MMOs - time-wasting or innocent fun?

Ziggy

Ziggy

Ziggy

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MMOs almost always feature "grinding" or other time-consuming actions as some of their major components. This leads some people to believe that the games are a waste of your life as there is little instant gratifcation or achivement to be had. But is this true? :) MMO fans please defend your hobby. :)

(I am not posting my opinion yet as I don't really have one!)
 
Well, as all games are a time-wasting, regardless of genre then yes. Its a time-waste.

However that doesnt prevent it from being fun, time-wasting and fun arent mutually exclusive.
 
Why is it a waste even if there is no real achievement at the end? I've played lots of MMO's over the years, I've got nothing to show for it other than a bunch of idle account, but I had a lot of fun, and that, to me, is what matters.
 
Pointless topic is pointless.

You could substitute MMOs for pretty much anything, it is up to you how you spend your time and whether or not to you perceive it to be a 'waste of time'.
 
Some people in MMO's spend way too much time focusing on end game, and forget theres lots of fun to be had in just getting there.

You don't have to max out everything. You don't have to pour over leaderboards. You don't have to obsess over squeezing out another 0.34% dps from your 'rotation'. You can pick tradeskills that look like fun, and not beneficial to you. You don't have to play a certain class because your guild 'needs it' and you certainly don't have to be online just because your guild needs an MT.

You dont have to be a robot.
 
Spirited said:
Some people in MMO's spend way too much time focusing on end game, and forget theres lots of fun to be had in just getting there.

You don't have to max out everything. You don't have to pour over leaderboards. You don't have to obsess over squeezing out another 0.34% dps from your 'rotation'. You can pick tradeskills that look like fun, and not beneficial to you. You don't have to play a certain class because your guild 'needs it' and you certainly don't have to be online just because your guild needs an MT.

You dont have to be a robot.
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Thats very very true.

Was playing an MMO yesterday and someone in regional chat asked "What is the correct spec for a warrior?"

So ensued a brief discussion where people told them what spec they should go.

Found it interesting that the question was worded that way. Struck me that surely the "correct" spec for a class is the one you enjoy playing? Otherwise there would be no point to having specs at all, if there was only 1 "correct" spec then the game would simply remove specs and have your warrior set a specific way. Much prefer the concept of playing what appeals to you rather than what appeals to others.
 
Maybe they get their fun from being the best that they can be or competing at the top, not everyone plays games the same way or for the same reasons.
 
itsari said:
Maybe they get their fun from being the best that they can be or competing at the top, not everyone plays games the same way or for the same reasons.
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Thats also true, though its still a shame when a relatively new player is made to feel that they have specced their character "wrongly" as a result of it.
 
Its not a waste of time, time is plentiful.

However, MMOs with fees are a waste of money that I'd rather spend elsewhere.
 
To me it's a waste of time, but so is playing hours and hours of Tiberian Sun or Counter Strike online in/with clans as I did when I was younger - a waste of time can still be great fun :D So I have no problem with it, just not enough time to dedicate to that sort of thing any more. There's no reason to single out MMOs as time wasters...
 
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Ziggy said:
MMOs almost always feature "grinding" or other time-consuming actions as some of their major components.
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And it's fun to see that other genre's are also starting to include "grinding" as part of their key component....

Just look at call of duty/BC2 multi-player ranks... Grinding all those kills for a rank on the screen? seems a bit familiar ;)
 
Tombstone said:
Thats also true, though its still a shame when a relatively new player is made to feel that they have specced their character "wrongly" as a result of it.
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Yep definatly, there is a lot of fun with just starting out and exploring the game your own way first, i agree especillay with most games allowing a character to respec these days theres no reason not too try things out.
 
Tombstone said:
Thats very very true.

Was playing an MMO yesterday and someone in regional chat asked "What is the correct spec for a warrior?"

So ensued a brief discussion where people told them what spec they should go.

Found it interesting that the question was worded that way. Struck me that surely the "correct" spec for a class is the one you enjoy playing? Otherwise there would be no point to having specs at all, if there was only 1 "correct" spec then the game would simply remove specs and have your warrior set a specific way. Much prefer the concept of playing what appeals to you rather than what appeals to others.
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There's far too much emphasis placed on dps these days. There are mods that shows other peoples dps, and players gauge your worth by your damage output or your gear score.

Yeah. Your equipment has a score rating. Everyone knows you suck because your numbers don't match up.

This genre has gone pants-on-head retarded.
 
Spirited said:
There's far too much emphasis placed on dps these days. There are mods that shows other peoples dps, and players gauge your worth by your damage output or your gear score.

Yeah. Your equipment has a score rating. Everyone knows you suck because your numbers don't match up.

This genre has gone pants-on-head retarded.
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nope just wow
 
Over time MMOs have stopped being virtual worlds, and are now a kind of team e-sports game.

That is to say, many people are playing them just to move up the ranking ladder, with little or no other motivation.

The kind of player that loved to hunt for all the game lore, understand the game world and its factions, explore everywhere without maps, read NPC dialogue, have to solve riddles, etc... I think they mostly left the market. Or simply lowered their expectations.

These days there is little difference between playing an MMO and playing Counterstrike. Everything that isn't related to improving your DPS or AC gets completely ignored. The quest for the biggest backstab, uberest heal, most oversized shoulderpads... is all that's left.

And then of course using it all to "pwn newbs" :p

When is the next UO or EQ coming to save us from this hell?
 
Any games could be classed a waste of time not just mmo's. With mmo's at least you have something to show for many hours of play.

I play wow quite casual, but i have managed to rack of plenty of hours on it, but i never have a problem leaving for a few months when i get bored and coming back when i fancy a game.

If you play mmo's for the fun and you enjoy playing them then i wouldnt consider it a waste of time. But if your doing the same raid every night playing for 5+ hours a night just in the hope to get that slighty better peice of gear then your wasting your time (at least i think so)

I have always found casual guild more fun then hardcore raiding ones, i remeber my warlock quest to get my mount my guild help me do it, we went to dire maul ( i think it was called) we did it without a map or a guide, we got lost a few times and it took us awhile to figure out, but the battle at the end of it all was worth it, was one of the best things i have seen in wow. Rading around on my mount after it all felt good :P
 
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It's innocent fun, but it can easily be more than that and turn into an addiction.

Most games can be claimed as a "Waste of time" like stated above, but how many games like Battlefield would cause you to say "Nah I don't want to go out tonight" in comparison to an MMO?

It depends how addicted you get really, and MMO's have a tendency to do this really well.
 
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