Why do people play MMORPGs?

[@IdylOnTV]

Thanks for an amazing 2024 to all of you (and especially my Patreon supporters)! Remember, 1 like = 1 penny towards my Turkish hair transplant surgery.

[@Eta_Hoyimi]

Why turkish hair? Is american hair not good enough for you anymore?

[@galahadcf]

You forgot "and especially Oog from Bluesky"

[@inkyboi4059]

i like MMO's because i can play alone but not be really alone

[@turquoiseragdoll]

Exactly. Even if you're a solo player, you don't feel alone in the game. The MMO worlds just feel... alive in a sense that other types of games don't.

[@1337139]

Same. And you can group up whenever you want but it's not forced all the time

[@dizzyheads]

I like being that random guy that occasionally appears in some people's stories I like wandering around and occasionally hearing about random ass stories You can't reall do that irl anymore since people tend to think you're noisy

[@thisguy368]

Kinda like when you go shopping in public. You're alone, but not really alone. God forbid someone strikes up conversation with you at the walmart check out line. Yikes I'm antisocial.

[@MrHuntervad]

Ye, like having a friend who plays the same game (like Gothic, or Skyrim)

[@eduardoborges506]

Because they still offer what no other game genre can. A persistent, online world, where you can not only play with your friends, but also, feel like your progress actualy matters, since it can be shown and compared to other real players

[@evilbee94]

The sense of progress is a real driver. People love to see progress and that's getting harder to do in this crazy world besides progress in the gym and hobbies

[@deviouschimp4663]

That is 100% the main identity of MMOs. The idea that each player you see, has started from nothing and all progressed in the same manner you did. The reason new generation MMOs don't have the same staying power, is almost single-handedly caused from micro transactions. Your goals and progress means nothing when you can just buy everything you want.... I love OSRS for this reason, because even if you buy GP through bonds... most items and gear are still useless until you put in the time to train those skills to the requirements. You cant just buy progress and that's why many years later, people are still here.

[@RabePX]

@@deviouschimp4663 I think you've summed it up for me. In my opinion, an important feature of MMORPGs is that you can earn things because you play the game. There's a legendary sword or a dragon mount? If you can achieve these things by completing a quest or doing something for an achievement, then you are creating memories. Your sword isn't just another item, it's the sword you got after hundreds of attempts and only with the help of XxEdgyAssassinexX, who then became a good friend of yours, by defeating the demon boss. If you have a game with a lot of microtransactions or one that is very shop-heavy, you can easily buy cool stuff, but you lose the opportunity to gain valuable experience and memories.

[@undisabled1552]

It would be concerning if the President of MMOs didn't still like MMOs

[@orenofrat2019]

True

[@marshallc6215]

I'm getting suspicious that he's really the president of MMOs. I mean, I haven't seen any elections lately. Have you?

[@hazeljoy1]

@@marshallc6215 I heard josh strafe hayes confirm it

[@renedamasio]

​@@marshallc6215I have the impression that he's actually the king of mmorpgs, since there hasnt an election to point who's the president of mmorpg

[@mojo303]

@@marshallc6215 He is! Even Josh Strife admits him as president, so he must be!

[@Natzawa]

I’m one of those people who like to play MMOs solo but it’s still nice to be able to talk to people in world chat while playing them.

[@chrisboots5291]

If you've ever seen a customer scream at the starbucks barista, then you'd understand that end game raids and real life third places really arent so different!

[@maxzett]

I actually played some GW2 after YEARS of counter strike and it felt like therapy. No more toxicness, just pure gameplay fun, exploring an amazing World, amazing community, engaging "grind" (I mean they literally let you covert Gold to Premium gems to buy QOL items!!! That's great!). Man it was a good time

[@Nodiee1]

There are a few things that drive me towards MMOs. I love the large, persistent worlds, especially when travel isn't instantaneous so that I really get the feeling of existing in that world, rather than just teleporting from location to location. I also like that they give you a pretty wide variety of playstyles and roles in a team environment, while allowing you to only play that one character and not have to manage the rest of your party like in CRPGs. This leads to the main thing that I kinda hate about MMOs though. For the vast majority of the leveling experience you generally only play solo, unless you're playing with friends maybe, which means that no matter which class you pick you'll be playing the "DPS" role. The support role that you might want to play as is practically pointless and meaningless except for the odd dungeon you run while leveling, or until you get to endgame. As someone who isn't all that enthusiastic about playing DPS, and who isn't necessarily a super social person, but who would love to be able to cooperate with other players during the leveling process with little to no friction while allowing everyone to actually play their preferred role more often, MMOs have kinda been a disappointment. I would absolutely adore an MMO that allows you to just walk up to someone who's killing a mob in the overworld and throw a heal on them, or take aggro and start tanking, and then everyone will get credit for the kill, AND (this is the most important part) the mobs are dangerous enough that this would be naturally encouraged. Of the current major MMOs I think GW2 is the closest to what I'm looking for, but even still you're much better off leveling as a power DPS than any support role. It kinda puts a damper on any natural team dynamics that may form while doing overworld content.

[@rept7]

The whole third place thing is probably THE reason I REALLY want to get into a MMO. Let me log on and enjoy the company of others and have a fun time. But if you despise optimizing numbers and especially hate rotations like I do, you're screwed.

[@mkman1]

If you don't do high end raiding you'd probably have tons of fun in Final Fantasy XIV. Besides high end content no one cares if you sit there pressing 2 buttons or you can spend your entire time only levelling your crafting professions and do the main story solo as whatever class you like

[@rept7]

@mkman1 Unfortunately, I do want to do PvE group content that's more difficult than not at all and prefer more reactive playstyles. It's more accurate to say that I'm not just turned off from rotations, but I'm excited by action combat. So I'm personally waiting until MonHun Wilds releases. No good alternatives otherwise, I checked.

[@zennoou]

I'd recommend Black Desert but sadly the developers have absolutely destroyed that game in recent years and it sucks now. So there truly are no good action combat MMOs left anymore

[@HeyWeiiHey]

For me as someone who are really bad at socializing, mmorpg just gave me some sense of normalcy... I'm an old head... So my very first mmorpg was ragnarok online, back then when there's no healing npc and such, I love to play the role of being that npc... I play as a priest and my favorite thing to do was just logging in after school and just standing near respawn point and just give people full heals and buffs.. Or I just walk around some known high level map where priest are known to haggle price for a resurrection, I just went around reviving people, healing them and give them buff.. At one point I'm so popular people start looking for me.. Back then doing good thing on mmorpg actually made u popular.. Good times... Meanwhile nowadays mmorpg is just a contest of who can spend more money..

[@Pabs-r2c]

Personally it's escapism and being able to be social and alone at the same time

[@mentalkitty789]

It is really interesting how the slow parts of the game give people time to socialize and bond. Sure most of those won't be anything meaningful but in more modern mmos where the pace is more 'gogogogo' the only time people stop to really get to know each other is in the high end content which is a shame. I was playing classic wow while listening and just really feeling that slower calmer vibe.

[@ollorin5953]

Thanks for another great video! Side note - I love your patron song, no matter how many times I hear it, it always makes me smile.

[@PinkiKiller13]

I love the grind too, grinding and watching/listening to something on the side is a very chilling experience for me, also I like collecting things, I remember back in the distant 2008 i was collecting even rotten apples and absolutely useless items just because they dropped haha

[@OhHeyyDan]

For me, it’s always been about the social aspect. I love getting to play and take on dungeons with other people (either mates or folks I get to meet in game) while having a blast in the process. And watching number go up make brain go brrrrr.

[@Masterho310]

It’s like how heroin addicts keep using years later after their lives have been ruined. They will always keep “chasing the dragon” of that first high. I assume it’s a similar situation for mmos.

[@slime8177]

“Chasing the dragon” refers to smoking h

[@coffeeBebop]

No words can express how much this hit home for me. Thanks, Idyl.

[@brianviktor8212]

There is another technical factor to MMOs. Given that they are inherently always online, you cannot do things you could do in an offline game. Like having mods that change mechanics, or use cheats or work-arounds (lower the difficulty to defeat a mob), save and load your game. So you have to play "right" as it was created, with the limitations as given. It is also persistently saved online, and you could return years later to it as it was. Whatever investment you make into it, be it economical, acquiring skills or social relations, it persists. Just compare with Skyrim: You can mod the entire alchemy system to work differently, make vendors have 3 times as much money, change the start of the game, alter the combat AI of enemies, hand yourself infinite money, delete or spawn creatures, put in whatever console commands you want, load your save game, alter the spell system, etc. In an MMO everyone abides by the same rules and same systems. If you want money, you have to find ways to acquire it. If you want to have max level, you have to level your character. To be barred from having the option to cheat (and also for everyone else too!) is in itself a great benefit, because everything you do has lasting meaning.

[@druidbern]

the black battle tank mount still means something today in retail, especially during mount mania when the announcer whips it out and you know who is an OG gong ringer.

[@Andross]

I miss that little pocket of time where a new mmo was coming out every few months. I would keep the same name throughout each game and occasionally i'd recognize other usernames in chat and often times i'd have people message me saying 'aren't you x from x'. It truly felt like a gigantic community migrating to different games.

[@koldolmen5837]

That never happened

[@stormxlr]

​@koldolmen5837whats funny is that it did.

[@1337139]

​@koldolmen5837 it happens to me too

[@maomekat2369]

@koldolmen5837 exactly....lol...

[@SCARXL]

@koldolmen5837 early 2000s were filled with constant new releases trying to copy WOW lmao

[@MrWocnam]

6:55 GASP!!! Ragnarok footage!!! That right there is where it all began for me. I thought everyone forgot about it.

[@Kuroth_]

MMORPGs are still popular because of the leadership alone. I don't know if you knew this, but the president is a PREEEETTY influential and classy guy. If he doesn't get undemocratically re-elected though, the genre is dead.

[@steel5897]

I don't know man, honestly, at this point I only enjoy the raiding. Working with 7 or 19 other people to take down a meticulously challenging dance of a fight over a period of weeks is amazing and completely unique to the genre. Everything else? Honestly tepid busywork at best. There are insanely better ways to spend your time nowdays than grind through MMO open world/casual content, your average single player RPG absolutely murders anything WoW or FF14 has to offer... except those raids. I keep coming back because of them, but I sleep through every other content.

[@Mentalsauceage]

i LOVED the autism joke because I was clinically diagnosed 2 years ago at age 25 w ASD+add+depression&more, and WoW Classic has always been my autistic hyperfixation of a game since 5th grade till now. Started with Toontown, then played WoW a month before Wrath released, and always took breaks but never quit the game. Id have breaks during the school years but would always re sub and even today I am on WoW all the time on TurtleWow and still grinding Toontown Rewritten. I see now that its my autistic hyperfixation of a video game and its WoW Classic is my "tism comfort game." MMOs allow me to hop on and be able to do play alone, but not feel lonely. Rather than solely based on skill, I enjoy how rewarding the little things feel in mmos and building a character from the ground up will always be a million times more rewarding than cHoOsINg yOUr cHAmPiON in games like valorant an overwatch yuck sry im bias kek.

[@mechwarrior13]

because we like to see numbers go up and show that number off to others

[@TempestTemple]

My friend and I were literally talking last night about the closest thing he could think of to OSRS's progression and achievement system is old COD, so for you to make the exact same connection is crazy.

[@diegokorhonen]

Grindy games which dont require your 100% focus. You can watch tv shows and movies, youtube videos. You don't have to follow any story line or be competitive just chop trees or kill mobs and the watch how the number goes up. It's relaxing and rewarding

[@chronozilla]

My thinking regarding this is when you put mmos next to all the games mentioned at the start of the video is that there are no games aside from mmos that can offer potentially unlimited playtime when you take out pvp. pvp inherently has infinite replayability because every match offers a different experience, but games without pvp, even massive adventure games like witcher and elden ring which take a hundred hours to get through eventually run out of content, mmos can suffer from this aswell, but the long running ones have such a ridiculous abundance by this point in time that they can keep a player engaged for a span of time that borders on forever, and that's not even mentioning the social aspects. roguelikes may be an exception to the above, but they typically do this by remixing their limited content in unique ways rather than delivering entirely new content.

[@ErraticMagics]

Moon Channel has an interesting perspective on MMOs. Basically a balance between social interaction the pursuit of power creates a unique experience from other games. However games tend to prioritize one over the other and turn into a VR chatroom or a power fantasy RPG.

[@Zoreizu]

WE GOT ANOTHER BANGER BOIZ

[@zaconeal8839]

Just found you today and I've already watched 3 of your videos, great video essays, love the content, I hope you gain even more fandom in 2025

[@marco1941]

3:30 No way, there is a name for it? Amazing. That’s exactly what I am looking for right now.

[@reptilewithsadhumaneyes]

Anxiously waiting for your take on the gem of brighter shores. 😮

[@Xailion]

I just like leveling characters. I don't usually interact with others in MMOs.

[@Crime_Meat]

Grinding is awful in single player games because the whole game just stops until you're done grinding, but mmos are whole worlds and you can just go somewhere else if you're not feeling it anymore. You can decide to try and climb a windmill and then someone else starts climbing it with you because they assume you know something they don't, and now you're having a conversation.

[@kozhedub]

can't believe I'm catching strays for my mining cape

[@viniciusragnev4763]

I couldn't agree more, I know because I am hooked in a old mmorpg sandbox Wurm online.

[@Altaranalt]

Your channel is great. Instant watch for me whenever you upload.

[@boshabadoo]

Is the patreon song on Spotify yet?

[@turkey5320]

I was wondering if there’s a full version

[@TearThatRedFlagDown]

Because I'm a massive introvert and wouldn't be caught dead in a bar. I just prefer socialising online. Technically do social-ish activities irl like martial arts, but I rarely ever do those for the social aspects and am there primarily to develop skills.

[@SetariM]

Thank you for making 1/10th of my mithril bar smithing stack be enjoyable by watching this video while I smith mithril dart tips

[@desperson]

As a dedicated citizen of the United States of MMORPGs, I'd like to second this. MMOs don't work without socializing. I tried playing WoW many times after my core group stopped playing regularly and it was never the same. I just picked it up again on the new Classic Fresh servers and have made it a point to socialize and group up as much as possible. Guess who has been playing a ton? This guy :)

[@jekajun]

No matter what I played, I always came back to MMOs over the years ever since I got my first PC. This really sums up why playing MMOs feels as comforting as it does. Another great one thank you ♥️

[@GustavoFernandesKing]

The MMORPGs that I've played a lot and why I played them: Ragnarok Online: Would run on my PC (at the time) and I like RPG games like that Guild Wars 2: I liked the gameplay I think GW2 it was the only paid MMO I've ever played, another reason I played a lot of other MMO's it was because they were free. I don't really care about the people part tho.

[@ingiald7970]

10:08 what is this mmo guys?

[@TearThatRedFlagDown]

Looks like FFXIV to me.

[@undercoverspy123]

Final Fantasy 14 outside one of the main starter towns a pirate city state esq area called Limsa Lominsa

[@Ar1AnX1x]

Barney's videos are incredible

[@shiningfilmzph]

I'm loving Idyl's ghost cosplay!

[@gamingtemplar9893]

Another awesome video. Made many friends in MMOs.

[@GenshinX]

*Me an MMORPG addict*, yes, why do they play?

[@tristanglowa456]

Thank you for this enlightening video, Dr. Professor Mr. President Idyl, Chair of the Department of MMORPG Sociology

[@BatJeff]

MMOs offer such different ways to play. Hell, sometimes I treat WoW like its a chat room, sitting in Org just chatting in Trade chat.

[@catspiracytheorist2138]

Couldnt agree more. Im an extrovert and luv to socialize so thats mostly why i prefer to play MMOs. A MMO having a social aspect is #1 what want out of a game. Nonetheless, I expect the grind to be fun too and not feel like a chore.

[@ixJake]

Another banger 🔥 Talking about mw2 reminded me why I still 100% disagree with cosmetic microtransactions. It makes cosmetic grinds redundant.

[@AurumKHK]

10/10 ending

[@thisgoodgood69420]

My favorite moments in these games is never some sort of achievement but doing goofy stuff with people I don't know

[@heavydutycows]

what song is playing at 17:31? i thought it was from clannad but i dont think it is.

[@robertjensen8115]

great vid as always :D

[@lucasmachadoh]

I wish i had saw that paper when i was writing my final essay of college this last year, either way loved the video

[@hawlkman]

When I play runescape and I am just skilling I once in awhile try to strike up a conversation, most of the time I don't and even in the times I do most of the time no one responds. Also on my old account I had a collection of banan's. I had roughly 3 million but these were picked up and not bought.

[@lamMeTV]

Personally I love the red tiger camo

[@Fenrasulfr]

What was that Final Fantasy music used in the video? It reminds me of FF8 but can't find it for the life of me.

[@MrYouAllKnow]

Bro pulled a double ad, that's some efficiency only an MMO player could do.. gg wp

[@shaynelowe9604]

Which hockey game and console was that at 5:47

[@Trowoverl0rd]

open world player feel, explore, mess around, have fun

[@12rouge]

You hit me with that Final Fantasy VI music and I got super emotional how could you do this to me?

[@godly74]

great vidoe Idyl! I just recently joined my first clan in osrs after olaying for years and the added social elements have changed the game for me entirely! Also, what the hell was that last bit??

[@jrrystone1398]

Its so silly but after a hard day of work.. thank you for this vid 🎉

[@EtsaTwo]

I loved when cosmetics came from playing the game instead of being paid MTX.

[@PaladinfffLeeroy]

Reason: I want meaningful progression. Unlike most other multiplayer shitshow MMOs like OSRS give me long lasting and meaningful progression. And that without anyone telling me to off myself over not following their stupid decisions they made. Wow! It's like the game can be played in a way that I want and that gives me the feel good feels. :^)

[@Wessel1271]

I. Love. (Idyl's). MMORPG (videos).

[@gamingtemplar9893]

Best type of game of all, the very definition of a game, as Dungeons and Dragons were the best for table games, MMORPGs perfected this with Final Fantasy 11, Ever quest and Lineage 2 (first chronicle - c4). But some are still good, specially private servers.

[@GrubbsandWyrm]

Watching this while I'm grinding fishing In leagues

[@TheBlueDeath123]

Size of the world and content overload

[@mattsterman100]

I like, how the REAL point of this video is "someone smarter than me made this connection 20 years ago" and this is just you admiring it, and also being upset

[@KvapuJanjalia]

16:58 Blizzard must turn it into a flying mount!

[@XPanamaX]

19:33 he is not sleepy anymore :o

[@carlossandoval6940]

Have Anyone played Archlord? Back in the day was my FAVOURITE GAME EVER! Grinding for uniques was a thing

[@estusf1ask]

is... is this the first "double ad" on youtube? we're evolving

[@KingSwiftieTV]

Why didn’t this come out before Christmas so I could show my judgements non-gaming family that I have been socializing all my life and making real connections? Though, I’ve showed them the article you are talking about and that didn’t change anything either.

[@eam1219]

MMORPGs are generally not competitive, hence the difference

[@OmgBsitka]

I just picked up runescape 07 like a a few days ago to finally finish my 99 fishing which I stopped at 80 like 5 fkin years ago

[@kocakbil]

I don't play mmo but I like watching alphagnome explain mmo to me

[@GrimKnight12]

I stoped ,because as adult I don't have much time for gaming anymore and little free time I have I spend on single player games

[@xxJing]

Because real life is boring if you don't have a lot of money. That's why normies drink.

[@douglasnevins1598]

I play to try to find friends to play with, but literally no one talks in these games anymore, so...

[@valfader]

That's like asking why heroin is still popular. It's addictive and basically an incarnation of the sunk cost fallacy. You play because you've been playing for so long. You've invested a lot of time and effort into your character(s) and don't want to let go of that. That's all there is to it. There is a social aspect too, but frankly that's been greatly diminished with the advent of Discord and other community tools.

[@justanobody0]

if that was the case wouldn't Asmongold still be playing wow, he says he sunk like 20k hours into it

[@valfader]

@@justanobody0 Who?

[@fullauto4511]

How dare ya hit da pupa!?

[@CassiusKent]

Watching this while playing Final Fantasy.

[@danton8788]

aw, you're the sweetest baldy, never stop being our president Idyl.

[@justanobody0]

I don't know, but any argument/point with dk64, chrono trigger and donkey kong country music in the background is automatically strengthened by having their music

[@tallchicana2496]

killer song friend fr

[@ethanhanks200]

i like the idea of mmos noe than the actual experience tbh

[@quote720]

the things this man does with a greenscreen are insane levels of genius

[@joe3683]

I really enjoy MMOs. I've put thousands of hours into OSRS, with a few more thousand into the RS2/RS3 version over the past 20 years plus multiple hundreds of hours into other MMOs. As I'm getting older, I find myself wondering what the point of it all is, especially now with OSRS specifically starting to kill my wrist. I don't want to give up MMOs, but I also don't know if I have it in me to continue playing a game type that requires you spend 100s - 1000s of hours in its world. I'm also scared of losing that virtual 3rd space, because even if you don't interact with other people, you still know they're people. If I go into RDR2, it just feels weird playing with computer controlled characters all around you.

[@usedsoap1]

I’ve come to realize that MMORPGs often feel like inferior versions of other genres. When I play something like Elder Scrolls Online, it feels like a watered-down Elder Scrolls game, almost like it’s been designed for mobile. Similarly, games like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV would be exposed for what they are if you removed the social aspect: dull, dated, and uninspired experiences. The animations are clunky, the graphics often feel outdated, and the gameplay loops are repetitive and uninspired. If you strip away the multiplayer component, you’re left with a game no one would tolerate as a single-player experience. No one would willingly play a single-player game that demands the kind of grind, tedious fetch quests, and rote mechanics you see in MMOs. It’s the players and the social interactions that bring these games to life, not the games themselves. Without that, they’d fall flat under any kind of scrutiny. I cant seem to look past how boring MMORPGS are i cant get into them. But i like the idea of a persistant world where you can have borderline infinite hours of content but the genre needs to be innovated and redone completely

[@BigQuadsOnCampus]

Going to try out Ashes of Creation this week

[@LoganBrown-g5h]

It’s an escape from the reality that mostly rejects us. Atleast for me anyway

[@WakeNShake-h7c]

there is probably some youtuber dedicated enough to make a game about the band creed specifically for you

[@austinjarrett7238]

YT homepage is literally mine.

[@jmyatt]

Halo three Hayabusa armor!