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Damion Schubert seeks a different kind of grind
MMO developers and publishers try to provide game-play that keeps you coming back again and again so you won't stop their money flow by canceling your subscription. The easiest way for them to do this is to make their games an addictive grind. You feel compelled to level up. You can't help yourself.Just because something's addictive, though, doesn't mean it's fun. But is there another way? Damion Schubert (of Meridian 59 and Ultima Online fame, and one of a certain blogger's personal heroes) posed that question on his Zen of Design blog. MMOs must be centered around highly repeatable activities, Schubert said. Combat, for example, works well because developers can put in a lot of changeable variables to make the experience different every time. On the other hand, he uses puzzle/mystery games like Myst as examples of games not based on a repeatable activity. Once a puzzle is solved, it's solved, and that's the end of it. So, if not that, then what? What other games have mechanics that can be used as a model for MMO game-play that sticks?That discussion is going on right now at Zen of Design.
The Daily Grind: What's the rush?
Somebody always does it. Shortly after any expansion launches you can expect someone to plow through all those levels and reach the maximum cap in less than a few days. This recently happened again in Rise of Kunark, 36 hours after the EverQuest 2 expansion hit desktops, Monk Taucher from the guild Second Dawn leveled from 70-80 netting a 100 dollar prize and their claim to short-lived leveling fame. I can understand the achievement aspect of wanting to level as fast as possible, reach the end and be done with it, but even so in an expansion hardcore players who raid won't be able to raid until their guild catches up. Doesn't this defeat the whole purpose of relishing content instead of whining about how there is nothing to do on the forums? Or the all-to-common argument amongst the core hardcores that their guild is slow because they slack and can't play 12 hours a day? I know we all enjoy different things about a MMOG, but leveling up and waiting for your guild to catch-up isn't very enjoyable -- I've been there myself. At least it took more than a few people to achieve this goal when World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade launched. Gullerbone, a mage leveled from 60 to 70 in a matter of 28 hours with the help of some friends using area effect spells to grind out the levels faster. I'm a firm believer that everyone should enjoy the game how they see fit as long as they aren't breaking the rules (dupes, gold-farming, etc.) but I still think leveling this fast is a bit over the top. I think at some point we all power-level and wish we would reach a certain level already. That's understandable, but as soon as an expansion launches? If you could, would you skip to the end after an expansion launched or do you prefer to take it in small chunks and get there when you get there?
The Daily Grind: Getting ground under
One of what seems to be the universal complaints about many MMOs is the inherent grind involved in them. From the earliest days, we grind levels, reputation, trade-skills and/or professions. In end-game, you grind more factions, raid bosses for certain loot or quest completion, and potentially even more experience to gain additional talents or to unlock alternate abilities. This grind has been there since the earliest days. But the question is this: Is grinding really an absolute requirement in MMOs, or have we simply come to expect a certain inherent level of grind as an inevitability? Is there some new mechanic that hasn't been introduced yet that you think might be viable? Or perhaps there is some variant on quest styles beyond the "collect x number of y items" or "go kill x bad guy" that hasn't been properly explored?
Blizzard plans soloing improvements for Protection Warriors and Paladins
With healers getting some soloing love in patch 2.3, Migol asked on the forums if something similar was going to happen for Warriors and Paladins who are speced Protection. Eyonix responded that they are in fact planning to make soloing easier for all non-DPS specs, including Prot Pallies and Warriors.Eyonix went on to say that they don't want Protection speced players to have to carry around a second set of DPS gear in order to grind mobs more effectively. He says that while a high level DPS set may give the player an edge, the Prot specs should be able to solo in the gear they tank in.It sounds like they are leaning toward doing something similar to what 2.3 introduces for healers. Since healers are getting free spell damage on all healing gear, will tanks get free attack power on all tanking gear?Presumably, Druid tanks won't be sharing in this love since the Feral spec is a very powerful solo spec. So, if the changes are going to affect tanking gear, it will probably only apply to plate.Eyonix does not give a time frame for Protection improvements other than "the future" and since it doesn't sound like they have a concrete plan yet, it probably won't be in patch 2.4.What kind of improvements would you like to see for Protection soloing?
Not reading enough books these days? Here's how to play and 'read' at the same time
If you're anything like me, then you may find that the more engrossed you become in a particular MMO, the more your leisure time formerly spent on reading gets whittled away. Thankfully, our friends over at WoW Insider have come up with an excellent solution that doesn't involve helper monkeys, a secondary cyborg head, or time manipulation -- but feel free to go for any of these ideas too.WI's fix for the problem is simple, but effective -- audiobooks. Sites like audible.com contain a large range of titles to choose from, and this way, instead of just listening to the same ambient sound collection replayed over and over during your next multiple-hour grind session, you could be catching up on the work of your favorite author. Aside from allowing you to keep up with your list of must-read books, you may even discover that what was previously a very tedious grind could become a lot easier, as your brain disengages from the repetitive in-game actions and focuses on your riveting audio novel.So there you have it. Hopefully you didn't rush out to the pet shop after the first paragraph, and now have a practical way to keep on top of your reading while you play games. You can check out the full article at WI through the link below.
PTR Notes: Wintersaber reputation easier
Testers are reporting on the official PTR forums that the gains for Wintersaber Trainers reputation have been drastically increased. This Alliance-only grind has long been the worst in the game, with quests originally rewarding 50 reputation points at a time. Considering the fact that players start at neutral with the faction and receive their one and only reward at exalted reputation, that's about 42,000 points to earn (or about 840 quests to complete) without any motivational incentives gained along the way. It retained this infamous status even when the reputation gain was raised to 75 points in patch 2.0.1, but now it has reportedly been raised even further to 250 points for each quest completed.Befitting the grueling nature of the grind, there has been a lot of solidarity between those undertaking it, inspiring "Wintersaber Support Group" threads on the WoW forums for as long as I can remember. Understandably, a lot of the players that have already earned their "stripes" are concerned that their dearly won Winterspring Frostsaber mount will become more common, thus lowering its uniqueness and invalidating their hard work. On the other hand, many players, like myself, are relieved that this grind has finally become realistically achievable. Where do your opinions lie on this issue?
Breakfast Topic: How much grind can a grind hound grind?
First we grind the levels. Then we grind the faction. Then we grind the gold. Then we grind the instances for high end loot drops. We also grind out Arena points, crafting levels, bandages for the war (remember those!), potions for the raid, ogres for the Talbulk mount and the daily quests for the flying space ray manta aether thingie from space.Where does one draw the line? I usually don't run an instance more than 2 or 3 times. Nor do I kill the same thing continuously for faction. I was enjoying daily quests, but they really are just the same thing every day.A little grind is ok, but too much makes the game not fun and are we not here to be entertained? Where do you draw the line in the grind that is the base mechanic of most MMORPGs out there?
The joy of grinding
I've never cared for grinding, myself. I just can't do it. I'm easily distracted and I quickly get bored of repetitive tasks. (Don't ask me how I ever managed to kill enough Furbolg to pick up that +15 agiity enchant from the Timbermaw way back when -- I'm really not sure how I managed to kill that many of the same creature in a row without starting to tear out my hair.) However, some people relish in the grinding game, like our own BigRedKitty's friend TJ. BRK seems to have an ongoing challenge with TJ to complete some of the toughest grinds in the game. After conquoring the firefly pet they've moved on to the Wintersaber mount. I've got to say -- I tried that grind for about a day before moving on with my life. However, I have no doubt that TJ will rise to the challenge, because after picking up that firefly, this is nuthin'. What about all of you? Are you grinders who would find these challenges no problem -- or more like me, who wouldn't last seconds?
In the reputation grinder
Reputation grinding is something of a mixed bag in the World of Warcraft-- some factions have many options for the player who wants to gain rep. Most of the new factions in Burning Crusade have quests, turn-ins, and various instances that all award rep. Others (especially those that existed pre-BC) are more difficult, requiring hours upon hours of grinding away on specific mobs that provide little return, as anyone who's ever gotten exalted with the Wintersaber Trainers will tell you.Not all factions provide rewards that everyone will need-- if you're anything like me (and, I think, most players), you'll pick and choose which factions you want to grind. For at least one person, however, the goal was to hit Exalted with all available factions. Tombom, from Cho'gall, is exalted with 36 different factions (37 if you count switching from Scryer to Aldor), including Darkmoon Faire. I'd be lying if I said that this didn't make me feel bad about neglecting some of my own reputation goals, but it does inspire me - if a Disc / Holy priest can do it, why not me?Congratulations, Tombom!Thanks, Centipede!
Cutting down on grind time for lowbie pets
Mania's Arcania, which is the new home of the Petopia blog, has a really interesting look at a frustrating problem for hunters-- leveling a lowbie pet with a high level character. Say you're 70 and you want a Ghost Saber. Because the Ghost Saber spawns at only 19 or 20, the only way to currently level it is to basically let the hunter tank (or kite, more likely), and simply bring the pet along for the ride.So how could we fix this? One of Mania's commenters has an interesting idea-- whenever a pet is tamed, it is automatically brought within a few levels of the hunter taming it. If you're 70 and taming a level 20, then when the little green ding flare rises up after taming, the pet suddenly becomes level 65, which is good enough to make the pet not so useless. It doesn't quite make sense (why would a pet be so much more powerful just because you tame it?), but it does take out the unnecessary pet grinding. Mania has other ideas that work well, too-- either make the pet experience relative to the pet (not the hunter, as it is now), or reduce the amount of experience needed anyway. Another idea mentioned is to make the latest rank of Growl open to any tamed pet of any level, but I don't see that working-- even if a level 20 could hold aggro against a level 60+ mob, it's not going to last very long.The only other suggestion I'd have is just to implement a different way to level pets-- maybe a turnin or a special quest at pet trainers that cuts down on the grinding time and method. But no matter how you do it, there's no reason hunters should be forced to go through all this just to get the pet that has the look they want.
Breakfast Topic: Little Red Riding Nether Ray
I know, I know... today's breakfast topic comic seems a bit dark and gloomy -- but don't worry! Things are not what they seem! The girl's grandma is actually a professional hunter of evil grandmavores. The girl-grandma team tricks the beasts into their doom: first, little Red lures the beasts close to the cottage, and then Granny springs a woodsman-shaped target dummy on them and mutilates them from behind with her epic daggers disguised as knitting needles. Annnywaaaay, the topic for today is these scary creatures known as nether rays! Now we can ride them! But... the question is, does anyone want to? I know the nether ray in this picture looks pretty spooky, and I'll admit that there are some screenshots in which they look okay at first. But over all, aren't they really rather ugly, pudgy and too much like a fish with serious dental problems? I was over there questing in Skettis with a friend of mine today, just earning some money in a few spare minutes I had to play, when we stopped to gawk at the Sha'tari Skyguard dwarf just swooshing along on his nether ray mount, looking as pudgy and as awkward as can be. I realized, this thing doesn't look like it should be a mount at all. Your legs kind of sink through the creature's tendril hood or whatever it is, and some races apparently have their hands hanging out in thin air, holding on to reins that should be there on any normal mount, but not on this one.Do you agree that this thing is an ugly waste of your reputation grinding time? or am I totally missing the aesthetic genius of this?
Are we all just here to grind?
I don't often look to the Hollywood Reporter for, well, anything. So when I read an article talking about MMOs, I was a little skeptical. But as it turns out they have some interesting things to say about WoW and the MMO market. Most of the article is a large advertisement for Mesa Studios' latest endeavor, Stargate Worlds, but being that WoW is the top dog in MMOs today, they spend a lot of time talking about what makes WoW successful. They say that the grinding element is, in part, one of the reasons that players keep playing World of Warcraft. Now, Mr. Ybarra, the gentleman from Stargate Worlds sounds as if he doesn't have much experience with WoW as an actual game when he says this: The paradigm for customer retention at 'WoW' and most of the other MMOGs is to build a game that takes the player 2,000 hours to reach Level 500...
Alts and alts and alts, oh my!
I probably play World of Warcraft way too much. Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery, right? My addiction stems from not being happy with one character, or two, or three... I have 7 characters leveling in the Outlands right now, two of which are raiding Karazhan. Why can't I stick with just one and work on it until it's the best of the best? Because I love my alts! I created my first alt when my primary character, a Hunter, hit level 52. I'm not entirely sure why I did so, but it probably had something to do with having out-leveled my friends by about 20 levels and wanting to help them without hindering our playing experience. My first alt was a Warlock, who I took to 60 first, becoming my first instance grinding and raiding main character. The hunter stood on standby for a while, until my guild had Molten Core on farm-mode, upon which I took him to 60 and brought him in for our alt runs. He was one of the first to complete the Lok'delar/Rhok'delar/Lamina quest in our guild, which he still has (at least, until I dust him off and bring him out of retirement). After a few months with them, I met other people who played on a different server, and they needed main tanks for their progression. So I was off and running with a Warrior, who was level 60 in a matter of a few weeks. I helped that guild progress through Blackwing Lair when I took my first burnout hiatus. It took a few months of enjoying other things, more real-life than virtual, when I was feeling the pangs of withdrawal and logged back in.
The Azeroth Blues
Unlike some other draenei and blood elves, I'm not 60 yet. I hit 40 last night on my Draenei Shaman, and immediately picked up the mount and converted to mail gear. Then, a feeling of emptiness came over me. I was puzzled. I've leveled up before through Azeroth, this Shaman will be my 7th trip to 60 (and now beyond), and I really do enjoy leveling. What's hit me though is a feeling that I'm stuck in the same old content. It's not that I don't love Azeroth, I really do. It's been my home away from home for almost 3 years now. It's just that while I'm grinding away through levels in the "old country", all my guildies are out in the Outlands having fun and getting drool-worthy gear from mobs I've never heard of. Yes, I have some awesome company in the leveling grind (frequent commenter Skew is a good friend and guildie) as we both get our shamans raid-ready, but really, there's no sense of awe and exploration in Azeroth anymore. Would Blizzard have done better to implement a bit more mid-level content in the expansion? Levels 1 through 20 were fantastic on Azuremyst and Bloodmyst isles, and I've heard the Blood Elf content is just as fantastic. There's something particularly cool at the end of the Bloodmyst quest series that leaves a player feeling good about the world and their place in it. And then you head into the rest of Azeroth.
Shouldn't Games Be Fun?
This article from The Escapist tackles the topic of boredom in video games, and having recently spent the time to grind to honored standing with the Timbermaw faction, I can certainly understand what they're talking about. At some point in World of Warcraft it's all about the grind - whether you're grinding for faction standing, grinding for honor in PvP, grinding for gold, or grinding for gear in dungeons. And when the demands of the games are no longer fun for players? Some just leave, but others bypass the rules and purchase characters or gold - allowing others to do the less interesting parts for them. From the article: "It's fair to say that many players using these services find the time commitments required of them to be distasteful - in a word, these games are boring."
The PvP Grind
I've been playing World of Warcraft for over a year now, and have only recently attempted PvP. I've had a lot of fun with it, but certainly haven't spent enough time grinding for honor to burn out on the experience. This article from Not Addicted looks at what it takes to make rank 14 in the PvP grind and is a clear explanation of why I don't intend to try going that far. Anyone out there with personal different experiences on the grind to rank 14?
Breakfast Topic: The last few levels
Benig in the late 50s is a tricky position. Depending on your guild, you might start ramping up to the endgame, or you may be trundling with your head down towards 60. If your guild isn't going all-out to get you levelled, then it can get depressing logging in, spending hours mindlessly killing, and not getting a level out of it.A few tricks to break up the tedium of that final stretch include: explore new areas and quests; pick a faction (such as the Timbermaw or Argent Dawn) and grind reputation, focusing on that rather than your level; spend some time in PvP, which has a small experience reward; try farming for money or drops instead of xp; and do some instances. You could also concentrate on your tradeskills if you've been neglecting them.Of course, nothing really changes the fact that it does take a while to level, and if you haven't the stomach for grinding, you may get bored. I've found breaking up grinding with some PvP works well, and I also used the WoWVid player for a while to entertain me through the killing. Have you any tips to make the home stretch go by quicker?
The Epic Grind
So, you've finally gotten to level 60. Now what? Well, there are some resources to guide you along, but whatever your direction, be prepared for a grind. Rewards for gaining reputation with the game's factions can be high, but the process for getting them tends to involve the tedium of killing the same monsters or doing the same repeatable quest for days or weeks on end. Collecting a new piece of powerful gear is always a thrill, but you may find yourself running through Upper Blackrock Spire a hundred times without winning a roll on the item you seek. Even if you're in an end-game raiding guild, the game can be a grind - running through Molten Core again and again for the low chance of a specific item drop. And I can certainly say that after defeating Ragnaros a few dozen times it becomes less of an epic struggle and more of an issue of "Drop my Choker of the Fire Lord already!" Have you reached the point where the game is nothing but a grind yet, or do you still feel the magic?
