It is practically the top of the 12 months, a time for merriment, camaraderie, and cynical evaluation of all the MMO triumphs and tragedies that 2013 provided us.
At present, Massively's staff honors the best of the very best (and the worst of the worst) for the year 2013. Every writer was permitted a vote in each category with an anything-goes nomination process. No MMO, company, or headline was off the desk, as lengthy as it met the standards. Can WildStar make it to a few years in a row at the highest of our "most anticipated" pile, or did its delay dampen our enthusiasm? Can SOE repeat its win for greatest studio? Which MMO is most prone to flop subsequent yr? And just what constituted the most important MMO screw-up of the final 12 months?
Take pleasure in our picks for the best MMOs, expansions, studios, tales, and innovations of 2013... and our most-anticipated for 2014 and past.
Finest New MMO of 2013: Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
Runners-up: Tie between Neverwinter and Defiance
Jasmine: Remaining Fantasy XIV, fingers down. This game managed to attain something I assumed was impossible: Square-Enix took a game that I thought of the worst MMO I've ever played and turned it into one thing that keeps me logging in every likelihood I get.
Eliot: For those who had asked me two weeks ago, I'd have stated Final Fantasy XIV without reservation. Now do not get me improper; everything good about the unique model is dropped at the forefront, and everything adverse has either been eliminated or minimized. However the 2.1 replace and the housing fiasco have driven house the concept we're not out of the woods and that we're just taking a look at an period of daring new errors. If these issues get mounted, then I've excessive hopes for the long run; if not, it's going to be a shocking instance of a gorgeous turnaround adopted by a shameful crash.
Finest Expansion or Update of 2013: Guild Wars 2's Super Adventure Box
Runners-up: Tie between EVE On-line's Odyssey, EVE Online's Rubicon, and Star Trek Online's
Legacy of Romulus
Richie: Guild Wars 2's Tremendous Adventure Box patch stands out in such a profound manner because many players thought it was nothing more than an April Fools' Joke. The official website was updated with superb pictures from an 8-bit world accompanied by a hilarious, cheesy, '80s-model commercial. After i logged into the game and realized that SAB was actually in the sport, my jaw hit my desk. There have been three full levels of this 8-bit world full with secrets, puzzles, boss battles, authentic music rating, and custom sound results -- a full platforming journey sport neatly tucked inside of my MMO.
Brendan: I've written a good bit on why I really like this year's Odyssey and Rubicon expansions, but Rubicon's private deployable constructions push it simply over the edge. The Cellular Depot has made long-term exploration a very feasible profession by permitting tech three ships to refit wherever in deep space, and Ghost Sites have added some further reward for these scouring deep space. The change to warp acceleration has additionally fastened the disparity between small and large ships and enabled actual hit-and-run fashion warfare again.
Best Non-Conventional MMO or Pseudo-MMO of 2013: Path of Exile
Other nominees: Hearthstone, Dota 2, Cube World, Defiance, MUSH
Matt: Path of Exile gets my vote for this one. The folks at Grinding Gear Video games have taken the time-honored motion-RPG method popularized by Diablo and twisted it up into an expertise that feels both fresh and acquainted. Eschewing conventional classes and progression in favor of an virtually inconceivably enormous skill tree and permitting players to customise their ability loadouts by way of interchangeable gems are just two of the distinctive spins Path of Exile brings to the table, and with its variety of leagues and competitions, there's one thing here for your complete casual-hardcore spectrum.
Justin: Hearthstone. If nearly everybody's in beta, does it count? I say it counts. Blizzard's received a money cow hit on its arms, and the mixture of World of Warcraft and Magic-lite is simply inspired. Plus, it's fairly enjoyable.
Most Underrated MMO of 2013: Neverwinter
Runner-up: Defiance
Larry: Neverwinter launched with a large audience and the hopes of being a full-fledged Dungeons and Dragons MMO. But alas, that is not what Cryptic had in thoughts for the sport, and players didn't admire Neverwinter for what it was: a enjoyable recreation that you just spend a few minutes to a few hours playing to unwind from the each day stress. After i revisited the sport, I was actually surprised at how a lot enjoyable I had. I don't need to stress about rotations or builds or the standard MMO worries. I simply log in, pound by way of a couple of dungeons, then carry on with my day.
Tina: I feel lots of people boxed Neverwinter beneath the "extra of the same" category without giving it a chance. The traditional charm is updated properly by means of the 4th Version Dungeons and Dragons freshness.
Jef: Defiance isn't setting the world on hearth or anything, however I enjoyed my time in it, and i keep it put in in case I want some sci-fi shooter action with questing and a function.
Most Anticipated for 2014 and Beyond: EverQuest Subsequent
Runner-up: WildStar
Different nominees: EverQuest Subsequent Landmark, ArcheAge, Destiny, Pathfinder Online, TUG, The Elder Scrolls Online
Brendan: There are some great MMOs on the horizon, but the one I am looking forward to the most is EverQuest Subsequent. I am an absolute sucker for sandboxes, and the idea of a fantasy sandbox with a voxel-based and fully destructible world has me completely excited! The large monetary success of Minecraft has impressed a deluge of voxel-primarily based video games in recent years, however no game has but performed the characteristic justice. EQ Subsequent promises to be as far from those blocky worlds as possible while retaining much of the identical sandbox gameplay.
Bree: The day I realized Star Wars Galaxies was closing, Smed reassured a teary-eyed me that SOE was engaged on an even larger and better sandbox. ARKADNE-IGRE turned out to be EverQuest Subsequent. I'm banking on SOE's ability to parlay the whole lot it realized from SWG -- particularly the mistakes -- into EQN. There are different good sandboxes on the horizon, absolutely, however nothing as prone to thrive as Next.
Justin: Revolutionary sandboxes or massive fanbase followings aside, I'm rooting for Carbine to tug off a wacky sci-fi themepark in WildStar. I almost hope it does not launch super-huge in order that it will possibly develop from word-of-mouth as an alternative of developer hype.
Richie: I am looking forward to WildStar. Ever since I quit World of Warcraft, a part of me has missed having a number of nights each week as scheduled hangouts with my pals. I am itching to raid again, and it appears to be like as if WildStar may have the best endgame options of the 2014 MMO crop.
Most Prone to "Flop" in 2014: The Elder Scrolls On-line
Runner-up: Dust 514
Anatoli: "Flop" is a really loaded term on the subject of MMO. I do not suppose ESO will make much of a splash. I doubt it's going to fail as a game or as a venture, but I predict that lots of people will resolve that it did when it doesn't set the whole world on fireplace.
Bree: I feel ESO will launch simply positive and accumulate a variety of field and sub fees initially, however lengthy-time period, it's in bother. MMORPG followers are sick of story-driven single-player themepark MMOs, console fans shall be mystified by subs and a 3-means PvP endgame, and Elder Scrolls followers will wander back to the lore and mods of their solo sandboxes. I'm really not sure for whom the game is intended, and i say that as a TES fanatic.
Matthew: I am not really a fan of The Elder Scrolls series, so maybe I'm biased, but I can not see the web model having the success of the one-player installments.
MJ: If I had been forced to hazard a guess, I might say ESO. It feels as if there is a darkish shadow of "can't meet expectations" hanging over it.
Best Studio in 2013: Sony On-line Entertainment
Runner-up: Trion Worlds
Honorable Point out: Tiny Speck
Beau: SOE continues to churn out games, but the studio does so on its own phrases. Find it irresistible or hate it, you can't deny that SOE has carried out many, many issues that have modified the course of MMOs.
Mike: SOE appears like the studio that has the perfect hold on what the market desires. It retains releasing engaging new content material for its existing properties, and EverQuest Subsequent appears to be like like the primary fantasy MMO to really attempt something new since Ultima On-line. SOE also has a strong status for making massive promises and failing to ship, but I'd say it had an excellent year. No question all eyes are on EQN in the approaching years.
Toli: Glitch's shutdown final 12 months was downright tragic, however Tiny Speck has made each effort to maintain the spirit and community alive, going as far as to release the game's belongings into the public domain just recently. That is preposterous, and i imply that in the very best manner.
Greatest Story of 2013: The reveal of EverQuest Next and Landmark
Runners-up: Tie between Star Citizen's Kickstarter success and Last Fantasy XIV's relaunch
MJ: EverQuest Subsequent Landmark grabs this one because the sport came actually out of nowhere! There was not a single whisper, hint, leak or something to suggest there was a second game on SOE's horizon. In this business, that's simply unheard of.
Tina: EverQuest Next. Everybody just went nuts, and for good cause!
Matthew: EverQuest Subsequent. Since the announcement, it seems as if the entire future of the trade is coloured by comparisons to our new savior. I am not going to disagree. I am going to exit on a limb so far as to say I believe Blizzard went again to the drawing board on Titan due to EQN.
Jef: Star Citizen. It's possible you'll not wish to play it, and also you may be bored with the Chris Roberts hero-worship, but you cannot deny the impression that it's had and continues to have on the way games are made.
Greatest Disappointment of 2013: Dust 514
Other nominees: Defiance, Warhammer's sunset, the Kickstarter craze, Age of Wushu, Neverwinter, uninspired MMO design, traditional subscription fashions, no EverQuest Subsequent at SOE Reside, the gloom and doom surrounding World of Darkness, and Guild Wars 2's living story.
Jef: Mud 514. I is likely to be beating a dead horse here, however console-only plus identical-previous-shooter-gameplay equals meh. And CCP hyping the crap out of the EVE Online connection wasn't particularly clever since there actually is not one.
Mike: This could also be a cop-out, but I am pinning this on the whole MMO style. The year was ruled by countless re-treads of acquainted fantasy worlds and a lot of uninspired work from builders that should really know better (Trion, I am taking a look at you). With the road between MMO and non-MMO getting blurrier by the minute, MMO builders must get their acts collectively if they're hoping to remain competitive. And they want stop asking for handouts via Kickstarter.
Eliot: Kickstarter. We have had plenty of funding drives for games, some successful, some not, with almost each single one in all them promising the same fundamental gameplay philosophies, none of which has been backed up by actual finished MMOs. No less than one of those studios has gone back to the properly and asked for extra money from Kickstarter backers, and I do not imagine it is going to be the first. It isn't a development I am joyful to see, and one which I've already written about at length. There's some great stuff on Kickstarter, however this year's glut was unpleasant.
Greatest Blunder of 2013: Subscription models for Elder Scrolls Online and WildStar
Other nominees: Console MMOs, Everything ESO does, LucasArts' closure, Blizzard's lore sexism, Star Wars: The Old Republic's area combat, FFXIV's launch woes, CCP's World of Darkness layoffs, Guild Wars 2's horrifying PR campaigns, and Diablo III's auction home fiasco.
[Update: We speak more about this award and the rationale behind it in December 26th's Ask Massively.]
Eliot: WildStar's enterprise mannequin no less than seems to be taken from a guide written by someone with the vaguest information of business trends, however ESO's seems to have been designed with the assumption that every other recreation that went free-to-play after launch (also referred to as "pretty much every game that has launched inside the previous four years") was a worse recreation than ESO might be. Can we please stop pretending that you may launch with a subscription now?
Mike: I believe, in the long term, placing a subscription fee on The Elder Scrolls Online will transform a pretty dangerous concept. Bethesda will make piles of money earlier than it is compelled to shift to free-to-play, however I'm not sure what the worth can be when it comes to loyalty to the model. If followers feel burned or taken benefit of, the Elder Scrolls franchise will suffer. A subscription price basically says, "You'll give up World of Warcraft/EVE Online/Last Fantasy XIV for this," and that's exceptionally bold from a studio that's by no means made an MMO.
Tina: I truthfully don't see how CCP can keep its dedication to complete World of Darkness while frequently slicing the staff. We need to see some solid results in 2014 to prove otherwise.
Greatest Innovation or Pattern of 2013: The return of sandbox gameplay
Runner-up: Defiance's transmedia synergy
Other nominees: Oculus Rift, Guild Wars 2's cadence, streaming video games, blurring genre lines, actiony MMOs, voxels, and Warhammer's sunset.
Toli: I like that traits are swinging again towards a variety of gameplay options this 12 months. Voxels! Sandboxy issues! I turn around and instantly MMOs are launching with housing once more! Holy smokes!
Matt: I am happy to see extra studios tapping into the sandbox market. From heavy-hitters like EverQuest Subsequent and Star Citizen to much less-hyped titles like Pathfinder Online, the sandbox style is gaining lots of traction.
Larry: Defiance was a disappointment as a game, however as a product it broke the mold. I really loved the tie-in launch of a tv sequence with an MMO. I do not think different games want to copy this model precisely, however I do assume that tie-ins, crossovers, and multi-media launches add worth to a product. And that i additionally consider that exterior-the-box pondering needs to be inspired in MMOs, even when it does in the end flop.
Justin: Oculus Rift: May VR come again to be an precise future for MMOs? It is a chance, and what teases we're seeing this year have whet my desire to try it out for real.
Shawn: Closing Warhammer Online. I mean, the game was kinda fun at first, but can we stop with that precise formulation now? Thanks. (I am already placing my vote in for 2015's Biggest Development to be "the top of voxel-based on-line video games.")
Most Improved in 2013: Closing Fantasy XIV
Runners-up: Tie between Star Wars: The Outdated Republic and RuneScape 3
Jasmine: Ultimate Fantasy XIV. It improved a lot from 1.0 to 2.0 that it performs like an virtually fully different sport. I don't suppose you will get much more improved than that.
Beau: RuneScape three introduced a lot to the older recreation that it actually is a different sport. It is at all times been dynamic and felt like a living world, but this relaunch made it that much better.
These are our picks. Howsabout yours?