Sixteen years. My Lord of the Rings Online Kinship is now old enough to drive.
I'm in guilds in pretty much every MMO I play - I can't imagine playing an MMO long-term without having a guild to interact with in-game anymore. In fact, whether I get into a game for the long haul depends on how quickly I join a guild.
The Lord of the Rings Online is the first, and only, MMO where I started my own guild. And sixteen years later we are still going. These are friendships that have been forged through long nights of raiding, running the same instance over and over again just to get that rare drop for everyone in the group.
Sixteen years is a long time for anything, let alone a long-standing gaming group throughout the years. Part of the reason this longevity exists is simply down to the longevity of the MMO itself - if LotRO had shut down years ago, while we would have probably moved to a new game, I do wonder if we'd be celebrating a sixteenth anniversary this week.
MMOs have the ability to bring players together from around the world together, working towards a common goal and providing that social relationship that last. Sixteen years in LotRO is a long time, but it makes me wonder too just how long other guilds and player groups have been gaming together, whether in the same game or across the genre.
How long have you and your group been gaming together? And have you noticed any friction as you changed games, or hit some growing pains throughout the years?
