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Leaderboard: What's your favorite MMO platform?
OK, this morning's Daily Grind got me thinking about gaming platforms, and given the rising popularity of smart phones, tablets, laptops and possibly even consoles for MMO playing in recent years, a Leaderboard focused on your favorite MMO platform might be a fun exercise. It might also result in PCs winning by a landslide, but hey. Who can tell until we actually do it, right? So, I'll see you in the voting booth 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 kind of crafting do you prefer?
Today I'd like to talk about crafting. I like crafting, hence my wanting to talk about it. You may not like crafting, but don't worry, you'll get a chance to bash it -- or at least make known your displeasure -- in the traditional poll choice after the cut. This poll will be pretty simple, because, hey. It's Memorial Day and I'd rather not be working. So. Do you prefer complex MMO crafting systems where you're actively involved in the fabrication process or do you prefer simpler systems where you combine a couple of items with a button press (or even have an NPC do it for you)? For the special snowflakes who choose the "neither" option, tell us how you'd do crafting differently. 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 fantasy MMO are you looking forward to the most?
Since last week's Leaderboard went over so well, I figured, why not put up another semi-controversial poll in the hopes that fans of the choices I inadvertently leave off will pepper my inbox with hate mail? Snarkiness aside, I am curious to see the results of today's vote, which pits the big three fantasy MMOs releasing over the next year against one another in a grueling duel to the death. The prize? The coveted title of Most Anticipated 2013/14 Fantasy MMO in the Massively Comments Section, which is going to be really hard to cram onto the trophy. In any case, vote for your favorite 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!
Leaderboard: Who's your favorite MMO music composer?
I've got MMO music on the brain today, and with apologies to our dedicated music column, I'm going to devote this episode of Leaderboard to some of my favorite massively multiplayer composers. If you're not already aware, video game music has ceased to be cheesy, synth-dominated midi riffs and now sounds as good, if not better, than many of the orchestral marches composed for epic films and television. With all that said, let's keep it simple. Who's your favorite MMO music composer? Vote after the cut!
Leaderboard: What's your favorite player-generated content tool?
Neverwinter recently launched, and Cryptic's Forgotten Realms MMO brought with it a substantial player-generated content toolset called the Foundry. The Foundry isn't the first of its kind, however, or even the first of its name. Star Trek Online boasts an earlier version of Cryptic's Foundry, and other games going back a decade or more have also tried their hand at user content suites. Assuming you've played around with a few of these tools, which one 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: Bless vs. Black Desert vs. Blade & Soul vs. ArcheAge
There are plenty of interesting MMOs coming out of Korea these days, and whether we're talking sandboxes like Black Desert, themeparks like Bless, or hybrids like ArcheAge, I'm pretty excited to try all of them. Let's not forget Blade & Soul, either, and even Aion has a new expansion on the way that's introducing a couple of game-changing classes. For today's Leaderboard, let's pit these games against one another and see which one will claim the title of Massively's most anticipated Korean import. 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 MMO archetype?
There have been a lot of MMO classes thrown our way over the years, and if you add in a handful of skill-based games that let you create your own class, you end up with a decent variety of combat gameplay styles. The vast majority of these styles fall under several broad archetypes, though, and whether we're talking about ranged DPS or crowd-control, we all have our favorites. For today's Leaderboard, let's see which archetype wins the title of Massively comment section 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: Which Kickstarter project will be the most successful post-launch?
There are a lot of game developers on Kickstarter these days, several of which are aiming to make MMOs or MMO-like persistent virtual worlds. Star Citizen's crowd-funding success has been well-documented, and both Shroud of the Avatar and Elite Dangerous are now go for full-scale development as well. And let's not forget Pathfinder or Camelot Unchained, the former of which has been fully funded and the latter of which is well on its way. For today's Leaderboard, tell us which of these five titles you think will be the most successful post-launch. 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: Clicking vs. keybinding
Yes, today's Leaderboard is all about your MMO input habits, and we'd like to know whether you prefer clicking, keybinding, or some sort of combination. If you're not familiar with keybinding, googling the term in concert with the name of your favorite MMO will provide plenty of examples. The long and short of it is the practice of using efficient and easy-to-reach keyboard shortcuts for all of your avatar's primary functions. The conventional wisdom says that keybinders are generally able to react faster than those who click their UI with the mouse to fire off abilities, buffs, consumables, or what have you, and this extra speed leads to a theoretical advantage in PvP and competitive PvE situations. Exceptions exist, though, so vote for your preferred method 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: Defiance vs. DUST 514
Shooter gameplay is on the rise in the MMO space, as titles like PlanetSide 2, Firefall, DUST 514, and Defiance are all marrying twitch-based running and gunning with some sort of persistent open-world progression component. Defiance and DUST are particularly interesting, to me at least, because they're part of a larger IP. IN DUST's case, the title shares a game world and a server back-end with long-running sci-fi MMO EVE Online. Defiance, of course, is joined at the hip with the upcoming television show of the same name, though just how joined remains to be seen. For today's Leaderboard, let's pit these two titles against one another and see which is more anticipated amongst Massively readers. 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 feeling on Garriott's Shroud of the Avatar?
Richard Garriott's recent Shroud of the Avatar announcement was greeted with both huzzahs and catcalls (though the former seem to outnumber the latter if the project's current Kickstarter numbers are any indication). Now that Lord British has spent the weekend answering questions via livestream and elaborating on game mechanics in the press, what do you think about the new project? Are you backing Shroud's Kickstarter, or are you taking a wait-and-see approach? Or do you not care one whit? Let us know via the voting booth 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 the best Star Wars MMO?
Star Wars has gotten the MMO treatment not once, not twice, but three times. This is assuming that you count SOE's Clone Wars Adventures browser title, which I do since it features extensive progression, non-combat activities, and a slew of other MMO-like features in spite of its heavy use of instancing. Then there's Star Wars Galaxies, of course, followed by Star Wars: The Old Republic. For today's Leaderboard, help us pick the best Star Wars MMO (or at least, the most popular according to Massively commenters). 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: DDO vs. Neverwinter
By now you've probably had a chance to sample the new Neverwinter MMO, and if not then you've surely availed yourself of all our excellent textual and video coverage during the ongoing beta. You probably also know that Neverwinter marks the second official Dungeons and Dragons-based MMO to grace our favorite genre, the first being 2006's Dungeons and Dragons Online. While it may not seem fair to pit a seven-year-old game against the new shiny, we're going to do it anyway because there's something to be said for age and experience. So, how about it? DDO vs. Neverwinter, 3.5 vs. 4th edition, Eberron vs. the Forgotten Realms, and Turbine vs. Cryptic. What say you Massively readers? 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: Guild vs. no guild
Game-hopping in MMOs is probably more of the rule than the exception nowadays. With so many titles to choose from, and few financial barriers to entry, players can change virtual worlds as often as they change socks. Guild-hopping isn't as easy, though, and one of the things that's put a damper on my multi-MMO enjoyment lately is the fact that I'm always playing by myself. Game-hopping guilds would seem to be the answer, but there's the small matter of both logistics and personal taste, as not everyone burns out at the same rate nor does everyone have the same sort of wandering eye. My wanderlust has gotten so bad that I've taken to skipping the whole guild thing entirely in recent games, whereas looking for a suitable guild used to be one of the first things I did after logging into a fresh MMO. So, how about you? Guild or no guild? 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: Community-driven development vs. company-driven development
SOE's Roadmap initiative for PlanetSide 2 is an interesting beast. If you're unfamiliar with it, it's basically a public polling system wherein proposed game features are upvoted or downvoted by the community. While there are no guarantees that the dev team will actually bend to the will of the people (it is SOE's game, after all), it's a fairly unprecedented setup in large-scale game development. It's also got plenty of naysayers, though, some of whom are concerned about the potential for the game to be affected by those who don't play it. What do you think of Roadmap and potential systems like it? Do you welcome community-influenced development decisions in your MMO of choice, or do you prefer to leave it to the pros? 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!
Leaderboard: PvP power vs. PvP specialization
One of an MMO designer's biggest challenges seems to be reconciling PvP and PvE in a game with gear progression. Another example of such comes courtesy of Red 5 Studios latest Firefall dev blog, where the team basically says that it's doing away with both PvP gear and tiers because of balance concerns. While the approach that Red 5 is taking is certainly valid, another alternative would be to parcel out PvP progression as a series of specialization choices instead of across-the-board power boosts. For today's Leaderboard, we'd like to know which of these paths you'd prefer, or if you think that MMO PvP is simply a lost cause. 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: Cinematic trailers - awful or awesome?
So ZeniMax released a spiffy teaser vid for The Elder Scrolls Online last week. The six-minute clip had it all: dank dungeons, luscious locations, and enough daredevil gravity-defying combat to fill an entire summer's worth of action films. The only problem, to hear some folks tell it, was that none of the thrills, chills, and gratuitous violence on display will be possible in the finished game. The video was a cinematic, you see, and even though there's a decent amount of TESO gameplay footage floating around the internet already, the trailer served as something of a rallying cry for fans who'd rather see the cinematic's budget go toward a gameplay trailer. What say you, Leaderboard readers? Are MMO cinematics an awful waste of development dollars or do you enjoy them for what they are? Settle the score once and for all 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: Lord of the Rings Online vs. Star Trek Online
IP-based MMOs are both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, if they're done right they can be a gateway to the genre for those unfamiliar with MMOs as well as a fresh focal point for dedicated IP fans. On the other hand, IP-based games can take disastrous liberties with their source material that make for an off-putting experience. In some cases, they can also simply be bad games. For today's Leaderboard we're pitting a couple of genre heavyweights against one another to see which proves more popular. Lord of the Rings Online and Star Trek Online aren't the only IP-based MMOs out there, but they've both been around for a while and are both reasonably successful. Which do you think does a better job of translating its source material into a fun MMO? 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: Yay or nay on NPC mercenaries
I recently returned to EverQuest II, and while I'm fortunate to have an active guild already in place, true newbs may find that grouping prior to the level cap is quite challenging. The game's population is pretty top heavy, and though veteran players do roll a lot of alts (there are 25 classes to choose from!), they typically use power-leveling strategies or NPC mercenaries to solo themselves to max level. For today's Leaderboard, I'd like to focus on these NPC bots, not just in EverQuest II but as an MMO design concept in general. On the one hand, they're clearly a boon to solo players. On the other, they do discourage grouping and could possibly be seen as a detriment to newer players checking out an older game. What do you think? 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: The Repopulation vs. Origins of Malu
So last week we asked which upcoming sandbox you'd most likely play, but as was correctly pointed out by an astute commenter, we inadvertently omitted a couple of promising indie projects. First up is The Repopulation, a game that features extensive city building, an entertainer skill set, and a bunch of other stuff that will probably remind you of Star Wars Galaxies. Next is Origins of Malu which boasts scary stalker AI, a gorgeous sci-fantasy aesthetic, and interesting takes on PvP and, gasp, possible permadeath! Today's Leaderboard asks which of these upcoming indie sandboxes you'll support. Cast your 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!
