MMORPGs aim to transport players to a distant world where they can embark on adventures together while discovering this world and its stories. However, the pressure to quickly reach the endgame seems to increasingly affect the role-playing aspect for some.
MMORPGs have evolved from pen-and-paper role-playing games and the single-player RPGs based on them from the 1970s to 1990s. Back then, it was all about heroes experiencing exciting adventures. The stories that were told were as important as developing one’s character into a powerful hero.
MMORPGs sought to capture this aspect and extend it to an online game world where hundreds or thousands of players could meet and interact with each other. However, a fascinating discussion often arises within the MMORPG community: Does the pressure to become really good as quickly as possible in order to effectively participate in endgame content destroy the role-playing aspect?
This discussion regularly takes place in many MMORPGs, such as Final Fantasy XIV, and on platforms like reddit, where the community passionately discusses the “problem” in a recently created thread. MeinMMO author Andreas Bertits analyzes the situation.
Only efficient players are good players
What does efficiency mean? Endgame content in MMORPGs like World of Warcraft or The Elder Scrolls Online always promises the greatest challenges and the most valuable rewards. This includes powerful set items, which not only look particularly stylish but also provide buffs that strengthen the character further.
However, acquiring these items is not easy, as the chance of finding them as loot is often extremely low. So these raids and dungeons must be completed more frequently to eventually own the full set. Usually, this involves a difficult fight against a powerful boss enemy that requires certain tactics from the players.
This means that in order to get to the loot as quickly as possible, players must optimize their characters’ skills and equipment to rush through the dungeon and take down the boss enemy. Thus, it is necessary to guide the character in a certain, particularly efficient direction.
Similar trends can be observed in quests. Does the story of a mission really matter? Are the quest texts read thoroughly to empathize with the NPCs and their plight? Or is it just about quickly checking what needs to be done and what rewards are available?
What is the problem here? Players no longer embody a character they may want to play because it is fun, but the character that is currently needed. Role-playing takes a back seat. It is no longer about playing the somewhat clumsy but humorous wizard with the tattered robe and the not-so-useful wand.
The wizard must wear the most powerful robe, wield the strongest wand, and have their skills and attributes at the highest level – just like all the other players in the group. Efficiency has thus become more important than role-playing – at least according to some MMORPG fans.
Hasn’t it always been like this?
Let’s look at how things were in the early days of MMORPGs. Was role-playing more in focus back then?
Online games always bring along a competitive spirit, sometimes more, sometimes less. Standing out from other players or being able to defeat them in PvP simply feels good. Feeling special and not blending into the crowd is something people even strive for in real life. There, it might be a big house and a fast sports car, as well as many tattoos and an eye-catching hairstyle and attire, through which someone stands out. In an MMORPG, this can happen, for example, through achievements and equipment.
Ultima Online is one of the first MMORPGs ever, released in 1997. Even in this game, it was important for some to be the best blacksmith in the fantasy world of Britannia or to build their house right in front of a dungeon entrance to avoid long runs back to the stash when coming out of the cave loaded with treasures.
UO players boasted about their mounts or their first self-crafted armor and wanted to be praised for having driven the orcs out of their forest stronghold. The competitive spirit was present back then too. Role-playing was of course important as well. Playing the grumpy innkeeper was a lot of fun. However, this innkeeper also wanted to run the most famous and popular tavern in the land.
What has changed?
In hindsight, there has always been this “problem” of wanting to be efficient in a multiplayer or online game, just not as pronounced as today. Live streams and YouTube videos fuel this competitive mindset. Clans and guilds want to get the ‘World First’ at any cost. To be the first to defeat a new boss or to master a new raid as quickly as possible in order to set a record. Players then showcase this in their videos, earning praise for it.
This, in turn, encourages others to join in. They also want to play efficiently, hoping to one day achieve the ‘World First’ for new content.
However, this creates great pressure. Because the player who plays “just for fun,” enjoys the quests and the story, and perhaps values role-playing, has little chance of being selected for endgame content such as raids or world bosses. They simply do not play efficiently enough.
Thus, they may feel pressured and stop role-playing, focusing instead on creating the best possible build for their character. Only in this way can they have a chance to participate in future content. And the guild they play for then has better chances to produce cool videos or perhaps set a record, bringing them recognition from the community.
Is the design of MMORPGs to blame?
In discussions around this topic, one aspect also plays a role: Do developers support the competitive mindset with the design of modern MMORPGs?
As mentioned earlier, when fighting against endbosses, it is often necessary for players to devise a strategy. The boss uses special attacks in a specific order. These patterns are memorized. Players equip themselves with armor that provides the most protection against the attacks and use weaponry and spells against which the enemy has low defense.
These fights are, of course, designed that way by the developers. This, in turn, motivates players to obtain this equipment and level up the necessary skills. Are developers therefore to blame for MMORPGs being played with a focus on competition and efficiency?
It is difficult to answer this question definitively. When looking back at the pen-and-paper role-playing games from the 1970s and 1980s, such as D&D, there were already monsters that were easier to defeat if the party of heroes exploited weaknesses and devised a strategy.
What might be criticized of the developers is that they continue to foster this. But even here, studios are responding to players’ desires and orienting themselves to what is currently popular in the genre. It is not as if no player enjoys the competitive aspect of an MMORPG; quite the opposite. As evidenced by live streams, videos, and leaderboards, many players love this aspect.
It is merely about the fact that not everyone likes it. And those who want to role-play feel pressured to participate in this competition.
Due to the plethora of videos showcasing records in MMORPGs, such as with WoW Classic boss Onyxia and new content that increasingly focuses on efficient playing, it now feels as if efficiency has become more important than experiencing adventures. However, that does not mean that role-players no longer enjoy simply following the story and quests.
There is a way out!
How can role-players still have fun? First of all, it is important to realize that in a game, no one can force you to do anything. It is necessary to let go of the urge to constantly compare yourself to others. Play at your own pace. It sounds simple and clumsy, but that’s it.
- Do you enjoy the stories of the quests? Then just enjoy them at your own pace.
- Do you want to try defeating the new boss as the clumsy wizard? Then find like-minded players and give it a go.
- Are effective builds or rare set items of no interest to you? Then simply ignore those aspects of an MMORPG.
MeinMMO author Andreas Bertits does it this way:
First of all, I ignore leaderboards if they exist. They don’t interest me at all. Whether someone is the best player on a server or ranks low does not concern me at all.
Then I consider a personality for the character I want to play during character creation and try to stick to it. This leads me to not play according to builds. Rather, I just embody the character I imagined. I need friends who share this approach. I do not hunt for sets. If I happen to find a cool, rare item, I am happy and use it, but I do not feel compelled to seek out the other pieces. In fact, I find it more exciting when these items simply appear during regular play rather than because I’m grinding.
As for endgame content, we try the content as a group. If we don’t succeed, we try again later when we are a bit stronger. But I don’t skill my hero specifically for a raid or a boss. Often, the story content is easier, and really challenging endgame content happens separately from the narrative. Therefore, I do not need to accomplish them necessarily.
In this way, I play an MMORPG in a way that is enjoyable for me and ignore others who are looking for sets, grinding, and playing efficiently. My play style simply would not be compatible with theirs.
Andreas Bertits
Freelancer MeinMMO
The beauty of the genre is simply that it allows for a variety of different play styles. Some want to compete with other players, while others prefer to role-play. Just don’t put pressure on yourself and let yourself be pushed in a direction you don’t like. Find your own way in an MMORPG. Stay true to yourself and have fun in your own way.
Check out the MeinMMO list of the 15 best MMOs and MMORPGs of 2020. You might find a candidate that matches your play style.
