Your Next: What's an MMOBA?

How the MOBA genre could influence EverQuest Next.

The MMORPG genre is no spring chicken, and it’s certainly not the darling of PC gaming anymore. The past ten years have seen advances in online gaming that we couldn’t have imagined in the 90s, and it’s a testament to the quality of games like EverQuest and Ultima Online that have stood the test of time and maintained loyal player bases to this day.

When I start with a paragraph like that, you know I’m going to be talking about something that will upset some of the old school. Such is the unfortunate reality of progress, some people like things just the way they are.

While it’s great to look at what came before for inspiration and guidance, if all we do is retread old ground we’ll never discover anything new; there are those who clamor for change while stifling any deviation from established conventions. The worst part is that sometimes we can’t separate what we have liked before, from what is the best fit for now.

Last week I noted a few of the ways Magic the Gathering is influencing the systems of EverQuest Next and Landmark, this week I wanted to talk about another influence: the MOBA genre.

A common view of how this influence manifests is via the action combat system, people think ‘it’s a bit like SMITE’ and leave it there. I believe (and secretly hope) this assumption is incorrect, and I’m going to tell you why, otherwise this column would be just cat pictures or a Top Ten list. I’d be too ashamed to ever look you in the eye again.

For me, the most striking resemblance to the MOBA genre so far is in the itemization: items that give abilities rather than stat boosts, and the related opportunity cost. This is an idea that deviates spectacularly from the MMO ‘template’, yet is ubiquitous in MOBA games.

An itemization system like this is used in MOBAS to designate the specific role of a player’s character, which seems to be the case in EQN and Landmark also. One thing that makes roles interesting in MOBAS is that there are a wide variety of possible roles that can be filled by different heroes in different ways, but what’s really important is the synergy of the group.

A system like this has the potential to solve some of the common problems of MMOs; it means that separating solo and group builds is possible (even beneficial) and it’s great for horizontal progression as builds don’t need to be ‘expensive’ in order to be effective. If I was to really push the boat out and make a prediction, I would say the starting classes in EQN will have very effective ‘cheap’ builds, as well as strong solo builds. Feel free to call me out if that turns out to be wrong, but please be gentle, my ego is fragile.

If this kind of itemization and character building is the way the wind is blowing, it means that the ability to multiclass becomes essential to playing optimally. Rather than taking away from the renown a player can attain for playing a certain class well, it creates many opportunities to be known for other skills without diminishing that particular one. Even among professional MOBA players, some are known for playing certain heroes extremely well to the point their team will often build around that hero.

Since I seem to be in the mood for sticking my neck out, let’s have another prediction; the emphasis of the multiplayer content delivery in EQN will be shorter play cycles (30-40 mins) with vastly increased replayability through a shifting and enormous variety of encounters.

There’s more than a little of my personal hopes in that one, but with the MOBA influence as I see it, along with other design choices, it would make sense. One thing I think is a safe bet: SOE will make decisions based on what is best for the game it is making, not what worked for a different game from a different decade.


 

LockSixTime

Checks Twitter Obsessively

Streams Landmark Often

Makes Videos About EQN

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