What it takes

Massive multiplayer online role playing games are not for everybody. Some people do not play them because they don't fulfil the basic requirements to even start, reasonably powerful computer, internet connection, credit card. But even of those gamers that could play MMORPG, many don't enjoy the game, because they lack some of the skills you need. Because the set of skills you need to play a MMORPG is rather different than what you need to play other games. So, what does it take to play a typical MMORPG, like Final Fantasy XI?

1) Tactical skills: These skills are mixture of skills that are particular to a certain game, and skills that are common to several games. As combat works rather similar in many MMORPG, many group combat skills are common to several games. If you understood how to control aggro, what a tank was, and what the role of the main healer in a group was in Everquest, you'd easily translate these skills into their minor variations in Dark Age of Camelot, or Final Fantasy XI. On the other hand, quad-kiting was a solo combat skill unique to EQ, while only in FFXI do you need to know how skill chains work in combat. Most of these tactical skills are acquired by playing the game. Some things you learn by observation, some you will be told by the other players in your groups. Most of the time these skills require just some intelligence, and not fast reaction speed.

2) Knowledge skills: MMORPG are very knowledge based games. If you know where to hunt at what level, or what quest gives what reward, you will progress a lot faster than somebody who doesn't know. Knowledge can be acquired from friends, from different website, or from message boards. Some knowledge you will always pick up yourself in the game. But frankly, the documentation you get when you buy the game is usually rather bad and covers only the most essential basics. And while playing, the games I know don't really do a good job to steer you in the right direction. In game you often only learn by trial and error, and that is a long and unpleasant process. Having the skills to find knowledge from other players, or on publicly available websites, makes you a much stronger player.

3) Social skills: Playing with lots of other players is practially the point of MMORPG. Nearly all of them have some concepts of groups and/or guilds, where players work together to achieve goals they couldn't achieve on their own. In some games it is actually impossible (EQ) or nearly impossible (FFXI) to solo up to the highest level, you must join a group to earn experience points. In other games it is optional, but there is usually some sort of bonus to playing in a group, to compensate for the time lost in forming one. Then there is the player economy, with items found as loot, or created by tradeskills, being traded or sold between players. All of these player-player interactions require some social skills. The internet not being a very polite place to start with, the requirements are somewhat low. But if somebody behaves very badly, he can find himself excluded in different ways from the player community. In extreme cases, complaints about bad behavior can get a player banned by the game company. On the positive side, if you are nice, and make friends easily, there are obvious advantages in finding a group faster, or being able to get help from others.

In single-player games you will also need some tactical skills, but those are often simpler, as they don't involve the cooperation of several players. Single-player games are usually less knowledge based, there are enough games you can finish without even checking on a single website (although walkthroughs and such exist for many single player games as well). And obviously you don't need any social skills to succeed in a single player game. So it is understandable that the transition from single-player to massive multi-player can be rough. In a month the PS2 version of Final Fantasy XI is released. Some people that played Final Fantasy 1 to 10 will be rather surprised how different FFXI is, and not all will like the change. I'm not sure it was a good idea to call this game "Final Fantasy XI", making it appear to be part of a series, instead of calling it "Final Fantasy Online" or something. A player getting frustrated because he was led into a game that is "wrong" for him is bad news, for him and for the other players already playing.
- posted by Tobold @ 1:45 PM Permanent Link