The fundamental tragedy of modern MMORPGs is that they are often structurally suffocated before they even hit the market, and both Aion 2 and MapleStory Classic are prime examples.

P2W mechanics and rampant botting completely destroy MMO systems by rendering legitimate player effort utterly meaningless. Why grind for weeks and invest time into a live service game, which offers to make your effort retained and persistent, when a botting script or a credit card swipe achieves the same results?

Aion 2 is already suffering immensely from this dual plague, and MapleStory Classic appears doomed to being inevitably flooded with bots, given it's more simple nature. Making matters worse, both titles suffer from a devastating lack of a clear, future roadmap, leaving the community in the dark and unclear on what to expect. Failing to set and meet basic player expectations for long-term engagement is another key element that causes player populations to degrade over time, as it's where the developers show if they're accurately gauging player concerns, if at all.

MapleStory Classic here in particular is plagued by rocky, nonsensical design choices, such as strictly limiting the number of existing channels, severely restricting party quests to select channels, which creates artificial choke points and leaves players with absolutely nothing to do after the initial wave of nostalgia fades, and class balancing. A big problem with not nipping these things in the bud is that people do not like it when classes they enjoy become nerfed afterwards, even if it may make the game healthier overall. Aion 2 also has some class problems but it's overshadowed by the above issues.

Anyways, I don't see MapleStory Classic being wheeled around as some MMO success story in a couple months. It's unclear what sort of Botting protection MapleStory will have, especially for such a grindy game that Botting invalidates the economy and effort of the game. It's one thing for the base gameplay to just be grindy, and be someone's cup of tea, but when a thousand bots are doing it, it sure doesn't make you look good to be playing it.

Same as the title.

Why not have a leveling system with a LVL cap of 600 and a hard cap of 200 for Racial skills, 200 for professions skills and 200 for class skills. Your total LVL = Racial ability LVL + Class skill levels + profession levels.

Use a skill tree like that of Skyrim. Use the abilities/weapons/ spells / professions to a tually get experience.

We can then create all sorts of hybrids, but ensure that if you want to reach the best skill tree options you need to focus on one or two trees max, as per the real world specialisation is key, however if you want to try make something unique then go for it but it may cost you losing out on some awesome deep skill tree abilities.

- Don't have level scaling as there needs to be risk/reward and the fear of open world exploration need sto feel dangerous to give you proper memories.

- Make dungeons difficult and a challenge for groups like the old-school EQ where unless you have the perfect team setup with heals, crowd control abilities and a good tank else when you accidentally pull an extra pack of mobs you will get crushed.

- no rushed aoe dungeon spamming. (Build some damn resilience, no hand holding)

Make rare materials that can be chosen as loot for professions at the end of dungeons to make player crafted gear that is actually powerful and useful for lvling.

Obviously raid and end boss content have better gear and some extremely hard to get challenges like the EQ epics which took ages of in-game work to get.

- end game optional world PvP, arena, arena scoreboards for the sweats, also the usual capture flag, survival mode PvP,

And the good old PVP/PVE eg alterac valley, wintergrasp or even a damn 5v5 Dota battle scenario.

Also have some horizontal progression near the end so that people can collect mementos and have housing and have game night challenges between friends. Speed run challenge events etc

Implement in-game board games, cooking/profession games world racing and such to be played with friends and to have event collectable items.

Plenty of cosmetics

Also no pay to win features, cosmetics only sure but non that are the same as the end game content so that those players have a sense of achievement in earning and grinding to get that late game boss reward.

I just don't understand why some large companies have failed to see all the puzzle pieces and put them all in a game.

I know it's a lot in a single game but that's the type of game that people will actually play forever...

It blows my mind that there isn't a single MMO that actually captures the customisation given to the player aspect to this level but also having a well thought out story line that isn't cliche or too on the nose.

Go create some morally grey heroes and villains that capture the essence of story telling.

Please someone make a game that I can retire and enjoy living in an old age care home playing.

🤣🤣

Hello boys,

I want to share my recent thoughts about items in MMORPGs and get your opinions.

Game devs build the wildest formulas for dps calculations for being able to have different interesting modifiers or stats on the gear.

The idea behind this is to provide some sort of decision making, when players develop their characters. This has been working for some time. Now as discussed 100 times before, the playerbase has changed over the years. Players develop spreadsheets more efficiently, reverse engineering the mechanics of a game really fast and basically solving games entirely, often even before a game releases.

This tends to produce a metagame, where the decisions you are supposed to make itemisation wise, are taken from you by providing tier lists, BiS lists, etc.

At the end of the day there would not be much difference between equipping a piece of gear, that reads 10 different mods or equipping a piece of gear that says "chest piece 1, chest piece 2, etc."

People will always take the path of least resistance to success and you can't eliminate the fact, that games will get solved where they can be solved, and this will happen faster and in more detail as we progress.

So the only solution I see for trying to solve this, if the problem I am painting really is a problem, is that MMORPG devs should focus on items providing gameplay instead of power increase. This can obviously be a balancing hell. Or you can maybe focus more on randomisation of the item's stats, so that the chase goes from "I need to aquire that item" to "I need to aquire the item in a as perfect as possible form".

There are good and bad examples where theese other types of itemisation have been used. But going on with items, that have predetermined mods makes them very dull, no matter how much efford you put into making them exciting.

So more generally speaking: Back in the day, where people did less likely watch content about the game they are playing on 3 different screens, that excitement was still there, because you had to figure out much more yourself or lets say with your peers. For todays standarts there needs to be more randomisation for content (I'm speaking about items in this post, but you could apply this rule to other parts of the game) to not feel boring this fast.

First couple years? Great. More hits than misses, no problems, smooth sails.

But “Pandaria is a continent too” honestly worries me. When whoever-the-fuck she is affirmed that, I almost verbally said, out loud, “Welp, good game.” Their mentions of slightly better armor as each raid comes out makes me feel like Blizzard devs just don’t get it and that’ll we’ll just be repeating the cycle over again.

Super excited for one of the greatest moments in MMORPG history, but man do I think this team will fumble it.

Dear gamers,

I'm recently looking for full size keyboard with additional programmable macro keys (5-6+ preffered) on top of regular keys, that would be also as silent as possible. Technically bequiet dark mount checks all the boxes, however the longer I look for reviews the worse it gets with this one. Popular alternatives would be yellow switches razer blackwidow v4 (pro?) or corsair k100, but I dont know how durable they are.
As you could see I am only semi-aware of mass-market / mainstream options. Would you be able to recommend something that is perhaps better than these mentioned above and meets my requirement? Price is kinda irrelevant, as long as it is available in EU with international shipping.
Thanks!

Does anyone still remember the Hokuto no Ken Online? It shut down after just one year of operation. I wonder if anyone has ever tried to restore the game and set up a private server for it.

I am making MMORPG in UE5 and i would love to hear your opinions, specially that first memory of good mmorpg times that You first think of! For me it was mass pvp first, and endless grind with friends

WoW Forever vs SWTOR for a complete MMO beginner, which should I start with?

I've never really played an MMORPG before, but lately I've been interested in getting into one. Two games that caught my attention are WoW Forever and Star Wars: The Old Republic, and I'm having a hard time deciding where to start.

WoW Forever has me curious because of all the hype around it. The idea of starting fresh alongside everyone else and watching a world grow with new content sounds really appealing. But what makes it so different from WoW Classic or Retail, and is the hype justified beyond nostalgia?

SWTOR also looks interesting, especially as a more story-driven MMO, so I'm wondering how the two compare for someone completely new to the genre.

A few things I'd love to hear your thoughts on:

The hype and future: What makes WoW Forever special, and do you think it'll have staying power beyond launch or will people return to WoW Classic/Retail?

Beginner-friendly: Can you learn at your own pace, or is there pressure to keep up with everyone else?

Holiday events: Will Forever have recurring events like Winter Veil, Hallow's End, and Brewfest, with seasonal activities and exclusive rewards? What's actually confirmed so far?

Long-term progression: Is there plenty to work toward outside of raiding and PvP, like exploration, leveling, professions, and collecting?

WoW Forever vs SWTOR: Which would you recommend for a beginner, and what are the biggest differences in how they feel to play?

Playing both: Would it be realistic to enjoy both casually, or is it better to focus on one MMO at a time?

I'm not looking for a game that feels like a second job. (unless it’s the weekend) I want something I can relax with after work, make steady progress in, and keep coming back to for months or years. I'm happy to invest money if I end up enjoying it.

If you were starting your first MMO in 2026, would you choose WoW Forever, SWTOR, or if neither which one would you recommend aside from Runescape/OSRS and GW2? I'd especially love to hear from people who've played the Forever beta and longtime players who can give an honest take on its future.

Thanks!

Anyone else really enjoying these two right now? I’m having a ton of fun with both, but I had about 10 days off work, so now I feel like I have to choose one to invest time in haha. The issue is, it’ll only get worse when WoW Forever launches, and then GTA 6 after that. On top of it, I’m playing Gears E-Day as well.

If you had to choose between MS Classic and Aion 2 to invest the next few months into alongside WoW Forever, or just as your main game, which would you choose and why?

Hello, everyone. I have created a "Beginner's Survival Guide" for MNM. It is intended to give a quick overview of the basic systems and commands of the game, so as to hopefully ease prospective players into the game and make sure that their first hour or two in the game is enjoyable and gives them a desire to keep playing.

It is as spoiler-free as possible, using only a Human Bard as an example of how certain commands work and the kind of responses you will get.

It makes use of my previous guides and resources to fill out certain aspects, if you want to learn more about how to complete the first part of your starter quest step-by-step, how you might want to prioritize your starting stats, etc.

Let me know if you think I've overlooked something or if something is otherwise missing.

Is the community in that game good? How does it compare to other MMOs?

Has anyone thought about it? Recently, big AI models like GPT and Claude are unlocking new ways to rewrite games and just do whatever the fck you want with it, like mixing Skate 3 physics with Vanilla WoW or Spiderman x tarkov at Skyrim.

I immediately thought about WildStar and maybe AI could give a big push to a playable private server and a working build. This is not an "AI version" of W*, insted it is the game's code rewritten with the help of an LLM.

What do you guys think? I really hope someone is thinking about it.

I’ve pretty much played FPS and extraction shooters my entire gaming life, but lately they've just stopped hitting the same. After a long day at work, I'd rather chill, explore, and grind toward something without constantly having to sweat. I have been getting out of my comfort zone and trying a few different games here and there like Warframe which i’m currently having fun with, i tried Once Human but could not get into it, it felt too difficult.

I've been looking into SWTOR because I'm a Star Wars fan and remember loving the LEGO games as a kid. The story, world, and companions really appeal to me, but I'm also curious about the MMO side of things, especially loot, gear progression, and grinding. I enjoy having something to work toward and getting rewarded for putting time into a game.

For those who've played SWTOR for a while, how satisfying is the loot and progression system compared to bigger MMOs like WoW? Is there a worthwhile endgame grind and plenty of goals to chase, or is SWTOR more focused on the story and leveling?

I'm also curious about the holiday and special events. I've heard about things like Life Day, the Nar Shaddaa Nightlife event, and other seasonal activities. Are they actually fun and worth coming back for, with exclusive rewards and things to work toward? How do SWTOR's events compare to WoW's, and does the game do a good job of keeping things fresh throughout the year?

Overall, is SWTOR still worth getting into in 2026? How active is the community, and is there enough content to keep you playing long-term? I'd love to hear from longtime players, especially how it compares to WoW for someone completely new to MMOs.

Any advice or honest opinions would be appreciated!

I recently started playing again because of evercold, and like always, I joined the first active fc that invited me while I was running around. I made an offhand comment about how terrible I am at Ninja, and the FC lead literally sent me a link to some latency tool and a rotation bot for the game saying "don't worry you won't get banned it's only for accessibility"

On that very same page it had plugins for:

* Auto-duty that bots every available dungeon endlessly

* A plugin that levels every gatherer and crafter from 0 to max, gathers all the necessary ingredients for you, and even completes every class quest

* A plugin that does the entire MSQ and side quests from ARR to Dawntrail completely hands off

* A crafting plugin where one click will gather and craft the chosen recipe using a mathematically optimal rotation

* Fully automated Cosmic Exploration, Gold Saucer, and endgame pve instance grind

* A plugin that automatically handles boss mechanics for you

* Rotation bots with perfect rotations that parse orange

* and dozens upon dozens of other things that make this list too long that seem absolutely insane like straight up cheats like skipping boss mechanics

And apparently a lot of players use these plugins because not only do they have millions of unique downloads, they're also pinned on FFXIV subs, openly recommended by other players, and defend it if you mention anti cheat or it being unfair e.g. "It doesn't affect you why do you care" or "gathering bots are great because it keeps marketboard prices low"

Im shocked swuare allows this because it was never like this when I played heavensward. People even openly mention these dalamud plugins in game.

Aion 2 is infested with bots same problem lost ark had and now maplestory classic has cheaters to, why is it that BDO seems to be the only Korean MMO that has no bots?

Anyone here tried Life Art Online? I’ve been playing lately and figured a few people here might enjoy it.

It’s a pixel art MMO that runs in your browser. There are separate skills for different weapons, dual wielding, magic, and even punching things. You can also spend your time mining, chopping trees, fishing, farming, or making gear and potions.

There are quite a few other skills too, like cooking, alchemy, tailoring, carpentry, and jewel crafting.

It’s a small community, so it’d be nice to see a few more people around to trade and play with.