3 Immutable Laws of MMOs (editorial)

Massive Multiplayers have laws that govern them, just as everything in the universe does.  While planets have gravity and energy has exchange

 

rates, MMOs have these three laws.

1) When You Need It, It’s Nowhere to Be Found (and Inversed)

This rule applies to everything in the game.  If you need a specific mob to finish a quest or gain a reward, you won’t find that mob for hours.  If you have to find a specific craft item or ingredient.. it suddenly vanishes from the gameverse.

The inverse also applies.  When you have absolutely no need for whatever the item is, it wil suddenly become the Tribble of that game, filling the screen with its multiplied presence.

2) Chat will be useful to everyone but you.

The chat channels in the game are where players in a zone or server talk to one another.  Often, these include people asking questions and looking for help.  Most of the time, other players are glad to be helpful and answer questions or point someone in the right direction.  Unless it’s you.  Then no one will know the answer and the channel will suddenly go blank, possibly with faint cricket chirping to be heard in the background.

3) The lingo in-game will baffle you, even if you’re an old hack.

Game lingo changes constantly.  Some terms, like “noob” are fairly universal, but others are game-specific.  LOTRO has “freeps, creeps, and peeps” and WOT has “derp and golden tank.”  Whatever the lingo is, you’ll not know what the heck people are talking about at some point or another.  When you ask, you’ll be called “noob.”

These are the three immutable Laws of MMO.