Massivelys Better Of 2022 Awards

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It is nearly the end of the year, a time for merriment, camaraderie, and cynical evaluation of all of the MMO triumphs and tragedies that 2013 provided us.



Today, Massively's staff honors the best of the very best (and the worst of the worst) for the yr 2013. Every author was permitted a vote in every category with an something-goes nomination course of. No MMO, firm, or headline was off the desk, as long as it met the factors. 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 finest studio? Which MMO is most prone to flop next 12 months? And simply what constituted the largest MMO screw-up of the last 12 months?



Take pleasure in our picks for the perfect MMOs, expansions, studios, tales, and improvements of 2013... and our most-anticipated for 2014 and past.



Best New MMO of 2013: Remaining Fantasy XIV: A Realm RebornRunners-up: Tie between Neverwinter and Defiance



Jasmine: Ultimate Fantasy XIV, palms down. This recreation managed to realize one thing I thought was unimaginable: Square-Enix took a recreation that I considered the worst MMO I've ever performed and turned it into one thing that keeps me logging in each probability I get.



Eliot: When you had requested me two weeks ago, I might have mentioned Final Fantasy XIV with out reservation. Now do not get me improper; every little thing good about the unique version is brought to the forefront, and every thing unfavorable has either been removed or minimized. However the 2.1 update and the housing fiasco have pushed house the concept that we're not out of the woods and that we're simply looking at an period of bold new errors. If these points get fastened, then I've high hopes for the longer term; if not, it'll be a shocking example of a gorgeous turnaround followed by a shameful crash.



Greatest Enlargement or Replace of 2013: Guild Wars 2's Tremendous Adventure BoxRunners-up: Tie between EVE On-line's Odyssey, EVE On-line's Rubicon, and Star Trek On-line'sLegacy of Romulus



Richie: Guild Wars 2's Tremendous Adventure Field patch stands out in such a profound approach because many players thought it was nothing greater than an April Fools' Joke. The official website was up to date with wonderful images from an 8-bit world accompanied by a hilarious, cheesy, '80s-fashion commercial. After i logged into the game and realized that SAB was really in the sport, my jaw hit my desk. There have been three full levels of this 8-bit world full with secrets and techniques, puzzles, boss battles, unique music rating, and custom sound effects -- a full platforming journey game neatly tucked inside of my MMO.



Brendan: I've written a fair bit on why I like this yr's Odyssey and Rubicon expansions, however Rubicon's private deployable constructions push it just over the sting. The Cellular Depot has made lengthy-term exploration a very possible profession by allowing tech three ships to refit anywhere in deep house, and Ghost Websites have added some additional reward for these scouring deep house. The change to warp acceleration has also fastened the disparity between small and huge ships and enabled actual hit-and-run type warfare again.



Greatest Non-Traditional MMO or Pseudo-MMO of 2013: Path of ExileDifferent nominees: Hearthstone, Dota 2, Cube World, Defiance, MUSH



Matt: Path of Exile will get my vote for this one. The parents at Grinding Gear Video games have taken the time-honored motion-RPG system popularized by Diablo and twisted it up into an experience that feels each contemporary and acquainted. Eschewing conventional lessons and development in favor of an almost inconceivably enormous skill tree and allowing players to customize their capability loadouts by interchangeable gems are just two of the unique spins Path of Exile brings to the desk, and with its variety of leagues and competitions, there's something right here for the complete informal-hardcore spectrum.



Justin: Hearthstone. If just about everyone's in beta, does it count? I say it counts. Blizzard's received a money cow hit on its hands, and the mix of World of Warcraft and Magic-lite is just impressed. Plus, it is fairly enjoyable.



Most Underrated MMO of 2013: NeverwinterRunner-up: Defiance



Larry: Neverwinter launched with a large viewers and the hopes of being a full-fledged Dungeons and Dragons MMO. But alas, that's not what Cryptic had in thoughts for the sport, and gamers didn't admire Neverwinter for what it was: a fun recreation that you spend a few minutes to a few hours taking part in to unwind from the each day stress. After i revisited the game, I used to be truly surprised at how much fun I had. I don't should stress about rotations or builds or the standard MMO worries. I simply log in, pound by way of a few dungeons, then carry on with my day.



Tina: I think lots of people boxed Neverwinter below the "more of the identical" class with out giving it a chance. The traditional charm is updated nicely by way of the 4th Version Dungeons and Dragons freshness.



Jef: Defiance isn't setting the world on fireplace or something, however I enjoyed my time in it, and that i keep it put in in case I would like some sci-fi shooter motion with questing and a objective.



Most Anticipated for 2014 and Past: EverQuest SubsequentRunner-up: WildStarDifferent nominees: EverQuest Subsequent Landmark, ArcheAge, Future, Pathfinder Online, TUG, The Elder Scrolls On-line



Brendan: There are some great MMOs on the horizon, but the one I am wanting forward to probably the most is EverQuest Next. I am an absolute sucker for sandboxes, and the concept of a fantasy sandbox with a voxel-primarily based and fully destructible world has me completely excited! The large monetary success of Minecraft has impressed a deluge of voxel-based games in recent years, however no game has yet accomplished the feature justice. EQ Next guarantees to be as removed from those blocky worlds as doable while retaining a lot of the identical sandbox gameplay.



Bree: The day I discovered Star Wars Galaxies was closing, Smed reassured a teary-eyed me that SOE was working on a fair bigger and better sandbox. That sandbox turned out to be EverQuest Next. I am banking on SOE's means to parlay every part it learned from SWG -- particularly the mistakes -- into EQN. There are other good sandboxes on the horizon, completely, however nothing as likely to thrive as Subsequent.



Justin: Progressive sandboxes or massive fanbase followings aside, I am rooting for Carbine to tug off a wacky sci-fi themepark in WildStar. I almost hope it doesn't launch super-massive so that it will probably grow from word-of-mouth instead of developer hype.



Richie: I am wanting forward to WildStar. Ever since I quit World of Warcraft, a part of me has missed having a couple of nights every week as scheduled hangouts with my associates. I am itching to raid once more, and it appears as if WildStar could have the most effective endgame options of the 2014 MMO crop.



Most More likely to "Flop" in 2014: The Elder Scrolls On-lineRunner-up: Mud 514



Anatoli: "Flop" is a very loaded term relating to MMO. I do not think ESO will make a lot of a splash. I doubt it will fail as a game or as a venture, however I predict that lots of people will decide that it did when it would not set the whole world on fire.



Bree: I believe ESO will launch simply superb and accumulate a number of field and sub fees initially, however long-time period, it's in hassle. MMORPG fans are sick of story-driven single-player themepark MMOs, console followers will be mystified by subs and a three-means PvP endgame, and Elder Scrolls followers will wander back to the lore and mods of their solo sandboxes. I'm truly undecided for whom the game is meant, and i say that as a TES fanatic.



Matthew: I'm probably not a fan of The Elder Scrolls collection, so possibly I am biased, but I can not see the net version having the success of the one-participant installments.



MJ: If I were pressured to hazard a guess, I might say ESO. It feels as if there's a dark shadow of "cannot meet expectations" hanging over it.



Finest Studio in 2013: Sony Online EntertainmentRunner-up: Trion WorldsHonorable Mention: Tiny Speck



Beau: SOE continues to churn out video games, but the studio does so by itself phrases. Love it or hate it, you cannot deny that SOE has executed many, many things which have modified the course of MMOs.



Mike: SOE seems like the studio that has the very best hold on what the market desires. It keeps releasing engaging new content for its current properties, and EverQuest Next seems like the first fantasy MMO to actually attempt something new since Ultima Online. SOE also has a strong popularity for making huge guarantees and failing to ship, but I'd say it had a very good year. No query all eyes are on EQN in the coming years.



Toli: Glitch's shutdown final year was downright tragic, however Tiny Speck has made each effort to maintain the spirit and group alive, going so far as to launch the sport's assets into the public area only recently. That's preposterous, and i mean that in the very best way.



Largest Story of 2013: The reveal of EverQuest Next and LandmarkRunners-up: Tie between Star Citizen's Kickstarter success and Closing Fantasy XIV's relaunch



MJ: EverQuest Subsequent Landmark grabs this one as a result of the game came actually out of nowhere! There was not a single whisper, hint, leak or anything to suggest there was a second game on SOE's horizon. ATLWOOD In this trade, that is simply unheard of.



Tina: EverQuest Subsequent. Everybody just went nuts, and for good motive!



Matthew: EverQuest Next. For the reason that 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 go out on a limb so far as to say I think Blizzard went again to the drawing board on Titan due to EQN.



Jef: Star Citizen. You could not need to play it, and you could also be bored with the Chris Roberts hero-worship, however you can't deny the affect that it's had and continues to have on the best way video games are made.



Biggest Disappointment of 2013: Mud 514Different nominees: Defiance, Warhammer's sunset, the Kickstarter craze, Age of Wushu, Neverwinter, uninspired MMO design, conventional subscription models, no EverQuest Subsequent at SOE Dwell, the gloom and doom surrounding World of Darkness, and Guild Wars 2's residing story.



Jef: Mud 514. GAMING I is perhaps beating a useless horse here, however console-solely plus identical-old-shooter-gameplay equals meh. And CCP hyping the crap out of the EVE Online connection wasn't significantly sensible since there actually isn't one.



Mike: This could also be a cop-out, however I am pinning this on the complete MMO style. The year was ruled by countless re-treads of familiar fantasy worlds and loads of uninspired work from developers that ought to actually know higher (Trion, I'm taking a look at you). With the line between MMO and non-MMO getting blurrier by the minute, MMO developers have to get their acts collectively in the event that they're hoping to remain aggressive. And they need cease asking for handouts by way of Kickstarter.



Eliot: Kickstarter. We've had a number of funding drives for games, some profitable, some not, with practically every single one in all them promising the same basic gameplay philosophies, none of which has been backed up by precise finished MMOs. A minimum of one of those studios has gone again to the properly and requested for more cash from Kickstarter backers, and I do not imagine it will likely be the primary. It is not a pattern I am happy to see, and one that I've already written about at length. There's some great stuff on Kickstarter, however this yr's glut was unpleasant.



Greatest Blunder of 2013: Subscription models for Elder Scrolls Online and WildStarDifferent nominees: Console MMOs, Every little thing 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 discuss more about this award and the rationale behind it in December 26th's Ask Massively.]



Eliot: WildStar's business mannequin not less than appears to be taken from a guide written by someone with the vaguest information of industry developments, but ESO's appears to have been designed with the assumption that every other game that went free-to-play after launch (also known as "just about each sport that has launched throughout the past four years") was a worse sport than ESO will probably be. Can we please stop pretending which you could launch with a subscription now?



Mike: I think, in the long run, placing a subscription payment on The Elder Scrolls Online will develop into a reasonably unhealthy thought. Bethesda will make piles of money earlier than it is pressured to shift to free-to-play, but I am not sure what the price shall be when it comes to loyalty to the brand. If followers feel burned or taken advantage of, the Elder Scrolls franchise will suffer. A subscription fee essentially says, "You'll stop World of Warcraft/EVE Online/Final Fantasy XIV for this," and that is exceptionally daring from a studio that's never made an MMO.



Tina: I truthfully don't see how CCP can keep its dedication to finish World of Darkness whereas regularly slicing the workforce. We need to see some strong results in 2014 to prove otherwise.



Biggest Innovation or Trend of 2013: The return of sandbox gameplayRunner-up: Defiance's transmedia synergyDifferent nominees: Oculus Rift, Guild Wars 2's cadence, streaming video games, blurring genre traces, actiony MMOs, voxels, and Warhammer's sunset.



Toli: I like that tendencies are swinging again towards quite a lot of gameplay options this yr. Voxels! Sandboxy issues! I turn around and instantly MMOs are launching with housing again! Holy smokes!



Matt: I am blissful to see extra studios tapping into the sandbox market. From heavy-hitters like EverQuest Subsequent and Star Citizen to less-hyped titles like Pathfinder On-line, the sandbox genre is gaining lots of traction.



Larry: Defiance was a disappointment as a recreation, however as a product it broke the mold. I actually loved the tie-in launch of a tv sequence with an MMO. I do not suppose other video games need to copy this model exactly, however I do assume that tie-ins, crossovers, and multi-media launches add value to a product. And that i additionally consider that outside-the-box considering must be encouraged in MMOs, even if it does in the end flop.



Justin: Oculus Rift: Might VR come again to be an precise future for MMOs? It's a chance, and what teases we're seeing this year have whet my need to strive it out for real.



Shawn: Closing Warhammer Online. I mean, the game was kinda fun at first, but can we cease with that precise system now? Thanks. (I'm already putting my vote in for 2015's Greatest Development to be "the end of voxel-based online games.")



Most Improved in 2013: Ultimate Fantasy XIVRunners-up: Tie between Star Wars: The Outdated Republic and RuneScape three



Jasmine: Final Fantasy XIV. It improved so much from 1.Zero to 2.0 that it plays like an almost solely completely different game. I do not suppose you will get far more improved than that.



Beau: RuneScape three brought a lot to the older game that it actually is a distinct game. It is always been dynamic and felt like a residing world, however this relaunch made it that much better.



These are our picks. Howsabout yours?