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The Soapbox: WoW’s talent trees don’t deserve your nostalgia
As World of Warcraft‘s Dragonflight expansion marches into alpha testing, we’re getting more glimpses at its new/old talent system, which harkens back to the talent trees of yore. Some have welcomed...
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The Soapbox: Why diversifying your MMO gaming is the smart thing to do
Allow me to indulge in some retrospection for a moment as I sit back on my rocker, squint into the fading afternoon light, and recall the “good ol’ days.” Well, the “ol’ days” at least. Different days....
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The Soapbox: Comparing the monetization of physical and digital card games
Earlier this week, we reported on the recent Blizzard survey about a possible Hearthstone sub. When I read the news, I almost choked on the sourdough jack I was noshing on as I accidently blurted,...
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The Soapbox: Subscriptions might actually be the next big innovation in...
What started earlier this week as a rant on how bad an idea a subscription model in Hearthstone would be evolved into something more: a Soapbox comparing the economies of traditional TCGs and digital...
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The Soapbox: Hating on the competition is no way to promote an MMO
Recently, RIFT was back in the news, offering free subscription time to new and returning players. While I salute Gamigo’s generosity here, whenever the topic of RIFT comes up, I can’t help but think...
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The Soapbox: MMO housing is so much more than a frivolous feature
When The Sims launched in 2000, what seemed like a dull and laughable concept on paper proved to be one of the most compelling video game experiences of all time. Messing around with a virtual...
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The Soapbox: Raiding isn’t the problem with World of Warcraft
It is by now clear that World of Warcraft‘s Dragonflight expansion hasn’t exactly set the world on fire. This has set off another round of the MMO community’s favourite gameshow, “Why Is World of...
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The Soapbox: A belated The Secret World post-mortem
This weeks marks the eleventh anniversary of the launch of The Secret World. While the game is still playable (for those with existing accounts), it has been relegated to the semi-death of maintenance...
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The Soapbox: Why The Secret World really failed
We’re back with part two of my long-overdue post-mortem of The Secret World, my favourite MMORPG of all time. In the first part I addressed the oft-hated combat, how the flaw was probably not the...
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The Soapbox: The day my son lost his first online video game to a sunset
It was a few weeks back that I walked into our family room and saw my 14-year-old son crouched over the iPad with a watch in hand doing something very meticulous and intentional. I paused and asked,...
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The Soapbox: Why Cryptic’s MMOs are the epitome of comfort gaming
They say you never forget your first kiss. I honestly can’t recall much about mine, but I do vividly remember the day that I ran to the store before work to grab a copy of City of Heroes for its...
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The Soapbox: How Vanguard’s diplomacy system could be revived and improved
Once upon a time there was an MMORPG called Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. It wasn’t the most popular MMO, but it did cultivate a loyal fanbase due to its innovative features that attempted to push the...
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The Soapbox: The real cost of breaking trust with gamers
There’s a quote going around these days in gaming spheres about trust being like a broken vase that can be fixed but will never be the same – and with good reason. Even though most gamers don’t really...
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The Soapbox: Will Diablo IV’s Vessel of Hatred be a sufficient answer for...
Everyone loves a good enrage timer, right? It puts pressure on everyone involved in a raid or boss fight to pull their weight and play well enough to ensure the boss doesn’t do its unstoppable...
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Some Assembly Required: Grand Theft Online roleplay is a tough nut to crack
A few months ago, I discovered the world of Red Dead Online roleplay. The possibility of interacting with other players and discovering mechanics in the world of RDO was an interesting diversion from...
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The Soapbox: In defence of World of Warcraft Cataclysm
When Blizzard announced Cataclysm Classic servers for World of Warcraft, there was some bemusement in the broader MMORPG community. Cataclysm has always been controversial, and to this day a lot of...
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The Soapbox: The ‘problem’ with MMO hoarding
I remember a number of years ago, in an article for a game I can’t recall, an MMO developer discussed how an early build of his crafting game allowed for unlimited bag space. On paper, it sounded...
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The Soapbox: Hearthstone is probably in for another boring year in 2024
I recently got a survey in my email on Hearthstone and its future. The last time a Hearthstone survey got sent out, the idea of a subscription model for the game wasn’t received super well. It prompted...
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The Soapbox: Casuals and soloers need challenging MMO content too
In a recent press Q&A around the announcement of Elder Scrolls Online‘s Gold Road chapter, Zenimax creative director Rich Lambert appeared to dismiss the idea of offering more challenging open...
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The Soapbox: Why I’m OK with ‘missing’ attacks in City of Heroes
The other day in the MassivelyOP work chat, we were talking about City of Heroes. Shocking, I know. But I’ve mentioned before that I never played the game while it was live, and so one of the things I...
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