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Ideal MMO Group Size

June 15, 2013 by 10 Comments

What is the ideal MMO group size?  I’ve been giving raids a lot of thought lately, but the most enjoyment I get out of MMOs comes from a really good group.  I was talking to Graev tonight, and we both prefer groups in the 6-8 member range.

More Group Variety

Having 6-8 members of a group means that every spot isn’t met with the same scrutiny as a group having to truly choose how to fill only five slots.   Larger groups can take a support class, more DPS and less heals, or more heals and less DPS.  Group balance becomes an art, and customizable.

When groups are larger, classes can be more unique.  I’m a fan of specialization, and I really hate homogenization.  I want to see every position in a group filled by someone bringing entirely unique skills.  Fewer slots in a group means that classes have to begin filling more roles.

To go against what I just said, larger groups also allow hybrids to shine.  In LotRO I played a Captain, and a group of six had that extra spot to let me be that class who made all the other members of the group perform better.

How many MMOs these days recruit a class to be the puller, or the buffer, or the debuffer?

Dungeon and Content Challenges

Groups were subjected to rigorous challenges, and often impossible odds when group sizes were larger. This makes sense, though.  A group of 6-8 people is right between enough to increase the challenge, and few enough to prevent zerg mechanics.  Content can still be difficult with fewer people, but overcoming that challenge is extremely different when there are fewer players — this goes back to having less to go on because of group variety being narrow.

I remember the holy trinity used to be Tank, Heals, and Crowd-control.  I don’t know if this can be backed by anything other than my observation, but the smaller groups have been simplified to emphasize DPS over control.

I like off-healers and backup healers.  I like off-tanks and contingency plans.  I like room for error and having the ability to adapt.  The flexibility and options come more naturally to a larger group of players.

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MMO Trailblazers

June 10, 2013 by 8 Comments

MMO TrailblazersI mentioned in an earlier post about the “guys who knew the dungeons” and how I wanted to talk about it later. Well this is it. I wanted to call them MMO Rangers, but that would probably just confuse people and make them think of the class and not the type of guy I was going for. So anyways, let’s get into it.

Do you remember back in school that one kid who seemed to know EVERYTHING game related? Of course this was all pre-internet (Or maybe not, depending on your age) so the only info we got was spread around. If you needed to know how to get to a secret world in Mario or how to perform a fatality in Mortal Kombat then this was your guy. Or maybe it was the dude at the arcade who had this seemingly arcane knowledge of everything about the game and could give you mind-blowing tips. Regardless, these sages of early gaming wisdom guided us and imparted sacred knowledge unto us and had a huge impact on our gaming lives. In reality these were the kids with the right magazine subscriptions but still… I try not to look behind the curtain.

Back in the days of early and more difficult MMOs we had similar players. These guys were digital missionaries who spread their gospel of world geography, dungeon pathways, and so on. Keen has recounted his tale about his first experience in EQ and migrating from the frigid north to the scorching deserts of Freeport. The player who took him there was one such person, whom to my recollection appeared out of the mists with out-streched hand and whispered, “Lo, let me safely guide you unto the promised land of North Ro.” Or something like that at least. I was 10-year-old kid who gnawed on wooden countertops; maybe I don’t have the best memory. Continue reading “MMO Trailblazers” »

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Dungeons used to be scary

June 7, 2013 by 13 Comments
Old school MMO dungeons

Guk from EverQuest 1

I like difficult games because I get a greater feeling of accomplishment when I overcome obstacles or reach certain goals. If it’s something easy then it means nothing, really. That’s one of the reasons why I don’t find reaching max level in games like WoW to be anything to brag about. I mean, if old people and eight-year-olds can do it then what is there to feel proud about? Though I probably shouldn’t knock the young and young at heart; my eight year old self somehow beat games that I struggle with today but hopefully you get my point. There are numerous topics you can get into on this subject but one of the first that comes to mind would be dungeons.

Back in earlier days of MMOs dungeons used to be insidious deathtraps. If you didn’t get yourself killed by a tough monster then it was by some kind of trap or hazard. If you were lucky you grouped up with somebody who had been there before and knew to tell you to “hug this wall” or “jump across that.” This actually brings up an interesting topic that I’ll probably get into in a future post. Getting back on track, these places where high-risk high-reward situations. If you weren’t careful you could die easily but if you knew what you were doing then you could benefit from great exp, loot, and experience awesome dungeon environments. I was a total dungeon rat and I can still remember the layout to pretty much every dungeon in EQ below level 30.

What also made the experience great was the lack of instancing. Being able to see other people and possibly join together with them only adds to the experience. Say you’re getting overwhelmed but then somebody heroically jumps in to help or vice versa. Obviously this can lead to some bad situations where these strangers can accidentally get you killed but that’s part of the charm of the dangerous experience. Probably my favorite thing about old-school dungeons would be trying to get out of them. Think about it, nowadays you clear a dungeon and get ‘ported out or even gate/hearth if you want. Sure some classes could gate back in games like EQ but that was a bigger deal when your bind point was in a place you didn’t want to be. The people who couldn’t gate where the ones who had to fight or sneak their way out. It’s a fun concept that just doesn’t exist anymore because people don’t want to do anymore than they have to. I probably don’t even have to mention that dungeons were essentially rogue paradises. You were essentially walk around naked in these joints if you could stealth or turn invisible. These kind of utilities were greatly beneficial. Do MMORPGs even have invis spells anymore?

I like dungeons. REAL dungeons, not the virtual equivalent of splash mountain. However in order to have dungeons like this you also need very different game mechanics than what  exists today, but that’s way more than I want to get into right now.

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PSA: Water levels in MMOs at an All-time Low

June 3, 2013 by 15 Comments

We’re facing an epidemic here, people. Over the past several years vast quantities of water have been rapidly disappearing from our online virtual worlds. We’re already at the point where you cannot find a body of water that is more than knee-deep. If we don’t do anything to solve this crisis– Yeah, this bit is going on too long… But really, where has all the water gone? Some of my fondest memories in MMORPGs have been related to water and now it seems like most games don’t bother with it at all.

SWTOR Knee Deep in Water

Water in SWTOR never goes above the knees.

First off I should probably mention that large bodies of water are terrifying. If you don’t agree then you are a crazy person. You don’t know what kind of crazy, messed up stuff is going on down there. Giant sharks, huge kraken things, slumbering old gods, male water horses that give birth? It’s a freakshow, man. And no, I do not have an irrational fear of water that stems back to a horrific family vacation on a house-boat. This shit is legit. On a more serious note… Water can be really frightening but also very exciting. Back in EQ I LOVED raising my swimming skill and exploring underwater locations. When I got the water-breathing spell I was happier than the fat kid in school on pizza day. Of course I was that kid, but that’s neither here nor there.

WoW did do some pretty good stuff with water, and GW2 tried (though I think they missed the mark), but aside from that I can’t really think of another game that has really done much at all to create a real underwater experience, and that’s a real shame. Underwater zones offer the opportunity for some more interesting encounters and tense situations that you don’t normally find on dry-land. It really doesn’t have to be underwater, either. Navigating the ocean on your own ship and suddenly being ambushed by water monsters that leap onto your deck would be AWESOME. Even better would be some kind of giant sea creature, leviathan or kraken dude wrapped around your vessel. I mean, dang… That sounds like it would be so much fun but nobody wants to do it. I won’t go into detail about how many games have promised me boats and straight-up LIED to me. It’s a sore subject around here.

It really bums me out that water is pretty much only knee-high these days. Maybe I’m alone in this but I want the danger and excitement of sailing the open seas, exploring under-sea ruins, and stabbing some fish dudes in the face.

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