Am I an ass for loving, lamenting and leaving the mmorpg genre? Well, yes actually.
Dear reader I am not opining for the "golden days" here, no, this is not one of those. I am keeping a tentative eye on the future though. mmorpg's have always been ruined by carrot on a stick, RNG and time gated content, always were and probably always will be but is it realistic to expect video games of this magnitude to offer up a business model that doesn't want to keep you playing through outdated mechanics and progression? Yes.
Guild Wars 2 has been the most revolutionary mmorpg out there of its size with lofty ideals and rethinking the way we play and pay for mmorpgs. If only someone was brave enough to go at it again, go that step further, but all I hear advertised is "relive the classic gameplay of an old-school mmorpg" ew. I am not suggesting that subscription based models have to be a thing of the past but what I am trying to convey here is the ways in which mmo's try to keep you playing are in fact defunct. Carrot on a stick like progression is not needed anymore not saying it should be gotten rid of, but at least tone it down a bit it can be quite embarrassing being an ass trust me I know: I write about mmos. RNG is not necessary and ruins PvP. Time gated content once again creates a barrier to content that some are willing to climb others not so much. Filler has been the mmo killer for me.
No other genre is as outdated in its systems at play than the mmorpg one and I am done having any feelings for it. The most memorable moments might happen in mmo's but I will just have to take stock and move on.