The MMORPG genre is boring now, isn't it?

[Sarrum]

This post makes me sound like an old man, but please read it anyway...

The MMORPG genre has been boring to me as of late. Why? Because my first MMORPG was EVERQUEST--where the world was huge, and atmospheric. Where dying actually meant something (experience loss and corpse run, although I think SOE may have recently changed the latter, probably because of WoW), where there was roleplaying (roleplaying rulesets and naming policies were actually enforced by GMs), and where reputation with a faction didn't simply mean you could buy their mounts, recipes, or that shiny necklace. In EQ, your race and class combo factored into which NPCs would KOS you. Some race and class combos were more hated than others, such as a Shadowknight Iksar. In other words, by just being a Shadowknight Iksar, most of the capital cities and races would kill you on sight, fundamentally changing the way you played the game. It was awesome! You actually felt like you were playing an evil character--if you created one that is. It was just another thing that separated your character from the others.
And then there were the PVP servers; real PVP servers. There were different kinds of PVP servers. In some of them, the ruleset was such that when you died in PVP your killer was allowed to loot 1 item off your body (and that's in addition to losing experience). Do you know of any game like that now? Let me rephrase that. Do you know of any successful and well-made game that does that now? (because EQ was insanely popular and revolutionary for its time). I don't. And EQ didn't have so-called Battlegrounds or Arenas, rofl. You know what they did in PVP servers? They world PVPed, baby. That's all it was. World PVP. World PVP for the sake of world PVP. Ganking, guild rivalries, etc.

Another difference in EQ was the dungeons. I see the advantages of instanced dungeons. Even EQ used instanced dungeons--but EQ also had dungeons that were part of the permanent virtual world itself--where raid bosses would spawn and guilds would have to figure out whose turn it was to kill it. This created friendships, tension, rivalries, and PVP! (if it was on a PVP server). It encouraged interaction between players (Interaction between players in an online game? No way!). Now what do we do in most MMORPGs nowadays? We sit in a capital city and press the "find-me-a-damn-dungeon" button, and then we're whisked away to an instanced dungeon that is separated from everyone and everything but the players who you've been grouped with. Players that you may never see or play with again (depending on the game we're talking about). I thought this was the MMORPG genre?

What about leveling? You always hear and read about people complaining about the grind in some MMORPGs. Are these people insane? Is queuing up for the same heroic dungeons, queuing up for the same Arenas, queuing up for the same BGs, and doing the same dailies not a grind? I don't know about you, but I'd rather grind out some more levels. In other words, I'd rather a team of developers raise the level cap, add some new skills, or add some other way to advance my character outside of items than to have me grind dailies or heroics all day (In EQ there were alternative advancement points (AA), which were another way for player to advance their characters after they had hit the level cap. it was also another way to separate the long-time players from those who were just starting.) In all honesty though, this isn't my biggest problem with modern MMORPGs like WoW.

So, why did I post this? I want some of you who are fans of WoW (and WoW clones) to try some other MMORPGs for a change. Maybe even try out EQ classic? Yup, it's still up and running with 11 expansions. And yes, the graphics, UI, and combat aren't as good, but it does beat WoW in other areas. Maybe you'll like it... Maybe you won't... But you should try it. The point is, I don't think it will be good for the MMORPG genre in the long run if most MMORPG fans have only experienced WoW, which is in some ways just a watered down version of EQ. Yes, the graphics, combat system (e.g., in EQ you had to spend literally minutes to recover mana), and UI are better in WoW, but it's watered down in other areas.

In conclusion... whoa, I wrote a lot. I wonder if any of you will read it. In conclusion, I'm actually going to try to play EQ classic again and see how that has aged. Later.

[the_real_seebs]

I dunno, I like them a lot more now than I did then. I would rather have dozens of different things I could do, none of which I absolutely must do to progress in the others, than an old-fashioned level grind.

[Sarrum]

I dunno, I like them a lot more now than I did then. I would rather have dozens of different things I could do, none of which I absolutely must do to progress in the others, than an old-fashioned level grind.

I don't think I wrote that I wanted a good old-fashioned level grind... but OK.

[nullifier]

So to kill a certain boss in a dungeon you have to be in a guild or you have no chance.. thats why its not there anymore.

[Sagittis]

I don't think it's healthy for mmos to follow the same basic model. This is a perfect example, reason being most of us been there done that.

[Zannah]

Cool story

[the_real_seebs]

I don't think I wrote that I wanted a good old-fashioned level grind... but OK.

I was responding to the question of whether that's not just another grind. Any given part of it might be, but having five or six or eight grinds available, all of which play differently, is a lot better.

[Wulfax]

I am also a long-term MMO player, I started off in The Realm, then UO, and finally EQ ( I was one of the first 100 beta testers ). I've played many, stayed with several for many years ( DAoC, WoW ) but games have evolved and I'm glad for it.

I've already got a job, I don't need an MMO to be a second job - and EQ *was* a job. Corpse runs added nothing to the game but frustration and they ate up valuable game time.
If I want games to have time sinks, let them be like fishing in WoW - you can take or leave them as you want.

RIFT is polished for the time that it's been released, it's fun without a heavy time commitment and I have no complaints.

[Cujek]

I miss EQ to, but your never gonna get it back, this is the closest ive seen so far. oh and trust me, it has not aged well, like the middle aged man wearing leather trousers, bald head with a silver ponytail.

[htoncic]

[Katinkia]

EQ1 was my first mmo too and I totally get what you mean on some points. It's not like the old days for good and bad reasons. Personally, I find since more and more people have gained access to the net over the last 11 years the Internet has degenerated on all levels. MMO wise, we have a lot more kids playing and a lot more people that don't appreciate a challenge. I can't stand the whining and complaining you see on game forums these days. I think a lot of these people shouldn't be playing MMO's as they clearly can't handle it or just don't like it. I played EQ1 for 2 years and never got to max level. I too loved it and made some great friendships. I wouldn't like corpse runs back though. No way.

I get bored with it all too sometimes and have to take a break. Sometimes for as long as 6 months. Been playing EQ2 for past few years mostly amongst trying al lthe new releases. I've quit that as they've made it too easy.

EQ1 has changed too much to go back to for me. How many expansions are they on now? About 20? lol.

[Scars]

I think some of the improvements were necessary such as death penalties, but I agree with a lot of this post. Rift really takes a step back to that classic MMO feel, but even a few of the features I feel are too much. LotRO(making a huge comeback) and Rift are really the only things sticking out as worthwhile MMOs right now. WoW is becoming a CORPG like Guild Wars.

[Dink]

I stopped reading at the word Everquest.

[Reciprocity]

I started out on MMO's with EQ as well. Some of my fondest memories in game, could never be re-created by another game. I'm not looking for that. I am looking for a game that I can create some new memories, something that is truly immersive. Rift, isn't it. It's a good solid game, and I'm enjoying the game for the most part. But it is not the type of game that I will look back at and say "I remember doing x with y".

If you look back through my posts, I have talked about the faction from EQ as being an essential element that has been missing in MMO's for a number of years. The lack of deities, and the inherent faction in your character, coming from Race/Class/Deity was phenomenal. I also really miss night time in EQ. The game changed at night! I mean, it completely changed. NPC's would close down their shops, or a new NPC would take over for the night shift. It was dark, and a low level "safe" zone turned into a nightmare (Kithicor) with high level undead, and raid mobs running around. When I was playing, you couldn't just hit "M" and bring up a map to see where you were at. You either knew the zone, or you got lost and had to wander around. Or, you learned to use the x.y coordinate system to find things. Little tricks like "if you drop a weapon on the ground, it points North) and the clouds in x zone always move y direction. You had to carry a lightsource at night, or you couldn't see. That is unless your race had Infravision. The night sounds in EQ were spooky at times, while it wasn't a horror type of game, it just lent itself to a fully immersive experience. One that I can only hope one day, a game company will realize is important and make a game that actually contains all of those good parts.

Corspse runs though..... meh, not so much.

[Reciprocity]

I stopped reading at the word Everquest.

I stopped reading when I saw your name.