Are you the 'explorer' or the 'god killer' type MMO player?

[dope_danny]

for reference:
-'explorer' refers to what is in most mmo's the "levelling content". Going from one area to the next with your motivating drive being to see whats over the next hill, while remaining aware that it could quite easily be something that kills you. For this kind of player the journey is more important than the destination.
-'god killer' refers to what is most commonly the "endgame content". Your character is the top tier of the games progression, no longer questing but killing the huge big bads of the world because they are the only thing left that threatens you and therefore yields the greatest loot rewards. For this kind of player the Destination is always the focus and anything between you and it is just grinding.

Which do you lean towards more? The topic came up when talking with friends about our dream mmos. half of us wanted something with a huge unmapped world where players explore and do more things like town building and mining and such, the other half wanted no levels and huge epic battles where their character is a powerhouse in a sea of peon npcs.

-I guess in a way both seem to suggest "go back and play warcraft 3 then", but it is an interesting divide.

Personally in a game like WoW i reach max level, get very bored with endgame content and roll an alt and take a different levelling path to explore on foot as a weak newbie character again. But my brother for example on has one toon and no alts and races day one of an expansion to hit max level and then the game is all about best in slot gear and quest text and story be damned.

What about you? the journey or the destination, which is more important in an mmo for you?

[Wishblade]

I'm gonna go with The Journey because I like the feeling of advancing through the world rather than run the same raid over and over and focus entirely on that.

[Deleted]

God killer type
Sure, exploring and finding new stuff when questing is fun but the excitement goes away after a while. Plus, you can explore and find new stuff at end game too.

[SodiumChloride]

Both.

I like loot, but I also like new places to explore.

Most of the time they go hand in hand because loot normally allows you access to new places (allow you to explore without dying every 5 mins).

[Dartungar]

Personally in a game like WoW i reach max level, get very bored with endgame content and roll an alt and take a different levelling path to explore

So do I, playing WoW since 2006 and did only Naxx and ToC, but have about 20 alts (few of them 80-85 though).
Now I'm bored, because 1-60 content lost it's soul, and level 90 just seems boring

[wariofan1]

I'm definitely an endgame player, I hate leveling, but I enjoy taking down big monsters and the likes. I love to explore too though, just not while leveling, I'll do that at max level.

[Polarthief]

I'm gonna go with The Journey because I like the feeling of advancing through the world rather than run the same raid over and over and focus entirely on that.

^



I'm a split in the middle. I can't pick either, so "The Journeyman" seems like the perfect "type" to describe me. I explore the next area always curious and unaware of what's to come next, and when a large foe is blocking my path (e.g., Throne of Thunder's bosses, Lei Shen in particular), I vanquish them with Fire and get "phat lewtz". There's a healthy balance for me that I can't particularly choose between one or the other.

Granted, I don't like leveling content after I've done it the first time (the exception being MoP where I didn't even like it the first time), but I do like exploring.


Also, what would PvP players call themselves? You seem to have missed that option.

[Deleted]

Why no poll?

For me its not either or. Everything is a journey, especially in an MMO.

The times I have most enjoyed myself has included both discovering the world with total strangers while sharing goals and knowledge, and doing challenging endgame activities that can only be accomplished with focussed players who enjoy tackling any type of puzzle until its complete.

The thing common to both has always been people open to new ideas and total immersion in the world for as long as it remains fun.

In some MMOs, the levelling is ironically the best part of the game, e.g. Tera in beta and release. I know a ton of people who used up their free gameplay time to have a blast through Tera, making new friends along the journey until max level and then just leaving the game and moving on due to its (previously?) dire endgame.

In other MMOs, the endgame is arguable more enjoyable or at least as enjoyable as the levelling, e.g. LotRO and pre-cross-realm LFG WoW.

In some games, there is no endgame as such or the endgame is always there, e.g. EVE Online and Planetside 2.

In a few games, the endgame is virtually unattainable, e.g. Lineage II and Darkfall.

Some people cannot even stand the idea of there being an "endgame" and many of them argue that WoW formalised the artificial concept in MMOs, to the detriment of the genre. This is linked to the growth in and popularity of sandbox MMOs.

I do not mind either way. I play MMOs both casually and occassionally hardcore depending on how fun they are and as long as they remain fun.

- signed, an MMO Nomad.

[Deleted]

A little both but truly neither. When I play MMOs, I find myself just randomly chatting with people most of the time and acquiring powerful items/ingame currency, levels comes close second. So I think it depends what gives the best loot.. if it comes from farming, I ignore the big bad bosses, if it comes from having lots of gold, I trade most of the time. And why do I need that loot you may ask, well, I find it really fun to completely overpower the content, especially PvP. Time = money:P The faster I can grind players into honor or mobs into loot/gold, the better.

[Sj]

I do raid, but I enjoy exploring much more. Before old world flying in WoW, my rocket boots and parachute cloak keep me busy for more hours than I care to admit to.

[klaps_05]

i have a problem that I know every single detail of every zone and raid so leveling outside instances is far from exciting, tho I would probably enjoy it more than killing bosses every wednesday.

[papajohn4]

Both. I like the journey and the leveling content but I also like the end-game the the gear/stats progression.I really enjoy them both

[Airlick]

I was always the 'god killer' I guess, but only because of how boring the Journey got after a time. If a game could provide me with something to do outside of end-game for a prolonged period of time, I'd enjoy it. I used to sometimes walk around old zones in WoW just for the pleasure of it, too.

The old Azshara. <3

[Sj]

The old Azshara. <3

I miss old Azshara. There was such a mystique to that zone since it was extremely under-utilized. I found something new every time I went there.

[Deleted]

Alt whore here, guess that's the explorer type, although I did raid seriously for a while in WoW as I like to kill big bosses too.

[Xalzel]

If I had to pick, God-Killer, I love exploring, but doing endgame raids with friends is best.

[Pachycrocuta]

Explorer. I USED to be a big altoholic, at least in WoW. And then Cata dropped and completely destroyed that aspect of the game. 1-60 did lose its soul (like someone mentioned earlier) to me. Was never really into the "god killer" portion.

My favorite thing to do is crafting, and unfortunately, most crafting in MMORPGs is a bad joke that even the Joker wouldn't laugh about. It is only there to validate having an AH at all anymore (WoW being the biggest example). I would love to play an MMORPG with an indepth crafting system and an excellent player housing system (with the ability to ultimately create a player town/city). I like to RP and attempt to immerse myself into the world. I can only truely do so in a tabletop rpg, which is why I have practically abandoned MMORPGs in favor of TTRPGs (tabletop rpgs), because I can completely immerse myself, make my own kingdom/city/town and set up a business or other such.

[Ebonheart]

for reference:
-'explorer' refers to what is in most mmo's the "levelling content". Going from one area to the next with your motivating drive being to see whats over the next hill, while remaining aware that it could quite easily be something that kills you. For this kind of player the journey is more important than the destination.
-'god killer' refers to what is most commonly the "endgame content". Your character is the top tier of the games progression, no longer questing but killing the huge big bads of the world because they are the only thing left that threatens you and therefore yields the greatest loot rewards. For this kind of player the Destination is always the focus and anything between you and it is just grinding.

Which do you lean towards more? The topic came up when talking with friends about our dream mmos. half of us wanted something with a huge unmapped world where players explore and do more things like town building and mining and such, the other half wanted no levels and huge epic battles where their character is a powerhouse in a sea of peon npcs.

-I guess in a way both seem to suggest "go back and play warcraft 3 then", but it is an interesting divide.

Personally in a game like WoW i reach max level, get very bored with endgame content and roll an alt and take a different levelling path to explore on foot as a weak newbie character again. But my brother for example on has one toon and no alts and races day one of an expansion to hit max level and then the game is all about best in slot gear and quest text and story be damned.

What about you? the journey or the destination, which is more important in an mmo for you?

I am more of the, "The journey is the destination" kind of player. That would basically be along the lines of an explorer and a lore fanatic. I like to enjoy my levelling experience. However, to be quiet honest I've not really come across a game, an MMO especially that provides me with that experience.

I got into WoW during WTLK. Before the low level revamp, not many of the low level zones were quite intriguing besides the quests in the Plaguelands. I didn't feel attached to the story while questing in Outlands. However, Northrend got me the moment I stepped on the continent. I don't really know what it was. But I got me there. I remember the first time on the boat making my way to Valgradde under the burning boat. It was one of my most epic WoW moments. The story, quests, lore and everything else intrigued me. However, exploring wise, it sucked. I would say WoW in general provides the worst exploring experience. The graphics are so weird and uninspiring. You can hardly tell the difference between certain things sometimes. Nothing like compared to Skyrim.

And its only got worse since Cataclysm. The quests, story, lore has gotten so underwhelming. I don't give a hoot about some Panadas in distant lands or some lunatic dragon. So in WoW I mostly stick to end game content or PVP.

A lot of the other MMOs, don't really have a strong foundation. The quests are boring. The NPCs are lame. Everything feels forced.

However, Skyrim is one of those perfect games that fills up and sums up everything an explorer is looking for in a game. Everything is simply stunning. Quests, stories, dungeons, caves, mountain peaks, holds, they each provide a unique experience. I love just walking in the Reach and feeling like you have eternity on your hands to just take in everything around you. I love standing on a mountain peak and seeing everything around me. I love coming across something totally unexpected thing. Skyrim ticks every box when it comes to exploring and radiant quests. You just never know who you may run into sometimes.

That is why I am really looking forward to TES, because no game or MMO has provided me with the experience I am looking for. Northrend came close but still failed in many other regards.

[Wilian]

I'm the sort of player that just wants to carve his own path and name into an alien world in enviroment that combines sandbox and faction-related choices/questing

Modern MMOs are too much into theme park hero wankery for my tastes.

[WhereAmI]

I'm mostly the 'explorer' type MMO player. I play MMOs to experience different classes, leveling them up and playing around with the new skills, and to try and enjoy the world of the game. I do like some end-game stuff like PvP and doing a raid for the first time, but generally I don't spend much time on it.