Are MMOs boring?

[DaHeckIzDat]

I found out that Final Fantasy 14 has a free trial (unlimited time, full game minus the newest expansions, can only level up to 60, can't have purchased the game already) and decided to give it a try. From what I've heard, it's just about the only MMO on the market that can compete with World of Warcraft.

Holy [expletive] this game is boring. I know it's always been MMO's "thing" to have you run out and kill X amount of Y, collect reward, repeat, but I always assumed that was an exaggeration, like when people say Mario is "just running right." There had to be more to it. But there's not. And its so freaking boring it nearly put me to sleep.

I legitimately don't understand how people can enjoy this, much less how MMOs become such a staple in gaming culture when they're so freaking dull. I don't even think that playing with friends would help because having more people in one place wouldn't make the core gameplay loop any more engaging.

[Stalvern]

They suck, yeah. Soul-crushing stuff.

[VideoGameCritic]

What gets me about the online games (like the new Diablo) is that there's really no end to them. They are designed to just keep you on the hook forever, like an old lady in front of a slot machine. I don't think there's an ending.

Personally I want to experience as many games as possible. I don't even like the idea of investing over 10 hours in a particular game, much less hundreds.

[DaHeckIzDat]

What gets me about the online games (like the new Diablo) is that there's really no end to them. They are designed to just keep you on the hook forever, like an old lady in front of a slot machine. I don't think there's an ending.

Personally I want to experience as many games as possible. I don't even like the idea of investing over 10 hours in a particular game, much less hundreds.

That's not just online games. Games like Stardew Valley will keep looping through the same limited number of seasons/events forever too, even after you've finished everything that gave what you were doing context. I tend to consider those games over as soon as I've played to story end.

[Gentlegamer]

MMOs didn't start out that way, I'd say Ultima Online was more like the Wild West. But it wasn't until World of Warcraft perfected the safe theme-park style that you're describing that MMOs blew up in mass popularity. If you're just playing it solo, you're missing the potential hook of interacting with other players (raids, pvp, or whatever), but there was a joke that WoW/MMOs were essentially 3D chatrooms, and that was the real hook for most players.

[DaHeckIzDat]

If you're just playing it solo, you're missing the potential hook of interacting with other players

That's another thing I don't get. The whole point of an MMO is to play it with other people. I played solo because I didn't have anyone to play with, but apparently people are actually seeking out MMOs for the sole intention of playing them solo. The developers of FF14 even explicitly stated that they designed it to be playable solo. So, like, what's the logic here? Why would you pay $15 a month to play a multiplayer game alone instead of playing, say, Skyrim, Kingdoms of Amalur, or literally any other singe player sandbox RPG? Not only are they more fun to play in a general sense, but disregarding dlc, you only have to pay for it once!

[8BitPickle]

If you are looking for an MMO with a little more depth try GW2. Anet does a good job of listening to what the fans and the living world is constantly evolving.

Definitely a better experience if you bring a friend or 2 along. I think the core game is now free to play.