endgame-model
Latest
The Soapbox: Better models for MMO endgame progression, part three
Today marks the last entry in my better models for MMO endgame progression series, the follow-up to my series on why MMO studios should abandon raiding. And that means providing two more possible models along with something of a thesis statement. But it also means that at this point I'm far more willing to wander off into the woods with these ideas. The first part had slight twists on standard formulas, the second had ideas that was a bit further afield, and this one features two ideas that are still almost entirely unrefined. More specifically, today's concepts are more about tackling the very principle that progress has to be tied past a certain point to things that you get. You earn a thing and then you're better. But there's no reason that progress can't be oriented the other way, with the gear (etc.) just being a gating mechanism for your actual forward motion. The funny part is that a lot of these systems aren't really at odds with one another; they can coexist without too much trouble. But then, that's the nature of the beast.
The Soapbox: Better models for MMO endgame progression, part two
If you read yesterday's Soapbox, the first in my Better models for MMO endgame progression series, with a fair bit of awareness, you probably noticed that the models I presented were, well... safe. Normal. Not too far outside of the realm of what we already have in some games, in other words. Oh, sure, they were functional and expanded compared to what you normally see in games, and they weren't reliant on high-end raiding, but they were still derived from the same space, which is part of the point. But that's not nearly as far as the rabbit hole goes. So let's start moving further beyond what's already common. Let's start heading into stranger territory. As before, the models presented here are not super-refined balanced labyrinths of systems; they're the outline, the skeletons, the fundamentals of how these concepts could work. And even at this stage, they're able to go in directions you don't find in numerous MMO endgames. So let's jump right into it, shall we?
World of Warcraft wraps up its raiding retrospective
What does the future of raiding in World of Warcraft look like? It looks like Warlords of Draenor, obviously, but what does that entail? That's the focus of the final installment of a feature that's examined the past of raiding and now looks to the future. While the changes in raid sizes and raid modes have been known since the expansion was first announced, there are more alterations incoming that should shake up the way that players currently move through the game's raiding content. The article explains that having a static group hitting the same content for quite some time stays engaging, while hitting a raid finder group is more or less the same each time. As a result, raid finder loots will be altered to lack set bonuses and have different art from the normal raids while also dropping more loot than other modes. Each raid difficulty will also have a separate lockout, while changes to Valor and the caps on same will diminish the importance of re-running old content that no one needs. Take a look at all of the changes in the new article.
