MMO player types
MMO player types
"Hi Chef!"
Today we're gonna talk about MMO players
Most - not all - MMO players have various qualities or traits that can be broken down into various categories. That's not to say that we all don't have Primary/Secondary/Tertiary etc qualities, but more than likely they'll be a major trait or two and a few minor ones.
Also keep in mind that - from day to day - the "primary" trait can rotate depending on the players mood.
Anyway - let's get down to business, eh?
EXPLORERS - This type of player cares, mostly, about exploring. They want to map out any and everything they can find, find all the little goodies, and proceed on to the next area. While they do level and what not, more than likely it's simply to get strong enough to get to the next area for their little inquisitive searching to go wild.
"POWER GAMERS" - Okay now this type is something which, more often than not, comes under a bit of fire. Power gamers however, are not the evil that everyone seems to think they are. Power gamers work on figuring out the best way to rig their characters. What makes them the strongest, what makes them the fastest, hit the hardest, be able to survive the harshest climates. They basically eek out every last ounce of power from their characters - more often than not posting their builds later on so that others can emulate them.
ACHIEVERS - They want to 'beat' the game. To get to the highest level as fast as possible, to take out the strongest monsters as fast as possible. To 'beat' the game. And - if the game is intersting enough and the classes are different enough, as soon as they 'beat' it with one character they'll spool up another one and start the process all over again.
SOCIALIZERS - That's what they do, they socialize. They normally use the time online more as a 'chat-room' type atmosphere than an actual game. Not to say they don't level or fight or whatnot, but their primary concern is their online friends. Nothing wrong with that.
SOLOERS - Another group that tends to find itself under heavy fire. While they, usually, prefer to play by themselves, that doesn't mean that they don't group at all. Usually though, it's the former more than the latter. This can come up because of personal feelings towards other players, RL issues - a variety of things. However unfortunately some of the online community feels that if you're playing an MMO then you shouldn't be soloing. As such they make a play to make little if any content soloable.
GROUPERS- They exist to group. They solo only as a measure of last resort and then continue to look for a group if possible. Some of the malcontents in this particular subset are the cause of such grief between Soloers and Groupers - it's unfortunate.
GRIEFERS - They exist to make your play time less fun. I don't know why and I never will. I've always loathed this subset but, unfortunately, if you have an online game more than likely you're going to be dealing with griefers in some way or other. They'll PK you, if possible, steal your stuff, if possible, or, if nothing else, simply follow you around spamming and annoying you until you either log or do something for which, ironically, THEY will report YOU.
There have been PAPERS written on the types of various MMO players - and I'm not going to even attempt to match their own skills. However - this should give you a basic overview of the types of players you'll be meeting and the type of player you are. More than likely by reading you've seen how various types work together Soloer/Powergamer, Socializer/Grouper - etc etc.
