Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: Do you make stealth alts?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/28/the-daily-grind-do-you-make-stealth-alts/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/28/the-daily-grind-do-you-make-stealth-alts/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/28/the-daily-grind-do-you-make-stealth-alts/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

If you've spent any kind of time in MMOs, you've undoubtedly run into at least one person who drives you completely insane. Perhaps your boss heard you mention World of Warcraft at the coffee machine one day and popped up in your guild shortly thereafter, ensuring that you'd never have a moment's peace in-game ever again. Maybe one of your real-life friends is the sweetest person face-to-face but when gaming becomes an unapologetic, egocentric loot-fiend prone to throwing tantrums if he can't gear up his alts over other people's mains. Or you could pick any of the many nerve-wracking examples that Justin so thoughtfully provided us in yesterday's MMO player hell top 10 list.

Most of the time, you have three ways to deal with these types of people. First, you can tell them to sod off. That's not so popular, and in the case of RL friends or bosses, it can be downright dangerous, but it works. Second, you can simply quit playing the game altogether. But that option sucks if you enjoy the game when you're not around the annoying people, and it can cut you off from other good friends you want to spend time with. That leaves you with the third option of the seasoned MMO vet: stealth alts! You know, the alt characters you don't put in-guild, the ones you keep secret purely to enjoy the game with friends who are similarly sick of certain situations. This morning we wondered, with flashbacks of MMO player hell fresh in our minds, if you too have made stealth alts to avoid people -- and if so, whom?

Don't worry, we won't tell them!

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Do you make stealth alts? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>altalternate-characteralternate-charactersannoyingannoying-gamersavoidancemorning-topicopinionstealth-alttdgthe-daily-grindFri, 28 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: What struck you as unnecessarily annoying?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/09/the-daily-grind-what-struck-you-as-unnecessarily-annoying/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/09/the-daily-grind-what-struck-you-as-unnecessarily-annoying/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/09/the-daily-grind-what-struck-you-as-unnecessarily-annoying/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

If you took part in the recent City of Heroes double XP weekend, as a long-standing customer or a returning visitor, you most likely had a chance to take part in one of the game's Safeguard/Mayhem missions. Heroes are tasked with preventing a bank robbery, while villains are instead given the job of robbing said bank. Unfortunately for villains, their robbery is faced with several enemy groups that spawn without warning and will follow you all over if you happen to miss them. Worse yet, death puts you in prison, forcing you to fight your way out and possibly condemning you to another swift death.

There are a lot of little things that can add up in a game, little choices in design that wind up making the whole play experience more tedious and unpleasant than seems reasonable. As a result, the whole experience can wind up going straight down the tubes. What part of a game proved to be annoying when it really didn't need to be? Was it a quest with more travel or fighting than seemed necessary, an area with some particularly obnoxious geographical feature, or just something that was a whole lot of effort for very little reward?

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: What struck you as unnecessarily annoying? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>annoyingcity-of-heroescity-of-villainscohcovcoxdesign-problemsin-game-eventsirritationmissionstdgthe-daily-grindunnecessaryTue, 09 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: What areas do you hate?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/02/the-daily-grind-what-areas-do-you-hate/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/02/the-daily-grind-what-areas-do-you-hate/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/02/the-daily-grind-what-areas-do-you-hate/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

There may be better litmus tests, such as simply askiing, but you can generally tell if someone has played Final Fantasy XI by their reaction when someone mentions dunes. In Vana'diel, there is only one region known as the Dunes, and it is hated. Plagued with goblins whose sole purpose is to blow up low-level characters, ghosts that flay you alive with AoE spells fueled by nuclear energy and hate itself, and roaming bands of clueless players, the zone is not well-loved. All of the above might not be so bad, except that it's the most likely leveling spot for ten long levels. Good luck completing that level band without dying and losing some of your progress toward freedom several times.

While.not every game has a zone that causes some players to swear they will never return, they all have regions we'd as soon forget. What spots in your favorite game do you try to avoid? Did they feature really bad design, annoying enemies, or confusing layout? Was it an area devoted to an awful grind or series of truly obnoxious events? Or were they just spots soured by so many bad experiences that you can't separate them from the aggravation?

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: What areas do you hate? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>annoyingdisliked-locationsdunesffxifinal-fantasy-xilocationsplacestdgthe-daily-grindTue, 02 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: What little bug is a big problem?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/19/the-daily-grind-what-little-bug-is-a-big-problem/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/19/the-daily-grind-what-little-bug-is-a-big-problem/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/19/the-daily-grind-what-little-bug-is-a-big-problem/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

You know the one. It's a tiny bug, a problem that only comes up once in a blue moon -- if it's even a problem and not just a slight problem like a model clipping issue. You really shouldn't care one way or the other, it's so irrelevant... but you care. You can't help but care. The very thought of it bothers you. And even though it's something so obscure that you're not sure if anyone has even bothered reporting it other than you, or so rare or so unnecessary, you still get angry when all sorts of other minor bugs get fixed and this one persists.

We're not talking about bugs that people can legitimately point to as impacting quality of play today, like the infamous Vanish bug in World of Warcraft. We're talking about those minor issues that you can't let go of, sometimes even long after you've stopped playing the game. What small and ultimately irrelevant bug just can't help but get your goat every time it comes up? How do you try to work around it? Have you reported it once, multiple times, or not at all with the expectation that the developers must know about it already?

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: What little bug is a big problem? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 19 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>angerannoyanceannoyingbugbugsirritationissuesminor-bugssmall-bugstdgthe-daily-grindSat, 19 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: We had to grind uphill, both ways!]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/04/the-daily-grind-we-had-to-grind-uphill-both-ways/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/04/the-daily-grind-we-had-to-grind-uphill-both-ways/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/04/the-daily-grind-we-had-to-grind-uphill-both-ways/#commentsFiled under: , ,


One of the things that our new webcomic Grinders brought to mind were some of the things that used to drive us absolutely bonkers about the old-school MMOs we used to play. Speaking personally, I could list a whole bunch of things from original EverQuest; having to stare at the wall or the floor to cast heals for my party otherwise the spell effects caused my poor old computer to lag unbearably; the idea that you had to regenerate mana by staring at your spellbook for well on 5 minutes; dying, losing a level, and then running back naked and alone. There's a whole bunch more, but this morning we thought we'd ask you - what are some of the old-school things you remember as being totally normal and expected from your early MMO experience that just make you shake your head now?

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: We had to grind uphill, both ways! originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 04 Mar 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>annoyingfunnyget-off-my-lawnhumormemoriesold-mmogsold-schoolWed, 04 Mar 2009 08:00:00 EST