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MMOs need to do more for returning players.
syntax42
Member UncommonPosts: 1,385
With the current market and economy, MMO titles have been slowing in their release frequency. The list of stable MMOs with a healthy population is fairly small. I don't understand why MMOs do so little to encourage players to return to their games.
There is nothing more discouraging when checking out a MMO you used to play than a large pay-wall put in front of you just to get back into the game. From expansions to other content and features, MMOs tend to forget the players who stopped playing and do little to encourage people to re-subscribe.
World of Warcraft is one of the few I know of that made a decent effort to get people into their latest expansion. Those who pre-ordered were given a level 90 level boost, from what I remember. That is great for players who may have missed the previous expansion for whatever reason. It doesn't change the amount to be paid to get back into the game, but it at least gives some incentive for those who haven't played in a while.
MMOs could do more than just give someone a boost to the current content's level. Patches change a game significantly over the life of a MMO and players may need a tutorial to re-acquaint themselves with the various systems of the game. A summary of the changes could also be made for those who prefer to read patch-note-style text. For the free-to-play market, discounts on item stores should be given to players who have been away a while.
Anything would be better than the current less-than-welcoming doors to MMOs I used to play.
Comments
I think it speaks volumes of the developer's stance towards the content they create that they offer players a choice to skip everything but the current content. As if the previous content would cease being fun or entertaining just because it's not the newest feature.
Much better in my opinion is to incentivize playing through all the contents the game has to offer. Have the previous expansions included when you buy the latest one or something. Unless your content sucks so much you don't think it's worth actually playing through.
I agree, but that's not what my post was about. The issue with content being made irrelevant by leveling, expansions, and/or gear is another issue entirely. It requires more than a thread to discuss due to the complexity of game design.
Erm...wut?
There are more MMO titles to play than ever.
You still have the issue of learning the new content, there is patch notes, but up to you to go find them, and they aren't really simple. I normally rely on asking my Corp mates questions on what is important.
The tutorial idea isn't bad, but might not work too well since they really can't guess how long the player has been away,so where to start might be unclear.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I'm referring to quality MMOs, not garbage free-to-play clones being churned out of (mostly) Asia.
I feel like there were more quality MMOs to play in 2010 than there are today. Many MMOs have closed down in the past five years and there hasn't been enough good ones to replace them.
They have a database with your subscription information. It wouldn't be too hard for a computer to compare the date you last subscribed with the patch notes. It might require a tagging system for each patch note so you aren't shown patch information that was changed later.
so you say, not playing their game should be rewarded?
yep, seems legit
"I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up! Not me!"
This makes no sense. Say a game is 5 years old..no matter how good the content is people are gonna get bored after multiple alts. Every themepark MMO suffers from this problem.
To say that the same content that was good 5 years go now suddenly sucks and that is the reason that devs feel the need for players to skip it is just..well..silly.
Once your game is that old and become top heavy whther the game company want it or not..players themselves would want to skip the old content which they have already seen multiple times.
Just because you do not like how MMO are done today does not make them any lesser quality, not to say garbage.
It is your personal preference only. No MMO dev is supposed or obliged to "replace" games you like, the industry has moved on, you left behind. It is your issue, not the industry.
I'm talking about the returning players who may not have played through said contents. I thought this was obvious, considering the topic of the thread. Not to mention if you've played through the content multiple times you haven't exactly skipped it now have you? The matter I'm pointing out is when players who haven't experienced previous contents are incentivized to skip that content and go straight to the newest content. The only reason to do that is if you don't have faith in the fun factor of your previous contents.
Right, right... Yeah I don't need to read anymore.
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been -Wayne Gretzky
yeah ... and i would much rather play new games (MMO or not) than going back to old games. There are plenty of good new games, particularly with the explosion of steam.
If you return to a sub game, often the sub is reduced. The only "Paywalls" you will find are in F2P games...
Almost sounds like the OP wishes to return for free to a sub game.
Very few MMOs close down, there are more titles availabe now than ever before.
Also quality is subjective, many asian titles are seen as quality titles to a vast number of players.
Saying Korean, Japanese and other asian countries mmo titles are garbage is silly. There are many f2p titles that rival or beat any p2p title.
Anyone who buys WoD gets a free character boost to level 90. The only thing the pre-order folks got was the ability to use that free boost PRIOR to the release of WoD.
Honestly, it doesn't take that much time to level... 2 weeks tops without boosts of any sort to go from 1 - 90.
I personally think skipping everything to get to end game is a waste of money. You paid for 100 levels of content, don't you think you should at least experience them at level? I see all these 100's running around doing the obsolete content and ask myself, exactly what's the point in flying to a quest objective and one-shotting your target merely by touching them, then rinse/repeating? You got an achievement? For doing what? Showing up?
The biggest mistake Blizzard made was in negating all previous content with each new release. The could have phased the old content so that if you wanted to do classic WoW, it was still there in it's original form... talent trees, et al. Once past the level of the original, you would be in a different phase of the world appropriate to your level. In other words, no level 100 could ever do classic content as a level 100. They either reroll a new toon or level from 1 just like everybody else did back in the day. Content only becomes obsolete when you choose it to become obsolete.
Sure you could take the character boost and jump to the end of the story if you like, but you won't be able to read the rest of the book unless you reroll a new toon.
Given that WoW is the most successful sub-based MMO out there, and their sub numbers just went back up to 10M after the latest expansion, i don't see how that is a big mistake.
Plus, the level 90 thing is completely optional. You can slow level all you want.
Gdemami has point. But you, nariusseldon. Yeah maybe, you want to play new games rather than going back to old games. But, my viewpoint is not like you. I mean, I also play old games before. And I'm still playing some of it. Like Rohan: Blood Feud. Once you make friends there, it's hard to put an end.
Not hard at all ... i don't have time for all my friends anyway and the online ones are the first to drift apart. That is why I don't bother to make more in games. Now games are just entertainment.
Yes me too, i don't have time for all of my friends not unless im actually on the game along with my friends in-game. Sometimes we need to, why? not all the things we know about the game and we need someone that can accompany us on grinding, quests, mvp hunts, boss hunts and whatsoever. That's the time the word "friend" enters.
In a galaxy far, far away: "Thanx for making this game guys, it's awesome!"
Here: "You should thank me for playing your game. Also, i want free stuff."
Yes it was obvious what you were saying but it is impossible for company to make changes like these keeping in mind both returning players as well as the current subscribers. It still got nothing to with content being bad and not worth playing through. When a game gets old such changes become necessary.
That is what competition does. Consumers get more. It is a good thing.