits-and-misses-of-massively-ops-2018-predictions/feed/ 15 https://massivelyop.com/2018/09/28/ask-mo-the-real-value-of-mmo-interviews/ https://massivelyop.com/2018/09/28/ask-mo-the-real-value-of-mmo-interviews/#comments Fri, 28 Sep 2018 15:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=187518 MOP reader Avaera recently sent in a question that I thought would be fun to address here in my poor neglected Ask Mo column. (Truth, most of the questions folks ask that would go here get answered on the podcast instead! But this one, I thought, deserved more depth.) “I absolutely love when I have […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2018/09/28/ask-mo-the-real-value-of-mmo-interviews/feed/ 20 https://massivelyop.com/2018/01/05/massively-ops-2017-awards-debrief-and-annual-recap/ https://massivelyop.com/2018/01/05/massively-ops-2017-awards-debrief-and-annual-recap/#comments Fri, 05 Jan 2018 16:00:00 +0000 http://massivelyop.com/?p=147509 As we did in 2014, 2015, and 2016, today I’m going to recap our annual awards and other meta articles from the end of 2017. We gave out 19 formal awards this past year, all in addition to dozens of other recaps, roundups, listicles, predictions, bloopers, oddities, polls, provocations, and retrospectives. It was by far our […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2018/01/05/massively-ops-2017-awards-debrief-and-annual-recap/feed/ 43 https://massivelyop.com/2017/12/26/the-most-popular-mmorpg-articles-of-2017/ https://massivelyop.com/2017/12/26/the-most-popular-mmorpg-articles-of-2017/#comments Tue, 26 Dec 2017 18:00:00 +0000 http://massivelyop.com/?p=146209 One of my favorite things to do every year is drill down the top articles on the site for our readers. I don’t mean the most controversial, the most fun, the most important, or the most commented-on; I mean the single articles that actually brought in the most hits. And what I find most interesting […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2017/12/26/the-most-popular-mmorpg-articles-of-2017/feed/ 4 https://massivelyop.com/2017/12/08/ask-mo-counting-the-hits-and-misses-of-our-2017-predictions/ https://massivelyop.com/2017/12/08/ask-mo-counting-the-hits-and-misses-of-our-2017-predictions/#comments Fri, 08 Dec 2017 19:00:00 +0000 http://massivelyop.com/?p=143946 As we do every year, today we’re going to peer back into the depths of last year’s staff predictions for the genre and the games within it to determine just how we fared. After all, what would be the fun of making predictions if we couldn’t have a laugh at how wrong we were a year later? […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2017/12/08/ask-mo-counting-the-hits-and-misses-of-our-2017-predictions/feed/ 14 https://massivelyop.com/2017/01/06/massively-ops-2016-awards-debrief-and-annual-recap/ Fri, 06 Jan 2017 17:00:52 +0000 http://massivelyop.com/?p=91980 As we did in 2014 and 2015, today I’m going to recap our annual awards and other meta articles from the end of 2016. We gave out 19 formal awards this past year, seven of them more or less new to the site and proposed by readers, all in addition to dozens of other recaps, […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2016/12/09/ask-mo-scoring-last-years-massively-op-mmorpg-predictions/ Fri, 09 Dec 2016 17:05:00 +0000 http://massivelyop.com/?p=88780 As we do every year, today we’re going to squint back a year, into the depths of a Massively Overthinking from the tail end of 2015 when we issued our predictions for 2016. Sure, sure, it’s a little unfair since we usually egg each other on to make wild and bold assertions for the fun […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2016/06/24/ask-mo-was-star-wars-galaxies-really-that-great/ Fri, 24 Jun 2016 16:00:45 +0000 http://massivelyop.com/?p=65497 This round of Ask Mo features a question from BalsBigBrother that I’ve shamelessly poached from the Massively OP Podcast mailbag. The truth is, we’ve put this question off for many, many months because the answer is more complicated than a couple of minutes of chatter can address. Besides, what better time than what should’ve been Star Wars […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2016/02/05/ask-mo-re-reviewing-mmorpgs-and-birthday-shenanigans/ https://massivelyop.com/2016/02/05/ask-mo-re-reviewing-mmorpgs-and-birthday-shenanigans/#comments Fri, 05 Feb 2016 17:00:00 +0000 http://massivelyop.com/?p=45651 Mo’s been collecting letters to the editor for me to address in Ask Mo for the past month or two, and this one from longtime Massively OP community member Siphaed keeps floating to the top: “Why is it that MMOs get a one-and-done review within a month of a game’s release date? With the way […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2016/02/05/ask-mo-re-reviewing-mmorpgs-and-birthday-shenanigans/feed/ 33 https://massivelyop.com/2015/12/23/ask-mo-massively-ops-2015-awards-debrief/ https://massivelyop.com/2015/12/23/ask-mo-massively-ops-2015-awards-debrief/#comments Wed, 23 Dec 2015 17:00:41 +0000 http://massivelyop.com/?p=39808 Massively OP’s formal 2015 awards technically ended on Friday, though we’ve got a few stragglers and roundups left to go. As I do every year, today I’ll round up all the awards in one place, discuss the thought process behind the selections, and compare our staff votes to the popular votes (which are still technically ongoing for another week). […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2015/12/23/ask-mo-massively-ops-2015-awards-debrief/feed/ 39 https://massivelyop.com/2015/11/11/ask-mo-the-absurd-advantages-of-mmo-guilds/ https://massivelyop.com/2015/11/11/ask-mo-the-absurd-advantages-of-mmo-guilds/#comments Wed, 11 Nov 2015 17:00:00 +0000 http://massivelyop.com/?p=32533 A Massively OP reader named Ohnix recently sent us a question just perfect for Ask Mo. Let’s debate guilds! I play EverQuest II quite a bit (and EverQuest before that) and have come to ponder if guilds are unintentionally dividing the membership base by making guild-specific achievements for raid-level content. This mechanic appears to focus a […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2015/11/11/ask-mo-the-absurd-advantages-of-mmo-guilds/feed/ 55 https://massivelyop.com/2015/09/02/ask-mo-the-state-of-massively-overpowered/ https://massivelyop.com/2015/09/02/ask-mo-the-state-of-massively-overpowered/#comments Wed, 02 Sep 2015 16:00:00 +0000 http://massivelyop.com/?p=23674 Ask Mo is back, and today Mo and I are answering a few meta questions about Massively OP itself. Our first question is from long-time supporter Pierre: Hello guys! I’ve been worrying for a long time now about something. I think I know the answer to my question, but I wanted to be sure because MOP […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2015/09/02/ask-mo-the-state-of-massively-overpowered/feed/ 97 https://massivelyop.com/2015/06/25/ask-mo-if-star-wars-galaxies-is-so-smart-why-aint-it-rich/ https://massivelyop.com/2015/06/25/ask-mo-if-star-wars-galaxies-is-so-smart-why-aint-it-rich/#comments Thu, 25 Jun 2015 16:00:00 +0000 http://massivelyop.com/?p=13740 Star Wars Galaxies would have been 12 years old this week, had it lived a day past Star Wars: The Old Republic. That makes this the perfect time to dig up and try to answer an old email from longtime Massively OP reader Hagu the Pally in this week’s Ask Mo. Why did SWG have […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2015/06/25/ask-mo-if-star-wars-galaxies-is-so-smart-why-aint-it-rich/feed/ 132 https://massivelyop.com/2015/06/10/ask-mo-why-mmos-still-need-chat/ https://massivelyop.com/2015/06/10/ask-mo-why-mmos-still-need-chat/#comments Wed, 10 Jun 2015 16:00:22 +0000 http://massivelyop.com/?p=11346 I dug this intriguing question out of our brimming-over letters-to-the-editor bin, and it’s particularly timely given the recent launch of Wander, notable for its curious glyph-based chat and language system. Massively-that-was reader NerdWithABigStick wrote in to ask about MMO chat, calling back the decision made by the devs of Divinity: Original Sin to shut down global chat within a […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2015/06/10/ask-mo-why-mmos-still-need-chat/feed/ 105 https://massivelyop.com/2015/05/13/ask-mo-roleplay-or-get-the-fudge-out/ https://massivelyop.com/2015/05/13/ask-mo-roleplay-or-get-the-fudge-out/#comments Wed, 13 May 2015 16:00:43 +0000 http://massivelyop.com/?p=7275 Long ago on Massively-that-was, a reader named Avaera sent in a long list of fabulous questions worth addressing. I’m tackling another in today’s edition of Ask Mo: Would you welcome a large scale roleplaying-enforced MMORPG? One where you simply have to interact with other players in-character? One of the things that I miss most from […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2015/05/13/ask-mo-roleplay-or-get-the-fudge-out/feed/ 148 https://massivelyop.com/2015/04/01/ask-mo-breaking-into-the-mmo-industry/ https://massivelyop.com/2015/04/01/ask-mo-breaking-into-the-mmo-industry/#comments Wed, 01 Apr 2015 16:00:52 +0000 http://massivelyop.net/?p=3676 Today, we’re reintroducing our general MMO advice column, here named Ask Mo: the column where you ask Mo questions, and he… lets me answer them for him because he doesn’t talk, see. That’s his thing. The first question is an oldie but goodie that arrived in our inbox recently: I have always been a huge fan of […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2015/04/01/ask-mo-breaking-into-the-mmo-industry/feed/ 96