MMORPG and classes

[Nonpareil]

I'm finally feeling well enough to be posting on mbtic again and so I've been doing my usual thinking...

First, I want to apoligize to Mendacity, I've been meaning to answer your question and that leads to the reason I created this thread, I want to know who here plays MMORPG, what classes they like to play, why do they like that class, and what part of MMORPG do they like to play most? Do you like it for the social aspect, the raiding, the mindless grinding, role playing, etc. Do you play this game with friends and/or significant other or do you pick up the game as an escape or for your own entertainment/fun?
And to answer Mendacity's question to me from another post that died off:

I play on Sin'jen. I play a Blood Elf Warlock. I like the lock because it's not as technical as a Warrior (you should hear my x-boyfriend and his other warrior friends talk about damage per second and crit percentage rates. I pay a bit of attention to that stuff, but not the way they do. :rolli, but it has the potential to do lots and lots of damage, and is also a pretty versatile and flexible class to play.
The 'lock is a support class in its way, but playing healers and buffers (paladins, priests, etc) is kind of boring to me. I've never been able to play one past level 10 or so.
What server are you on and why did you chose a druid night elf? What do you like about playing that class? I'm curious for the same reasons you are
Also, I LOVE to PvP. I get all into it and yell and bang my computer desk a lot. What about you?

I play on Dreanor, the main class I play is my night elf druid. I have many other classes ranging from a lvl 44 hunter to a lvl 18 mage. I tried many classes but I find that I like to play druids, warriors and priest. Like I said, I like more support type characters. That said, I enjoy playing my these games with people. I like being needed and as a druid, my guild always had a use for me. I don't really like playing by myself, although, sometimes with my druid, I didn't mind going out and picking rare flowers for potions and whatnot. I took great pride in my abilities to support my raid group and teammates. Honestly, it's not easy finding a good healer that knew how to minimize agro and maximize mana used! I'm not saying I'm the best healer out there, but druids were great in raids - hot's and all!

I liked playing in raids (if organized well) and in small groups. I played these games mostly with my significant other (who normally introduced the game to me and explained to me the game and how it all works). I never cared about crits or damage per second or even the gear unless pt explained to me why it was so amazing. I just liked this safe escape from reality and the ability to help in this virtual world.

Why do the rest of you like MMORPG? I'm just curious if the reasons you play and the classes you play have anything to do with personality types. I hope I get enough responses to get an answer to this question.

Thanks all!

 

[Totenkindly]

I used to play City of Heroes for quite awhile. My favorite archetypes were:
- Tankers (aggro holders)
- Controllers (pets and element control/damage)
- Defenders (heal/buffers/debuffs)

Scrappers were fun but rather mindless.

The only one I leveled up to fifty was my fire/kinetics controller (Flarrah), and she really rocked when she got her fire imps out. I could chew through things solo very quickly. Beautiful Dream was my emp/psy defender, and she was a buff/heal goddess (multitasking necessary!). Strawberry was my ice/fire tanker, she was very cool -- her build caused lots of DoT damage and could rejuvenate health/energy from the mobs around her, so she actually was best when tackling large groups of slightly weaker mobs.

I switched to EQ for a month or two but got bored with that, then moved to WoW and have been there around a year, I think. I have tried out many of the classes there (with particular builds). So far my favorites:

- Aavolai - Night Elf hunter, level 61 (Sentinels), marksmanship build
- Faelae - Night Elf druid, level 60 (Feathermoon), feral build, I was actually just playing her a few minutes ago
- Ophyra - Human Warrior, level 53 (Feathermoon), rage build
- Saelki - Blood Elf Paladin, level 31 (Sentinels)
- Lleisl - Drae paladin, level 43 (Feathermoon)

I did try playing a priest, mage, and warlock, and got bored (meh) with them quickly. I like to solo and they also did not seem to solo as well. I also tried a Shaman; she was a little better, but still got boring quickly enough.

Rogues are not too bad, but I like my druid "feral rogue" (I play in kitty mode almost all the time) to be the most fun.

I think primarily what I like is the ability to solo. I do enjoy talking to people, and I even like teaming from time to time (ideally I would find a decent team to be with), but teams always demand the need to coordinate playing times, and in some ways I like the ability to figure out how to solo something that most people use teams to defeat. I can also control the situation, rather than having some nutcase running around and aggroing everything in sight (most of my PUGs have been either average or bad, sigh).

Have you ever looked at Nick Yee's site, Daedalus? He's a researcher who does gaming surveys and studies on the side (so they are decent but just not quite as rigorous as more formalized surveys). There are even some tests there you can take, to determine your basic motivations in gaming.

Mine seem to be typical for INTP with a bent towards identity issues:
1. Exploration
2. Understanding and best using the underlying rules system / strategy
3. Roleplaying in terms of customization, expressing who I am, manifesting myself in a fantasy world.

I also enjoy building one-on-one friendships with people that involve aspects others than the game itself. (i.e., knowing who they are in real life and helping with RL issues they might be experiencing).

 

[Zergling]

I almost always end up playing all classes in the game (In D2, guild wars, world of Warcraft.), but I usually start out with hybrid classes, or other classes that do things in odd ways, plus the "Nuker fire shooting mage" type character.

In world of warcraft, I played my shaman and druid the most, with the paladin, hunter, and warlock following. In guild wars, I tended to prefer my necromancer, 2 ritualists, elementalist, Dervishes, and shouter Paragon. Rangers I also liked pretty well. My warrior, monk, and mesmer were played the least.

 

[Athenian200]

I honestly couldn't justify the expense. I mean, those games cost more per month than some people pay for their Internet connections. Most of their clients require Windows, encouraging Microsoft's dominance. It's not educational, it requires a time commitment, and it sounds like it often just becomes an elaborate graphical chatroom, which is free on AIM or IRC. Battles and character customization features are available in offline games. It increases vulnerability to hackers, and it's only redeeming quality is that it provides a unique and entertaining experience. So what's the appeal?

Note that RPG's are my favorite genre, however.

 

[nightning]

I honestly couldn't justify the expense... It increases vulnerability to hackers, and it's only redeeming quality is that it provides a unique and entertaining experience. So what's the appeal?

How can you not like mmorpgs? I thought it's a requirement for Ns... I guess not

Appeal: I like them over offline games due to the increase interactions with other people. The atmosphere is different. You get a sense of connection with other people as you strive together towards a common goal (raids etc)... something introverts seldom get in real life. Having other people there also makes the game more fun. Increase variability and game dynamics. You can also play mind games. Also not all of them have monthly fees... some of them are supported by cash shops.

I'm drawn to the less violent, more "cutsy" ones. I've played RO, PKO, MapleStory, DOMO etc. Currently I'm playing Nostale. Classes, I've tried all of them. However in general, I prefer high agi, damage classes. So hunters assassins, thiefs and agi fighters. Pet controllers are also quite fun. =P

 

[Totenkindly]

I honestly couldn't justify the expense. I mean, those games cost more per month than some people pay for their Internet connections.

I pay $45 for my cable connection per month and $15 for my Wow fee.

Most of their clients require Windows, encouraging Microsoft's dominance. It's not educational, it requires a time commitment, and it sounds like it often just becomes an elaborate graphical chatroom, which is free on AIM or IRC. Battles and character customization features are available in offline games. It increases vulnerability to hackers, and it's only redeeming quality is that it provides a unique and entertaining experience. So what's the appeal?

Time for you to practice playing Devil's Advocate and argue the other side. (What arguments could you guess that people might use, if you had to argue in favor of MMO play and win the argument?)

--

I should say that in most computer games, I prefer high agility characters versus high strength ones.

 

[Athenian200]

How can you not like mmorpgs? I thought it's a requirement for Ns... I guess not

Appeal: I like them over offline games due to the increase interactions with other people. The atmosphere is different. You get a sense of connection with other people as you strive together towards a common goal (raids etc)... something introverts seldom get in real life. Having other people there also makes the game more fun. Increase variability and game dynamics. You can also play mind games. Also not all of them have monthly fees... some of them are supported by cash shops.

I'm drawn to the less violent, more "cutsy" ones. I've played RO, PKO, MapleStory, DOMO etc. Currently I'm playing Nostale. Classes, I've tried all of them. However in general, I prefer high agi, damage classes. So hunters assassins, thiefs and agi fighters. Pet controllers are also quite fun. =P

People? Why would I want to worry about other people while I'm trying to beat a game? That would be distracting. I usually e-mail or IM people when I want to talk to them, and use forums and chatrooms if I want to interact with a community, or even talk to them in real life. I guess I don't understand having such a deep need to feel connected to others in everything I do.

Interestingly, I usually prefer classes such as Wizard/Mage, and sometimes Archer.

I pay $45 for my cable connection per month and $15 for my Wow fee.

Well, many connections are cheaper, around $25... and that $15 is still a significant monthly sum, considering it's not something you can use productively.

The only argument you can produce is that it's a fun, unique experience, and gives you an opportunity to feel connected to people. I just don't understand that kind of thinking.

 

[Zergling]

Well, many connections are cheaper, around $25... and that $15 is still a significant monthly sum, considering it's not something you can use productively.

Here's a comparison for what 15$ is worth:

My groceries each week are around $50-$60

Movie rentals (Netflix) are about $10 a month

Movie rentals from a rental store are about $5-7 for two movies for 2-4 days or so, so $15 gets you around 4-6 movies for about 2-4 days.

Eating out at a restaurant (not fast food), often gets to around $10 for one trip per one person (Unless the restaurant is very cheap or if you order a cheap menu item, but either way getting food from a restaurant for 1-3 meals or so ends up the same as an MMORPG).

Compared to a lot of entertainment methods, MMORPGs are actually pretty cheap for the amount of time and fun they give, though they aren't the cheapest options available.

: I like them over offline games due to the increase interactions with other people. The atmosphere is different. You get a sense of connection with other people as you strive together towards a common goal (raids etc)... something introverts seldom get in real life. Having other people there also makes the game more fun. Increase variability and game dynamics.

The other people interactions for me are the biggest strength and weakness of MMORPGs. Playing with a group of good players is one of the more fun things I get to do, but playing with a group of bad players will often make me wish I had some nice, powerful, deadly weapons. The bad player factor especially hurts in parts of the game (Like WoW instances) that take several hours, since it often means a large chunk of my day has been wasted by some idiots over the internet. (The other weakness is grind, MMORPGS often have a lot more "grinding" type of stuff than other games.)

 

[ptgatsby]

Price of 2 hour movie? About the same as a 1 month subscription. And I can bring my own snacks to my computer.

Total played time on my hunter... about 25 /played hours. At about 2 years of fees (a bit less since I quit a couple of times - currently not playing either), I believe that is about $0.60/hour. And of course, I probably have a lot more sunk into my 8 alts, although maybe not as much as my hunter.

The arguments against MMOs, for me, really have little to do with money. I just find them suddenly much less appealing on the actual gameplay value. After playing fable, I realised how crappy of a RPG they tend to be...

*edit: I spent 40$ on dinner last night for Non and I. I dunno about price differences, but if we eat out anywhere, it's easily 15-20$, with many meals at nicer restaurants ranging from $20-50. Relatively speaking, MMO subscriptions are cheap entertainment, so long as you are entertained. You'd probably have to spend less than 5 hours/month to justify the monthly cost...

 

[Zergling]

*edit: I spent 40$ on dinner last night for Son and I. I dunno about price differences, but if we eat out anywhere, it's easily 15-20$, with many meals at nicer restaurants ranging from $20-50.

For me by myself, it's usually somewhere around $7-10, though the point is probably the same.

 

[Varelse]

I should say that in most computer games, I prefer high agility characters versus high strength ones.

Same here.

Though I don't play MMORPGs. Just single player ones. :shuts up:

 

[Nonpareil]

I honestly couldn't justify the expense. I mean, those games cost more per month than some people pay for their Internet connections.

I don't know how much your internet connections cost but I don't know of any place that has high speed interent for less than or even close to $15/month. Relatively speaking, for entertainment, MMORPG, such as WoW or the like is cheaper than any other entertainment. Going to the movie once is equivalent to one month subscription to the game (and in the game, you can pick when you play and how long you play). The monthly subscription is even cheaper than getting cable or special channels on T.V. Both of those are just as mindless and most television/movies are not educational either.

I'm not saying you have to like paying for MMORPG, I'm just saying your reasons are unjust and that I think you are jumping to conclusions too fast without thinking out why people, especially introverts may enjoy it.

In terms of escape, it's great - you can pretend to be someone else, some people really take on the role-playing, you build friendships and alone or together, you can conquer the world. Virtual or not, you may not think it's educational but you do learn a lot about stategies (ask pt - he's done many spreadsheets on damage over time and such), about patterns, people and team-work. All of that is skills that can be used in life and for introverts, it may be easier for us to achieve this virtually than in real life. I've learned a lot about people, stategies and how things work, I've even learned about politics, social drama and social taboos in these games. In my opinion, $15/month (although, I paid less than that), is cheap for that kind of information and education.

Most of their clients require Windows, encouraging Microsoft's dominance.

I don't know about that, but all I have to say is, most of the world - businesses and the like use Windows, it can't be helped. Are you saying you won't support or use a company that uses Windows? I don't really like Window's either, but I don't liek the alternative that much either. That's what happens...what can we really do?

It's not educational, it requires a time commitment, and it sounds like it often just becomes an elaborate graphical chatroom, which is free on AIM or IRC.

I've already said why I think it can be educational and I like the paid ones better than free ones because it filters out teens and younger, more immature people from the game - that way there can be proper information gathering and usually better game experience when dealing with multiple people online.

Battles and character customization features are available in offline games.

But have you tried the paid versions of online battles and character customization, it is a whole different level that free offline games can't even begin to simulate. It's a lot of fun in pvp and great for getting revenge and sharpening your game playing skills, you can't get the same satisfaction defeating a computer ai as defeating a real person (even if you may not know who it is).

It increases vulnerability to hackers, and it's only redeeming quality is that it provides a unique and entertaining experience.

How does online MMORPG with a monthly subscription increase vulnerability to hackers? Anything you do on the internet, even in chat can increase vulnerability to hackers if you don't know what you are doing. I think a game with a monthly subscription and hundreds of people/administrators looking over everything is safer than chatting with people on a random chat room.

Anyways, that's my rant for the day. I'm just curious what people like to play on MMORPG, not why people think it's a waste of time. :steam:

 

[Totenkindly]

Here is the most hilarious thing I've seen.

Fae is level 60, my friend Malaw is a level 64 mage. She came to help me kill Ajal (?), in the small city full of undead right above the camp in the Western Plaguelands. Unfortunately, he is a level 61 gold elite and he was surrounded by two elite skeleton knights plus a bunch of other goons.

We both died twice and we about ready to give up, realizing it was hopeless... when some crazy level 70 paladin ran right through the middle of the square, drawing all the aggro. He got stunned and just pounded on (and a pally is super-tough!) and was trying to inch his way out of the square to survive, but he was almost dead... so I cast a heal on him... and suddenly everything came after me.

I turned into a bear, hit regen and ran... well, ambled, because I was getting hit and stunned. Malaw almost died fending off a skeleton who aggroed onto her. And Ajal was following me and attacking. I made it halfway out of the city before dying... sigh.

So I was thinking, "Boy, that was silly, why did I heal that pally?"

So I did my corpse run back to my body, recorporated, and right near me the pally was killing Ajal. And he did, too. I was just like, "out of all the rotten luck!"

And then I realized I could see the remnants of his corpse (which I needed to loot). The pally said, "Oh, you should have just let me die, you know!" and laughed, and I said, "Oh well, it was worth a try." And then I asked him if I could loot the corpse, and he said, "Sure," and so there it was -- I finished the quest, all because I was silly enough to heal someone else and die in the process.

(Apparently even though we were not in the same party, the game did the same thing that healing a flagged character does -- you get flagged too. So I was counted as part of the looting party, I guess. That is the best i can figure.)

Mal was beating her head on the ground after hearing all we had went through, and here I cast a quick heal on a pally, he killed it, and I got the loot. <grin>

Now... with all THAT drama... couldn't you enjoy MMOs?? That was the highlight of my night!

Anyways, that's my rant for the day. I'm just curious what people like to play on MMORPG, not why people think it's a waste of time. :steam:

You go, girl! Give it to her!

 

[Apollonian]

*sigh* I miss the glory days of free-form text-based roleplay when chatrooms were first invented. There is something inherently more creative which happens when people are required to come up with the ideas themselves. Although, I remember saying to myself back then: it's only a matter of time before we have completely 3D avatars running around in a virtual world. It didn't take very long.

I played Neverwinter Nights for a while, though I had some roommates who essentially dropped out of school while I refused to sacrifice GPA for XP.

I enjoy the games for their immersive story-telling. Neverwinter Nights was excellent in that it allowed private servers to be build by non-corporate-sponsored individuals running their own campaigns. However, I find that I don't often have the time to make the immersive roleplay worth while and most of the popular games have drawn a crowd which doesn't appreciate story-telling much at all.

That said, I enjoyed playing Sylvan Rangers for the depth of character and Arrow Singers (Bard+Arcane Archer) for the flashiness of personality. I had created a fairly well fleshed out backstory for each of my characters involving two houses of elves.

 

[Athenian200]

I don't know how much your internet connections cost but I don't know of any place that has high speed interent for less than or even close to $15/month. Relatively speaking, for entertainment, MMORPG, such as WoW or the like is cheaper than any other entertainment. Going to the movie once is equivalent to one month subscription to the game (and in the game, you can pick when you play and how long you play). The monthly subscription is even cheaper than getting cable or special channels on T.V. Both of those are just as mindless and most television/movies are not educational either.

Well, what about posting on forums, looking up information, reading books, listening to music, and regular TV? Interesting you didn't even mention those. Also, dial-up internet is cheaper.

I'm not saying you have to like paying for MMORPG, I'm just saying your reasons are unjust and that I think you are jumping to conclusions too fast without thinking out why people, especially introverts may enjoy it.

I didn't say there was anything wrong with it, I simply said that it was a little bit of an indulgence/commodity, and not really a useful thing. That's not the same as saying people have no right to do what they like to. You're reading too much into what I said.

In terms of escape, it's great - you can pretend to be someone else, some people really take on the role-playing, you build friendships and alone or together, you can conquer the world. Virtual or not, you may not think it's educational but you do learn a lot about stategies (ask pt - he's done many spreadsheets on damage over time and such), about patterns, people and team-work. All of that is skills that can be used in life and for introverts, it may be easier for us to achieve this virtually than in real life. I've learned a lot about people, stategies and how things work, I've even learned about politics, social drama and social taboos in these games. In my opinion, $15/month (although, I paid less than that), is cheap for that kind of information and education.

I've already said why I think it can be educational and I like the paid ones better than free ones because it filters out teens and younger, more immature people from the game - that way there can be proper information gathering and usually better game experience when dealing with multiple people online.

But have you tried the paid versions of online battles and character customization, it is a whole different level that free offline games can't even begin to simulate. It's a lot of fun in pvp and great for getting revenge and sharpening your game playing skills, you can't get the same satisfaction defeating a computer ai as defeating a real person (even if you may not know who it is).

That all fits into my original statement. Unique, enjoyable experience. I never said it was a total waste of time, I just said there are more efficient uses of time and money in terms of entertainment. Why is that so offensive? You seem to have forgotten that I'm an Introvert as well.

Anyway, that's my last self-defense. I've learned one thing from this thread: never even joke about getting between an NT and their MMORPG's.

 

[Zergling]

Most of the stuff you said applies to any form of entertainment, and was quite off base in terms of costs involved, or what the games are like. Plus, it wasn't worded "I don't like MMMORPG's because...", but "MMORPG's are...".

 

[Totenkindly]

Anyway, that's my last self-defense. I've learned one thing from this thread: never even joke about getting between an NT and their MMORPG's.

Next time you should jack up your Charisma score a bit.

... Plus, it wasn't worded "I don't like MMMORPG's because...", but "MMORPG's are...".

That was the primary issue here. The criticisms were universally applied (and with the gentleness and flexibility of a nail gun into hardwood) rather than presented in a negotiable way.

 

[ptgatsby]

Back onto the topic.

I play all sorts, depending on the phase of the game, etc. New games = damage dealer = cash = levelling faster = secure position early = invite to groups = good pvp.

Later on, or if I know other people in the game... old game = healer = lots of love = power levelling = auto-secure position = invite to groups = POWER.

In games that I just jump in for fun, it's always the damage/soloer.

Most of the time it's the damage one because I don't like being twinked up... but I play a good healer too. Raiding involves healing... so I don't mind that too much... except I mostly hate raiding. Why I love healers is because of the power of jumping into groups without waiting, unlike the "first come first serve" of the DPS group.

 

[Dark Razor]

I have only played Guild Wars so far, if I'd touch WoW I'd probably get hopelessly addicted to it.

In GW I mostly play Assassins and a Necromancer, though my favourite class really is the Assassin, mostly because of his agility/mobility that comes with all the running and shadow steps, and the freedom on the battlefield (most other classes have a fixed role on the team, as an Assassin you can pretty much do what you want as long as you dont die and do enough damage.)

The Assassin is also the class that feels fastest, when playing an elementalist or a ritualist I almost fell asleep.

About the Necro I like that there are a lot of different possibilities that he can be played, necro is also probably the easiest class to play with henches.

What I like about PvE gaming is mostly taking charge of a group, and organize and lead them to succesfully complete the goal of the mission, especially if the group is a soso PUG that would have failed without me.

That's also the reason why I dont really like to play with henches, I like the interaction with real people. With the latest AI improvements the henches are also so strong that you can basically just stand behind them and let them steamroll through the level (if you handle them correctly and dont let them become overwhelmed.)

In PVP I specifically like the aspect of GW that what counts is mostly skill and not equipment, so I can engage in battle with a person and will win or lose based on both individual ability and the ability of the team to effectively work toghether, may the better one of us leave the battlefield alive.

 

[Lateralus]

...

If it's the lich in the ruins of Andorhal, it's actually Araj the Summoner. You actually couldn't loot the corpse, what you could loot was the Araj's Phylactery, which allows everyone (Horde or Alliance) to loot his shard.

Casting a heal on a player in combat puts you into combat (to prevent exploiting). The reason you drew aggro is because the Paladin had a very low threat value (something like 1), but your heal had a much higher threat value (depending on the size of the heal, talents, etc).

I used to play WoW, but not anymore (quit 6 months ago). I'm done with MMORPGs. They just take up too much time. I enjoyed exploring, but mostly, I played because I'm competitive. My druid was my main character. I never could level a rogue or mage past 40 because they got so boring. I prefer classes that are more diverse, hence my class choices.

Btw, warlocks are one of the most complicated classes to play, at least if you're grouping/raiding. They are pretty easy for soloing/pvping.