Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
After 16 years, I have learned how to finally enjoy a MMORPG
UnleadedRev
Member UncommonPosts: 568
Since 1999, I have played almost all of the AAA MMORPG titles and for one reason or another they always ended up not being fun to the point where I just never played them again.
All this despite having various levels of characters including max level characters.
Well, in desperation for the past few weeks, after having played and enjoyed Single Player RPGs such as Pillars of Eternity, all the Dungeons and Dragons RPGs like BG, BGII, also Divinity original Sin, for the past few months, I was determined to find a MMORPG and find out why I dont enjoy MMORPGs the same way and moreover find a way to enjoy MMORPGs.
Here is what I learned and what I found to be my key to enjoying an MMORPG:
1) Set a goal - In my case I wanted a Fantasy MMO, it did not matter if there was a sub or not, as long as it was Fantasy and not Asian/Eastern/Anime styled. Also, it had to have a GREAT story and be immersive.
2) Select a MMORPG - I ended up selecting Lord of the Rings Online...my reasons were that I always liked the Story and I am a Tolkien/Middle Earth/Lord of the Rings fan.
3) Disable General chat and trade Chat - Since the biggest killer for immersion in a MMO for me is the chat channels, I removed both general and trade chat. Now nothing would distract me.
4) No Guild to Start - Although I love guilds, i did not want anyone or anything except to play by myself for awhile and just enjoy the story, the world, etc....later if I would consider a guild again.
5) Ignore the Rat Race - In the past, it seemed that the objectives for so many players was to level up as fast as they could to get to the good stuff. Then, when they got to max level, and had noting to do as a result of leveling so fast they woudl jsut whine on the forums and chat. No...not this time, I avoided the forums and as I mentioned previously, I disabled general chat.
6) No Raids- At least not yet...the last thing I needed at this point was the frustration of Raid planning, the time sink and then the frustration of seeing a raid dissolve before it should....maybe later on.
7) Take my time - This time around my priority was going to be the story, the world and my character and taking the time to smell the roses.
The result:
Without the anxiety of all the things that annoyed me in MMORPGs, I am now enjoying myself for the first time in years if ever, in a MMORPG.
Moreover, I was able to do this with my level 49 Warden..a class I have hated and felt stuck with, as everytime I tried a new class, the dread of having to start over from level 1 just made it a pain for me.
Thus, with some help from LOTRO who has made the Warden class more tolerable in regards to gambits, which i always hated, now had group them into pairs, making the management, execution and memorization fo Gambits much more easier and fun.
Now, I had looked at other MMORPGs I had played previously and that fit my criteria, such as WoW, Neverwinter, EQ2...but all three just could not interest me this time around, as the last thing I wanted was to return to the boredom of "WoD", and the grind of EQ2. Neverwinter was a game I always enjoyed, but upon logging in and playing my level 60, I just could not get into it.
Anyway, this is the formula that helped me return to MMOs, its is not for everyone, but for those who were in similar situations as I was with the same hang ups, I hope it helps you.
Comments
I am the Arch-fiend, the Despoiler of Worlds, and by my hands shall the false Emperor fall.
Yep. Disable chat channels + forget about "endgame" improves a lot of MMO-type games in my opinion. Of course... you do end up playing a single-player game, mainly.
Another trick that sometimes helps is to reduce speed to a walk. Watching my character run all the time breaks immersion. Also, in some cases walking isn't that much slower, as it gives me more time to think about where I am going.
So, in a nutshell, your idea of enjoying an MMO is to play all by yourself... in a game that you haven't played to max level in.
LOL, I know exactly how this story is going to end... just like every other MMO out there... because, they are all the same.
My SWTOR referral link for those wanting to give the game a try. (Newbies get a welcome package while returning players get a few account upgrades to help with their preferred status.)
https://www.ashesofcreation.com/ref/Callaron/
For me it's actually worked for years.
I'm not surprised it doesn't last for you though. It goes against everything you have listed on that quote in your signature. (And thus against everything you want in an MMO?)
Which is different than the things I look for in one.
So who's to say it won't last for the OP either? We're not all wired to like the same things.
My SWTOR referral link for those wanting to give the game a try. (Newbies get a welcome package while returning players get a few account upgrades to help with their preferred status.)
https://www.ashesofcreation.com/ref/Callaron/
Goes against pantheon? I believe it will not include global chat which is what he is referring to.
More the "Teamwork" and "Community" that he has listed on there.
Also, isn't Pantheon aiming to be one of those MMOs where you get nowhere unless you're teamed up all the time? In which case, yes, the approach described here would also conflict with Pantheon as a whole.
My SWTOR referral link for those wanting to give the game a try. (Newbies get a welcome package while returning players get a few account upgrades to help with their preferred status.)
https://www.ashesofcreation.com/ref/Callaron/
I used to enjoy listening to people chat and the rat race. I'm not sure if I enjoy them anymore though.
When I was younger it was acceptable to be rude in games to an extent. I didn't think much of it most of the time. It was just part of the culture. I don't really feel the same way anymore. I don't like to listen to people goofing around nearly as much.
The rat race was always fun if it actually meant something. In older MMOs it meant something to get to certain points first and faster then others. That is not the case any more. Even if it did have meaning by making it difficult for everyone I probably wouldn't bother with it. There are just better things to spend time on.
I also like games like Pillars of Eternity, BG1/2, Fallout, Divinity Original Sin, Shadowrun Returns, etc. Sometimes these games are difficult to play though as they require excessive amounts of time reading and learning something that really won't help you in real life. It's most enjoyable if you have nothing else to worry about in life. Usually this will occur when you are young if you are lucky.
This is probably why we see games moving towards more shallow quick entertainment. They just don't provide anything useful that would merit spending days learning a complex system and lore. Quick and easy FPS are a waste of time, but they provide a quick burst of entertainment like Grand Theft Auto 5.
It's really difficult to enjoy a game with reading when you have something in the back of your head telling you this is a waste of time. I always wish I can go back to being a kid where I didn't think about money or something being a waste of time.
Disabling trade and general chat channels has always done wonders for me in terms of both enjoyment AND immersion. Which is not to say WoW's trade channel isn't hilarious a lot of the time...
8 years and counting addicted to
Avalon: The Legend Lives - the longest running online RPG in history
There is no wrong genre. If I enjoy a game in any particular way, does it matter what genre it is in?
I play Marvel Heroes because I like marvel characters, and its diablo style comment. Whether it is a MMO is irrelevant ... to me.
Thank You for all of your posts!
Even the ones I do not agree with!
Here are some things I would like to point out:
When my friends and I first started playing Everquest in 1999, up until then, "any" multiplayer game was a "Big deal" because there was not much of them back then and especially in the years prior.
However, in Everquest back then you had thousands on any server, you could not go anywhere without running into people and WE LOVED IT!
99% of the players were GREAT and our guilds and other guilds had a blast! Chat was "wonderful" and we could not wait or keep our eyes off the WTS WTB messages. Unfortunately, with each passing year not only in Everquest but all multiplayer games and especially MMORPGS, the player base has turned into a large mass of potty talking annoying people who use chat to say everything their parents spank them for in real life, had they said it as well as people who get more enjoyment out of whining, griefing, and basically causing whatever trouble they can.
Even on LOTRO....it was so bad the day I returned I turned off all the chat channels except for advice and a few others and omg, it...was...wonderful.
Moreover, among most of my friends both real life and from games, we all began to view "other players" as no longer an "asset" but instead a "Liability". It got to the point where unless you play with RL friends and/or friends you have made in games and now know well, we refused to group or even talk to anyone else.
Other players for the most part were no longer the happy novelty they were in MP games back in the late 90s, but instead were a liability.
Thus, for the past 5 years, my friends and myself do not group or even socialize with anyone unless we already knew them, no Pick Up Groups or random groups/PUGS!
Unfortunately, many fo my friends no longer game for one reason or another as we are older now, but even those that do, dont have as much time and thus do not want to waste it by playing with strangers or random people in any multiplayer game but especially MMORPGs.
It is a sad fact that social games due to players declining behavior cause these games to become anti-social for some, like myself.
The last time I was in a guild was back in 2009-2010, it was in Age of Conan, which was and still is a great game.
However, people ruined it....the guild was an RP guild and on the RP server there were many RP guilds, with the largest and greatest events! Even when not RPing the players were first rate. But...I will never forget the day when the 'Tyranny" server which was also known as the a$$hat server because it was full of the worst behaving players...brats, spoiled children, their parents (lol), the scourge of gaming society, and was closed by the game Devs, and they transferred all those nasty people to the "RP server" of all places! WTF!
As a result, they ruined our great RP server and guilds began dropping out with players leaving and no one...looked back.
So in conclusion, my friends and I are not anti-social, instead we choose only to play with those we know and trust. But, people have different tastes and not all my friends are in agreement to which games they play. In regards to LOTRO, only 3 of my friends who still game at all play it, but due to work schedules and health issues, they are not available to play when I play.
Still....at this point in time, I am playing by myself and when my friends do pop in to play when we can all be on together, it is still 1000% better with that chat turned off and taking the approaches I previously mentioned.
nah that limits the amount of gameplay experience. I always play multiple toons .. and it was a lot more fun .. at least for me.
rpg/mmorg history: Dun Darach>Bloodwych>Bards Tale 1-3>Eye of the beholder > Might and Magic 2,3,5 > FFVII> Baldur's Gate 1, 2 > Planescape Torment >Morrowind > WOW > oblivion > LOTR > Guild Wars (1900hrs elementalist) Vanguard. > GW2(1000 elementalist), Wildstar
Now playing GW2, AOW 3, ESO, LOTR, Elite D
Your way totally bored me. What is the problem with switching character? Just pretend you are someone else if you want immersion so much. Don't tell me you only play one game at a time because of immersion too.
But certainly it is your prerogative to play whatever way you want to ... after all these are just entertainment products, and there is no "wrong" way to enjoy ... as long as you have fun.
I try toi always approach mmorpg's like that except for the solo part.Sure to get introduced and learn a bit solo is fine for awhile.
It is really tough to warrant playing a MMO if you hangout solo,then to find like minded players in a group setting is a gain tough.So it sort of leans towards making friends as the only reason games have longevity.Otherwise it is the same old same old,run around doing linear quests and soloing 99% of a MMO,not good options imo.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
SO TRUE!!!!!
I love Warhammer and Warhammer 40K more than anything!
Not having a MMORPG for either is TORTURE!
I was so desperate, I bought 2 Warhammer 40K games on iPAD!
Something I swore I would never do, i.e. mobile games.
Sorry but that is a bullsh*t reply. MMO's are an off shoot of RPG's and are about immersion, progression, exploration and the journey just as much as RPG's. This notion of Endgame, raiding and forced cooperation & interaction within a group is false and has led to the decline of the beloved genre.
Sandbox means open world, non-linear gaming PERIOD!
Subscription Gaming, especially MMO gaming is a Cash grab bigger then the most P2W cash shop!
Bring Back Exploration and lengthy progression times. RPG's have always been about the Journey not the destination!!!
This is true in a sense, but the interaction part should still be present because that is why mmorpg exist but at the same time it should not be forced on people. The thing that is really hurting mmorpg's is the Endgame notion, raiding by force, etc.
Why you say?, well the reason is the fact that like lot's of people mention, you feel forced to level up very quick and then to only play by doing the same raids, bg's or even arena's over and over and to top it off you can't even play the way you want to play otherwise the rest of the group falls apart. So you basically follow a leaders way to play or certain group combos or tactics.
Mmorpg's is to play rpg's with other people in one big interactive world to make the game feel more real and not play like other people want you to play or for them. So if only raids and Endgame content is the thing then you have no choice to play the game like other's wants you to.
Where is the fun in that? or should i say where is the immersion in that?
I suffer from severe altitis as well.
I have a hard time getting even halfway to the level cap before rolling my first alt. :P
My SWTOR referral link for those wanting to give the game a try. (Newbies get a welcome package while returning players get a few account upgrades to help with their preferred status.)
https://www.ashesofcreation.com/ref/Callaron/
With the caveat that neither of the things is remotely frightening, we could probably say that the former thing is more frightening (among non-frightening things.)
"What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver
and people would be "frightened" by how other play games, and what devs want to cater to? Really?