MMO BinA Geek's Look at Massively Multiplayer Online Games

Excited about this latest game update to EverQuest II? I know I sure am! Below you can find a full list of the latest patch notes. Any in particular that really catch your eye?
 

Hotfix March / 31 / 2009 

FEATURED
Appearance Slots
Players now have access to primary, secondary and ranged appearance slots. 
The wield style (one-handed, two-handed, shield) of the weapons must match the weapons that are currently equipped.

Bristlebane’s Day
(3/31/2009 - 4/8/2009) Jesters, thieves, bards and fans of mischief are invited to enjoy the festivities that surround Bristlebane’s Day! You never know what laughs and pranks are to be found, during this enjoyable time of year. Celebrators are present in every home city, and the oddest of objects have been spotted in Antonica, The Commonlands, Darklight Wood, Timorous Deep and Greater Faydark! Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for special events occurring only on the highest of silly days, 4/1/2009!

Lavastorm
Lots of brand new content has been added in this classic zone. Almost all of the population has been re-tiered for solo players, with a new level 45 to 55 adventure quest line with the industrious…but rather insane Sootfoot goblins, and a new level 40-45 tradeskill quest line. Brand new void invaded areas also feature new level 80 solo quests. Additionally, a solo-able daily shard quest has been added as well as mount paths and additional teleporters to make traversing the zone much easier!

Shard Armor
A new set of shard armor is now available from merchants!

Threat Meter
Players can now see how much aggro they have generated towards NPC’s in combat.
A new UI element will display players’ aggro percentage for their current target or implied target.
Players with the most hate will also see the hate value for the player below them.
Players’ aggro value will also appear above an NPC’s head, just below their remaining power.
The aggro value displayed above an NPC’s head may be toggled off under Options -> User Interface -> Name and Chat Bubble

Ward of Elements
A brand new level 80 two-group raid instance has been added! This zone is balanced for players without a proliferation of raid gear, and should provide an exciting challenge to any group of 12! The first six bosses can be tackled in any order, and provide fantastic fabled loot with brand new armor sets upgraded from the tier 2 void shard sets, complete with new appearances! You can find it in Lavastorm beneath the Hollow Tower and Deep Forge.

……

Why is it that in order to feel as though we are not wasting our time (even though in the end that’s probably exactly what we’re doing to some extent at least) we as players require some sort of forward motion, some sort of linear progression that we can physically see. When you get to the point that there is no more progression players tend to wander away and find something else to do with their time. You can see this all of the time in EverQuest II, where players have become bored with their progression and feel as though they have ‘beaten’ the game. When I first started playing, there was no such thing as ‘beating’ an MMO, it was unheard of. They were mass stories that never ended. Now though, it seems they have an ending.

Each ending differs based on what that particular person feels is their ‘final goal’. It could be taking down the most difficult raid encounters and gearing up a character as well as you possibly feel that you can, or it may be something simpler like hitting the level cap. For others it may not even come to that, but is simple a ‘feeling’ you get at some point during the game that you have done all there is for you to do. Because everyone’s play experience is different, the ‘end’ of a game is also different.

In EverQuest, this need for progression can be seen through the years if you take a look at each expansion. Sure there is the very basic upgrade that includes gear and new achievements to be unlocked, an increase in levels to obtain – but even the very basics of the expansions themselves all follow this line of upward movement.

Think back to The Omens of War. There was only one zone that required and sort of progression per say, and that was Asylum of Anguish (which has since been reduced and you now only need a level requirement met to enter). You had to collect seven signets from groupable NPC’s and then complete six raid trials within Muramite Proving Grounds. There were ways to piggy back into the zone, but it was still difficult. Now move forward to Seeds of destruction where there are themes to be completed in a particular order, items unlocked on vendors if you complete these quests, and you gain access to more versions of The Void as you complete the themes. In previous expansions there was also this method of progression that players could follow in order to ‘unlock’ the harder content.

While I personally don’t mind this type of progression, I can certainly see how over time it may become boring to players. The story may be different, but you’re basically doing the same thing over and over. You’re doing tasks and missions in order to unlock future content and gear. You’re gaining alternate forms of currency (chronobines anyone?) and since The Serpent’s Spine released back in September of 2006 even spells are tiered towards progression. While players are quite used to this in EQII as the game released with different tiers of spells to obtain, EQ started implementing it 7 years after the game had been out.

Thinking about it, I don’t know if I’d be comfortable playing a game that didn’t have some sort of progression of some sort. There needs to be a ‘point’ to a game (at least for me). If you’re not bettering your character, what exactly are you doing? Am I alone in this thought process or do others feel that in order for a game to be satisfactory to them, they have to be working towards some sort of laid out progression? Are there gamers out there who toss aside what ‘rules’ the game has come up with as far as progression and wandered down their own personal paths of what progress is to them? Are there games out there that even allow you to do that? Inquiring minds wish to know!

Over on MMOQuests, there is a great post asking what you value your MMO character at. Some people will probably find the personal figures that people place on their characters a little ridiculous, but they don’t truly understand the time and effort it takes to build up a character, and sometimes even a whole identity and personality for your toon.

For example, EverQuest II. My characters (I have a lot) don’t have the greatest of gear. They don’t have raid gear, they don’t have mythicals. They have a LOT of hours dedicated to them though, and I put a lot of time and care into each one, especially the ones over level 80. Of course I’d never sell them for real, but if I were to associate a price with the account in general, it would probably be somewhere around the $10,000 mark. Keep in mind this is an emotional price tag. Do I honestly think my account is worth that much and would I really sell it for such an outrageous price? No, of course not. It’s simply what the account is worth to me.

One interesting thing worth noting is that each game has its own values when it comes to characters. I have seen many EvE Online characters on Ebay, especially back when it was “allowed” to sell such items on there, and they went for around $20 USD per every one million skill points. Add in some assets on an older character, and quite easily the characters could fetch upwards of $500 to $1000 real dollars. Compare this to other games, that are easier to gain an upper hand in or they are less popular, and you will find that there are characters that, no matter how powerful, will never sell for over $200.

Why would someone buy a character, something that has been customized for the original user? The person purchasing the character instantly has a leg up on the game, and can ignore the tedium that is the early levels in all games.

Looking at my own characters, I’ve never placed much value on them. For me, my characters are just a representation of an ideal, and part of a game. It would be odd to me to get hundreds of dollars for a character in a game. I paid my subscription, I was entertained, and so the true value is in the entertainment. I understand that those buying characters should pay a convenience fee based on the level or game value of a character, but some people get quite attached to their characters and ask for a fee equivalent to a high end digital camera, mid-range computer or used car.

The idea that a character is worth the subscription fee per month, multiplied by the characters age, really only works in games like EvE online where the character can continue to train, despite the user not being logged in.

The real sale and trade of characters is an interesting world, and while the game creators and players may not like it, there is definitely a market for characters as people, just like in the rest of their life, look for shortcuts past the boring parts.

In the end, other than an ultra-expensive amount, there is no way I would sell my character currently and this is because I am still enjoying the game, and value the entertainment that it provides. Once I am bored with the game, then that will change, and I would be willing to pass it on to the next person at a fee that lets me buy into the next game that I want to play.

Head on over to MMOQuests, and let them know what you value your character at.