MMO Roundup #11

508 words.

_These post titles are killing me. I hate titles that don’t mean anything. I don’t know about anyone else, but I almost never click through to read an article if the title doesn’t interest me (my feed reader also shows the first sentence, so that is also a factor). I assume everyone else is the same. But here I am, doing the exact thing I hate. “Generic Post #11.” I might as well call it, “Don’t bother reading this one.” Not even mentioning the SEO implications of a worthless title. Not too many people are going to search for “Generic Post #11.”

_

The Franklin mansion in Blue Mountain, Secret World Legends.

I’m still enjoying Secret World Legends* for a second week in a row, a very strange turn of events. I’m in Egypt now, working through Black Sun, Red Sand. I don’t remember it very well, but that might be because when I compare old and new wikis, it seems to have altered significantly since The Secret World. I have yet to change my “build” since I started the game, I’m still using the first 5 active and passive skills I got at the very beginning, and still feeling crazy overpowered. (I do not like the tedious, micro-management-style gear system, though.)

I’m also continuing to try to finish Kingdom Come: Deliverance a little bit at a time, though I’m not much invested in the game anymore.

FFXIV has another free login campaign. Try it out. It’s still the best subscription-only MMORPG. (Although I have to admit I’ve been having some creeping doubts about that claim in the last six months. Perhaps a subject for a future blog post.)

Shroud of the Avatar launched. I have “some” interest in this game, but in my mind it’s a single-player game, so there’s no need get it for the “launch rush.” I’m too invested in SWL right now anyway, and that doesn’t cost me anything.

I’ve noticed that Zenimax is alienating its most fervent ESO fans in my Twitter timeline with their decision to lock jewelry crafting behind the Summerset purchase. I predict players will respond to this by … buying it anyway. Pre-ordering, even. But oh, the strongly-worded letters people will write! I kid, but seriously I don’t understand why this is perceived differently from the crafting bag, which as far as I can tell is universally loved, but which also, to my way of thinking, is just as much a vitally-important quality-of-life feature locked behind a cash purchase as this new jewelry crafting thing. If anything, the crafting bag is even more punitive because it requires a repeating cash purchase commitment, whereas the jewelry crafting is a one-time unlock.

Guild Wars 2 did a great thing by honoring departed blogger Ravious from Kill Ten Rats.

* I’m really not sure whether to make a new blog tag for Secret World Legends or just continue to use the The Secret World tag. I really like to write “the The Secret World” so I don’t think I will change it.

Related

This page is a static archival copy of what was originally a WordPress post. It was converted from HTML to Markdown format before being built by Hugo. There may be formatting problems that I haven't addressed yet. There may be problems with missing or mangled images that I haven't fixed yet. There may have been comments on the original post, which I have archived, but I haven't quite worked out how to show them on the new site.

Archived Comments

Telwyn 2018-03-30T15:50:29Z

We just did Black Sun, Red Sand; not a pleasant fight even in the new incarnation. We’ve pushed on into Transylvania but still so much content to repeat before we get to the new stuff. I kept the TSW tag on my blog too, it just seems right to me to keep using that :-)

I’ve ended taking up the free FFXIV weekend with my husband as we enjoyed duo’ing that no end for a while. Trying to get past all the filler content between ARR and Heavensward to see at least a little of the expansion while it lasts…

Bhagpuss 2018-03-30T18:21:38Z

I did find it strange to read that you filter which posts you read on blogs according to their titles. Given that i spend half my blogging time trying to make my titles as abstruse and obscure as possible I’m amazed you’ve ever read any of them! Personally, once I have a blog in Feedly or on my blog roll I read every post as it arrives, regardless of subject. I read and even comment on posts about things I know nothing about all the time.

That said, yes, you probably could geve these portmanteau posts a snappier title. Don;t stop doing them, though. They’re always interesting. I wish more people would do something similar. I wish I could train myself to do them!

Wilhelm Arcturus 2018-03-30T20:28:12Z

I don’t think the title is much of an issue, except for the number. “#11” doesn’t tell me anything, other than there might have been ten previous. A date would at least fix the post in time as to what was happening.

As for what I actually read, I generally click on and at least scan through posts from bloggers in Feedly. For news sites, which push a lot more stuff, I tend to select based on titles.

Sorry, new comments are disabled on older posts. This helps reduce spam. Active commenting almost always occurs within a day or two of new posts.