I may be the only person that feels this way, but to me it seems like the random number generator is over used in the modern MMO. There seems to be a huge reliance on chance. Do I hit a enemy, does he hit me, how much damage do either of us do, what loot drops if I win, do I finish my quest? The list could probably go on for quite a while. Why is random chance used so much? Is it really necessary? I hope I can answer at least a few of those questions, and show why I think it should be used less.

I realize that part of the reason for using random chance to determine outcome likely goes back to the days of table top gaming where players rolled dice to see if a weapon hit or if they dodged that attack. It worked well for games such as D&D and Battle Tech, and while it isn’t horrible for today’s current massive multiplayer games, I think it is overused. Everything becomes this random roll on the dice, do my resists save me from that spell, what loot do I get from that chest, did that blow kill me? At least when gathered around the table, rolling dice with friends, you still got to physically roll the dice. In your favorite MMO you usually just see the result, miss, dodge, resist, hit, etc.

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Like many an MMO, EverQuest II owes its heritage to the text-based MUDs and MOOs of yesteryear. As a result, text communication and game client control remain key features to the environment.

The main type of key-driven system commands in EQ2 and other games have come to be known as ’slash’ commands, owing to the fact that they begin with a forward slash: ‘/’. This character signals to the game that the player is issuing a command rather than typing chat text, pressing a movement key, or casting a spell.

With that said, we present a few of EQ2’s lesser-known slash commands that you just might find useful…

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As sometimes happens, a comment elsewhere inspires an article here.

This one started at Cameron Soderan’s “Random-Battle” blog, where an excellent discussion on virtual property evolved into a series of back and forth commentary eventually touching on whether or not gold buyers should be banned for disruptive gameplay.

To me, there’s little distinction between gold sellers and gold buyers in a game that allows neither.  If the rules say “don’t do it” and you then proceed to do what you’ve agreed not to do, then there should be no surprise at all when the ban hammer comes crashing down on your head.

I’ve felt this way for some time now, but it wasn’t till recently that the story held particular relevance for me…
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