» The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
01/08/25 17:34 (1 hour ago) from Blog - Contains Moderate Peril
I have always found it curious that there haven't been more feature films set in Middle-earth, after the success of Peter Jackson’s The L...
» GeForce Now And Then
01/08/25 17:27 (1 hour ago) from Inventory Full
When I said in yesterday's post " I have yet to try GeForce Now but I see no reason why that shouldn't also work perfectly. ", I knew I w...
» Level 47 Achieved and the Level 48 Requirements in Pokemon Go
01/08/25 16:15 (2 hours ago) from The Ancient Gaming Noob
As I mentioned near the end of last month, I was ready for level 47 in Pokemon Go on the xp front, but was being blocked from advancing d...
» Smokpub
01/08/25 15:57 (3 hours ago) from Scopique
I Intentionally light things on fire to make my drink taste like burnt wood, and it's amazing.
» LOTRO: Jackals are jerks
01/08/25 14:00 (4 hours ago) from Bio Break
As I feel my way around these new LOTRO areas, my complicated relationship with this game’s landscape became a topic of much though...
» Backlogged: Wytchwood
01/08/25 12:00 (7 hours ago) from Many Welps
Alright, time kick off the first Backlogged post of 2025! Let’s see, the last time I did one of these was *checks notes* – Ho...
» Five Films I Like
01/07/25 23:07 (19 hours ago) from Blog - Contains Moderate Peril
I was asked recently, what are my top five films of all time? This is one of those loaded questions that I don’t really like to answer. I...
» Fed Up Already?
01/07/25 19:18 (23 hours ago) from Scopique
"Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life...because you'll end up hating it and will never want to do it again, ever."
» LOTRO 2025 and a Sparse Yet Chaotic Roadmap Ahead
01/07/25 16:15 (1 day ago) from The Ancient Gaming Noob
We are in the midst of roadmap season I suppose. We got them early from Microsoft around World of Warcraft, both retail and classic, bac...
» First Impressions Box Set
01/07/25 15:52 (1 day ago) from Inventory Full
I've had several days to get used to my new laptop and I'm pleased to say I'm extremely happy with it. It does everything I wanted and mo...
» Nodes
01/07/25 13:33 (1 day ago) from Scopique
Nodes
» World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (board game) and Uno No Mercy
01/07/25 10:30 (1 day ago) from JVT Workshop
» Catching Up On 2024: A Short List Look Back
01/06/25 18:47 (2 days ago) from Kaylriene
I’ve been working on a fair number of drafts and getting caught up in all of them, so I haven’t posted a lot! It’s a we...
» TAGN Fantasy Critic League 2025 Draft Results
01/06/25 16:15 (2 days ago) from The Ancient Gaming Noob
The TAGN Fantasy Critic League 2025 draft happened on Saturday and it was a success. We ended up with a total of 10 teams entered, which ...
» World of Warcraft: Backpackin’ through Azeroth
01/06/25 14:00 (2 days ago) from Bio Break
Without worrying about gear so much, I’ve been running delves at Tier 5 for speed and other rewards, and it’s actually been a...
» I Know What I Did Last Weekend
01/06/25 13:16 (2 days ago) from Chasing Dings!
This weekend was a little time in a lot of games. There's a game or two in here you might not have heard of. Related posts: Baldur’...
» Signs Of The End Times : #1 In An Infinite Series
01/06/25 12:13 (2 days ago) from Inventory Full
I didn't know what I was going to post about this morning until I saw this story in my feeds. It's from NME so, being mainly focused on m...
» Nuclear Nightmare could be fun, eventually.
01/06/25 12:00 (2 days ago) from Many Welps
Nuclear Nightmare is a game that asks: What would happen if you and your friends were dropped off in Antarctica and asked you to collect ...
» Microblogging Journal through 1/6/2025
01/06/25 08:00 (2 days ago) from Endgame Viable
Dispatches from @ultrviolet@gts.endgameviable.com : Forgot to run the script last week. I really need to find a way to automate this proc...
» Yellowstone and Territory
01/06/25 07:12 (2 days ago) from JVT Workshop
» Banks
01/05/25 22:45 (2 days ago) from Blog - Contains Moderate Peril
I was having a discussion with extended family over Christmas and someone asked the interesting question “what is the most pointless shop...
» The Best and Worst Dynamic Encounters on Hoth
01/05/25 18:48 (3 days ago) from Going Commando | A SWTOR Fan Blog
» The Josh Strife Hayes Ultimate MMO Tier List
01/05/25 17:15 (3 days ago) from The Ancient Gaming Noob
Another entry in the JSH video series. This time around he went out and scoured YouTube and the web to tabulate all the rankings of MMOs ...
» Best Board Games of 2024!
01/05/25 17:09 (3 days ago) from Chasing Dings!
The last Best Of post! We play a lot of board games. Stems from our crippling Kickstarter habit. Step into my tabletop world... Related p...
» Witch it and Deceive Inc
01/04/25 23:43 (3 days ago) from JVT Workshop
» Best of 2024: My Favorite MMOs
01/04/25 21:46 (3 days ago) from Chasing Dings!
I played a few MMOs this past year. Here's some of my favorites, including two from way back when. Related posts: Pantheon: Rise of the F...
» What did I Play in 2024 and how does 2025 look?
01/04/25 17:15 (4 days ago) from The Ancient Gaming Noob
Another stop on the “closing out the year” tour here at TAGN, an annual tradition where I look at what I said I might play fo...
» Pictures And Words
01/04/25 15:52 (4 days ago) from Inventory Full
Stars Reach is using every means possible to draw attention to itself. As well as the pre-alpha, which began with only a partial NDA and ...
» Blog Post Counters
01/04/25 15:36 (4 days ago) from Blog - Contains Moderate Peril
I used WordPress as a website platform for 5 years. One of the things I used to like about it was the ability to track data and generate ...
» Blog Post Counter
01/04/25 15:36 (4 days ago) from Blog - Contains Moderate Peril
I used WordPress as a website platform for 5 years. One of the things I used to like about it was the ability to track data and generate ...
» The Best Strategy/Tactics RPGs of 2024
01/04/25 00:37 (4 days ago) from Chasing Dings!
Tactics RPGs have been a favorite of mine since Final Fantasy Tactics. These are the best strategy/tactics RPGs I played in 2024. Related...
» Are MMORPGs Expensive to Play?
01/03/25 22:00 (4 days ago) from Blog - Contains Moderate Peril
Bree Royce, editor-in chief at Massively Overpowered, recently asked the question “what is the most expensive MMORPG right now”. My first...
» TAGN Fantasy Critic League 2025 will Draft Tomorrow
01/03/25 16:15 (5 days ago) from The Ancient Gaming Noob
As I mentioned in a post last week, I want to try and run a Fantasy Critic League this year and am looking for readers and fellow blogger...
» Quarter 4 2024 - Pt. Who Knows?
01/03/25 15:56 (5 days ago) from Inventory Full
OMG! Where to start? Thanks to the advent calendar it's been... let me check... nearly three months since the last non-seasonal music pos...
» Quarter 4 2024 - Pt. 1 Of Who Knows?
01/03/25 15:56 (5 days ago) from Inventory Full
OMG! Where to start? Thanks to the advent calendar it's been... let me check... nearly three months since the last non-seasonal music pos...
» Just a Few this Time
01/03/25 15:00 (5 days ago) from Many Welps
Even though I wasn’t playing all that much last year, I was still buying games. Which in retrospect, seems a bit silly as they̵...
» LOTRO: No Christmas for me! But yes, Christmas!
01/03/25 14:00 (5 days ago) from Bio Break
So I made a command decision with my Angmar Captain: I’m not going to be doing any of the Yule Festival content this year. This is ...
» Booking Tickets
01/02/25 23:20 (5 days ago) from Blog - Contains Moderate Peril
Last night Mrs P said apropos of nothing, “shall we go and see John Bishop”? For those who don’t know, John Bishop is an established UK c...
» The Penguin and Honey Bunny
01/02/25 21:33 (5 days ago) from JVT Workshop
» Is This thing On?
01/02/25 20:51 (5 days ago) from Inventory Full
This is going to be a fairly short post, in part because it's kind of a proof of concept. I'm writing it on my new laptop, instead of my ...
» My SWTOR Feature Wishlist Going Into 2025
01/02/25 20:46 (5 days ago) from Going Commando | A SWTOR Fan Blog
» The Steam Winter Sale 2024 Wraps Up with Awards and Stats
01/02/25 18:15 (6 days ago) from The Ancient Gaming Noob
Here it is, the day after New Year’s, the first real work day of the year for many as we face a cold winter and an uncertain future...
» Exodus: The Archimedes Engine
01/02/25 15:31 (6 days ago) from Scopique
A prequel? Sequel? Regardless, this book by Peter F. Hamilton introduces potential players to the universe of the upcoming game Exodus by...
» Best of 2024: Survival Crafting Games
01/02/25 13:22 (6 days ago) from Chasing Dings!
If you've ever punched a tree, you've played a survival crafting game. There were a lot of these in 2024. Here's the ones I played. Relat...
» PC Game Pass
01/01/25 21:11 (6 days ago) from Blog - Contains Moderate Peril
As a retired person, my monthly income is dependent on interest rates and the state of the wider economy. The UK economic prospects for 2...
» January 2025 Zone of the Month -- Knight's Court
01/01/25 19:53 (6 days ago) from The Friendly Necromancer
Welcome to 2025 and to another Zone of the Month! Randomness this month has brought us all the way back to Marleybone and one of my favor...
» Kluwes’ January 2025 Goals
01/01/25 19:00 (7 days ago) from Many Welps
Happy New Year! Now begins the one to two month period where I constantly write the wrong year. It’s also, what I feel like, the be...
» Syp’s gaming goals for January 2025
01/01/25 14:00 (7 days ago) from Bio Break
December 2024 in review Unsurprisingly, December easily won the race to be the craziest month overall, with lots of weird scheduling, hol...
» In Review – December 2024
01/01/25 14:00 (7 days ago) from Nerd Girl Thoughts
I suppose I did pretty good this month? I’m still having trouble getting myself to blog with any regularity, and I just couldn̵...
» They All Rolled Over And Two Fell Out : The Steam Winter Sale
01/01/25 13:27 (7 days ago) from Inventory Full
Happy New Year everyone! And with that out of the way, rest assured this is safe place! There will be no resolutions, predictions, ...
I think your experience of GW2 events solo is atypical. By and large they scale extremely well and most are soloable. Moreover, most are enjoyably soloable, or at least I found them so. Many of the events are actually better with one to three people doing them because you can see the detail in the writing and the storytelling so much better that way.
It’s true that GW2 now does have a system whereby underpopulated maps are closed and rolled into busier ones, but that wasn’t always the case. The game ran for 12-18 months (can’t recall without checking – might have been longer even) without that “Megaserver” feature and when it changed a lot of people, myself included, missed the old “solo” days. Of course, since the maps let you stay on them for up to two hours after the “unpopulated” warning, now you get the best of both worlds.
Contrarily, when I played ESO I pretty much hit the wall of my ability as a player around the high teens. One of the main reasons I stopped playing was that I could no longer complete even simple quests at level with any confidence and I was failing or dying more often than I found entertaining. Not that the upcoming change would help with that, of course.
For what it’s worth, I’m with you in principle in that I prefer a straight leveling world where zones stay at the level you first encountered them and your character doesn’t. I think in the end, though, it has a lot more to do with how much you like the game and it’s mechanics. I love GW2’s combat, which feels the most natural of any MMO I’ve eve played, while I found ESO’s combat almost unbearable. I suspect that, since you are probably at the opposite extreme of that curve, the changes won’t entirely wreck your enjoyment any more than the coming of the Megaserver wrecked mine.
A third post on this topic seems to be over-kill, so I’ll just add a comment. In GW2, your character scales down to the zone level, correct? So if I’m level 10 I can’t go do end-game content, which means earning levels still gets me access to new places to explore.
In One Tamriel, as they’ve explained it so far, all zones will by max level and you’ll scale up to that level (that’s how the new expansions work now). That means at level 10 I can go do the zones that are level 50+. So not only does getting levels not make you feel any more powerful, it doesn’t get you access to new places either.
I guess I don’t understand what the point of having levels is under this system.
@bhagpuss – It’s true that TESO’s flexibility lets you put together a build that will really struggle solo but I think the scaling system will just make that issue worse. You could have, it you’d really wanted to, wandered around slaying mobs and gaining a few levels to take on the content that was giving you trouble. That will no longer be the case.
I don’t really remember much of GW2’s commbat; mostly I remember not being able to see what i was hitting for all the spell effects (since I played a melee class) but that was when I was in a zerg. Trying to solo events, I just remember not being able to kill waves on incoming enemies fast enough, but it’s entirely possible I just sucked. But in TESO, the world bosses are pretty difficult to solo (I mean, they’re designed to require a group after all) at level until you’re established enough in the game world to gear yourself well and can pull off crazy damage numbers.