We had some hot topics on Massively this week! From business models to combat style to the hottest beta events, the Massively staff had plenty to talk about. Thankfully, you, the readers, chimed in too. The great thing about so many of these conversations is that they often extend far beyond the game the original topic was about and turn into a discussion of different MMO mechanics in general.
If you missed out on some of these posts and discussions this week, follow along after the break. We've gathered up the best and most thought-provoking, so we're ready to hear more of what you have to say!
Vanguard players came from every direction to comment on our story about the game's fourth anniversary. Everyone had something a little different to say, but one reader provided an interesting point about what he thinks Vanguard got right. Check out what cowboyhugbees had to say: "The exploration factor is huge. One of the reasons people love games like Legend of Zelda and The Elder Scrolls is because those games reward exploration. Who knows, there may be an awesome set of armor down that hole or a hidden fairy fountain in that cave, etc. I really wish MMOs were willing to explain that more. As much as I love my two mains for the time being (Lord of the Rings Online and Star Trek Online), neither of them handles exploration well at all."
RIFT is a hot topic these days, and a recent One Shots featured a great RIFT image and some discussion of the game. Massively reader Nucleon is approaching with caution: "The thing about those rifts is whether they can go from gimmick to feature, and that's totally in the hands of the dev teams. Will there be rifts so challenging that non-geared, lower-level characters don't dread step into them and actually flee at their presence until higher-level characters arrive? Will there be some mechanism to prevent too many players from participating in a rift at the same time? If there isn't, then the zerg method will always work. I for one would think it would be cool to see rifts where coordination was required to have any chance of success. If they get it right, they could have a real solid MMO on their hands. If they get it wrong, then it joins the bevy of other decent-but-never-implemented-properly ideas so frequent in MMOs."
ElfLove has experienced the RIFT beta and has a reply: "While I understand what you're saying... I don't necessarily agree. What I took away with from the betas is that RIFT is a game that does not thrive on exclusion. There are no 'have nots' when it comes to the rift system. Everyone has to work together to beat them back... and no the zerg method does not always work. I've seen rifts decimate an entire spontaneous raid... and I can't tell you how many times we've failed a server event in Freemarch. Excluding players from rifts or making them a 'raid mentality' feature would only cause frustration, anger and elitism. The rifts need to remain open to everyone."
Patrick Mackey, our Champions Online columnist, explored CO and lifetime subscriptions in a recent Behind the Mask. As always, opinions were strong and varied and the post wound up with two pages of discussion of the business model. Reader DrRumpy has a very clear outlook: "Cryptic as a company is morally bankrupt. Not more or less than most, but it's still a detestable quality. Something like the Goldman Sachs of MMOs. Selling lifetime subs for a game that goes F2P... unbelievable."
Issmir replied: "I'm not sure I can agree with the comparison between Goldman Sachs -- a company that helped produce the largest financial collapse in generations while reaping multi-billion dollar profits from it -- with Cryptic, a company that charges $15 a month for a service and offers the same service for a flat one off fee or a restricted version of that service for $0."
Those anticipating Guild Wars 2 eagerly dove into ArenaNet's newest description of combat in GW2, focusing especially on the fact that there will be "no allied targeting" in the game. Massively reader Greyjoy especially likes the concept: "This is one of the big ones. There are no skills that specifically target allies. Everything must be done using positioning, ground targeting or other unconventional methods. This keeps every profession focused on its allies in the world, which adds a tactical complexity to the combat. Instead of watching red bars, we want you to watch your allies in the world. Making sure you are dropping ground-targeted spells effectively and moving into position to block attacks on allies is how we want players to defend each other."
Did you miss out on one of these conversations this week? Well now is the time to participate -- hit the comment button and add your thoughts!
Global Chat is the weekly feature that's all about you, our readers. Every Sunday we collect the best, funniest, and most thought-provoking comments from the Massively readers and round them up into Global Chat for discussion. Read over them for yourself, hit the comment button, and add your own thoughts!
