Every now and then on the EVE Online forums, someone will make a post about World of Warcraft. Sometimes a player will ask why CCP doesn't adopt an idea or two from the industry giant, or sometimes he'll just announce that he's quitting as soon as the next WoW expansion comes out. Recently, I saw a rather inflammatory statement in one of these threads that made me think. Someone wrote that "When a player quits EVE and goes to WoW, the average IQ in both games increases," implying that only stupid people quit EVE and that even the stupidest EVE player is smarter than the average WoW player.
It's an absurd and really quite offensive statement to make, but the above quote did get me thinking about whether playing EVE actually helps players to be more effective in other MMOs. Having gone from EVE's harsh world to more forgiving lands, I've definitely found that my experiences in New Eden have taught me to play MMOs more effectively. From the situational awareness that EVE's PvP forces on players to the organisation required for co-operative ventures and the complex trading experience EVE provides, there are definitely lessons to be learned that can apply to other MMOs.
In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at a few of the ways playing EVE can make someone more effective in other MMOs.