Grinding in MMOs

ChaoticRated

Today i noticed a lot of people talking about grindings and i finally wanted to say how i feel about it. First of all i enjoy playing MMOs that you have to GRIND most of the time. why you say? Because most of the time or should i say always there is something for you to equip at certain levels and certain mobs drop certain goods. If you want to equip something you found with uber stats and quality you gotta work hard for it. working hard for it means grinding. i've been playing MMOs ever since MuOnline was out and yes it was the 1st MMO i played which got me into the MMO world lolz. back to the topic, grinding is NOT a bad thing at all in MMOs and its of course why we all play MMOs for those of you who complain about grinding. i mean think about it; don't you WANT to wear that cool looking armor set and that cool looking sword or weapon? of course you do, thats the reason we all keep playing MMOs. and of couse we need the Quests and all but mostly those are there for the game storyline and awards as you go on through the game. And one of the reason i enjoy grinding is because you never know what that same MOB will drop for you. it'll make me jump in joy to get a rare drop once in a while while you grind.

i guess i'll leave it at that for today thanks for reading what i wanted to say lol, i didn't think it would be this long i tried to make it as short as possible

Vhaln

What I like to complain about is POINTLESS grinding - I like when it feels like I'm levelling up for some purpose, like to help my realm in DAOC. When the gameworld feels like it always needs more heros. Most games feel like they have too many as it is, and levelling up is just a waste of time.

Phynn

Personally grinding isnt wnat makes mmo's repetitive, its the amount of grinding as compared to quests, crafting, exploring, etc. If a game, Last Chaos as an aexample, the grinding was simply put TOO boring. It took so much to level an the mobs didnt drop any really cool items. But of course one of the main reasons mmo's are so successful is b/c of the grind. the search for new and better gera/items. IMO games should balance the grind with quests, crafting, faction building and any other means so a game doesnt become stagnent. Using the new mmo VG as an example I tried just grinding but in beta it was SO BORING b/c alot of the early mobs didnt drop any usefull gear. We all want our toons to be envied by other players and of course we want the best gear, but hopefull this can be achieved through more than just grinding. As the VG developers said some of the best gear will come from soloing, 2-3 manning, grp , raid grinding but ALSO from crafting and diplomacy as well as quests. We all realize that to advance in mmo's we need to level and grinding is a way to level, but the other aspects of gameplay is what sets games apart. More to do = less chance of becomming bored=longer subscription=bringing friends in=more money=more content and updates.

Kyleran

Originally posted by ChaoticRated 

And one of the reason i enjoy grinding is because you never know what that same MOB will drop for you. it'll make me jump in joy to get a rare drop once in a while while you grind.

You don't enjoy grinding, you are addicted to the lottery.  You'll grind for hours hoping for that magical, rare item that you can wear or sell. Lineage 1 really rewarded players in this regard, and its why lots of players stuck with it. 

I can't stand grinding, farming and random item drops.  I like to make a plan, set out to accomplish my goals, and walk away with the reward I was after on the very first attempt. (or successful attempt anyways).  Nothing I can't stand more than re-running instances over and over to try an get a certain item. 

I'd much rather have a game that leads me through an interactive story... strangely enough in the Vanguard beta, I had tried 5 or so classes/races up to level 10 and the level of quest interaction really varied.  Only one character, an Orc Warrior had a quest string from the moment the character was created (well, my night elf sort of had one, but he got corrupted and had to be deleted) where I was a slave and had to escape the slave ship and then lead a counter attack on an invading army.  Of course, to advance the story line I had to "kill 10 mauraders" or "gather so many harnesses" just like any other noob area..but I really felt like they were woven into the whole of the story.

The shame is...not every starter area has the same well crafted plot line.... maybe in time they'll be able to create on for each race/class.

So skip the grinding (though I'll do it sometimes for fun and relaxation while I watch a movie or something) and give me more integrated story lines.

 

 

Sokyute

The only game where I loved grinding was in Asheron's Call. Because even after you hit max level (back before I quit - no idea how it is now) you grinded to get your skills and attributes up. You, not your gear(I mean you did get loot and MAYBE got an upgrade... but that's not what I'm getting at here),  were always getting better and had something to look forward to.

ChaoticRated

Originally posted by Kyleran

Originally posted by ChaoticRated 

And one of the reason i enjoy grinding is because you never know what that same MOB will drop for you. it'll make me jump in joy to get a rare drop once in a while while you grind.

You don't enjoy grinding, you are addicted to the lottery.  You'll grind for hours hoping for that magical, rare item that you can wear or sell. Lineage 1 really rewarded players in this regard, and its why lots of players stuck with it. 

Not really like a lottery really. it's like you're already grinding for something else but BOOM that one rare drop comes along and makes you super happy. i've not yet played lineage but for example ROSEonline; imagine this: you need 10% more to level your character and a +9Uber cool super shiny sword(+9 as in refined) is waiting for you and it takes about another 15minutes or so and right when you're about to level up something good drops. what im trying to get at is that all MMOs are grinders in each and every way possible.

neuronomad

My personal opinion is that grind sucks.  I don't mind grinding in itself.  What I do mind is spending countless hours only to get a single level increase.   I rather see games that have a Max level of say 1000 for example yet  for each level it might only take an hour to grind.   At least that way I can feel like I have gotten somewhere after a few hours.    I hate sitting there killing a few mobs that are three or so levels over me and getting the smallest fraction of movement on my XP bar.    

 

I don't mind it taking a long, long time to reach the level cap in a game, but I think the catch for me would be a game that let you gain a new level rather quickly but had a very large level cap.    To me its all about at least feeling like I am accomplishing something other than staring at a freaking XP bar that moves so slow that it takes an hour to even notice a change in it.

Cik_Asalin

Originally posted by ChaoticRated

...i enjoy playing MMOs that you have to GRIND most of the time.

Then you'll love Vanguard.

druarc

Personally I really don't go for the grind or random drop poo.



Why couldn't that end boss actually show some of what he was gonna drop?



eg "ohhhhh aaahhhh look King big nuzz has a staff of elite coolness on his back and is wearing the shoulder brace of pretty colours and uberness."



That way at least before you head off into combat you know he'll drop those 2 items.

MarleVVLL

I hate grinding.