Category Archives: EQ2

2009 predictions: BINGO! (not exactly)

Posted on December 30, 2009 by SynCaine

Can you believe I had trouble finding my 2009 predictions post. I know, how hard is it to find a post titled “2009 Predictions” on my own blog, but um, it took a lot longer than I care to admit. … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Aion, Darkfall Online, DDO, EQ2, EVE Online, Fallen Earth, FreeRealms, Lord of the Rings Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 6 Comments

What’s that monthly fee really buying you?

Posted on October 9, 2009 by SynCaine

Two different yet related items have sparked this post about why we pay a monthly fee; the upcoming release of Cities XL and Tobold’s re-review of WoW. Cities XL because some are questioning why they would need to pay monthly … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, Civilization Series, Console Gaming, Darkfall Online, EQ2, EVE Online, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Patch Notes, Rant, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 36 Comments

Your MMO won’t have a million subs, sorry Blizzard.

Posted on September 30, 2009 by SynCaine

Tobold and I have a friendly little challenge going (around comment 45 on that post), one that sadly won’t have a result for a few years. The challenge is simple: The next Blizzard MMO won’t reach the popularity of WoW. … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Aion, Dark Age of Camelot, EQ2, EVE Online, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Site update, SW:TOR, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 57 Comments

Level one, and god-mode already?

Posted on September 11, 2009 by SynCaine

Why do we assume the first mob we fight in an MMO should be an easy kill? I’m serious, how many MMOs can you name where the first mob you face has a legitimate chance to kill you? I mentioned … Continue reading →

Posted in Console Gaming, Darkfall Online, EQ2, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Rant, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 35 Comments

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm – The single greatest expansion of all time?

Posted on August 21, 2009 by SynCaine

Readers might have picked up on the fact that I’m at times a bit tough on Blizzard and how they have been updating WoW. Sure I’m not the biggest fan of easymode everything, cookies for everyone, and the glacial pace … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, crafting, EQ2, MMO design, Patch Notes, Rant, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 60 Comments

Why is the B-team messing with your AAA product?

Posted on July 15, 2009 by SynCaine

I’m a bit late on this one, but Eric from ElderGame has a long and detailed breakdown of why WoW is currently being run by the B-team, adding his own experience as a former dev on AC2. It’s a great … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark Age of Camelot, EQ2, EVE Online, MMO design, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 28 Comments

Second year of blogging is in the books!

Posted on June 22, 2009 by SynCaine

Ding, two years of blogging done! I’m going to try and follow the format I used in my previous yearly review in order to make the comparison a bit easier. Like last year, the overall ‘Blog Stats” are up first. … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, DDO, EQ2, EVE Online, iPhone, Mass Media, MMO design, PvP, RMT, RvR, Site update, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 15 Comments

Why do we still force alts to re-grind, and what about the new guy?

Posted on June 17, 2009 by SynCaine

Starting with the genre’s second major title, EQ1, the solution to raising the level cap without increasing the gap new players must cross to join their friends has been to reduce the time it takes to go from 1 to … Continue reading →

Posted in EQ2, EVE Online, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 43 Comments

Giving credit when it’s due.

Posted on May 13, 2009 by SynCaine

It’s very easy to point out flaws in a game or it’s developer. When a server crashes, it’s impossible not to notice. When you are in a login queue, you know it. If your current class/race is underpowered, it affects … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Darkfall Online, EQ2, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, PvP, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 39 Comments

Still no DarkFall for you

Posted on March 17, 2009 by SynCaine

Looks like DarkFall won’t go back on sale until the current server has had it’s queue issue resolved. That will happen ‘soon’,  like Blizzard content patch or SOE patcher ‘soon’. Good thing people avoided that ‘scam’ of pre-orders being limited … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EQ2, Random, World of Warcraft | 6 Comments