General Discussion

Musse Dolk is a 2nd year game student from Sweden. As a part of his studies, Musse created the MMORPG Gamers Handbook, a fantastic basic resource that introduces new players to some of the terms, concepts and etiquette of MMORPG gaming. Today, we present part one of the guide. We hope to also present it as a full .pdf download in the near future.

1 Abstract

Massive multiplayer online games have a growing percentage of the games on today’s computer market. Each game has its unique set of challenges but there are also similarities where general game play strategies and recommendations apply. The MMORPG gamer’s handbook provides practical suggestions to players for how to work well in a team-based environment. Many misconceptions in MMORPG’s are clarified and players learn the most effective ways to improve their cooperative game play.

2 Introduction

There are a lot of good spoilers and guides out there for massive multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPG). Most of these are game specific and go down to the core in both the games system and fast advancement within the game. So why add another guide to the bunch?

Over the last few years I’ve played a lot of different MMORPGs and in every one of these I discovered that players new to the environment and the multiplayer game concept in general had the same kind of problems. There is quite a big gap between experienced players and new ones, even with all the guides and spoilers out there telling you exactly where to go and what to do.

Read Part One here.

This is not a general guide to MMOGs at all.  The advice on character creation alone is specific to a very specific few games.  There are quite a few MMOGs for which this guide is totally meaningless.

Concur.

If the plan is to make this a feature of the site I would suggest renaming and/or adding a disclaimer that this guide only really suits a particular model of MMO (one which I devoutly hope dies out at some point in the future).

Should a new player read this and happen to start up a game like EVE - thinking they are going to be all in the know - I suspect it won't go well at all.

If you're interested in reading the entire article you can download it here: http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/37611

In the process of typing this up a couple posts have been made that discount the integrity of the document as a whole.  Obviously you couldn't take it into a game like Eve Online, Rumble Fighter, or Albatross 18; however, the majority of MMOs have each of these roles to be filled (and even more than are categorized). 

Just look at the list of forums on the left.  How many of those games do not have these roles to be filled?  I count six (I think Maplestory actually has these roles to be filled).  Why?  Because these games don't adhere to the generic MMO model, they are FPS, flight sims, or hack-and-slash that would better relate to a console game.  To claim that new players to MMOs would take this guide to heart in all incidents would be problematic on the basis that most people who make EVE their first MMO would probably not even see this guide before playing the game.  Most people now adays join MMOs because their friends show it off to them, and thus most people probably will never come across it when playing for the first time unless their friends give it to them.

Even though the document has some great points, it misses out on a lot because it fails to acknowledge numerous roles.  It frequently stereotypes specific classes into roles that they generally aren't suited for and at times loses its focus on the class being discussed.

Stereotyping

Tanks

No major complaints here.  For the most part he has the tank's job right on the money.  There are a few points that he could've noted, for example pulling.  A lot of times a tank has the responsibility of playing the role of puller since most MMOs allow melee and ranged weapons to be equiped at the same time.  However, in some games this job is left to a class that requires long range weapons since swapping weapons may be a tedious task.

Damage Dealers

This is where things become hazy.  It will not apply to all major MMOs.  Most MMOs have a fast hitter that works as the Damage Dealer the majority of the time.  For example, Rogue/Hunter (WoW), Monk (FFXI), and Brawler (AO) . . . these examples are from major MMOs, how could he have missed all of these melee characters as damage dealers focusing strictly on spellcasters? 

There are additional exceptions to the rules set forth by almost any MMO (which can be over looked easily since they don't apply to the majority), such as when the Tank (AC) actually performing double roles to keep the spellcasters alive or spellcasters (multi) as a primary DD; however, these incidents are few and far between.  Generally speaking, spellcasters play a support role, by buffing and debuffing, rather than a major contributor to dealing damage.

Healer

This section actually appears to be totally devoted to spellcaster.  Which is true for the majority of games.

Crowd Controller

Once again, this section is specifically designed for a spellcaster.  There are times, however, when melee characters will be expected to play Crowd Controller as well.  A couple of good examples would be the Thief (FFXI) or Rogue (WoW), granted a spellcaster is generally the only class that can actually "Sleep" an opponent which is an example of the spellcaster being a support class.

For the Crowd Controller section, a wiser choice would be to break it down to an even greater stance of Support Jobs to include Augmentation and Crowd Controller.  This would better represent the majority of MMOs.

Group Combat

This guide also makes the assumption that the players will be focusing on fighting entire groups of enemies at one time.  Generally speaking in the early leveling stages, however, this is not the case because often groups especially if you're simply grinding to level.  Groups of MOBs can frequently overpower a party if you're fighting creatures that are of much greater strength than yourselves.  The guide should document these different situations.

Lack of Direction

In section 4, you'll clearly notice he intertwines information that applies specific classes in the wrong section.  For example, section 4.1.1.3. is identifying Line of Site as a spellcaster's problem in the middle of a Tank's duties.  The author could've easily fixed this problem by acknowledging ranged weapons (ie: bow) as a tool for pulling creatures. 

Again section 4.1.2.1. clearly identifies a spellcaster's problem in the middle of a Damage Dealer.  I've honestly never seen a spellcaster efficiently deal more damage over time than a melee based character in any MMO, generally I see them playing better support roles.  When I played WoW, more often than not my hunter would deal a great deal more damage (while not drawing hate) to the enemies while mages would often not to keep up.  I'm not saying that spellcasters can't deal damage effectively because they can hold their own; however, as the article points out they have their limitations due to the use of mana.

Also, the guide uses the term "mana" very loosely.  Mana is a term that applies only to some games.  Many games have created terms for their form of mana; however, since Ultima Online, EQ, and Asheron's Call have all referred to it as Mana I suppose that the term is appropriate for the situation.

Oh Stradden... I am not sure if you actually believe this to be a good guide, or you are desperate for material to post or what.  You've been highlighting several pieces and various material that at BEST are dearly lacking.  Hell, I could scribble something together that is more comprehensive than this in about ten minutes.  Look me up next time you want a half assed grouping of MMO info to spotlight. ;)

i hope no mmo producer reads the guide and piles up on its stereotypes

Originally posted by SundersGhost

Oh Stradden... I am not sure if you actually believe this to be a good guide, or you are desperate for material to post or what.  You've been highlighting several pieces and various material that at BEST are dearly lacking.  Hell, I could scribble something together that is more comprehensive than this in about ten minutes.  Look me up next time you want a half assed grouping of MMO info to spotlight. ;)

 

This is far from lacking.  It's clearly a well researched and thorough document; however, he was just lacking in some small points.  And based off his experience, I am shocked that he missed points such as melees as damage dealers and strictly support jobs.

Part 7 outlines all his "experience":

EDIT:  The more I thought about this article the more I got to thinking.  I love to read and critique articles here, but why would you post a student's thesis on here?

Originally posted by SundersGhost

Oh Stradden... I am not sure if you actually believe this to be a good guide, or you are desperate for material to post or what.  You've been highlighting several pieces and various material that at BEST are dearly lacking.  Hell, I could scribble something together that is more comprehensive than this in about ten minutes.  Look me up next time you want a half assed grouping of MMO info to spotlight. ;)

 

Time to put up or shut up.

www.mmorpg.com/opportunities.cfm