Social Progression vs. Gear Progression

In yesterday’s entry I hinted around the idea that players often want the newest gear because they want to look ‘cool’. I’m not necessarily speaking to just the aesthetics of the gear itself either. Many people want the latest and greatest for the ‘standing in town on the mailbox’ effect. It’s the idea that people are inspecting them, drooling over their gear, and wishing they could be just like that cool guy wearing the newest items.

Gear Progression is about being able to go past the gate standing between you and the next tier of content. It’s the treadmill. Gear Progression is the mechanism through which MMOs halt the speed at which players consume content. The actual stats on the gear and what it adds to your character matter far less to people than what they feel from being the “best Paladin on the server.” Such a notion does not imply that you truly have the skill, but rather you got the items to drop for you first. You are the cool guy standing on the mailbox and that makes you the “best.”

Once we understand that people seek Social Progression over Gear Progression we can begin evaluating other ways in which players can achieve the social side without having to raid or run on one type of treadmill. Social Progression can be weaved throughout a game. What if players sought after being the maker of the finest weapons in the land, or provider of the rarest gems, or the guy who has the coolest new pets following him around? These social transactions can take place all around us in a virtual world and achieve the same level of goal setting and progression as raiding without the need to always go through raiding.

  • Eh. I enjoy gear progression because it simulates the slow accretion of power, the return on time investment. Getting an upgraded piece of gear today demonstrates that I am better off for having played yesterday (in comparison to games where you can lose items for having played). Social anything has little to zero to do with it. Considering the base game is a RPG with levels and such, I’d argue that the social need to stand out is less prevalent than is being suggested here.

  • I look to The Repopulation as one of the best bets for this type of social progression you refer to. Every item and every component of every craftable item can be either as low grade or high grade as the crafter chooses resulting in either a poor item, an average item or a truly unique item. I enjoy crafting and making money from those sorts of things in games and most MMOs have little to no value in crafting anymore. Nothing differentiates my armor or vehicle from another players because we all craft using the same mats and the same blueprint… so what is the value? My fingers are crossed that The Repopulation delivers on their plan to be the MMO that truly rewards dedicating time and resources to crafting once again.

  • How do you determine who is the maker of the finest weapons in the land? The best raider has a skill gate which sorts people. You would have to add something similar to crafting to do that.

    At that point, the skill gate become vulnerable to optimization. The same techniques and skills that make someone a good raider would become in use in crafting. For example, perhaps people would establish crafting “teams” that funnel resources towards a single crafter in order to make her the best on the server. This is a common technique when people go for “fastest levelling times”.

    Social ranking requires sorting. Sorting leads to optimization. Optimization brings in the behaviors that you dislike. This is because those behaviors are effective, however much you may dislike them.

  • You could take a page from A Tale in the Desert and make different activities involve actual player skill and knowledge. The best blacksmith in ATITD can pound polygons into shape better than other players, and people seek them out for that. A good cook, or wine or beer brewer has tons of spreadsheet notes and records providing the foundations for what they know.

    Using a more recent Guild Wars 2 example, there are some names known for what they contribute to the community. Dulfy for guides, various DnT guys for their theorycrafting and builds, folks that make helpful websites, as well as people who step up to lead various activities – being a leader -is- social progression, in real life as well as in game. I’m sure Eve Online has similar stuff too.

  • I remember having this thought back in Wrath– the way that gear for the majority of players seems less about beating more bosses and more about having higher numbers, and naming this as a social motivator for gearing up.

    I’m talking about people who either play WoW socially or as a form of escapism; as an online world they can inhabit with other people. People to whom even the gear upgrades they get might as well be a cosmetic effect, since they’ll never really contribute to any challenging content, but having better gear allows them to wear a higher gearscore and causes them to produce a bigger recount meter they can show off.

  • I can see what you are talking about in GW2.

    I quite like the gear progression in GW2. Ascended is nice but not really necessary. There are always new skins to work towards. And different gear for different builds. Add in legendary weapons and there is lots to work towards. I could see a lot of potential for multi-classing to add more to work towards in the game though.

    However, it has very little social progression. Join a guild, ususally people you knew beforehand, and that is it. Reputation means very little as the content is largely individual and is made for the lowest common denominator. Everyone can craft everything and is expected to. There is nothing special about my character or its place in the world. No real connection to the game world at all.

    Beyond adding some expansion content. I think they need to work at this social element of the game and try and make it more dynamic.

  • You just described Star Wars Galaxies (Pre-CU). I remember tracking down the guy that made the best pistols on our server and having to make connections to get an introduction to him. Being escorted to his shop to meet the first time and submit my order.

  • McChicken laid a golden egg. From the time I logged in to the time I logged off, I would receive messages from players wanting to know if I could buff them. My son was the spice master and sold spice to those who could not afford the medical buffs. Once we sold out we could then experience the game. I was more social in SWG then any other game to date. I hope CU comes close.