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Leaderboard: Which MMO has the best player housing?
I'm a big fan of player housing. If you're not, well, you should be. OK, not really, but you may want to skip this here Leaderboard if you typically roll your eyes when the topic comes up. Assuming you do like player housing, there are plenty of flavors to choose from scattered across the MMOverse, and a couple more interesting implementations on the way. For now, though, let's limit ourselves to housing in already-released games. Which system do you like the best? Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: Which of these IPs would make the best MMO?
Let's talk about IP-based MMOs. There are a few currently available. There are a couple that are no longer available. There are probably some that I'm forgetting. The point I'm getting to, though, is that there are some fairly well-known IPs that haven't crossed over to the land of kill-10-rats, faction grinds, and endless character progression. Maybe your favorite IP has already been made into an MMO. Maybe it hasn't. Maybe you hate the idea of IPs or IP-based MMOs in general. Regardless, you should click past the cut and participate in this week's poll. Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: Would you like a criminal justice system in your MMO?
So I've got indentured servitude jury duty this week, and if you've never had it, believe me when I say that it sucks. And, at least where I live, there's no getting out of it unless you fancy a ride in the back of a squad car and another summons during the next call-out. Why am I telling you this on an MMO blog? To vent, mostly, but also because it's an adequate lead-in to this week's Leaderboard. Aside from ArcheAge, I'm hard-pressed to think of an MMO that has implemented a significant criminal justice mechanic. Plenty of games from Ultima Online to EVE let you be a criminal six ways from Sunday, but since sandbox developers have completely dropped the ball when it comes to discouraging crime or otherwise building civilized virtual societies, there are no repercussions for repeatedly unleashing your inner jackhole. Let's say it were up to you, though. Would you implement some sort of criminal justice system in your favorite MMO? If so, what sorts of behavior would you attempt to regulate? If not, why not? Vote and discuss after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: What changes would bring you back to a previously played MMO?
I just realized something. The original concept for this Leaderboard column hinged on two competing MMO philosophies duking it out. In recent months, though, it's sort of expanded into a more general feature and an excuse to make sure our criminally underused polling software still works. Eh, whatever. Random thoughts of an MMO blogger, I guess. Anyway and on topic, I've been thinking about going back to Age of Conan lately. So far I've managed to talk myself out of it, but yesterday's dev letter and its crafting tidbits piqued my interest. It also got me wondering what exactly the criteria is for returning to a game you've cast aside before. I imagine it's different for everyone, so for today's Leaderboard, tell us what changes -- if any -- would bring you back to an MMO you've heretofore abandoned. Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: What's your favorite FFXIV class or job?
Today's Leaderboard is about Final Fantasy XIV. More specifically, it's about your favorite class/job/collection of skills in FFXIV. Now that I've gone and spoiled the traditional end-of-the-post question, I've still got to come up with another one-and-a-half paragraphs before I invite all of you fine folk to vote after the cut. Or not. Because I've got a lot of fishing to do. Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Activision Blizzard files an emergency appeal for buyback rights
It seems that Activision Blizzard just can't wait to get free of Vivendi. Not that the company is eager, but it literally cannot wait. The publisher had planned to essentially buy itself from its parent company, but following objections raised by a stockholder, the deal was put on hold by court order. Now the company has filed an emergency appeal, claiming that if the deal doesn't go through now, the company will have lost its window for self-ownership. According to the appeal, it will not be possible to obtain a shareholder vote before October 15th, which is when the deal automatically terminates. This vote by non-Vivendi shareholders is a necessity for the deal to go through, and Activision Blizzard representatives state that this injunction leaves the company in limbo and jeopardizes an $8 billion exchange. The court has scheduled a hearing for October 10th -- a hearing that looks to either make or break the deal as a whole.
Leaderboard: Do you make time for MMOs on your vacation?
This week's Leaderboard comes to you live from the middle of my vacation. OK, it's not actually live, but I am AFK in theory. I say in theory because I still managed to play an MMO this week despite my sabbatical from the cushy confines of the Massively yacht. Anyway, enough wordcount filler. Let's talk about your vacation! More specifically, do you make any time to play MMOs or do you disconnect entirely? Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: Which upcoming Korean MMO excites you the most?
There are a lot of interesting Korean MMOs on the horizon. Well, they're interesting to me, at any rate. The problem is, none of them are playable in the West as of yet, even though one of them has a Western publisher and the others publish English-language news semi-regularly. Assuming you are also something of a Korean MMO aficionado, I've put together a poll featuring some of the blockbusters we'll (hopefully) be playing in the near future. Feel free to vote for the one you're most looking forward to, and explain why in the comments. Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: What's your favorite DCUO power set?
DC Universe Online's newest DLC pack came out yesterday, and with it came the game's latest superheroic power set. DCUO's power sets are sorta like classes, though the game also makes use of weapon skills, movement skills, and universal DPS options to differentiate itself from typical class-based MMOs. Still, Fire- and Ice-based heroes are generally tanks, for example, while the new Celestial power set gives fans of healing another option. For today's Leaderboard, tell us which of DCUO's power sets is your favorite. Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: What's your platform of choice for ESO?
The Elder Scrolls Online is coming. It's coming to your PC, and somewhat surprisingly -- to me at least -- it's also coming to your Xbone and your PlayStation 4. I've been a fan of the IP since I played through Morrowind in 2002, but aside from an impulse bargain bin buy of Oblivion for the 360 -- which I'd already beaten on a PC -- I've never really experienced Tamriel on a console. It just seemed like a waste, you know? Some of the most epic moments in my personal Elder Scrolls scrapbook were possible only thanks to community mods, and those are of course impossible sans a PC. Clearly there's a big audience for consolized Elder Scrolls titles, though. And I'm curious if any Massively commenters will be picking up the Elder Scrolls MMO for something other than a PC. Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
How one player helped to reform EVE Online's election system
Last year EVE Online players were given the news that the standard method of voting in members of the Council of Stellar Management was on its way out, with a new voting system put in place that allowed players to rank 14 of their favorite candidates. The story behind that change is a fascinating one, relayed to us by the PA Report. In short, CSM official Trebor Daehdoow (just read that backwards) realized that the old system was proving too divisive and allowed middling personalities to get elected due to the stronger ones splitting the vote. He used his influence on the council to push for a new "Australian-style multi-seat election" to allow players to nominate several of their favorites instead. The end result was an election in which the candidates cooperated rather than competed and players had more of a say. Daehdoow is happy with the legacy that he's leaving behind: "It had exactly the results I had hoped. It elected a bunch of diverse and really hard-working, knowledgeable people. The strongest people got elected. We got the best blogger in the game, Ripard Teg. He couldn't even get elected a couple years ago. This year, because people didn't have to tactical vote, he came in second."
Leaderboard: Class-based vs. skill-based
RuneScape recently added its 26th skill, Divination, which is old news now but sticks in my mind because for some odd reason I didn't think of RuneScape as being a skill-based MMO. That's probably because I only played it for about 15 minutes circa 2002, though. In any case, skill-based MMOs are rarer in 2013 than they were in 2002. Pitting them against their class-based counterparts might make for an interesting Leaderboard, though. And if not, hey, you can still berate me for the lack of poll choices! Vote after the cut!
Leaderboard: Why do you play MMOs?
Welcome back to Leaderboard, Massively's completely unscientific weekly polling adventure from which no serious conclusions should ever be drawn. With that caveat out of the way, I'd like to examine the readership's reasons for playing MMOs in today's column. Whether you're a fan of immersion, progression, playing with other people, or some other MMO-specific angle that I probably haven't thought of, head past the cut and cast your vote. Be sure to leave a comment detailing your reasons if they aren't listed. Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: What classes do you want in EverQuest Next?
OK, I know what some of you are thinking. That damn Massively! Just milking the heck of out EverQuest Next! And yeah, I guess we kinda are since we've had several SOE Live features, a Daily Grind, and now a Leaderboard focused on SOE's upcoming fantasy sandbox over the past few days. But you know what? We're not apologizing! It's an exciting time to be an EverQuest Next fan, even though we have as many questions as answers after last week's reveal. Speaking of, SOE has thus far mentioned but five of a reported 40-plus classes. We don't know yet if these will be starting classes, advanced classes, or really anything else about them other than that they're called Rogue, Warrior, Tempest, Wizard, and Blademaster. With that said, what other classes or class types would you like to see? Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: WildStar vs. The Elder Scrolls Online
We haven't had a knock-down drag-out battle royal between two heavyweight MMOs on Leaderboard in quite a while. And hey, there's no time like the present, amirite? Let's say that in one corner we have WildStar, NCsoft's sci-fantasy darling. And let's say that in the other corner we have The Elder Scrolls Online, ZeniMax's attempt to take the mega-popular single-player RPG series online. Which game do you see being more successful? Which game tickles your fancy the most? In short, WildStar or ESO? Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: How excited are you for EverQuest Next?
So, EverQuest Next is a thing. A rapidly approaching thing, given that SOE Live and the sandbox title's world premier is less than a fortnight hence. We can't really tell you what we know about the super sekrit sequel just yet, but we can indulge in a little bit of speculation. Actually, we've been doing that already, and today's Leaderboard is as good a place as any to continue that tradition. So, assuming that EQN follows EverQuest II's lead in deviating substantially from its predecessor, how likely are you to play it? Let's even say, for the sake of argument, that EQN is incredibly different not only from EverQuest and EQII, but from most other MMOs as well. Would you still be itching to play it? How excited are you for EverQuest Next? Vote after the break! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Support your candidate in Guild Wars 2's Cutthroat Politics
It's election time in Tyria, and the most important part of political discourse has already gripped fans of Guild Wars 2, as social media lights up with threads supporting one candidate and denigrating the other. But this election will not be won on the basis of whether Ellen Kiel or Evon Gnashblade get more upvotes on Reddit; it will come down to which candidate gets more adventurers to vote in-game. And as it turns out, there are a lot of ways to make sure your vote counts again and again. Players will receive one Support Token automatically and can acquire more through dungeons, PvP, and several special bits of content directly tied to the event, including the new Candidate Trials. Turning in a Support Token for one candidate or the other rewards you with a Representation Button, which counts toward several achievements. So get out there to be counted and vote for your preferred candidate with good old-fashioned adventuring.
Leaderboard: Which FFXIV race is your favorite?
Final Fantasy XIV is back on my gaming radar here lately, thanks mostly to the positive word-of-mouth surrounding the forthcoming reboot. I played the original version of the game for a month when it launched, and while I didn't stick around, I always meant to check back at some point. I don't remember much about my original character, though, and due to the fact that all of the races are appealing in some way, I'm having a hard time deciding on a main. That's where this week's Leaderboard comes in, as mayhap the Massively commentariat will influence me one way or another when it comes to A Realm Reborn's races. Which FFXIV race is your favorite? Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: How do you like your player-generated content?
I'm a big fan of player-generated content. User-authored stuff, when done right, is usually more interesting to me than dev-authored stuff, and my ideal MMO features toolsets built by devs and content built by players. The key phrase is "when done right," though, because to some people, player-generated content means "let me exploit this dungeon maker tool to get to max level as fast as I can, lulz!" And sometimes it means "I think I'll build a Starbucks in the middle of a steampunk fantasy world, lulz!" These are extreme cases, though, as I've played plenty of player-generated dungeons and missions that were designed purely for fun. That's how PGC should be, in my opinion, but this is Leaderboard, and Leaderboard is about your opinion. So, let's hear it! Vote on the usefulness of player-generated content after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: Which game's business model do you like best?
I was doing a little hard drive housecleaning yesterday, and I couldn't help but notice all of the different MMOs currently installed on my gaming machine. With few exceptions, the business models for all these titles are some form of free-to-play, freemium, or weird hybrid that requires a conversion matrix and an advanced STEM degree to decipher. As I was patching -- and, in some cases, uninstalling -- I couldn't help but compare and contrast all the different business model flavors, and I figured that such an exercise would make for a serviceable Leaderboard. So, head past the break to vote for your favorite MMO business model. If yours isn't listed, share it in the comments! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
