multiple-mmos
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Perfect Ten: Strategies for juggling multiple MMOs
Among my friends, I have a reputation for being "that guy who plays all the games." People are constantly asking me how I manage to handle so many MMOs simultaneously on top of work and family, as if I've managed to clone myself or I never sleep. The truth is far more mundane: Work and family get top priority with my time, and what I have left for gaming is simply spent wisely. The thing is that I'm just always enamoured with so many MMOs that I can't just play one and nothing else. I have to be a "juggler:" a player who balances online worlds. With limited time at my disposal and a desire to be in three or four MMOs at any given time, I've done a lot of experimenting with different ways to juggle titles. There is no one best way, I've found. It depends on how "fair" you want to be to your MMOs and whether it's a priority to you to give each of them more or less the same attention and time. Each of the following strategies has pros and cons, and if you're trying to handle two or more titles, you're simply going to need to figure out what works best for you and your allotment of time.
The Daily Grind: Do you play multiple MMOs at once?
If MMO rehab centers existed, chances are some of us would no doubt be joining Charlie Sheen on the long road to recovery. Earlier this week I found myself "playing" not one, not even two, but three MMORPGs simultaneously, and the absurdity of that particular moment would have been somewhat sad were it not for the fact that I'm now profiting from it. When I say "playing," though, I really mean "was logged into," since even the most skilled multi-taskers would have trouble coordinating multiple MMOs without the help of macros or bots. So, while I ran a few faction missions in Age of Conan, I also toured Metropolis kiosks with Booster Gold and indulged in a bit of Atreian AFK-crafting, the better to satiate my desire to progress as much as possible in as many places as possible. I'm also guilty of keeping a second game open purely for the purposes of chatting whilst playing something more interesting, and while this could be a biting commentary on the repetitive nature of MMOs in general, cross-game UI and mechanical familiarity is appealing. What about you Massively readers? Do you "play" multiple MMOs at once? Why or why not, and if so, which ones? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Daily Grind: How many games can you play at once?
Most of us here at Massively play multiple MMORPGs, and we're betting a large majority of the readership does as well. Whether it's the standard main game and one or two flings on the side, or the game-hopping manifesto that compels us to try anything and everything that comes down the pipe, everyone has his own method for enjoying his favorite genre. The only problem is that of time. Personally I don't have enough of it, as I could retire tomorrow and still never get to try all the games that interest me. Currently, it's all I can do to manage two "main" games and sample several others on a weekly and sometimes monthly basis. What about you, Massively readers? How many MMOs can you realistically play at once?
Behind the Curtain: Multiple MMOs
Is one MMO ever enough? Lots of people play more than one MMO. Among the staff here at Massively, you would be hard pressed to find a writer with only one active subscription. Ever the exception however, I am a one-game kind of guy. "Is that through choice, or necessity though, Craig?" I hear you cry. The answer is that it's a little of both. It's easy to say that I don't have enough time to play a couple of MMOs, but if I was really honest with myself, I'd admit to that being a lie. If I'm able to free up a couple of hours every couple of nights to play World of Warcraft, then why can't I alternate those nights, for example, between WoW and another game?
