I decided to play some destiny 1 after leaving it in disappointment from its disastrous launch and found myself appreciating the format a lot more than most MMOs around today.
Due to Bungies contract with Activision they had to make a sequel so D1 was abandoned after 3 years of content and left in stasis which I now believe is the best way for an MMO to be. This means the game has an end, a clear story arc, doesn’t attract people who seem to foam at the mouth when there isnt something new to play and is generally chill. If you wish to experience it again you can just make a new character and play a new class its all pretty well paced. All three years of content seem to have somebody playing its not the most populated game ever but I havent had any trouble doing some strikes or raids and there’s no creeping sense of fomo, no rush just chill and enjoy the game.
This is how all MMOs should be instead of tacking on piece after piece until the entire thing falls over either from a technical perspective, narrative perspective or community perspective or maybe even all three.
MMO players seem to be the more neurotic of the bunch driven entirely by fomo and logging new content the millisecond it releases and dropping anyone who had to go poo before coming on to raid because if you dont do the stuff the second its out everyone dies or something. I think out of all the MMOs i have played ESO does it better mostly because the additions to the game are distinct portals into other places with their own storylines but it will never overcome the fact that old content will just be barren or that new players cant join without paying for level boosts if they want to play with friends because legacy content gets in the way.
Thoughts? I think D1 accidentally was what MMOs should be, much shorter more concise experiences with a definitive ending that can be easily replayed and isnt too long. Most of the magic that comes from these types of games is a bunch of people coming together to figure out and experience it for the first time so recreate that first time over and over instead of making it once then dumping crap after crap for 20 years until you only have addicts playing.
OSRS gets a pass
I think the real problem is the refusal to actually progress the story and have a plan for that progress. WoW is a good example of this. They keep rehashing the same old shit with the same old characters that can’t really have any growth anymore because anytime they do the player base hates it and Blizzard backs down. So expansions basically become “what is this older expansion again, but with a twist!”. They never move on so they’re always trapped in this liminal comic book reality that just gets exhausting. I keep wanting to get back into retail WoW because I started playing with Warcraft 2 so I’ve got a lot of nostalgia and love for some of the story and characters, but I just get exhausted with them teasing character growth that never happens, a world that changes only superficially, needlessly convoluted end game systems, and one of the most toxic communities in gaming. I’m happy just mucking about in Classic with IRL friends for nostalgia anymore.
FFXIV is an example I like. I haven’t played since Endwalker because that felt like a true ending. I’m glad that it’s still going for people and I may jump back in at some point, but for now I’m fine.
Warframe has been doing a good job of keeping their story going with interesting stakes and good character development and progression. It’s the one that has my attention at the moment, but with any of these MMOs when it starts to feel like a chore I just let myself move on and I have plenty of books and other games also to break things up.