MMO Roundup #11

• MMORPG
• Roundup

• Elder Scrolls Online
• Final Fantasy XIV
• Guild Wars 2
• Shroud of the Avatar
• The Secret World

_These post titles are killing me. I hate titles that don’t mean anything. I don’t know about anyone else, but I almost never click through to read an article if the title doesn’t interest me (my feed reader also shows the first sentence, so that is also a factor). I assume everyone else is the same. But here I am, doing the exact thing I hate. “Generic Post #11.” I might as well call it, “Don’t bother reading this one.” Not even mentioning the SEO implications of a worthless title. Not too many people are going to search for “Generic Post #11.”

_

I’m still enjoying Secret World Legends* for a second week in a row, a very strange turn of events. I’m in Egypt now, working through Black Sun, Red Sand. I don’t remember it very well, but that might be because when I compare old and new wikis, it seems to have altered significantly since The Secret World. I have yet to change my “build” since I started the game, I’m still using the first 5 active and passive skills I got at the very beginning, and still feeling crazy overpowered. (I do not like the tedious, micro-management-style gear system, though.)

I’m also continuing to try to finish Kingdom Come: Deliverance a little bit at a time, though I’m not much invested in the game anymore.

FFXIV has another free login campaign. Try it out. It’s still the best subscription-only MMORPG. (Although I have to admit I’ve been having some creeping doubts about that claim in the last six months. Perhaps a subject for a future blog post.)

Shroud of the Avatar launched. I have “some” interest in this game, but in my mind it’s a single-player game, so there’s no need get it for the “launch rush.” I’m too invested in SWL right now anyway, and that doesn’t cost me anything.

I’ve noticed that Zenimax is alienating its most fervent ESO fans in my Twitter timeline with their decision to lock jewelry crafting behind the Summerset purchase. I predict players will respond to this by … buying it anyway. Pre-ordering, even. But oh, the strongly-worded letters people will write! I kid, but seriously I don’t understand why this is perceived differently from the crafting bag, which as far as I can tell is universally loved, but which also, to my way of thinking, is just as much a vitally-important quality-of-life feature locked behind a cash purchase as this new jewelry crafting thing. If anything, the crafting bag is even more punitive because it requires a repeating cash purchase commitment, whereas the jewelry crafting is a one-time unlock.

Guild Wars 2 did a great thing by honoring departed blogger Ravious from Kill Ten Rats.

* I’m really not sure whether to make a new blog tag for Secret World Legends or just continue to use the The Secret World tag. I really like to write “the The Secret World” so I don’t think I will change it.