My pet peeve in an MMO is the fetch quest and escort quests.
What mechanics do you dislike and want to just go away?
Wow escort quests really that bad?I don't jump up n down saying YAY or anything but i find escort quests not too bad.
I don't think i have a number 1 peeve but i have lots lol.I mean i don't think much of fetch quests but they COULD be done better ,so they are not really the problem.Example is if you wanted someone to make you a Fur coat,you might have to get them the FUR,it makes sense therefor i am ok with it.However 90% of quests are simply there to act as a xp mechanic,pretty shallow really.
If i had to narrow it down i would say i can't stand SPAM unrealistic looking combat,somersaults,xp for doing quests,xp rewards for stepping on a new pixel of land,Raiding.There are lots more peeves this is all i can think of right now,all pretty much piss me off the same.
On the topic of quests,i really hate when games send me to all corners of the universe to simply make me spend time and i it is usually rather obvious,W101 was one of the worst culprits i can remember.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
I agree crafted should be as good or better, but I love and miss AC style random loot. Made killing mobs fun and meaningful. Never know what you re going to get.
Similarly, gems and jewels might be dropped by a lizard or fish which has gem-like scales, maybe even by a gopher who might have dug one up, but they should definitely not be dropped by zebras or ostriches.
I really prefer non-randomness,
Because Fish carry gems, or bc scales are good substitutes for gems with magical properties? Gophers "dig them up" but then what? Carry them in their pockets? Their mouths? At least Zebras and Ostriches ( which stick their head in dirt holes and eat shit) are at least big enough to swallow them.
My point is that your "world" seems 100% ridiculous to me. Maybe as ridiculous as you find the world where earrings and talismans dont come from fish.
Hey now quit picking on the poor gophers :pleased:
How often do these over paid directors/Producers and system designers have ideas that make sense?NOT too often.Game design seems to be more like Arnold Horschak game design "OH OH OH i have an idea !! " Does it make sense? ummm not really but i liek the idea,Hoverboard's and Lambourghini's would be cool in that 1700 Western setting.
I am still trying to figure out what dimwit thought your character should rise in experience for doing some non related meaningless quest.Please go get me 15 bear pelts and you will become a MASTER Warrior !!.Here is 10,000 xp.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
I dislike healing effects that decisively sway the tide of battle too frequently.
When a game has a potion or spell that refills 50% of my HP instantly I just can't take combat seriously. I mean unless the effect is rare and expensive.
I prefer healing being a counter to attrition, an aid to efficiency.
Tank 'n' spank combat and aggro manipulation. It makes combat formulaic and easy. You'd think that after 20 years we'd be done with this system already, but no; some people don't know any other form of combat and they get confused when there's no tank or healer.
Respawning mobs. I really, really don't like this one. This really put me off of the newest Dragon age.
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been-Wayne Gretzky
Cash Shops are an aspect I dislike most, but I guess it's not really a "game mechanic".
As for a "game mechanic", I don't like daily quests for grinds. I can't log into games everyday, but sometimes I have days when I can spend several hours in a game. It would be nice to be able to use the time I have available for grinds as opposed to being on a predefined, daily schedule that I just can't follow.
Tank 'n' spank combat and aggro manipulation. It makes combat formulaic and easy. You'd think that after 20 years we'd be done with this system already, but no; some people don't know any other form of combat and they get confused when there's no tank or healer.
I'm not disagreeing really, but do you have any better alternatives?
In no trinity combat mobs either attack a random player or pick the weakest character first. If there are multiple mobs they probably gang up and kill players one by one.
On topic: The worst mechanics are auto pathing and queueable instanced content.
Seem like some of the things some people dislike are some of the things others find most important. That is why this genre needs more diversity, so we can get players to play the games they like. Hopefully we are moving away from mega games that tries to please all but satisfies none, to more specialized mmorpgs that target specific tastes.
Cash shops and so-called "ftp" are just about it. It the MMO has either of those, I usually (always) say no.
Cash shop is a monetization tool not a game mechanic.
F2P is a monetization model, not a game mechanic.
Guess what they can sell game mechanics in cash shops.
They could sell them via carrier pigeons.
Or they could have them encoded on a pendant worn by the producers cat.
How you aquire a game mechanic is something else entirely.
It doesnt changa a fact that cash shops are a monetization tool and not an actual game mechanic.
That cat line got me smiling. Thanks.
I do agree to an extent with what you're saying, but basically, isn't a game mechanic something that the game is built around? Many cash shops are the focal point in many MMOs. Each update may have a 67 to 33 ratio of cash shop items vs "other" updates. When a developer considers first how they can get their cash shop producing, this can become a mechanic, I think.
Tank 'n' spank combat and aggro manipulation. It makes combat formulaic and easy. You'd think that after 20 years we'd be done with this system already, but no; some people don't know any other form of combat and they get confused when there's no tank or healer.
I'm not disagreeing really, but do you have any better alternatives?
In no trinity combat mobs either attack a random player or pick the weakest character first. If there are multiple mobs they probably gang up and kill players one by one.
There are numerous ways to defend yourself outside of aggro manipulation and basic healing. You can bodyblock to prevent enemies from ganging up on your weak friend. You can disrupt enemy movement so that you or your friend can escape and evade a dangerous situation. Interrupt enemy skill usage, use temporary blinds on enemies using attacks.
You can look at any PvP game with similar combat to MMORPGs for insipiration: MOBAs, CORPGs...
There's all kinds of things you can do for defense beyond stacking up on armor, holding aggro and healing the tank.
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been-Wayne Gretzky
I despise action combat mechanics, especially combo heavy combat. I'm just getting tired of combat centric gaming in general. PvP falls in this same category. Raiding.
I thought about this for a long time and thought back over reasons why I've quit MMOs. My most hated mechanic is:
Vertical Gear Progression at Endgame
Don't get me wrong, I love raiding and endgame in general, but I've found that every game with vertical gear progression at endgame results in the following:
Segregated endgame community (into haves and havenots)
Lack of customisation
Boring content design
Crap economy
There are plenty of mechanics that I don't enjoy, but most of them can be avoided or rushed through to get to the fun stuff. Vertical gear progression is the one thing I've been unable to avoid because endgame is where I spend my time.
Currently Playing: WAR RoR - Spitt rr7X Black Orc | Scrotling rr6X Squig Herder | Scabrous rr4X Shaman
EDIT: Oh yeah, I forgot my 3rd. (Almost as much as the other 2) @DMKano said it. Forced Down scaling. SWTOR adopted this and I hate it. (Not the game, the mechanic)
The mechanic I dislike the most is called "NERF" basically the lack of wisdom in the developers side who choose to NERF insteaf of BALANCE and they call it balance.
A game mechanic that works extremely well, and then gets whisked away - wrecking the whole game - and wasting the time you invested in the game.
For example, for WoW, the introduction of flying mounts, teleporting, and battlegrounds all combined to kill off open world PvP and wrecked WoW irreversibly.
Another example was the removal of the small islands in Darkfall. This meant that playing solo was a bad idea - totally wrecked the game for me.
The main one for me, is probably Megaservers, it may help struggling games maintain some kind of a population, but thats about the only positive, if you can call it that.
A game mechanic that works extremely well, and then gets whisked away - wrecking the whole game - and wasting the time you invested in the game.
For example, for WoW, the introduction of flying mounts, teleporting, and battlegrounds all combined to kill off open world PvP and wrecked WoW irreversibly.
Putting down a wounded animal and focusing on the good stuff.
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been-Wayne Gretzky
tedious quests that just ask you to run to the glowing area, collect/kill 5 things and run back. Rinse and repeat.
I'd rather just not have any quests at all if that is the level of "quest" these games offer.
I also don't like not being able to enter an area/place unless I'm on a specific quest nor do I like the idea that I need to do specific quests for something like "bag space".
I also don't like things like "tokens" especially if you are asked to raid or do some particular thing for "tokens" that then get turned into special coins so that you can then use those "coins" for something specific.
Tangentially, I don't like systems such as Lord of the Rings stones (or whatever they are) that give your weapon "weapon xp" but you can only use them on specifc ranges of weapons.
I suppose I just don't like the addition of bits that then beget more bits for specific "bit things".
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
Comments
I don't think i have a number 1 peeve but i have lots lol.I mean i don't think much of fetch quests but they COULD be done better ,so they are not really the problem.Example is if you wanted someone to make you a Fur coat,you might have to get them the FUR,it makes sense therefor i am ok with it.However 90% of quests are simply there to act as a xp mechanic,pretty shallow really.
If i had to narrow it down i would say i can't stand SPAM unrealistic looking combat,somersaults,xp for doing quests,xp rewards for stepping on a new pixel of land,Raiding.There are lots more peeves this is all i can think of right now,all pretty much piss me off the same.
On the topic of quests,i really hate when games send me to all corners of the universe to simply make me spend time and i it is usually rather obvious,W101 was one of the worst culprits i can remember.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
My point is that your "world" seems 100% ridiculous to me. Maybe as ridiculous as you find the world where earrings and talismans dont come from fish.
- Time Lockouts (energy systems included)
- Breaking the "Trinity"
- Devs completely ignoring the role of support classes (not healer).
How often do these over paid directors/Producers and system designers have ideas that make sense?NOT too often.Game design seems to be more like Arnold Horschak game design "OH OH OH i have an idea !! "
Does it make sense? ummm not really but i liek the idea,Hoverboard's and Lambourghini's would be cool in that 1700 Western setting.
I am still trying to figure out what dimwit thought your character should rise in experience for doing some non related meaningless quest.Please go get me 15 bear pelts and you will become a MASTER Warrior !!.Here is 10,000 xp.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
When a game has a potion or spell that refills 50% of my HP instantly I just can't take combat seriously. I mean unless the effect is rare and expensive.
I prefer healing being a counter to attrition, an aid to efficiency.
Respawning mobs. I really, really don't like this one. This really put me off of the newest Dragon age.
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been -Wayne Gretzky
As for a "game mechanic", I don't like daily quests for grinds. I can't log into games everyday, but sometimes I have days when I can spend several hours in a game. It would be nice to be able to use the time I have available for grinds as opposed to being on a predefined, daily schedule that I just can't follow.
In no trinity combat mobs either attack a random player or pick the weakest character first. If there are multiple mobs they probably gang up and kill players one by one.
On topic: The worst mechanics are auto pathing and queueable instanced content.
That is why this genre needs more diversity, so we can get players to play the games they like. Hopefully we are moving away from mega games that tries to please all but satisfies none, to more specialized mmorpgs that target specific tastes.
"I am my connectome" https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HA7GwKXfJB0
I do agree to an extent with what you're saying, but basically, isn't a game mechanic something that the game is built around? Many cash shops are the focal point in many MMOs. Each update may have a 67 to 33 ratio of cash shop items vs "other" updates. When a developer considers first how they can get their cash shop producing, this can become a mechanic, I think.
VG
You can look at any PvP game with similar combat to MMORPGs for insipiration: MOBAs, CORPGs...
There's all kinds of things you can do for defense beyond stacking up on armor, holding aggro and healing the tank.
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been -Wayne Gretzky
Vertical Gear Progression at Endgame
Don't get me wrong, I love raiding and endgame in general, but I've found that every game with vertical gear progression at endgame results in the following:
- Segregated endgame community (into haves and havenots)
- Lack of customisation
- Boring content design
- Crap economy
There are plenty of mechanics that I don't enjoy, but most of them can be avoided or rushed through to get to the fun stuff. Vertical gear progression is the one thing I've been unable to avoid because endgame is where I spend my time.EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
RMT is No. 1
RNG is No. 2
And any game that combines the 2....well........
EDIT:
Oh yeah, I forgot my 3rd. (Almost as much as the other 2)
@DMKano said it. Forced Down scaling. SWTOR adopted this and I hate it. (Not the game, the mechanic)
want 7 free days of playing? Try this
http://www.swtor.com/r/ZptVnY
For example, for WoW, the introduction of flying mounts, teleporting, and battlegrounds all combined to kill off open world PvP and wrecked WoW irreversibly.
Another example was the removal of the small islands in Darkfall. This meant that playing solo was a bad idea - totally wrecked the game for me.
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been -Wayne Gretzky
2) - End game gear grind.
3) - see above
If you are interested in making a MMO maybe visit my page to get a free open source engine.
I'd rather just not have any quests at all if that is the level of "quest" these games offer.
I also don't like not being able to enter an area/place unless I'm on a specific quest nor do I like the idea that I need to do specific quests for something like "bag space".
I also don't like things like "tokens" especially if you are asked to raid or do some particular thing for "tokens" that then get turned into special coins so that you can then use those "coins" for something specific.
Tangentially, I don't like systems such as Lord of the Rings stones (or whatever they are) that give your weapon "weapon xp" but you can only use them on specifc ranges of weapons.
I suppose I just don't like the addition of bits that then beget more bits for specific "bit things".
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo