Category Archives: Combat Systems

Instanced Battles work great in LiF, would they work in EVE?

Posted on March 17, 2018 by SynCaine

If you go way back in the archives of this blog, I’ve been pretty against the idea of instancing in open world games vs keeping content out in the world. When WoW first started using phasing (personal instances, basically), I … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, EVE Online, Life is Feudal, MMO design, PvP | 15 Comments

PUBG is to 2017 what WoW was to 2004

Posted on September 14, 2017 by SynCaine

The parallels between the current explosive growth and influence of PUBG and WoW back in 2004 are many, though there are also some very interesting differences. Neither game was the first in its genre. WoW wasn’t the first MMO, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, EQ2, EVE Online, Inquisition Clan, League of Legends, Lord of the Rings Online, Mass Media, MMO design, PvP, Rift, SOE being SOE, SW:TOR, Tobold being Wrong, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 2 Comments

WoW is gankbox, EVE is not

Posted on July 7, 2017 by SynCaine

And the gankbox discussion continues. What I find most interesting about all of this is that it reveals just how little most people understand about MMO design, or even what they themselves want in an MMO. Let’s talk about the … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, Combat Systems, Dark Age of Camelot, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Mass Media, MMO design, PvP, Rant, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 8 Comments

EVE: Escalations perfectly compliment normal ratting

Posted on April 24, 2017 by SynCaine

As previously mentioned, I went out and purchased a Rattlesnake battleship to run the 10/10 Escalations I sometimes get from running sites in my Super Carrier. The Rattlesnake + fit cost me just under 3 billion, and I was lucky … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, EVE Online, Goons, MMO design | Comments Off on EVE: Escalations perfectly compliment normal ratting

Last-hitting in a MOBA is like XP in an RPG; don’t leave home without it

Posted on March 25, 2015 by SynCaine

Much like when the MMO genre was king and we broke down ‘core systems’ like daily quests, breaking down a core system like last hitting in a MOBA is today’s topic, and much like with daily quests, people tend to … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, League of Legends | 36 Comments

HotS: Shut up newbie

Posted on March 24, 2015 by SynCaine

First, we have one spot open in our CoC clan, “Supreme Cream!”. If you are at least TH7 with lvl 2 dragons and a functioning brain, feel free to apply and just mention the blog. Also the Boom Beach Task … Continue reading →

Posted in Clash of Clans, Combat Systems, League of Legends, Random, Rant | 26 Comments

FFXIV: People are nice due to design

Posted on February 19, 2015 by SynCaine

I haven’t done an update post about FFXIV since our return, in part because I wasn’t sure what to write beyond “Playing FFXIV again, still the best themepark out, still has that WoW-vanilla-but-in-2015 feel”, but this post from Loire is … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Final Fantasy XIV, MMO design | 2 Comments

AA: The true spiritual successor to UO

Posted on September 30, 2014 by SynCaine

With the lead weight that is Trion and F2P covered yesterday, let’s start digging into WHY you should tolerate Trion and play ArcheAge anyway, because yea, you should be if you enjoy virtual worlds and smart MMO design. I always … Continue reading →

Posted in ArcheAge, Combat Systems, crafting, MMO design, PvP, Review, Ultima Online | 25 Comments

DF:UW – Being right isn’t always fun

Posted on August 28, 2014 by SynCaine

One of the better inside jokes around here is the concept of a ‘Jesus patch’, because all too often the fools tossing that term around are talking about an MMO that has either shut down or is a shell of … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Darkfall Online | 21 Comments

Pathfinder Online: Everything but the game is looking awesome!

Posted on July 16, 2014 by SynCaine

I was recently talking to a friend about Pathfinder Online, with the gist of the conversation being that I love everything about the game on paper, from the design docs to what the devs have said, but actually seeing it … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, Combat Systems, crafting, EVE Online, MMO design, Pathfinder Online | 12 Comments