After we already presented you with keyboards, headsets and regular mice, we would like to present you today with special MMO mice that are tailored to the needs posed by modern MMOs to the little critters (as of April 2014).
Do you know Sebastian? Do you have such a guy in your friend circle? Once a year, Sebastian goes skiing and immediately buys a perfect ski equipment for 300 Euros. Then he plays football once and it has to be the right shoes from adidas. In his room lies a devilishly expensive electric guitar, on which he couldn’t even play “All my little ducks” and next he plans to acquire a mountain bike, a set of golf clubs, and a gaming mouse! Sebastian needs it for Solitaire and the latest Facebook games! Pah! Well, the ski equipment, football shoes, electric guitar, mountain bike, and golf clubs, the guy can buy them all he wants.
The mice we introduce are reserved for true gamers. Sure, they won’t turn a mouse-click dyslexic into a Korean e-sports star… but it’s a step in the right direction!
The G700 from Logitech has the wonderful characteristic of being wireless: No chance of a cable break and thus a long life. Despite being wireless, it reacts instantly to commands. The Logitech G700 is particularly suitable for shooter games – and what is good for Counterstrike can only be cheap for The Elder Scrolls Online. The Logitech features 13 programmable buttons, is relatively heavy and relatively small (and a charging cable is also included).
Its sensitivity can be adjusted to the player’s needs (100-8200 dpi) and it generally has a sleek and simple appearance.
For the mouse, the response speed, the grip sensation, the absolutely high-quality workmanship, and the elegant design speak in its favor. The steep price, the weight, and the relatively short battery life might be drawbacks. The thumb buttons are probably not made for eternity.
http://youtu.be/O_2SJRDipP4
Conclusion: An excellent mouse for anyone who perceives every cable on their desk as a personal insult and still wants to chase their heroes through dangers at top speed.
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Razer Naga Gaming Mouse
Razer has one of the most prominent names among gamers – for whatever marketing reasons. The Naga gaming mouse is also available for left-handers, who naturally have difficulty finding a decent mouse – and it is reportedly even sold by Ned Flanders at the Leftorium. However, this is not confirmed.
As a gaming mouse, the Naga shines with solid workmanship, a total of 19 cleverly arranged buttons, and a stylish design. Only the software to configure the mouse causes hair-pulling for some users. Like other mice from Razer, the Naga Gaming also has a somewhat dubious reputation regarding longevity. In this price range, it’s a tricky issue. Reports vary from “lasts forever” to “a new one every year and a half”. Certainly, this also depends on the careful treatment of the device.
For the mouse, an unparalleled grip feel, an elegant design, the prominent brand name, and that it is specifically designed for MMOs speak in its favor. The picky software and somewhat dubious longevity are objections to the mouse.
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Conclusion: For left-handers, there are hardly any alternatives in the gaming sector. For right-handers, the Naga is also an excellent choice once you have become friends with the software.
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Mad Catz M.M.O. 7 Gaming Mouse, 6400 dpi, PC and MAC
The MMO 7 Gaming Mouse from Mad Catz is known for its unique design, and they traditionally place great value on high configurability.
This mouse also features various sliding, pulling, rotating, screwing, and additional parts, allowing length and weight to be adjusted. One might get the feeling that the mouse could also grow two eyes and then try to take over the All-Spark.
In terms of the number of available buttons, the MMO 7 Gaming Mouse boasts quite a lot. 15 buttons can be assigned a total of 90 commands thanks to various tricks. There’s really still room for the last skill, some obscure chat macro, or something.
For the mouse, extreme accuracy, extreme configurability, and the overall extreme look of the mouse speak in its favor. It is also of high quality. The price and the fact that you probably have to engage with it extensively until it looks and functions as you want it to, are objections. Moreover, it could try to take over the world if left alone.
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Conclusion: The Mad Catz is an eye-catcher and definitely worth its price.
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Mein-mmo says: These are already three beauties we present here. No manufacturer would have been able to sustain in this price segment if they didn’t belong here. Whether there really needs to be such a mouse for MMOs or not – everyone must decide for themselves. However, Sebastian surely has one!
A provisional flight ban in the new zone, new character models, no more item upgrades, a healer nerf, no bonus for learned professions, and new information about the garrisons – over the past few weeks, a flood of information snippets about the new add-on Warlords of Draenor has poured down on the players.
We take a closer look at the announced changes in game design and wonder in which direction Blizzard wants to steer their giant World of Warcraft.
The flight ban – flying permitted only from 6.1
What is the news: You will not be able to fly in the new world during the leveling process to 100. Not even at level 100 immediately. With the first content patch (6.1), a quest will be unlocked that you must complete if you wish to fly again.
What is behind this: Flying in WoW is problematic for design reasons, as it takes danger out of certain situations: open-world PvP is trivialized, and players lose sight of the landscape. They zoom through areas that should convey a sense of the size and unpredictability of the new land.
Additionally, Blizzard wants to ensure that a player feels that flying is a reward and something special – not the norm. From the discussion, it was often read that game designers are generally dissatisfied with flying. Many competing games do not offer this possibility for good reasons.
Have there been negative reactions from the community? Many players fear that farming raw materials without a flying mount will be time-consuming and annoying. Additionally, rare and high-profile flying mounts would then have no more justification – and for some of them, players have spent real money or have pursued particularly difficult and lengthy missions (keyword: nether dragons).
In essence: It was never different than before. The leveling phase was managed on foot, and later, when the content had been seen up close, it became trivial from a bird’s eye view. Newer MMORPGs do not offer flying capabilities. Blizzard has historically parted with some design relics that seemed outdated. But a World of Warcraft without flying mounts? That would likely be hard to convey to the players.
The fast farming on the back of a flying creature has become a given for many players. Whether it trivializes content is irrelevant. The major challenges are waiting in raids – and there, the flight ban still applies.
Perspective: Without flying mounts, it would be possible to incorporate more challenging jump spots into the game (WildStar, Guild Wars 2) – or to give players a tighter feel for the landscape (The Elder Scrolls Online). Flying could eventually be a thing of the past if Blizzard continues to upgrade the engine or wants to take new paths. But that likely lies several years in the future.
New character models – from smooth to deep
What is the news? Blizzard has revised old models of player characters to match the level of newer races. However, it seems that not all will be finished by the launch of Warlords of Draenor.
What is behind this: The old models gradually appeared as foreign bodies in the world. A facelift was long overdue. It is a commitment by the designers to World of Warcraft. Blizzard naturally places a lot of importance on aesthetics and the “WoW” feeling with the characters. A large effort is involved with the new models.
Have there been negative reactions from the community? Not really. At worst, some anticipate that the extensive redesign will take away some time that would rather be invested in new content. But most agree that the facelift was urgently needed.
In essence: Mayors of cities where factories have settled often say: “As long as they paint the factory every two years, we don’t need to worry.” This decision by Blizzard can be classified similarly. It is a significant effort to keep the game attractive in 2014. For years, there has been speculation that Blizzard wants to let WoW run its course and focus entirely on “Titan.” The decision for the remodeling should silence such whispers for the foreseeable future.
No more Pimp my Item
What is the news? With patch 6.0, it will no longer be possible to upgrade items. Whether this will return later is currently unknown.
What is behind this? It is still unclear. Since item upgrades were introduced, Blizzard has regularly toggled them on or off. No one is particularly satisfied with the game mechanics. They mainly serve to extend content. While some dilution is necessary, it doesn’t exactly elicit applause.
In essence: In odd patches, new raid content is no longer added, but players continue to raid. With the valor points they earn per boss killed, they have the opportunity to marginally improve existing gear. This makes the raid easier and the character a bit stronger.
However, it is not the same as obtaining a new item; it feels more like a bureaucratic affair: first the weapon, then the set items. No one gets a thrill from finally upgrading the bracers by 8 item levels after the seventh successful raid of an instance.
Have there been negative reactions from the community? Item upgrading is still relatively new and not exactly loaded with emotions. Players have come to terms with the fact that it is a logical solution to some content problems. No one would particularly miss the possibility.
Perspective: As long as Blizzard doesn’t unveil some genius move, item upgrading will probably make its debut with patch 6.1, be deactivated again with 6.2, and return with 6.3. Not particularly exciting.
The healer nerf
What is the news? Healers will be significantly nerfed across the board. We have already reported on this extensively.
What is behind this? PvP balancing certainly plays an important role, as they want to remove as many instants and no-brainer heals from the game as possible. However, the healer also has a special role in PvE progression. A healer gets stronger with better gear, but this doesn’t necessarily enhance their enjoyment. As a healer gets better, they also heal less in a raid because the tank with better gear takes less damage, and damage dealers kill the boss faster. Hence, a healer with better gear heals less and shorter.
Blizzard wants to reverse this so that healers don’t end up on the bench at the end of an expansion because the instances can be healed solo or with two players, hence the nerf in item scaling.
Have there been negative reactions from the community? Absolutely. Nobody likes it when their class gets nerfed. However, there is a general consensus that healing became too easy again with MoP. It’s also not the first time such a thing has happened. Healers were hit by the nerf bat at the start of Cataclysm once before.
In essence: Blizzard wants to continuously challenge healers to decide which heal to use in what situation. This has been stated multiple times, and they intend to stick to this line.
The same among equals
What is the news? The bonus for learned professions is being removed. Previously, each profession at max level provided a specific, relatively trivial bonus to a skill, which they now want to eliminate.
What is behind this? One of those “We’re parting with an outdated game mechanic” decisions by Blizzard, which they have made repeatedly in the past. In other games, there are significantly fewer craftsmen than in World of Warcraft, where practically every character is required to strive for mastery in a profession.
Perhaps they want to make crafting in World of Warcraft more complicated and in-depth and associate it with more effort. At the moment, it is not a problem to train a character to become a mystical super-grandmaster, even if there is no interest in blacksmithing. It merely requires gold, access to the auction house, and a guide.
Perspective: This could have significant effects. The crafting area has long been a weakness of World of Warcraft. Major changes were difficult because most players had one or even multiple characters with maxed professions. Any changes would have impacted countless players, from the crafting nerd to the crafting reject (who, of course, still has four chars at max because they want to raid).
If you want to change crafting without having to consider every player, that’s a really nice thing.
What else is there?
About 200 small and tiny news items. Hey, hunters can now tame a hydra! One of the most important changes is certainly coming with the garrison for the players. It was so important to us that we reported on it in a separate article.
The information that came from Blizzard prior to the expansion indicates that they are proceeding cautiously and that no significant course changes are in sight. After the Mists of Pandaria expansion, Blizzard’s game is in a significantly better state than after Cataclysm. The ongoing issue will still be to avoid or mitigate larger content droughts.
Otherwise, it is still quiet about the Warlords of Draenor. No new class has been announced, and no new race. The garrison feature and the new character models are the two largest features announced so far for Warlords of Draenor. Neither of these changes has a greater impact on the philosophy or overall direction of World of Warcraft.
The garrison is likely to give crafting a somewhat higher status – but it’s still unclear whether it will really become a part of the “main game” or remain a side activity like pet battles or the personal farm in Mists of Pandaria.
From this image, you will soon see more – because this is the new login screen for Warlords of Draenor.
This is the challenge with World of Warcraft: If you make something important through bonuses, so that players gain a direct advantage in other areas of the game, you must consider both hardcore raiders and hardcore PvPers, and design the feature accordingly to be painless and straightforward. So that players can derive maximum benefits from it without feeling constrained or irritated by the feature. If you let it unfold parallel to the world (like the farm or pet battles), you trivialize it.
Blizzard is currently in a position where they want to open the game up to new buyer demographics but do not want to alienate their loyal customer base. It seems they want to first wait and see how customers react to the old-new continent and how they accept the fresh character models.
Evolution instead of revolution: polish instead of rebuild
Apart from the design decisions, Blizzard has distinguished itself in recent years by thoroughly thinking through what everyone else does and finding new ways to make it a bit better.
So there have been quests in World of Warcraft for 10 years and phasing for 6 years, but especially with the last add-on, Blizzard has shown that they can carry this forward and think about it further.
Especially storytelling, interconnected quests, and pushing a large storyline have been excellently executed by Blizzard in recent years. According to reports from dataminers, the new expansion will also bring back old acquaintances: Rexxar, Kil’Jaeden, and Gazlowe are reportedly on the guest list for the expansion.
[pull_quote_center]Polishing instead of tearing down and rebuilding: That could be exactly the right formula to ensure that the Warlords of Draenor brings new glory.[/pull_quote_center]
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As Zenimax recently announced, they have taken major action against thousands of fraudsters and cheaters in The Elder Scrolls Online. According to the English community manager Jessica Folsom, they have already banned several thousand users shortly after the launch of the fantasy MMORPG. Among them were botters, speed hackers, and gold spammers.
As expected, The Elder Scrolls Online title has already come under the radar of dubious providers who want to make quick money with the game or have fun at the expense of other users. Gold spamming was particularly noticeable in the starting areas. The spam went on for so many lines that it was almost impossible to put the spammer directly on the ignore list. Particularly brazen: Players are often directly messaged by gold spammers with the friendly headline “Dear Friend.”
Speed hackers made headlines especially in the PvP area Cyrodiil, but reports of shadowy figures moving much faster than allowed also increased in normal leveling areas. Just shortly after launch, corresponding threads appeared in relevant forums speculating about it – complaints weren’t long in coming. Such behavior, directly disregarding game mechanics, has previously been known mainly from online shooters, but it is not without example in the MMORPG sector either.
Botters, however, caused significant manipulation in the resources market shortly after the server launch. Some users complained that the resource deposits were becoming scarce. There were repeated demands, especially in the English-speaking Reddit forum, for Zenimax to take action against botters. Apparently, Zenimax has taken this to heart and has now responded quickly and firmly. Zenimax continues to ask all users to immediately report any irregularities in gameplay.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Only a few weeks after the release of Hearthstone, the next announcement about Blizzard’s free card game follows directly: the first adventure!
For defeating Heigan, you will receive a brand new card for your collection and one legendary card for each completed wing.
The expansion “Curse of Naxxramas” will thematically be heavily based on the well-known raid instance from World of Warcraft. The opponents will be none other than the well-known bosses from the MMORPG template, so you will face Heigan, Maexxna, and Loatheb and teach them a lesson in the card game.
The solo adventure will be divided into five wings (just like the original) and a new wing will be unlocked each week, allowing players to have cleaned Naxxramas from its undead inhabitants after a month.
Even though no release date has been announced yet, you should start saving gold now – because only the first wing is free, all further wings can be unlocked either with in-game currency or real money, and the price for that has not been announced yet.
In total, there will be 30 new cards that you can add to your collection by defeating all bosses and completing specific class challenges, at least 5 of which will be legendary – one per wing.
Last but not least, there will be a thematically appropriate, new game board whether this will only be available during solo play or also in the card battle against other players has not yet been revealed.
A first look at the game board in the necropolis, which also contains new interactive corners.
Even today, lost souls wander in Tamriel, searching in vain for an auction house in the world of The Elder Scrolls Online, until a desperate question in the chat about “Where?” reveals the truth: “No, there isn’t one!”.
Weeks before the release of the highly anticipated fantasy MMORPG, we brought attention to this fact. We associated it not only with dangers and disadvantages but also with much potential and some advantages.
Players are effectively forced, at least at first, to engage with other people. In online role-playing games, auction houses have become standard content, where trading usually occurs through a programmed intermediary. Not so in Tamriel, where different rules apply.
There is no trading house or similar in TESO. Since this question has come up more frequently lately, the developer Zenimax has issued an official recommendation on how one might still achieve their goals:
They advocate for trying out trading forums, in this case at TESOElite. Some time ago, the studio explained why they chose this path.
[pull_quote_center]You cannot ensure a healthy economy if there are no restrictions on the best items.[/pull_quote_center]
As all players are on a megaserver, the risk is high that an auction house could become flooded with the best items. This would quickly lead to price imbalances and detrimentally trivialize the game. One might think of the failed auction house from Diablo 3.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Few MMOs are changing as much as World of Tanks at the moment – Besides the new graphics and game physics, there will soon be changes to the game modes. But what can the developers do when the current map is not sufficient and most provinces are under the control of some top clans? You have probably also noticed that the chance to win a landing tournament is very small.
“The Fortress”
The new feature “Fortress” is meant to bring life back to the map and make the game even more exciting for everyone involved. Soon, your clan will receive a fortress to defend. Of course, several players will be needed for this – because alone or in pairs, it will be impossible to defend your home! But there you can not only lie in wait for enemies to give them a slap on the fingers – but you fill your fortress with life by building structures to gain economic bonuses. Behind this can be buffs like 10% more credits, extra experience points, or free experience in battles. This way, you will be able to deploy brand new features on the battlefield.
Order bombers
Conduct reconnaissance
Lay mines
Set up pillboxes
These structures do not arise by magic, but you need to gather resources to keep the construction going. Don’t worry, you don’t have to turn into a hunter-gatherer, but continue doing what you do best: Fight!
Gather and set out to loot the fortresses of enemy clans. But don’t worry, you don’t have to be afraid of being under fire right away. The attack and defense mode is only available when a fortress reaches its fifth upgrade stage. It will also be possible to participate in battles on the world map simultaneously.
With the upcoming changes, battles promise to become even more diverse and exciting – What do you think about it?
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After the Family & Friends Test, the upcoming Free-to-play online role-playing game ArcheAge officially enters the Alpha phase. To celebrate this significant step towards release, there’s also a trailer on top.
With this announcement, the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is also lifted, meaning the participating players can take pictures, record videos, and even stream live – and now comes the crucial point – they can also report publicly about it.
Initially, the diligent community members will receive the coveted entry into the game. However, it won’t be long before more chosen ones can get a ticket to the world of the localized version of ArcheAge. According to the publisher Trion Worlds, there will soon be key giveaways, and for players who have registered on the official site, there’s also a chance to “win” access to the Alpha from the random pool.
Alpha or not, ArcheAge is ready soon
Why a MMORPG that has already been released for quite some time still has to be labeled as Alpha remains a mystery to me. Since these terms are already totally blurred, it’s only a matter of time until development and testing phases after Beta are declared Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon.
ArcheAge is by no means still a game that needs to go through several development stages before release in the West and expand significantly in functionality, as it would otherwise be unsuitable for the market.
It’s known that the game is struggling with some weaknesses in Korea and Russia, but that’s rather due to the game design. Moreover, we know that the game is mostly already translated. While this might have been difficult, it has almost nothing to do with programming. The content that is changed in the course of westernization mostly involves adjustments and not entirely new content.
That said, I am really looking forward to my first visit to ArcheAge, because the open world offers, based on the renowned Cryengine, truly beautiful settings, interesting peoples and races, as well as a variety of features that nearly every MMO fan would relish. Whether it’s eventful sea adventures, ahoy, spectacular castle battles, boom, or the dream of having my own four walls, hurray – it seems that a lot of possibilities are offered here. The only question left for me is whether I will like the implementation.
Speaking of Housing
A guiding introduction to player housing and farms in ArcheAge was released almost simultaneously. Housing is a feature that has become indispensable in online role-playing games and is increasingly mutating into a must-have.
Additionally, this is a special form of housing because, unlike many other variants in the genre, these are not instantiated. If players collaborate properly and the structures created by the game allow it, villages or even imposing cities can be built collectively. Sandbox indeed.
Thinking back to Ultima Online, it was incredibly fun to be part of a neighborhood and chat with other acquaintances in front of your houses. The fact that one can also make a name for oneself as a farmer through the farms, in addition to the builder business, sounds very entertaining in combination with the player-driven economy.
According to the introduction, there are several plans for the houses available, meaning that depending on wealth, a whole range of possible dream houses in various dimensions is available: From a small hut to a middle-class domicile, all the way up to an opulent villa. Let’s hope that there won’t be any bottlenecks in the open world. This became a problem in Russia. After a relatively short time, most places were already occupied. You can reach the English guide here. If you are not proficient in this language, you can alternatively just watch the following video. http://youtu.be/n_TMl3a3Pf4
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Have you ever wondered when the servers of the online role-playing game AION will finally be updated to version 4.5? The solution is: It is here! Freshly released! Woohoo! Finally, all engineers can try out their second specialization and sweep enemies off the battlefield! Are you excited to try the new Aethertech or have you already been on the test server because you couldn’t wait out of curiosity? For everyone else: Take cover when the mech swings its Aether key!
But we have even more good news! The cooldowns for instances have finally been removed! After this change was first made in World of Warcraft, it is also finally available in AION. (Or vice versa? 😉 ) You can take advantage of this benefit directly in the eight new instances that await you. Get ready for breathtaking battles that will test your attention and skill!
The new instances are:
Ruin’s Protection Tower (East of the Underworld of Katalam) – 6 players – From level 65
Upper Abyss Area
Krotan War Fortress – Level 61 to 65
Krotan Legion Fortress – Level 61 to 65
Kysis War Fortress – Level 61 to 65
Kysis Legion Fortress – Level 61 to 65
Miren War Fortress – Level 61 to 65
Miren Legion Fortress – Level 61 to 65
Battlefield of the Steel Wall Bastion – 24 vs. 24 players – Level 61 to 65
If that’s not enough to do, prepare to hunt for Honor Points by completing quests, defeating boss monsters, or participating in fortress captures. This will grant you your new Abyss rank – but beware, it is not possible to earn Honor Points below level 50 or below 30,000 AP. And you can lose them. Not when you die, but every day when the rank recalculation happens at 12. So keep collecting and stay active 🙂
Tip: Check out your trusted merchant and keep an eye out for new skill books. Rumor has it, there are great new abilities for you. 🙂
Gladiator: Blade of Provocation I from level 65 (Deals physical damage to a target up to 21m away and increases its rage towards you.)
Templar: Flight: Confinement I from level 65 (Deals physical damage to the target up to 20m away and then pulls it directly in front of you. Can only be used in flight.)
Assassin: Evasion Increase II from level 63 (Evasion is increased by 350 for 20s after a successful dodge.) and Flight: Confinement I (Deals physical damage to the target up to 20m away and then pulls it directly in front of you. Can only be used in flight.)
Hunter: Weakening Arrow I from level 65 (Causes physical damage to the target. Parrying by the target is reduced by 300 for 10s, Evasion by 300 and Blocking by 300 .)
Sorcerer: Twinkling Shard II from level 63 (Deals magical water damage to a target up to 25m away and absorbs 50% of the damage as MP. AND Glare I from level 65 (Deals magical fire damage to a target up to 25m away. Chain skill level 3 Brand – Glare)
Summoner: Smoke Gas Explosion II from level 63 (Deals magical fire damage to a target up to 25m away and absorbs 100% of the damage as TP and 50% of the damage as MP. AND Wrath of the Wild I from level 65 Deals magical earth damage to a target up to 25m away based on accumulation level. It is an accumulation skill)
Bard: Melodic Cheer I from level 65 (Attack speed is increased by 20% for 15s.)
Now that looks good, doesn’t it?
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Guild Wars 2 is a success story. Launched with huge hype, the fantasy MMORPG received excellent reviews, sold incredibly well, and was praised for its innovative approach.
So why are we still playing another MMO?
And what are the reasons that Guild Wars 2 couldn’t conquer the market as many once thought? Our tester Schuhmann investigates these questions.
The Beta – Catchment area for failed MMO relationships
At the moment, I’m hanging out in many betas. Betas are kind of the catchment area for homeless MMORPG players. Or better yet: Betas are like those apartment blocks where only freshly divorced men live, pretending to enjoy a happy bachelor life while eating frozen pizzas. If you watch the chat, it’s all about the exes. And you pick up a lot:
So sound disappointed ex-gamers. There is almost never talk of EVE Online. Whoever has fallen for it seems to remain in space forever. Also, hardly anything is heard about The Secret World. If you ask someone about it, they raise their eyebrows in surprise: “Is that a TV series?”
By the way: The highly anticipated feature release coming out on April 15 might give GW2 a solid boost!
But when you chat with someone about Guild Wars 2, you get responses like: “Yeah, that’s true. That was quite good. I could actually play that again.” And then the beta player turns around, steers their level-4 character into a dangerous adventure, and seems to have forgotten the conversation already. Hmm! That got me thinking.
What does Guild Wars 2 lack to transform us all into marauding cats, tree people, or mesmer forever? And why am I not playing it right now?
Problem No. 1 – The missing Holy Trinity
The Holy Trinity is a simple concept. Tanks are there to tank, healers to heal, and damage dealers ensure that the mob falls quickly. This system has been known for decades. It has its problems:
The tank has an enormous amount of responsibility and an ungrateful job.
The healer has an ungrateful job and an enormous amount of responsibility.
The damage dealers often fight more for the top spot in the damage meter than against the boss.
Every class is forced into a specific role, the gameplay is somewhat monotonous, in PvP tanks are often redundant, and when a healer or tank wants to venture out solo, they have to switch to DD.
The unloved kiting
What could have been more innovative than to toss the system out the window? Everyone is a bit of a tank, everyone can heal a bit, and everyone deals damage well anyway. And thus the strange bastard class system in Guild Wars 2 was born.
Now – the system is fantastic for solo play, PvP, or the general game feeling, but in instances or during mass fights against world bosses, it feels chaotic, disorderly, and annoying.
If you ask a player how they experienced Guild Wars 2, they might say: “I played to the max level, then I completed the main quest, it was all great. Then I was in an instance and because there was no tank, we kited a mob around for hours and it was completely stupid.”
For some a boss, for others the biggest loot piñata in the world
Now there will surely be ways for experienced players to establish some order in a 5-player instance, but the impression of total chaos has stuck.
As a casual player, you encounter fantastic mass events: A new threat lands somewhere in the world. It requires hundreds of players to defeat it. But it ends up being 100 people standing around a mob and everyone bashing away like crazy. Because there is no tank to heal, the mob design is limited to AoE attacks, and in the end, it feels like you are beating on a massive piñata until it finally bursts open and the sweet loot spills out.
Conclusion: The lack of a holy trinity severely restricts encounter designers. Some players miss identification with their class.
Reason 2: The high barrier to entry in PvP
The PvP in Guild Wars 2 imposes high tactical demands: The single player is initially nothing. Only in the company of numerous others does he become something, namely part of a zerg. These masses of players stay together on the map, follow a leader, conquer castles and fortresses, and contribute to the success of the realm.
The PvP in Guild Wars 2 overwhelms every beginner at first with a plethora of information, requirements, bonuses, and other things. While the PvP in other MMORPGs is relatively easy to understand: “The one still standing wins.” Or limited to the well-known capture-the-flag scenarios, the PvP in Guild Wars 2 initially expects the player to really dive in.
And even if you have done that, you are dependent on the fate of your realm. Although Guild Wars 2 also has instanced battlegrounds that you can win and lose, the focus is on a battle that lasts a week, during which you are just a grain of sand on the beach. Sometimes PvP in Guild Wars 2 feels like being down 0:3 in a football game after just 2 minutes and only looking forward to the final whistle.
Conclusion: The entry into PvP is difficult and frustrating for many.
Reason 3: The lack of hunting and gathering
Every time I log into Guild Wars 2, I have no idea what I actually want to do. In other games, it’s clear: Finish that quest, farm reputation, join that raid, get a few more points in PvP – because then you get a better item!
So I do that, get a better item, log out, and feel stronger.
Diablo 3, the game that is currently driving half of the MMO gaming community into an early grave and into rampant madness (“Schnitzel!”) has perfected this behavior.
In Guild Wars 2 with the flat item curve, I can buy pretty good gear directly from the auction house. At boss events, little better drops. Somehow, you could have weapons crafted or farm some dailies or start with “fractals,” but even before that, there is a hurdle that a casual player will probably never overcome.
Conclusion: The item and character progression is unclear.
[What is it about Guild Wars 2 that I and many other players can’t overcome these three hurdles? Are you a certified Guild Wars 2 expert and can explain to us why it is your game? Do you have to really dive into the endgame to appreciate the mechanics? Or did you also quit Guild Wars 2 fairly quickly?
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This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
“Polishing” is the magical word that has been circulating in the WildStar forums for weeks. It refers to the ironing out of bugs, improving the framerate, and balancing the classes. Essentially, the final touch – the last polish – before an MMO is unleashed on the player base.
And this final touch seems to have arrived for WildStar, and it has quite a few surprises in store!
In addition to the countless small class changes, some disruptive gameplay elements have also been removed: group play is now rewarded with significantly more experience points than when wandering through Nexus alone. Moreover, each character now receives an additional teleport spell that takes them directly to the capital of their faction – incredibly useful, as this means you have a total of three recall options with your own house and fast travel.
The Chua out of the bag: More character models!
This Chua is excited about this surprise!
The biggest unexpected change is the fact that each race will receive multiple character models and some new hairstyles.
Previously, there was exactly one model per race and gender, and the last statement was that this would not change before launch. Sometimes it’s nice when developers do not keep their promises! According to rumors, Carbine felt compelled to do this because many players criticized the reduction of the bust size of the Aurin in one of the past patches – now everyone might get their wish after all.
Due to maintenance work, we unfortunately have not been able to take a look at the new models yet. This will only be possible again on April 18, during the next beta phase.
Housing – More, Better
Further tweaking is also being done on the housing system: the previous number of neighbors has been increased from 25 to 100 – now everyone should be able to accommodate their friends list there.
In addition, it is now possible to furnish some of the “dead spots” on the property with furniture and decorations; now the entire area is really available.
Have you read my article about Housing in WildStar? I hope so! It contains over 100 hours of content! You should also read the preview by Schuhmann, it’s a must-read.
Many, Many Details
It would be too much to address each of the over 500 points here, but it’s clearly recognizable that the game is heading towards its final stretch: voiceovers for instances and cinematics are in, endgame and PvP are being rounded out, plenty of new icons, improved emotes, and a more sensible user interface.
If you want to take a detailed look at every change – and you are fluent in English – you can do so here.
Nexus, here we come!
http://youtu.be/ukb7oOCkhJw
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The launch of an MMO never goes perfectly. Even The Elder Scrolls Online couldn’t manage to eliminate the bugs before the game’s start and prevent the glitches. In this video, I want to tell you about some of the sometimes amusing, but at times also pretty serious errors.
For example, my Khajiit Nightblade suddenly defied gravity and flew/ran around in the clouds — at least until it fell down again and was eaten by slaughterfish. An undignified end for a cat, I might add.
The peaceful meadows of Middle-earth will soon tremble and nothing will be as it was…
Because Lord of the Rings Online is celebrating its seventh anniversary! From April 17 to April 29, 2014, the party will take place and promises not only a beautiful fireworks display. Depending on how old your account is and whether you are a Premium or VIP player, there are additional gifts. If you haven’t been playing HRDO for that long or don’t know it, here’s a short explanation:
Premium = Someone who has spent money in the shop or market or was once a VIP
VIP = Active subscriber
And what is there for these players now? Generally, the cut-off date is always April 30 of the year, so if you have been registered for longer than…
1 year registered: Anniversary fireworks
2 years registered: Three scrolls of perpetual speed (60 minutes duration), +5 % attack damage (90 minutes) x1, 10 battle-recovery potions
3 years registered: Three loot box keys
4 years registered: Azure festive clothing
5 years registered: A festive azure horse
6 years registered: A festive, azure cosmetic appearance for your warhorse
7 years registered: A shield cloak, a treasure chest key and if you have a monster-player character, the /dance emote and 5 % attack damage x5
Depending on the number of years, you will also receive a matching character portrait frame. If you can hardly wait, you will unfortunately have to wait until April 17, 2014, because then a large batch of gifts will be waiting in your inventory. If your bags are full, the rest will be delivered to you at the next login when there is space.
Don’t worry, even if you haven’t played for a while, you are not excluded from the action. Even if you can’t manage to log in during the event, the gifts will not expire.
Maybe the free-to-play players among you will gulp… But hey! You still get a firework!
There’s actually only one thing left to say: Happy Birthday, Lord of the Rings Online!
So seriously, what do you think about this? Is it okay that Premium and VIP players are prioritized? Are you disappointed as a F2P player? Do you not care? Do you consider people greedy for wanting more?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
And those are just difficulties outside the game. We don’t want to deal with those today. We’ll take a look at where TESO’s game design still offers improvement opportunities and glance at the two things in Tamriel that annoy us the most. We’ll leave bugs and lags aside and focus only on things that seem to have been intentionally designed this way.
Or to put it another way: Welcome to our first show at mein-mmo.de.
Welcome to“WTF Zenimax? Really?!”
We have already reported about end bosses in caves whose spawn timers are too low and whose loot is too good, we have already reported.
Thank you, I would like to do this alone
The quest system of TESO is highly praised, but it conflicts with the design decision to avoid instanced areas as much as possible and to keep the world open. This is something quite normal and known in the open field. If you need to kill 10 bears for a quest, then the game is designed to have 50 bears in a field: enough bears for everyone. In TESO, however, many quests lead in a tube-like manner toward a dungeon or a cave. And while there are also 50 bears, they all wait neatly in a row like dominoes.
This means a player enters a cave, wonders why there are only corpses lying around, pushes further towards the end, encounters a group of players who are currently squashing an unfortunate bear in a team of five, joins in, and – poof – suddenly six players are hitting the next fur carrier. But that one is also only designed for one player.
Unfortunately, too many quests in The Elder Scrolls Online play out this way.
This becomes unpleasant especially at the end of a cave when 8, 10, or 12 people gather around the poor cave boss, just to send him promptly to the afterlife. The good guy lives on average four frames.
When you compare this quest experience with the solo quests that a player experiences in the service of the Fighter’s or Mage’s Guild, there are worlds of difference in fun.
In other games, the run on certain quests eventually dwindles, but with The Elder Scrolls Online this is not necessarily to be expected due to the mega-server.
Why is this a case for “WTF Zenimax? Really?!”: Because it’s simply not fun to take the poor boss’s milk money with 12 people. We are not schoolyard bullies… (anymore).
What should change? It is commendable that Zenimax is moving away from instancing with TESO and towards an open MMORPG, but the opponents must scale with the number of players.
The fun that an anchor provides decreases exponentially with the number of players. If they are just dragged away from the spawn, it is not particularly enjoyable for either demons or players.
Where did I put that again?
The inventory system from Zenimax is a return to the origins – one could say it politely. In other words: it is simply outdated. Space is scarce in many RPGs, and players have to consider what they need and what they can leave behind. But the question must be allowed: Why is this the case? Does anyone enjoy this?
Guild Wars 2 or the new WildStar have found an excellent system to immediately remove crafting materials (boring, boring crafting materials) from the player’s focus and put them into a special bank. Nowhere would this system be more appropriate than in The Elder Scrolls Online, where every player can collect every type of resource. And every single damned thing takes up one of the few inventory slots.
Billions of different runes, trillions of different food additives, plus crafting stones to create various styles, and health potions! Oh God! Health potions! Any tiny difference in level immediately occupies a new slot. There are also mana and stamina potions!
Can you remember this graphic showing how many weapons are in the game and how much coffee everyone drank at Zenimax and how many played the beta and so? Why is the following number missing: We give you 80 inventory slots and 300 different food ingredients! Yeah!
Of course, one could now say: But that is realistic, no one can carry everything around. No, it’s not. Why do 3 health potions of level 14 only take up one slot in the inventory, while 2 health potions of level 14 and one of level 13 take up two slots? And why does a forty-kilo heavy chain mail take up as much space in my backpack as a single grape?
Additionally, there’s a really odd interface in the guild store and general frustration with the inventory. Who gets a kick out of coming home from an adventure and wondering whether an onion still has space in the bank or should be sold directly? And who wants to think about such things in 2014? And yes: you can expand the backpack, then you have 10-40 additional items that you have to decide whether to store in the bank or sell right away.
Why is this a case for “WTF Zenimax? Really?!”: Because the inventory system may be a concession to hardcore role players, purists, and nostalgics, but it is both pointless and pretty frustrating. If you want to stop players from hoarding, you should either forbid them from looting every cheese crate. Or you tie the abilities of gathering crafting resources directly to skill level – just like in other games.
What should change: A deep, long, and thorough look at the inventory and banking system of Guild Wars 2 or WildStar should solve this problem.
In the next issue of “WTF Zenimax? Really?”: The salt rice cracker of completion and the difficulties of proper localization.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
While my computer is quietly and melodically rattling and downloading the new patch 2.7 for Star Wars: The Old Republic, I want to remind you today: Make sure to start the download before you head to school or work! The message “Data is being reorganized” creeps forward at 0.01% increments and will surely take some time.
But the effort is worth it, as game update 2.7 Invasion brings exciting new content to the sci-fi MMO, all centered around the galactic conflict between the Republic and the Empire. PvE players can look forward to two new tactical flashpoints starting at level 55. The instances ‘Attack on Korriban’ and ‘Raid on Tython’ not only invite you with action-packed battles but also offer some nice moments for fans of the video sequences. But will you manage to attack the enemy planets and deal a blow to the hated opponents?
If you want it even more exciting, grab some friends with strong nerves and head to the Fortress of Terror Masters. The five bosses are designed to require tactical finesse and a lot of attention from you in nightmare mode. Will you defeat them and become a respected fighter, or will the droid cleaning crew have to pick you up off the floor?
Our news about the Huttball Pit, the new war zone on the muddy planet Quesh, can be found here. As Season 1 of the Ranked Warzones has now ended, you should find your rewards in the virtual mailbox with a bit of luck. The next round will start with Patch 2.7.1 – but until then you shouldn’t rest on your laurels. Off to the ranked arenas and practice hard, that’s the mantra now. The young, dynamic latecomers won’t take long to come and will try to take your place in the next season!
Are you more of a fan of heated battles on the maps for Galactic Starfighters? Your wish was the developers’ command. Grab a helmet and make your way to the Denon Exosphere. But be careful where you fly. Debris and huge capital ships complicate the capture of a strategically important space station – but for you heroes, that should be no problem!
Just like the Bounty Hunter Contract Week, which runs from April 8 to April 15. At this event, you can, of course, not only participate as a bounty hunter! Go hunt down the bad guys of the galaxy on eight planets and take them out. But at this point, I don’t want to give away too much – just log in yourself and check it out.
Tip: Before you dive into the fray, be sure to check your class skills again. There has been a true flood of changes that you can read about in the account management at the patch notes !
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What would The Elder Scrolls Online be without enough endgame content? Probably an MMORPG that doesn’t justify a subscription! While there is certainly excitement at the Zenimax headquarters right now to fix all the teething problems you are encountering, a trailer has been released introducing the next major content update.
To counter the impending lull after the supposed finish line, a so-called adventure zone will soon be introduced with Kargstein, focusing on uncovering the secrets surrounding lost constellations and celestial beings.
Players who have already reached the end level and also the 10th veteran rank will find a special gaming paradise with the first content pack of ESO, offering challenges for the strongest heroes among us. The zone itself is designed for 4 players, where you can, as in the rest of the game, casually start searching for tasks and other treasures. This way, you will gradually learn what problems you will be facing in Kargstein. So, you won’t miss out on a strong background story even in the endgame.
Adventures for Raid Groups
In addition to several instanced and group-exclusive mini-dungeons, especially progress-hungry players will rub their hands at a certain content. With the “Trials”, designed for 12 players, which according to the developers are most comparable to raids, the goal is to send extremely tough opponents to the afterlife. The performances of each group are immortalized in a leaderboard to fuel the competitive spirit.
Does Zenimax manage to balance the needs of MMO players while also pursuing the desire to maintain the proven Elder Scrolls atmosphere?
What do you think, will the adventure zone Kargstein provide the hoped-for long-term motivation or rather frustration? Do the daily quests mentioned in the video really fit into the concept of Elder Scrolls?
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The new generation of MMORPGs is at hand with The Elder Scrolls Online, WildStar, and Everquest Next. But what would these games be without companions to laugh, chat, and quarrel with? What would these games be without a guild? The website mmoscout.net now offers players a simple and convenient way to find suitable guilds.
Every guild is a little different
Gamers enter into some strange relationships with each other. Some stick together for years in a raid and only speak the bare minimum. They are trapped in a purpose alliance, the sole aim of which is to bring home the maximum loot Y with as little effort X as possible. It’s like a shared apartment where everyone comes together for meetings. Yet, everyone is happy when the door to their own room closes again.
With other online acquaintances, one hardly plays at all, but just chats. Everyone goes about their business, everyone is a soloist, and the guild chat becomes the communal kitchen table where the day’s events are discussed.
Of course, there are also deeply rooted relationships between players and their communities. Guilds that have lasted for years, some even decades, and endure through the games and MMORPGs. However, such communities often crumble. They become unattractive for newcomers who capitulate in the face of insider jokes and intricate group dynamics. New blood is lacking, and people scatter to the winds: One is a Seth Lord in Star Wars: The Old Republic, the next is a Crusader in Diablo, and the former tank of the raid is now roaming in real life. And suddenly, one sits alone in the living room, looking at the empty seats.
Or there is simply a new MMORPG around the corner, like now The Elder Scrolls Online, that one definitely wants to play, but none of the friends and acquaintances feel like it. So it’s: I will look for a new guild.
In the jungle of forums and the hustle of chats
Now there is certainly no shortage of guilds looking for players in a fresh MMORPG. Every two minutes, a recruiter spams the chat. Somewhere between ads for a goldselling site and questions about where to find “imbalance,” the poor guys poke their heads out of the chat looking for new people, mostly healers or tanks. It’s more like the panic of a mass viewing than a date with new roommates.
In other established games, there are large anonymous forum threads where people brag about their raid successes. The guild seeker becomes a candidate before a tribunal. Or one clicks through squeaky guild forums, has to register with a password everywhere, and hopes to hit a lucky strike. The job interview in a dubious teamspeak isn’t really an inviting option either.
Of course, one can also get lucky and make a nice acquaintance through solo play that then leads to guild membership. However, with today’s games, that has become a rarity. Nowadays, one must be happy to be grouped with people who still talk at all, and with a lot of luck, also in “German” – and no: “og og og” does not count as “talking”.
Who can blame people for many guilds with a pleasant atmosphere shy away from playing with outsiders and prefer to stay in their cozy living room? It’s hard to peek in from the outside. So how to find a guild?
The clever guild search from mmoscout.net
The website offers a central point of contact for guilds and guild seekers. The special feature here is the intuitively operable “clever guild search.” A player registers in the forum and can immediately start looking for their new guild. They select a game, and a drop-down menu opens with various questions and answers. This is not voodoo or complicated stuff that requires a degree from a trendy goblin technician school, but really simple multiple-choice questions that even an orc could fill out before their midday nap.
Power gamer or more of a casual player?
Teamspeak chatterbox or prefer going without a headset?
Role player? Yes? No? Or: Onward my friends, into battle?
How important is crafting, an RL meeting, or the size of the guild to you?
In less than 90 seconds, you are done with the questionnaire and the system presents you with guilds to choose from. From a percentage display, you can easily see how likely it is that you have found your future soulmate here. The application is just a click away. Or you create a profile and let guilds come to you.
Already over 40 guilds registered for The Elder Scrolls Online
The website mmoscout.net has a guild search function for a total of 17 games. Among them, of course, is also World of Warcraft. Likewise, Guild Wars 2, Rift, HdRO, and Star Wars: The Old Republic are represented. Even players for more exotic titles like Age of Wulin or Runes of Magic find each other here.
Currently, the application for Zenimax’s masterpiece, the fantasy MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online, is particularly high. More than 40 TESO guilds have now registered. For Rift, there are already 121 guilds listed. Maybe there is a new, the right, the super comfortable and also fragrant living room for you?
In addition to the guild search (http://www.mmoscout.net/gildensuche.html), they also entice with regular news about the hottest MMOs and a loyalty point system, through which regular visitors and forum participants have the chance to win lucrative prizes. In March, a Logitech mouse worth 70 euros was raffled off, and for April, a headset in a similar price range is announced.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Vampires have existed in previous parts of the Elder Scrolls series. There, players had to fight against a vampire and often let themselves be hit by it. With every hit, there was a 10% chance of being infected with “Sanguinare Vampiris,” a disease that gradually turned the player into a vampire – unless cured at a shrine.
If the disease was not cured within 3 days, the player themselves became a bloodsucker and was thereafter avoided or feared by their fellow humans. Furthermore, they had to quench their thirst by breaking into houses and draining the blood of innocent citizens. If they did not do this, they had to live with negative effects, such as reduced health. However, there were also advantages to increasing blood thirst. Although the body became weaker, the abilities became significantly stronger.
In The Elder Scrolls Online, vampirism functions similarly. As with werewolves, there are rare vampire groups in the game that can infect the player with vampirism. This also brings some disadvantages, but also access to a new skill line.
More information about how to become a bloodsucker can be found in the new episode: Interview with a Vampire.
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From time to time, there are errors in games – not just in the online role-playing game Allods Online, where things are currently quite serious due to a major bug: In the Arena of Death, you can become invincible. It sounds funny at first, but we probably don’t need to explain how this exploit affects the gameplay. Now, the community team is finally stepping in and wants to give the bad guys and gals who shamelessly exploited the bug a warning:
Regarding the penalties: We will investigate the accounts that have exploited the bug closely and will ban them. The severity of the ban depends on how often the exploit was used.
So far, the error could still not be fixed – accordingly, players who exploit the bug now will be punished more harshly – in the worst (or best?) case with a permanent ban.
Of course, you also have a chance to atone and contact the Allods Online support via email ([email protected]). There, you not only write how sorry you are but also detail how the error occurred or how you became invulnerable. You should then title the email “Arena of Death invincibility exploit” so it doesn’t get lost in the flood of messages and hope that you come away with just a bruise.
And this is exactly what people argue about every time: Is it fair to punish players who exploit a bug?
[intense_testimonies]
[intense_testimony]
[intense_testimony_text]Even in other MMOs, exploits are used to gain an advantage. Just remember the severe bugs in the arenas of World of Warcraft and the heated debates about them. Whether you do it or not is a personal decision. But as was said long ago in the movie Dangerous Minds: One always has a choice. Affected players do not have to exploit a bug if it is clearly known that it should work differently. And let’s be honest – suddenly being immune on a battlefield should definitely not happen when you are a Paladin (in WoW) and activating the fear bubble. Alternative action: Just leave the arena and inform support…
[/intense_testimony_text]
[intense_testimony_author image=”https://images.mein-mmo.de/magazin/medien/2014/01/Logo-022.png”][/intense_testimony_author]
[/intense_testimony]
[/intense_testimonies]
What do you think about it?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The release weekend of the AAA fantasy MMORPG title The Elder Scrolls Online by Zenimax is overshadowed by some issues. In the PvP zone Cyrodiil, there are problems when players join a group. There are difficulties completing a subscription, certain mobs are excessively camped by players, and on top of that, some quests turn out to be dead ends.
Prefer to go solo in Cyrodiil?
According to forum reports and personal experiences, issues arise in the large PvP zone Cyrodiil, where the three realms compete for dominance in Tamriel. These problems are apparently related to the groups that players can join. If a player joins a large group, it may lead to seemingly random crashes. After the crash, the player cannot log in immediately and gets stuck on the loading screen.
So be cautious if you want to join groups in the PvP area. This bug takes on an ironic flavor as the focus of PvP in The Elder Scrolls Online lies in group combat.
Many dead ends in the quests
For the quests where many players get stuck, unfortunately, there isn’t an easy workaround like abstaining from groups. After the 1.01 patch cleared some stumbling blocks in the starting area, quests that turn out to be dead ends reappear in subsequent zones. In the chat of many zones, there is regular talk that certain quest lines cannot be pursued further. In many cases, repeatedly logging out and back in helps, but not in all.
Typically, the problem presents itself as follows: The brave hero progresses quickly until they reach a point where twenty other characters are desperately reading a book (these are the characters of players currently on the desktop). The newly arrived hero wonders what is so exciting here, continues with their quest, and finds themselves standing next to the others two minutes later, googling… Since no one knows how the respective quest functions exactly and whether they might just be searching in the wrong place, it is difficult to distinguish between bug and feature.
Surely these are problems that were to be expected at the launch of such a large MMORPG. Still, it’s not pleasant.
Do we need a conservation status for Named Mobs?
The brave hero also encounters a larger gathering of players in the public dungeons. Here, usually, one must defeat a named mob at the end to complete the dungeon and earn an achievement.
However, colleague “I have a name and more HP than you normal loser-mobs” is rarely found alive. Many of them have an increased chance to drop special items and are therefore under constant fire. Their better loot table becomes their downfall: they are camped.
Whether this was intended by Zenimax in this form is doubtful. For a game that values immersion and roleplay so highly, it would be an unusual design decision. Especially since any player dealing damage to the mob is allowed to loot.
Problems with subscriptions
From another direction, further shadows are cast over Tamriel. Many players purchased the game, under the firm belief that they could immediately begin their hero’s journey with the 30 free days. Yet starting this Sunday, a subscription must first be completed (which can then be canceled immediately). The 30 free days are of no use without a valid payment method.
Especially younger players often do not have the opportunity to pay immediately via credit card or Paypal. They are facing a disappointing Sunday, having installed the game and just peacefully played until now, as much as possible given the bugs – and now they cannot proceed.
The problems are exacerbated by the fact that Zenimax’s support apparently cannot keep up with the large influx of issues. Based on experience, improvements can certainly be expected in the coming days.
We wish everyone who does not encounter problems a wonderful time in Tamriel!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Who still remembers the first blue exclamation marks with the Netherwing in World of Warcraft?
It was a completely new principle: Quests could be repeated every day and thus offered a fresh method of reputation gain with a beloved faction.
As long as a quest is logically sound, there is no problem: a camp that needs to be supplied with resources every day can very well send me as a player on the hunt for those very resources again and again, that makes sense.
The daily maintenance of various technical devices can also still be considered logical (though I would like to pull the gnome engineer’s ears to elven length). But as we all know, it didn’t stop there.
It Feels Like Work
Daily missions have something incredibly repetitive – that is basically their purpose. They can be programmed with relatively little effort and simply by being repeatable, a player will engage with them much longer than with a classic “One-Time Quest”. That would be fine in itself, if daily tasks were not rewarded with things that make it almost essential to complete them day after day, if you want to stay up to date.
“In the past”, it was about a unique mount that you received for the consistent work – yes, work. The 47th collection of dragon eggs had nothing to do with fun. The end result was satisfying, nevertheless; you did a lot of work and received something you didn’t necessarily need, but just wanted as a prestige item.
Beyond the Target
Meanwhile, the “Daily Quests” have been elevated to a whole new level of absurdity. I no longer have the choice between two to three areas, as it was back in the Netherwing and the Sha’tari Skyguards, but can choose from over ten different hubs. And as if that weren’t bad enough, the reward for successfully completing such areas is unlocking more.[quote_right]As long as the players have something to do[/quote_right]
Many other MMOs have jumped on the daily bandwagon since then and have thrown away everything that originally belonged to their game, following the motto “As long as the players have something to do”.
As a prime example of the negative implementation, Star Wars: The Old Republic unfortunately stands out. The sci-fi MMO shined with fully voiced quests and a great story – this was simply discarded in the daily quests. Instead, every day you go to a terminal, click seven times to have all quests, and then slaughter yourself across the whole area. Sooner or later, when you have killed the “evil occupant” of a corporate site for the fifth time, you realize that a logical story is no longer relevant.
On Makeb, there are a few voiced dailies alongside the terminal quests, but it’s not the golden egg.
Of course, one might say now, “So what? In dungeons and raids, you also kill bosses multiple times,” and that’s true. But quests have always been the opportunity to present players with the story of the world, and have become an absolute joke due to such banalities. Even though the planet “Makeb” has tried to make the tasks shine in a better light through partially synchronized daily missions, that doesn’t change the fact that you simply have to redo the whole planet – week after week, if you wanted to keep up with the “top level”.
Single-Player Content with Group Pressure
For me, daily quests were always primarily content that could be tackled alone while waiting for the next raid or killing time until the next battleground. They were perfectly suited for that – they were never very demanding and usually consisted only of simple gathering or killing tasks that could easily be interrupted to engage in the “real” gameplay.
I unfortunately do not know (or fortunately!) which game designer thought it was a good idea to introduce daily group missions because they cause frustration. Now, you had to intentionally invest time into these contents and could no longer use them as a side distraction – because you were reluctant to leave a group for the next PvP skirmish. Again, SW:TOR takes the crown: to turn in the crucial main mission, all other missions must first be completed, which of course includes the group quest – you were thus forced to complete every task.
Glimmers of Hope and the Future
But not everything was bad about the past generation of daily tasks. One thing that has stayed in good memory for me is the “Domination Offensive” in World of Warcraft. Although the faction did not offer great rewards in the form of items worth playing for, it still captivated me: Every few thousand reputation points, you received a new, unique quest that advanced the main story – one of the best questlines I have experienced in an MMORPG thus far.
[quote_box_right]There won’t be no daily quests, but we do want to get across the notion that it’s not going to be the primary focus for end-game content in Warlords – Bashiok, WoW Community Manager.[/quote_box_right>
The developers also seem to have realized that such a task type is outdated and no longer liked by players – the new WoW expansion “Warlords of Draenor” is thus expected to have only a minimal number of these tasks.
It remains to be hoped that WildStar, TESO, and also SW:TOR will handle it the same way.
Because if I experience exactly the same thing every day and the fun decreases each time – why should I still play the game?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
