More power, more efficiency – the best of the best. That is the goal for many players. But that kills the fun of the game faster than you can blink.
In MMORPGs, most want to be “the best.” Especially in games like World of Warcraft, personal performance is important for the group’s success.
Guides for one’s own class are studied, “BiS lists” for the best gear are checked, and every new item is first run through the simulation to see if it provides an improvement.
This mindset led me to lose interest in World of Warcraft a few months ago – at least regarding PvE content like dungeons or raids.
I had to weigh: Do I want to play the mathematically “best” shadow priest or do I want to play one that is fun for me? Do I want to try out new trinkets for a while or would I rather look up if it’s a damage loss or gain for me?
For many, the answer is probably quite simple, but it wasn’t for me. In the back of my mind, I always have a competitive thought, which naturally includes team aspects. I want to be useful to my raid group and as useful as possible. That means I should actually pick a clear set of talents and see which items are “Best in Slot” for me or which trinket “simulates best”.
I chose to go against the “optimal” playstyle. I picked the talents that I personally enjoy – even if the numbers at the end are not that impressive and I could be one or two ranks higher on the damage meter.
The thought that you kill the fun of the game when you try to play a game too efficiently is, of course, not new. The creators of Civilization figured this out years ago and said: “If you give players the opportunity, they will optimize the fun out of a game.”
A truth that the rather analytical YouTuber Josh Strife Hayes often emphasizes:
If you want to kill your love for a game, be efficient. Unfortunately, that is the truth. If you want to kill your love for a game, if you want to suddenly hate your hobby, be really efficient at it. (…)
The process of finding something optimal can be fun. The process of figuring out what works and why it works. That in itself is a fun process. But note that I am saying: The process.
If you just tell someone what works, that’s not part of the process. That’s just you saying: “Hey, I did that already. I’ve done all that. Here’s what you should do.” That’s why it’s usually a bit boring.
The path to achieving the best playstyle with the greatest efficiency is fun. However, just copying that efficiency from guides – that leads to a loss of fun.
And of course, these boundaries vary by game. Looking up a guide for a raid boss in a game like World of Warcraft I still see as a necessary condition for a raid night.
But when I notice how players around me have to run simulations on their character for every loot distribution to see whether the new trinket is a 1.2% or 1.4% increase, I roll my eyes internally.
I also see it every time a new patch is released. Immediately, acquaintances install addons that mark all treasures and secrets on the world map with explanations so that they can check them off quickly. Then for one night, you get the good feeling of being “done” again – and wonder two nights later why there is actually so little to do.
It helped me to sacrifice my quest for perfection for the fun of the game in WoW. Does that make me a slightly worse group member? Mathematically definitely. But the alternative would be that I am no group member at all because I have optimized the fun out of the game.
Do you share this view? Or do MMOs and other games only bring you joy when you can get the maximum out of them and delve deeply into guides?
