›

Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Sign In Register

Quick Links

The Worst MMO Abilities - MMORPG.com

SBFordSBFord Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
edited September 2018 in News & Features Discussion

imageThe Worst MMO Abilities - MMORPG.com

Since last week’s favorite MMO abilities piece got some good responses, I thought it might be fun to flip the topic on its head. What are some of the worst abilities you’ve experienced in an MMO? This can be anything from stuff you thought sounded cool that just ended up being terrible, to abilities that were just oppressive, or my favorite, the noob traps.

Read the full story here



¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 


Azaron_Nightblade
«1

Comments

  • ScotScot Member LegendaryPosts: 24,455
    This is a tricky one, for me the worst abilities are ones that used to be good but then are made awful even when this was not actually done for balance. In Lotro I would sometimes look at my old skills, the ones that had always faithfully done the job before and wonder why on earth I was using this new set up that was change for changes sake.
  • WirethWireth Member CommonPosts: 2
    I'd have to go with Guild Wars 2.
    Lots of skills that have zero logic to them, they wanted something realistic (not something too flashy like in Dragon ball for example) and in my opinion that ruined some (if not all) classes, ill give you one example.The warrior class, when using the 4th ability on greatsword (skill is called bladetrail), yes a cool sounding name, but how it looks is another story, your character throws the greatsword at your enemy, and while the greatsword is flying towards and back you are still wielding a greatsword in your hand and you are able to attack and use other skills.
    So.. when you throw a greatsword, a new greatsword suddenly appears in your hands that allows you to continue attacking? thats some next lvl skill design.That skill is the one and only reason i can't play the warrior class.
  • SplitStream13SplitStream13 Member UncommonPosts: 253
    Any form of CC is making me cringe real hard on the inside.
    OzmodankjempffRueTheWhirl
  • AlomarAlomar Member RarePosts: 1,299
    edited September 2018
    Hmm, I can think of many skills within ESO that were/have been bugged for years without ever being fixed, these are some that come to mind:
    1. Critical Rush; sent you into a loadscreen and when you loaded you were falling under the map forever. Could happen as much as 1/5 times during it's worst peak and was still happening as of the last time I checked in 2017.
    2. Toppling charge; this gap closer hasn't worked if there's even a .0001 incline in-between you in and your target since close to launch. Templars just accept that it doesn't work and use other gap closers or none at all.
    3. Blockade of Fire; for 9 months this ground aoe was bugged and if anyone purged the dot off of their friendlies they took the full damage instantly and wiped everyone being purged.
    4. Meteor; for several years and to this day meteor's can and often roll back the targeted player to when the meteor was cast. Sometimes the roll back is just that and other times you're instantly killed from fall damage. Still occurs to this day, especially often in lag ridden situations (aka half the time in ESO's pvp).
    Haxus Council Member
    21  year MMO veteran 
    PvP Raid Leader 
    Lover of The Witcher & CD Projekt Red
  • kenguru23kenguru23 Member UncommonPosts: 49
    Pretty much every ability in Bless Online
    SamhaelPhryceh430
  • JakdstripperJakdstripper Member RarePosts: 2,410
    edited September 2018
    any skill that lets you become totally and permanently invisible at a drop of a hat, while allowing for full movement, with absolutely zero penalties is a horrible skill.
    AeanderCaffynatedRueTheWhirl
  • BizkitNLBizkitNL Member RarePosts: 2,546
    I remember when a spell called Misdirection (World of Warcraft, hunter class) could be cast while not having to be in a party. Now imagine casting it on a lowbie and then start shooting at a neutral NPC in a city.
    10
  • some-clueless-guysome-clueless-guy Member UncommonPosts: 227
    Wow priest's Lightwell when you had to click it.

    WoW Hunters/Warhammer Squig-herders pet perspective: great idea but always a waste.

    GW2 racial skills: a complete joke put there just to give the illusion of meaningful choices when picking a race. It's just aesthetics!
  • Octagon7711Octagon7711 Member LegendaryPosts: 9,004
    Generally, any skills that got changed on a regular basis which seemed like the changes were made just so the staff could say they did something for the next DLC/expansion to improve classes.

    Skills on very long timers and stealth skills that lasted for seconds instead of a toggle. Skills that were so complicated to use you had to put them on a macro to work effectively.

    In SWG, for awhile Dancers had zero fighting skills and couldn't use any weapons. Eventually they got some of the unarmed fighting skills when TK master got dropped. But it was strange to have a class that could only buff.

    "We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa      "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."  SR Covey

  • AmatheAmathe Member LegendaryPosts: 7,630
    Everquest, Ranger healing abilities [not cures like cure poison]. These were meant to pay homage to the Ranger's hybrid status with some druidic skills. And if you got a splinter or a paper cut they would serve nicely. Otherwise, mostly useless.

    EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests

  • mmoloummolou Member UncommonPosts: 256
    Octagon7711 said:
    In SWG, for awhile Dancers had zero fighting skills and couldn't use any weapons. Eventually they got some of the unarmed fighting skills when TK master got dropped. But it was strange to have a class that could only buff.
    Why would you expect an Entertainer/Dancer/Musician to have weapon skills in the first place?

    Plus, with the way the skill point system worked, you could master Entertainer, and master Dancer or Musician, and still master marksman or brawler and have points left over.
    DavodtheTuttTheScavenger
    It is a funny world we live in.
    We had Empires run by Emperors, we had Kingdoms run by Kings, now we have Countries...
  • ConstantineMerusConstantineMerus Member EpicPosts: 3,338
    In TSW optimum tank build was chaos/sword. Now you had to spam 1 chaos ability the whole time. Animation was a retarded spin with lame green effects and the most horrible sound effect.

    I still have nightmares about it.
    Constantine, The Console Poster

    • "One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games and it cannot be done by men out of touch with their instinctive selves." - Carl Jung
  • LokeroLokero Member RarePosts: 1,514
    I'll say 'Taunt' abilities, in general. It's such a senseless, ridiculous cop-out for controlling fights in any real or strategic way.
  • GruntyGrunty Member EpicPosts: 8,657
    edited September 2018
    Asheron's Call, Blood Loather and it's fellow opponent weapon spells.   The spell was meant to decrease the damage of an opponent's weapon.   The thing is you had to be able to select the weapon by tab selection in your opponent's hand and cast it .  There was no way to select the weapon in your opponent's hand.

    They did fix that way late in the game and you could just go with tab selecting the opponent.

    Then there were the anti-crafting spells that made your crafting skill worse.   All positive spells had negative counter spells even if they were useless.
    "I used to think the worst thing in life was to be all alone.  It's not.  The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel all alone."  Robin Williams
  • AmatheAmathe Member LegendaryPosts: 7,630
    mmolou said:
    Why would you expect an Entertainer/Dancer/Musician to have weapon skills in the first place?
    Because the work in Star Wars bars and similar locations, where there are dangerous customers. I would bet nearly all of them have a concealed knife, at a minimum.
    mmolouKwestorek1

    EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests

  • VandarixVandarix Member UncommonPosts: 177
    I don't agree with the AOE nerf in Warhammer Online it is ultimately what ruined the game because the Zerg took over and lower pop better skilled players had 0 chance against larger numbers. Developers forget that in PvP games Zergs are an issue and when you destroy the lesser populations ability to combat a zerg force the faction dies. Which is exactly what happened to WAR. Was it a overpowered a bit yes, but was a coordinated group of pvpers able to counter it? Yes. Zergs are mindless and when you balance a game around Zergs you're ultimately sealing the deal for the future of your game. Look at all the dead games that did pvp balance for zerging. They no longer exist.
    Lokero
  • Octagon7711Octagon7711 Member LegendaryPosts: 9,004
    mmolou said:
    Octagon7711 said:
    In SWG, for awhile Dancers had zero fighting skills and couldn't use any weapons. Eventually they got some of the unarmed fighting skills when TK master got dropped. But it was strange to have a class that could only buff.
    Why would you expect an Entertainer/Dancer/Musician to have weapon skills in the first place?

    Plus, with the way the skill point system worked, you could master Entertainer, and master Dancer or Musician, and still master marksman or brawler and have points left over.
    Been awhile so I don't remember most of the details.  I do remember that to fully buff you needed to be a master entertainer which required all your skill trees.  I do remember there was a big thing about entertainers not being able to do combat and that the entertainers at that time wanted it.  Eventually changes were made by SWG, perhaps those were the changes.
    mmolou

    "We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa      "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."  SR Covey

  • lahnmirlahnmir Member LegendaryPosts: 5,056
    Skills that give buffs for 30 minutes or an hour. Why would I press that button ONCE an hour?!! That isn't gameplay in any way, shape or form, its the ultimate lame....

    /Cheers,
    Lahnmir
    kenguru23Aeander
    'the only way he could nail it any better is if he used a cross.'

    Kyleran on yours sincerely 


    'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'

    Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...



    'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless. 

    It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.

    It is just huge resource waste....'

    Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer

  • blamo2000blamo2000 Member RarePosts: 1,130
    Not really an ability but I dislike "weave" systems like in Aion. I don't know if it is still part of the game or not, but when it first was released for NA you used to weave abilities in-between auto attack damage. So hit an ability, wait for white damage, hit an ability, rinse, repeat. I thought it was really boring, whereas other people thought it was highbrow and elegant. To be fair, it is possible I am retarded and like smashing buttons like an idiot.
    Tykam123DavodtheTuttKwestorek1
  • MykellMykell Member UncommonPosts: 780
    I still remember fighting against a person 4 boxing three Bright Wizards and a healer in scenarios. It was just insane how quick you'd die. The BW was the most OP class i've ever seen or played against in an mmo.

    I started off as a Chosen (tank) before switching to Sorceress with a side of Witch Elf.

    The game was fun but an unbalanced mess lol.
    TyranusPrime
  • AmatheAmathe Member LegendaryPosts: 7,630
    edited September 2018
    Oh and also, fist combat in EQ. Did about 1 point of damage. 

    EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests

  • AeanderAeander Member LegendaryPosts: 8,063
    edited September 2018
    lahnmir said:
    Skills that give buffs for 30 minutes or an hour. Why would I press that button ONCE an hour?!! That isn't gameplay in any way, shape or form, its the ultimate lame....

    /Cheers,
    Lahnmir
    I've always found these weird. If the duration of a skill is measured in minutes, why isn't it just a passive at that point for all the gameplay difference it makes?
    Phry
  • KyleranKyleran Member LegendaryPosts: 44,069
    lahnmir said:
    Skills that give buffs for 30 minutes or an hour. Why would I press that button ONCE an hour?!! That isn't gameplay in any way, shape or form, its the ultimate lame....

    /Cheers,
    Lahnmir
    I dunno, I was a Pally in Vanilla WOW and loathed having to buff the group or raid every 5 minutes. 
    blamo2000Scot

    "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






  • WizardryWizardry Member LegendaryPosts: 19,332
    "Somersaults"I see a game with somersaults i am looking to inject it with several rounds of explosives.

    Automation,,pfft take your game and shove it.
    Too easy/linear/no thinking,just follow the yellow brick road to easy rewards,you can have it.

    Pretty much anything else is ok.

    Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.

  • kjempffkjempff Member RarePosts: 1,760
    Never was a fan of mechanics where a skill builds up charges to be released by another skill. Most commonly know cases would be rogue&druid in WoW. Also spammable (no cooldown) aoe skills tend to make gameplay uninteresting; I am ok with aoe skills with cooldowns, or directional cone-area skills because that require more player skill.
    And any skill that result in excessive effects.

    "I am my connectome" https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HA7GwKXfJB0

Sign In or Register to comment.