As I thought about the question in the title the last few days, I was surprised at some of the answers that sprang to mind for me. Over the year I've played many, many MMOs, partly for work, partly simply because I enjoyed them. I struggled to come up with an MMO that I "fell off of" in 2022, since it feels like I played a lot of different MMOs for different reasons.
Then the Steam replay was released earlier this week and I found myself rather shocked. The Lord of the Rings Online, my self-professed favorite MMORPG, wasn't anywhere near the top metrics for MMOs I played in 2022. Normally I would simply say it's because I'm using the SSG launcher, but I haven't used that in close to three years now.
I played a lot of LotRO, don't get me wrong. When the new mini-expansion was released, I dove headfirst into it, checking out the new zones, the delving system and more. But looking back on it now, I don't think I ever just played LotRO for fun this year.
Maybe it's simply 15 years have got me feeling stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread, and this year I felt like I needed a respite. EVE Online was easily my most played MMO this year, with New World and The Elder Scrolls Online taking up the second and third spots on my list. Guild Wars 2, a game I hadn't played since a month after it launched, scratch the surface more than my favorite MMO of all time - the MMORPG that got me into MMORPGs.
On PlayStation I found myself dabbling in Warframe and it's my preferred platform for Final Fantasy XIV. All these MMOs I've consistently played throughout the calendar year, eager to pick it up and jump into each of these game worlds.
But as I look back on the year that was, I can't say that LotRO scratched that itch this year. I'm shocked to even write that sentence as well, as by all accounts this has been an incredible year for the Middle-earth-based MMORPG. I find myself feeling a bit burnt out by it as I think about hopping in to grind more story content on my main, or level an alt towards the endgame. Even jumping headlong into decorating my Rohan premium house has lost some joy.
I'm hoping that this break will get me ready to tackle the MMO with renewed vigor in 2023. With a new expansion planned by Standing Stone Games, as well as the need to get my High Elf Captain up to the cap in order to give myself some variety at the end game (I'm notoriously bad at leveling alts), I have a lot to do and many goals to set for myself. And maybe that's the problem? I'm tackling this more as a to-do list rather than organically booting it up and having fun.
Either way, The Lord of the Rings Online is the MMO that I feel like I fell off of (hard) and am hoping to pick back up in 2023 (as equally hard). How about you? Let us know in the comments below.
