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The Soapbox: Old content should stay relevant
The archetypal themepark MMO model, as popularised by World of Warcraft, is a race to the level cap in order to unlock the best content on offer. New content is tacked onto the endgame regularly, accompanied by improved gear and perhaps a higher level cap. It's a system that's designed to keep people playing by keeping them on a progression climb that's constantly getting steeper. As a consequence, endgame activities render older content obsolete since these outdated activities carry little real benefit for fully leveled characters. Exploring old content for the sake of experiencing it is not enough of a motivator for many players since this content simply cannot present the same challenge as it once did. Although you can technically go back and play through old dungeons, they will never be as fulfilling when tactics become optional and you can solo once-formidable opponents. In this week's Soapbox, I will mourn the loss of fantastic older content that was rendered obsolete through vertical progression, using WoW as a key example. I'll go on to suggest a solution that I think might allow for both old and new content to exist together in relevancy without significantly compromising the themepark MMO's existing progression mechanics.
MMO Mechanics: Comparing vertical and horizontal progression
MMO players strive to obtain some kind of tangible progression each play session, but the method by which that progression is delivered varies greatly across the genre. Archetypal themepark titles frequently rely on level-based progression that culminates in climbing through gear tiers at endgame, but the freeform nature of sandbox MMOs lends itself to a more open progression system that focuses on the holistic development of characters. These two progression systems are described as vertical and horizontal progression: Traditional gearing or leveling is commonly described as a vertical climb, while wider choice-based progression is more often expressed as a non-linear journey. The relative merits of these two diverging approaches to progression are commonly debated by modern MMO players. Many players wish to see a blended hybrid approach to progression that emphasises the horizontal, multi-faceted growth of their characters over rattling through yet another gear tier. Despite this, players still favour a goal-oriented attainment system and perhaps progressive gear that doesn't require a long run on the grinding treadmill. This balance can be very hard to achieve, so titles such as Guild Wars 2 have taken some knocks on the path towards perfect horizontal and vertical progression balance. In this week's MMO Mechanics, I will look at what is meant by both vertical and horizontal progression, how they are mechanically implemented in MMOs, and what each type of progression means for the playerbase.
The Mog Log: A bucket list before 2.0
Doom approaches Eorzea. It's nice to think that we as players won a temporary victory and a brief respite from that oncoming destruction, but let's face it: We all know from trailers and outside sources that it's just a momentary win. Cities will burn, lands will be razed, and the best we can hope for is that when we emerge once more, the world is a better place. Final Fantasy XIV is getting a lot of upgrades in version 2.0, but a whole lot of the game is going to be flushed away first. How long do we have? The rest of the month, certainly. Most of September, probably. More than that? Dubious. So it's time to start making a bucket list for Eorzea-that-is before it becomes Eorzea-that-was, since we all know that a lot of things are changing by then. I'm not talking about finishing out the storyline missions; if you haven't already done that, then odds are you're not too concerned about doing so. I'm talking about the things you need to do in order to prepare for the end, stuff that you should start knuckling down and doing. Maybe some of it won't be necessary after all, but it's better to assume that the clock is running for you to take a last look.
