10 Signs You Have an MMO Problem

1. Ever said the phrase "bio", "inc" or "wtb" in real life? No? What about a line that is a default character sound like "need more rage" or "I can't do that yet!" and had no one around you understand what you meant?


2. You have an article of clothing that specifically references something only people who play a certain MMO would know (IE: "If you're reading this, it's probably a patch day" or "Home is where the hearthstone is" or "I'm not a nerd, I'm a level 80 Druid.")


3. You have to remind yourself to ''bring your friends to Azeroth, but don't forget to go outside Azeroth with them as well!''


4. You have ever canceled a social engagement in favor of raiding or playing the game. In fact, you have gotten socially anxious because you know you are missing raid time or haven't logged in and used your rested for a few days.


5. An ideal relationship is one in which there is a tank and a healer.


6. You've spent any amount of time watching "dungeon runs" or "dungeon wipes" on Youtube.


7. When trying to explain to others why the MMO you play is better than any other MMO, you realize that they are all more or less the same game. Except for Wildstar, Wildstar is way better than all of them.


8. You have joined a social network or dating site tailored to players of your favorite MMO.


9. You have ever gone to a low-level zone and camped the opposing faction after a terribly frustrating day at work.


10. Characters in every game are now "toons."

Wildstar: State of the Megaserver

Update: I have seen the promised land of megaservers, and it is good.

For those of you that missed it, Wildstar announced the move to megaservers from their traditional MMO server structure a few weeks ago. While many have said that this is a sign of the decline of the game as a whole, I heartily disagree. When I first joined Wildstar's Beta, it felt like I had reached the promised land after dragging myself through the desert, starving and parched, for years. A self-professed MMO lover, Wildstar seemed to combine all of the mechanics that I had ever known and loved from other games: the content was challenging, and constantly evolving with new updates each month, there were personalization options for how your gear looked, and with the Path system you could, at least partially, choose how you wanted to level up. Everything seemed perfect.

I admittedly didn't get too highly leveled in the beta, for fear of tiring myself out on the game before it actually launched, and instead took time trying out a bunch of alts to see which class I liked best. After much trial and tribulation, eventually I settled on Spellslinger. With both range and high-mobility, spellslingers can be one of the highest skill-capped classes in the game, but I was determined, despite low starting DPS ratings in comparison to my Medic and Warrior brethren, to succeed.

A Bit of Space: First Impressions of Wildstar

I have always been an MMORPG girl—since my first introduction to World of Warcraft, I've been addicted to the grind. Whether playing with IRL friends, or making new ones through PUGs or new guilds, there is something to be said for playing in a massively multiplayer online world. With the release of Pandaria, though, I found the pull of the MMORPG releasing me. While the game play remained the same, the new content wasn't all that engaging for me, and I felt Blizzard copped out by making it so the pandas could choose to be on either Faction. That, combined with the need to complete my thesis and my crazy work-schedule, made the paying sixteen bucks a month for a game that I wasn't really engaged with seem silly. Luckily for me, though, PAX that year introduced me to something new: WildStar.

A Bit of RO: Ragnarok Online

I started playing Ragnarok in 2006 when my boyfriend at the time developed an addiction to it while I'd finished up my senior year at boarding school. I had played other MMORPGs in the past, like World of Warcraft, but hadn't really delved deep into things like raiding, joining guilds, and other "extra" features beyond leveling and questing. Ragnarok was what did it. And, while this game is still being played and may be quite popular, it is old school to me.

A Bit of Space: Phantasy Star Online

The Phantasy Star Online series was one of my first introductions to the genre of MMORPG, and it's strange to think that it was released over a decade ago. I remember watching my boyfriend at the time play and being curious about how the whole thing worked, and then once I started playing on my own being so sucked in to the plot, world, and playing online with others that I couldn't stop. PSO was integral to my life as a gamer, and I'm sure many others. After the break you, too, can check out my musings on this awesome series, and partake in the happy remembrance yourself.