MMOG Sites Under IGE Merging?

CTD writes "Grimwell Online notes that IGE has announced a merger of networks involving: Thottbott, Allakhazam, OGaming, and L2Orphus. There is a thread in the Allakhazam forums that brings all the release data together - but still leaves some questions about what is to come. Grimwell raises one in his post about this: 'Even more fun for our friends who work PR for gaming companies. IGE = RMT, which is not the Devil - but is not exactly welcomed at most companies. Will this move help push things past the tipping point and force developers to deal with the new, larger network?'"

Comments

Game DBs defeating the purpose of playing?

[fotbr]

Ignoring all the gold-farming issues, am I the only one who finds the idea of having a massive database of where everything can be found to be sort of self-defeating?

I hate "grinding" as much as most people, but isn't part of the coolness factor of having a level 60 whatever with a complete set of epic armor the simple fact that they've done a lot? It seems that if you know exactly where everything is, and exactly what is required for X quest, and that the fastest way to get item Y is to kill monster Z because it has the best drop rate, you've turned the ENTIRE game INTO "grinding".

What is the point in playing then?

Re:Game DBs defeating the purpose of playing?

[Bios_Hakr]

There are a lot of reasons to use something like this.

As a noob, sometimes the directions the NPC gives are misleading. "Go take this to some guy north of here" is a perfect example. That happens in WoW all the time. The guy might actually be NorthEast or NW. You just can't tell. Sometimes, they change the locations of mobs in a patch but don't update the quest text. You could spend an hour looking for evil spiders in the North while the actual spiders have moved to the East.

As an experienced player, you'll be more focused on guild teamwork. No matter what you are doing, someone in your group will have done it a few times before. Having a map while following the other players around keeps you from getting lost.

Also, as an experienced player, sometimes you need to work on your new characters. In that case, the story is unimportant. You just need to level up quickly.

Re:The Devil is in the Details...

[0racle]

RMT has many negative effects, but the assertation that you have to buy gil to progress is just flat out wrong. Anyone who believes it is just looking for an excuse for their cheating.

SE doesn't make big announcements when they ban people to placate the masses like WoW does so you never know how many people have been banned over the course of the game. That announcement was made because things had gotten so out of hand so quickly this past christmas that they had to let their players know they did something about it. However, christmas price increases are not strange.

Re:The Devil is in the Details...

[Psmylie]

I never have mod points when I need them. Maybe IGE could get into the "instant rate-up" biz.

I've played FFXI since the NA release. I've never bought gil. I've never farmed excessively, I have one job at 75, and my highest craft skill is 60. And that's in cooking, hardly the best profit maker in the game. And I've always been able to buy what I needed. You don't NEED the best gear, you can get along fine without it, and decent gear for your level is very easy to obtain. The best of the best gear is SUPPOSED to be hard to get, that's what makes it valuable.

SE didn't make things expensive. Players supply almost all the high-end gear. Players set the prices, players pay the prices. Why go and blame SE for something that we did to ourselves?

To the grandparent post, and to anyone else who thinks that you need to zip through this game as fast as possible, and feel the need to buy gil so you never have to be without the best equipment... Maybe this is not the game for you. SE set the rules to the game, and instead of playing by those rules, you cheat. Nobody forces you to cheat or to play this game. Go elsewhere if you can't hack it. And anyone who buys gil/gold/platinum can go straight to hell.