A Gamer's Woes: Quest Accepted: The Perfect MMORPG!

I want to play a MMORPG. A very, very good MMORPG. The perfect one that mankind could possibly create that would gain self-awareness and force us to our knees to be human slaves to it's virtual economy.

Ph3aR my Meow-adin!

Now, wait. Before you go out and recommend a dozen that’s currently waiting out there, I mean to elaborate that point. I want to play one that really sucks me in, both story and gameplay-wise.

That, in my opinion, is the good mark of a MMORPG. You’ll play it until you realize it’s 5a.m. in the morning and you have to be up in an hour for school, but decide to spend another 10 minutes before logging off (which of course, we eventually end up logging off just in time for school) because it’s that addictive!

I’m not saying that every MMORPG out there is bad. There are pretty good ones out there that I truly enjoyed playing. However, I always find my interest fizzling out in the long run, due to a number of reasons, whether together or separately.

I NEED NEW CONTENT AAAAAAAAA!!!!

And here, I’d like to outline these reasons, which may be a personal taste, but maybe you guys  may have in common with me.

The level of interactivity 

Well, this would not be a problem in most MMORPGs. After all, it IS MASSIVE MULTIPLAYER ONLINE, the first three letters in it’s acronym. You’ll eventually have to meet other players who would stand beside you against hostile NPCs, or be dicks towards you and start corpse camping your dead adventurer for a good hour or so.

When I first played World of Warcraft back in vanilla, I was truly taken aback by the number of players in the capital cities. I spent a good hour walking around Ironforge and socializing with every user-generated character I met. My astonishment grew to greater heights when I played my first Alterac Valley battleground (a huge 40v40 player PvP zone in a large zone). I squealed like a little girl everytime we pushed the Horde back with sheer player firepower or giggled when we were sent packing back to our base.

Yup, even Mao Zedong enjoys big battles on his female priest.

The players make the game in this genre. Interacting with other players to finish a common goal or achievement brings about a greater sense of accomplishment once you’re done. 

When I step into a zone where a faction keep is being sieged by another hostile faction, I want to see players on the respective side mimicking their NPCs, pushing off the besiegers from the walls or trying to ram the gates. It just won’t do if I’m alone with generic friendly NPCs fighting against generic hostile NPCs.

Guild Wars 2’s WvWvW idea was something that clicked with my feelings on this, the sight of enemy invaders swarming your castle while you try to fend them off with whatever supplies you have on hand is something I would remember for a long, long time.

I'm somewhere in the clouds, getting knocked backed from the walls as usual...

Of course, too much interactivity usually brings the quality of the game down. I’m sure many of us have experienced overcrowding in low level quest zones,usually counterbalanced with more servers or zones. I’m pretty sure I don’t need 4 other players to take down a simple messenger.

Money barriers/microtransactions 

This would be the biggest peeve of mine in the current MMORPG business model.

The game’s free! Don’t worry! All you need to do is just download the client, create your character and you’re set to go! Have fun!

Oh but wait... before you go, be sure to check out our store for end-game items which usually are game-breaking but you can only purchase them with tokens! Transactable via real money! Now, have a blast! So much for “free-to-play”.

I understand the developers need to make money for all their hard work. Nothing is free in this world. But this is simply unfair, charging us everytime we want to upgrade our characters to stand a better chance in the world or other players? Not to mention with every expansion, increase in level cap, or simply trying out a new character?

Don’t get me wrong. I’d love to pay for a game. But don’t charge me with mandatory upgrades that I’d need when I’m at the end main storyline! That just ruins the atmosphere for crying out loud. Who would’ve known the downfall of the chosen Jedi Knight was because he couldn’t afford the epic purple lightsaber from the Cartel!

A really bad surprise. Just like the Gungans in Episode 1.

 I’d pay on the start. Just offer me a subscription service or charge me for buying the game, and we’re done. The developers get their financial support, I get my undisturbed game experience, we’re both happy. 

Cosmetic and vanity items are fine on the store, those are the only things I have no qualms with.

It’s a little depressing to see the move towards this business model, with more games in this genre targetting the casual player types who only want to experience the game but not willing to fork out cold hard cash for it.

Really? The game developers made this game with their blood, sweat and tears. If you enjoy it, buy it! You can always make time to play it in your busy, overloaded schedule, if you like it that much. It really bothers me to hear people complaining on paying a monthly subscription. Upkeeping game servers cost money, they don’t operate on magic!

When Neverwinter Online was in beta, I happened to encounter players that were bemoaning on how end-game gems were only available via the store (Technically they can be crafted, but at a 1% chance of success lolwut). People who suggested a change from the free-to-play model were met with hostility. Buy it if you want to advance in the game, they said, we’re happy the way it is.

Lol, he's still raging about ZEN tokens.

So you’re telling me that I have to spend over $200 to invest on a single character, not to mention my other ones that I intend to hit max level with, which would set me back plenty, while you can enjoy your free-to-play experience where you don’t intend to fork out a single penny? 

It’s a shame really, Neverwinter Online was a game that I would willingly pay if it came from the shelves or offered a subscription model. But because of it’s free-to-play method to cater to the crowds, I dropped it after I maxed out. The end-game experience was not worth the hefty price tag.

Look pretty, be pretty! 

If there’s ever a feature I look in any game, it’s customization. Offer me a game where I can pick my character’s gender, race, storyline, personality and appearance and you’ll see me reaching into my wallet with a big fat smile. That, to me, is true roleplaying.

This is especially important when you’re in a huge world populated by millions of other players with their own unique wants and needs. I do not want to walk around a town populated with my character’s long-lost brothers.

My momma told me I was unique!

In an MMORPG, the deeper the customization, the better it is for me. Allow me to decide who I want to be, what I want to look and how I fight. I want to see my self-made character running and slashing through story cinematics and cut-scenes so that I can weep manly tears of pride that I was the creator of that badass. 

Games like Guild Wars 2 (I keep bringing up GW2, I’m sorry but I’m not a fanboy!) and APB: Reloaded are MMO’s that I think about when you mention customization. Nothing is more important than designing your character and making sure you won’t have that nagging thought that a tattoo was a bad choice for a paladin as you progress in levelling.

Others would point out that the armour you collect as you level gives you your unique look as you progress. That’s true, but dosn’t it bother you that deep down, you’re still a replica of everyone around you? Situations like these, I usually play the less-liked races and classes in a bid to keep my individual sense.

I can... uh... heal, apparently, and hit stuff.

Recently, Blizzard introduced Transmogify, or changing your gear’s appearance to another one, into World of Warcraft, which did spark a revival for my interest for awhile. Running around with my old armour into new areas shot nostalgia into whole new levels, while others took the perchant of designing their own costumes, inspired by other games.

Of course, you can never sport your own unique look in a very popular MMO. But the effort of implementing a diverse choice of appearance features is something I appreciate and truly enjoy.

Friends Zone 

Last, but not least. Every MMORPG would eventually be stale even with the first three points. As I mentioned, players make the game, and you’ll need buddies to come up with the entertaining stuff you do everyday. I’m pretty sure you do not intend to spend your entire day killing NPCs and turning in quests.

I always spot out interesting MMO’s for my friends to play and invite them to try it out. Sometimes I get turned down due to price (sigh.) or lack of interest. Sometimes they agree and we’ll play for a while, until real life takes a sledgehammer and destroys that playtime for good.

A good example was when I was on a private World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King server which had faster-than-normal leveling rates. (I tried persuading them to play on retail, don’t judge!) It was free, and did not require as much grind as my friends could stand. We spent aplenty levelling quickly through instances, gearing up and eventually roaming around Northrend and causing chaos to the Horde.

Shameless self-advertising.

If I was playing alone, I would’ve dropped out almost immediately after hitting max level. The server had it’s share of bugs and wasn’t exactly the perfect one out there. But something about killing stuff with friends and making good light when we get hit by some imbalanced donor with high level equipment rolls you over makes it feel so much more entertaining.

We eventually stopped due to increase in latency and busy schedules, but they are keen on returning together to another MMO which are suitable for their needs. (Hopefully it’ll be TES: Online, f*** yeah!)

"So... how's the wife, John?"

Raiders and clan members often forge strong bonds throughout their gameplay and find themselves pining for the “good ol’ times” when their guilds break up or dissolve. Think on why so many World of Warcraft players miss Vanilla. It was when player interaction was almost a necessity, instead of the LFR/LFG system we now have, where friendships were had and great experiences were had.

--

Whew, that was a lengthy article, but I think I’ve gotten most of what I wanted to say off my chest.

So, whether you were nodding your head to everything I said, or prepared a long retort on my opinions, I hope we can at least agree that there’s still a perfect MMORPG out there that’s waiting to be made, and bring joy to every gamer in the world. And grief to real life relationships.

Until then, here’s to seeing each other in Tamriel when TES: Online comes out. For the glory of the Daggerfall Covenant!

That's me on the right. I cast a mean firebolt too!

-Airalien