While theMMORPGgenre is not as bustling as it once was, there are still fantastic games out there that are worthy of investing your time in. In the early stages of the genre, MMOs were essentially virtual chat rooms, where you could log on and chat with your friends or other random players while you completed quests or leveled up.
Since then, MMOs have grown vastly in scale, with expansive storylines, engaging mechanics and content, and tons of stuff to do. Whether you’re a veteran of the genre or a new player, however, there are some universal aspects of the game that everyone has experienced at least once, which is what we’ll be taking a look at today.
8Missed Your Queue
One of the most common mistakes MMO players make is joining a queue for a dungeon, then leaving to go to the bathroom. No matter how long the queue is estimated to take, the laws of the universe state that as soon as you’re away from your PC, that queue will pop.
It’s one of the more frustrating aspects of MMOs that eventually bites everyone, but we still never learn from our mistakes. The queue says it will take around 15 minutes to find a party—that means you have enough time to grab a drink, right? Wrong!
7Idolized High-Level Players
Imagine your first day as a new player of an MMO. Fresh off the boat and ready for your next big adventure, you wander into one of the main player hubs and see someone who stands out from the crowd, with theirmax level gearthat shines with an almost unobtainable luster.
We’ve all seen that player and thought: That’s going to be me someday! Maybe that player is showing off on purpose, or maybe they just stepped away from the game for a minute, but their impact on you is undeniable and can be a motivating factor to fulfill your dreams of greatness.
6AFK’d
While MMOs are some of the most content-rich games out there, no amount of content can last forever. When you’ve cleared the hardest raids and obtained the best gear, all that’s left to do is stand around in town and wait for your friends to get online.
MMOs are designed to be virtual playgrounds that let you live out the life of your character within, so spending as much time there as you’re able is to be expected, even if you don’t particularly have anything to do. AFKing in a central hub or your private house is something every MMO player has at least once, if not for hundreds of hours across their gaming career.
5Got Stuck With Slow Dungeon Party Members
In multiplayer games as big as MMORPGs, you’re bound to meet a wide variety of players. Between casuals who only play occasionally and hardcore raiders who clear new content as soon as it’s available, there’s room for everyone, but you almost always end up with the opposite kind of player as yourself whenqueuing into random dungeons.
When you’re trying to finish a dungeon as quickly as possible, you get the first-timer who’s taking a look around every corner for loot. On the other hand, when it’s your own first time doing a dungeon, you get partnered with the sweaty top-tier player who pulls every single mob and speeds to the end of the dungeon as quickly as possible.
While a lot of newer MMOs have done away with the holy trinity of Tank, Healer, and DPS, many still use this form of party composition. More often than not, the Tank is seen as the unofficial leader of the party, as they’re the one who takes the first step into any piece of content.
Even if it’s not necessarily true, the Tank is always expected to know what they’re doing, which can lead to Tankxiety. You’ve probably experienced this if you’ve ever wanted to play the class with thebiggest sword or coolest set of plate armor, but are worried about your ability to lead your party members as the Tank. Luckily, lots of games have welcoming communities that will assist you regardless of your experience.
3Skipped School Or Work On Expansion Day
New expansion releases are always the most exciting parts of an MMO. Online communities outside of the game are buzzing with excitement as new content and features are revealed, and both long-term players and new ones alike await launch day.
If you’ve ever been excited for a new expansion, you’ve also most likely called in sick to school or work so you could stay home and play alongside everyone else. These periods are among the most enjoyable in an MMO, when players are all discovering the new content together, and it can be devastating to watch it all go by as you sit stuck at school or work.
Cleaning out your inventory is like a New Year’s Resolution. Every time you start playing and open up your bag to see just how much junk you’re carrying around, you may declare that this time, you’ll spend the time to clear it out in earnest.
However, if you’re like us, what actually happens is you get rid of a few items—just enough to make your bags usable again—then return to your dreadful habits of hoarding. Having an inventory filled with unfished quest items from who-knows-how-many years ago, or gear you may want to give to an alt, or crafting materials that you swear you’re going to use soon, is simply a fixture of the genre.
1Jumped For All Forms Of Communication
The jump button is an incredibly versatile tool in the MMO world. With it, you can communicate almost anything, from a simple hello to an invitation to follow you to a destination. Despite the multiple forms of communication built into the very game, like emotes, pre-configured phrases, or an entire chat box, most players will, at some point, resort to the simple but effective jump.
Jumping is a universally understood way to say that you acknowledge another player. Maybe you see someone checking out your character; give them a little jump to let them know you see them. Or maybe your friend comes up to you in town, but you don’t feel like typing hello, so you jump around them in a circle instead.
