raiding posts

"Roleplaying" and "raid" both in the same sentence? Blasphemy! Yet, that was my position back in World of Warcraft, and I certainly roleplayed while participating in PvP and massive PvE (almost akin to raids) in The Matrix Online before its demise. Before all of that, I was a roleplaying guild leader in Final Fantasy XI and Phantasy Star Online, so I've been around guilds for a long, long time.

If there has been any constant throughout my long string of positions as guild leader, linkshell leader, faction leader, and raid officer it has been thus -- leadership is tough. Sure you can surround yourself with raid guides, memorize every battle perfectly, and be wearing the most epic of epic gear, but if you don't learn how to work with others then you're most likely doomed to fail.

Raiding and multi-man content means working as a team, and that means someone's got to step up to the plate to take the reins. Leading a group or raid isn't easy, but I can tell you that it's well, well worth it. To that end, if you're just starting out on the path of leadership or are looking for a few tips to help out your raiding group, I think I might have some advice for you guys.

(Editor's Note: Sorry about the glitch! Part 2 is now available!)

When Runes of Magic launched with the subtitle 'Rise of the Demon Lord' somehow we knew there would be a day when we faced off against the big guy. Sure enough, the folks at Frogster Interactive and Runewaker Entertainment have finally unleashed His Terrible Demonicness on the world of Taborea in the form of a shiny new 12-player dungeon.

Located in the Naga Plains, Demon Stronghold is a richly textured raid area, offering four mini-bosses before you come up against the Demon Lord Sirloth. Word is that the final fight is a 4-phase battle, which will challenge players to think fast. Those adventurers who succeed in defeating him will be able to carry off the Demon Lord's weapons.

We've gathered up some concept art and screenshots from this shiny new raid and piled them into a gallery for you to check out. Considering how cool this area looks, we're curious to see what kinds of goodies players will carry off from this new raid instance. Should be tasty!

There are a lot of players and former players of EverQuest that would love to see a server that is locked down to just the first few expansions, or maybe none at all. While the latest game update, Ancient Heroes (which goes live today) doesn't bring a new server, there will be a new "classic EQ" experience introduced to the game. An NPC in the Plane of Knowledge will transform your character into a level 50 (the level cap once upon a time) decked out in launch-era equipment, and send you off to fight the Kobolds in Nagafen's Lair or the Frogloks of Guk -- or even to raid the old dragons, Lady Vox (pictured above) and Lord Nagafen. There will be new rewards waiting for those that choose to take up arms in old-school fashion.

This character morphing is the primary focus of the Ancient Heroes update, but in fact, there is more character morphing to be had with some new Marketplace items. A Potion of Amnesia will allow you to change your character's name, and a Potion of Disgenderment will flip their gender -- both changes are permanent, though you should just be able to buy another potion if need be. The Witness Protection Pack combines the two new potions, for those situations where you've really driven your reputation into the ground and need to start afresh.

The next expansion for Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online has just been revealed (along with the logo above): players will be able to download Siege of Mirkwood this fall and finish the epic storyline of Volume II that began with the Mines of Moria. Specifically, this will include Volume II Book 9 and an Epilogue. The level cap will be raised to 65, and along with the predictable traits, skills and virtues that come from extra levels, there will also be some new class quests. For the raiders, a new 12-man challenge involving the Nazgûl Lord awaits, and additional 3 and 6-man instances will cater to those hungry for small group content. Some enhancements to the Legendary items system and an upgrade to the game's responsiveness will be making it in too.

A brand new feature to be introduced to Lord of the Rings Online in Siege of Mirkwood is the Skirmishes system:

Skirmishes offer endless action in repeatable, randomized instances where players can create and lead customizable soldiers into battle, training them to greater skill as they earn victories against the forces of shadow. Answer the call of war wherever violence erupts with the new "World Join" function that lets players and their fellowships band together to fight in various locations throughout Middle-earth.

You can be sure that more information about the expansion is coming up -- as a matter of fact, we'll have an interview to share in the next day or so. Stay tuned!

One of the things that people love about MMOs is that there is often a lot of choice as to how they spend their time in-game. Some like to PvP, some like leveling a whole platoon of alt characters and others enjoy crafting. Then there is raiding. For some folks, an MMO just isn't complete without a fulfilling raiding experience built in, with the promise of some of the best shinies in the game to reward them for their effort.

The raiding game isn't for everyone though. Though this isn't always the case, raiding often requires quite a lot of commitment to a game (and probably a guild too); having to be online and available at a certain period of time for a minimum number of hours is just too much for a game to ask for many people. But for the devoted raiders, the fun and rewards that are had when finally beating a hellishly difficult encounter are worth the extra effort. So we ask you readers, are you a regular raider? Hardcore, or keeping it more casual? Is raiding content one of the first things you look into when searching for a new game to play?

Not the upcoming unreleased title from Sony Online Entertainment, but agency in the sense of making choices to effect change. As MMOG players, do we technically have any agency at all, or is that taken out of our hands, limiting us simply to selecting which ways we allow the game to push us around?

As players, of course, we get to choose our quests and missions from those that are made available to us, but of course there's no change effected. No sooner do we rescue the frightened hobbit, Lalia, from her folly in the Barrow Downs in Lord of the Rings Online, than she is wandering lost on the hillside once more, ready to be rescued again and again. And indeed, with a group, you can help to rescue her over and over and over. Until you get thoroughly tired of it.

Hi. Um, er, Elizabeth was tired, and I was in the office late, and I couldn't run out of the door fast enough when I saw her coming down the hall, so now I have to write this column this week. Bear with me, I'm winging it here.

So, um, I think I have to tell some pithy story that somehow relates all of the things we're doing this weekend together. That's how this column goes, I think. So, er, we're playing Team Fortress 2. Lots of Team Fortress. So much Team Fortress that even Saxton Hale's head might turn slightly to the left in a small bit of interest in what we're doing. Basically, an incredible amount of Team Fortress, is what I'm trying to get across here during this point of the post. I personally think Valve put crack into the last patch, because now even I'm playing it again. Ok, so that story wasn't very pithy, but maybe one of you out there laughed. All I need is one, right?

But wait! That's not all! There's more just around the corner besides Team Fortress 2! Come, see what else we're doing, and then share what you're doing with us!

EverQuest II's Game Update 52: Monument and Might is almost ready to roll out on the Test server, and the official community site has put up a preview of some of the highlights of the patch. There seems to be a focus on the Rise of Kunark areas for this update. Here's what the preview tells us is coming:

• The player-written books we had a look at last month
• A new zone called the Emperor's Athenaeum in Charasis
  
• A group instance called Kurn's Tower: Breaching the Void
• A x2 raid zone also based on Kurn's Tower
• Research Assistants that can upgrade spells and combat arts
• Over 80 new quests in the overland zones of RoK

We spotted a post from Kiara on the forums saying that these things are planned to be on Test next week if possible, so it won't be long until we know a lot more.

It's not the first time we've heard that MMO gamers might be a force in the workplace, but the American Society of Training and Development's webzine, Training + Development, has added to the viability of the MMO gamer in the workforce.

Their article, "Slash, Burn, and Learn", focuses on how MMOs closely mimic team building exercises through their game design. Players are encouraged to progress through the game by solving challenges, only to be presented with harder challenges to solve as the game continues onwards. Certainly rewards provide incentive to keep plugging away at hard challenges, but players also learn how to manage personnel and look for diversity in the team to make sure all aspects of combat are accounted for. Players even submit to optional performance reviews just to see how much they've improved over time.

The article provides an interesting read and shows many of the parallels between raid management and workplace skills. While not every MMO player will gain all of these benefits, it is amusing to see how much our games sometimes parallel our lives in more ways than one.

Of course we laugh about a topic like this one. Games aren't suppose to be serious, that's why they're games! They're suppose to be fun and enjoyable. If you're not having fun, then you're doing something seriously wrong. For the most part, all of this is true. Yet, there are small segments of the games that we play that actually can require everyone to sit down and "get serious."

We see it in raiding tactics, player vs. player tactics, loot distribution, and many other areas (including the entire universe of EVE Online, which seems to be played very seriously.) We've even dedicated a segment of our culture to this type of behavior -- the "hardcore" crowd.

So, let's go forward and look at the question, "Are games getting too serious?"

You might see where this is going now...

This is a hard concept to explain, yet it's the concept that drives all social games, real-life based or online based. If you're taking the game so seriously that you're not having fun, then you've found the line where the problem begins.

"Serious business" sounds like a joke, but all games have some degree of seriousness in them. The only ones that are truly unbound by this rule are the ones that are entirely luck based, like The Game of Life, Chutes and Ladders, or Trouble, where the dice determine the progress of game play. Players have no true input into the game, thus no true focus is required.

"So are games getting too serious? Nope. They're doing the same things they've always been doing."

Once decision making is introduced, strategies begin. Once strategies are introduced, players will formulate efficient ways to win and those winning methods will always win unless luck determines otherwise or a more efficient strategy is found. Regarding our MMO games, which require player movement, button presses, and (to some degree) luck, you will need players who are focused. If players aren't standing in the right places or if the right skills aren't being used, then loss will almost constantly occur. Players don't gather in raids to lose, they gather in raids to win.

A football team and a raiding party are actually closer than one might think. Both get together to overcome a challenge presented to them, whether it be the Blue Mountain Eagles from the other side of the county or Patchwerk of Naxxramas. The fun comes from the work of overcoming the challenge; from "winning" the game. Sure, there might be rewards involved, like trophies or purple loot, but there is also going to be work involved. So are games getting too serious? Nope. They're doing the same things they've always been doing.

So next time you're in that raid group, or next time you're on that PvP team, or in that corporation war, or sieging that city, remember that focusing is not being overly serious. It's about working to get the task done, not screaming at one another. It also means that perhaps you might want to save your list of jokes and gossip for another time.

There's always more time to kid with friends. But right now is one of the few times you may be standing in front of Malygos.

---

Colin Brennan is the weekly writer of Anti-Aliased who is still forced to make decisions he totally doesn't want to. When he's not writing here for Massively, he's rambling on his personal blog, The Experience Curve. If you want to message him, send him an e-mail at colin.brennan AT weblogsinc DOT com. You can also follow him on Twitter through Massively, or through his personal feed.

Yes. That's right. The most accessible MMO is too hardcore for the standard audience, according to Forbes.com and Rob Hutter of the recently unveiled Gazillion Entertainment. In a recent interview with Hutter, he was quoted as saying that the MMO market could expand outside of "targeting the hardcore gamer demographic," using World of Warcraft as his main example.

Forbes.com paraphrased him as saying, "...Most people unaccustomed to MMOs might be intimidated by complex games like 'Warcraft,' Hutter says trends in technology suggest the audience for simple, well-designed games will grow quickly. The runaway success of Nintendo's Wii proved virgin gamers will try new titles if they are easy to play, while the boom in social networks like Facebook suggests people of all ages are looking for new ways to interact online, he says."

While we understand what he's getting at and can appreciate trying to target gamers outside of the main demographic, we think he might need to pick a better example next time. WoW can be intimidating for first time users, but something must have clicked with the non-hardcore gaming crowd as many of them have stuck around in Azeroth. Unless, of course, all 11 million of the World of Warcraft subscribers have suddenly become hardcore male gaming nerds, and those newbies in our guilds are simply the stuff of illusion.

[Via Hardcore Casual]

A few nights ago, I was in one of the worst pick-up groups I have ever seen. It was World of Warcraft, we were in Halls of Lightning, and we had opened up with a dramatic wipe on the first boss. (He wasn't even in his powered mode, which surprised me.)

Valiantly, we tried the battle again, but found the same effect. Everyone looked like they had enough gear -- I had done that boss with "worse" people backing me up. Of course, while I was pondering that, the squabbling had already begun in the party. Priest blames hunter, hunter blames mage, mage blames paladin, then the paladin stops pondering why we were failing, realizes people were blaming her, and becomes flustered that someone would actually blame her for the wipe. Meanwhile, the rogue sat in stealth and went afk. Perfect party dynamics.

Before long I found myself outside of Halls of Lightning again, sitting on the steps in my pristine holy plate armor. I held up a sign that said, "Will tank 4 food," while I kept up hopes that another party would take me in. (Note: Apparently Game Informer used "Will tank 4 food" in their latest magazine, which just read 5 minutes ago, well after this article was completed. Scary.)

Party dynamics seem to be on the decline, but why? Pick-up groups were always a scary prospect, but lately they seem to have become something entirely more nightmarish. What the heck has changed?