https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_2ttuyE1Rg&ab_channel=TheLazyPeon
Really good video that got me thinking. So I figured I would be social and bounce some thoughts off the forums. Anyway...
When he says that of our current MMOs, everything feels like a 5 out of 10. Man does that hit home. For me nothing has felt above a 5 or 6 out of 10 for more than a month of play since the Darkfall: New Dawns Alpha/Beta Which was like a 7 for me. The thing that really got me though was when he talked about how WOW and FFXIV could just be lobby based games, and are not massively multiplayer at all. This is true, but he only scratches the surface here.
They could very well be lobby based games, but it is somewhat worst than that. In both FFXIV and WOW it is very common to only raid with your static or guild. Unless you pug, which I do often. You don't really have a reason to meet anyone new. I have numerous people I have met pugging in both FFXIV and WOW. I only pug because I work nights, and my buddy who I tend to pug with works 3 on 4 off nights. Otherwise I would just do what the majority does and raid with only a guild/static.
So in my estimation. The average intended player experience in WOW/FFXIV is that you log in. Do the same content with the same 8 to 24 people once a week. Then do your chores with or without those people. The only opportunity to meet someone new is pug filling a slot or random solo ques, but lets face it. Most people don't meet anyone new doing random dungeons. In fact the only time I have ever thought to make a friend in a random dungeon is if someone's DPS is high for there class.
So yeah, MMOs have mostly become a lobby based game where most people don't even use the whole lobby. Open world content is a joke in most MMOs. That to me is what makes Ashes so compelling. It is not a lobby based game at all. Only 20% of the game is instanced. The open world is looking like it is going to be harsh enough to force people to work together. Guild's will need to be bigger than 8-24 man groups to get things done. Guilds will need to work together to protect and advance their node. This really is big.
As much as I like instanced raiding. I think I have come around to the idea that even if open worlds raids only would be a joke as far as mechanics are concerned. I would gladly give them up to go back to those days of fighting over a world boss in L2. Things were just more social back then. L2 was a primitive game, but it was more social than WOW. You would meet people just because they were in a spot you liked to grind.
Lazy peon said he is done with the genre is Ashes don't deliver. Personally I got my fall games. Dual Universe and Crowfall, but I do think what Ashes is trying to bring back, and advance is really important. We might not all get everything we want out of Ashes. The combat might not be as good as X game, the crafting might not be as good as X game, the economy might not be as good as EVE, but the some of the parts is looking important.
I tried to think of was to make this post shorter, but editing it only makes it longer.
So yeah, do y'all agree that current MMOs are practically lobby based games? Do you think Ashes will help change this?