in this article about what MMO players want in 2009 and beyond the author lists a few quite obvious things and i would like to comment on those in regards to my own MMO experiences.
more content, fewer bugs
for all the games i have seriously (i.e. longer than 30 days) played i can only point out one single game where not enough content and too many bugs are an issue. i can’t say that WoW and LotRO lack content or are so bug-ridden that it impairs your enjoyment. the most important aspect of content is the so called “endgame” content since i am not an alt-o-holic and i want to keep enjoying the MMO of my choice once i hit the level cap. again, WoW and LotRO do quite well at endgame level, providing enough group and raid content to keep both casual and hardcore players happy. however, with WAR things aren’t that great really. granted the game is still young but the proposed endgame is not accessible because of stability issues (i wrote about it) and bugs (fortress lord aoe’ing through the floor would be the prime example).
a social world
the ideal MMO has a good balance between solo, group, and raid content. i don’t want to be forced to group up all the time but on the other hand i don’t like to play solo contantly because all quests can be done without the help of a group. in this matter i think WoW has the best balance, whereas LotRO’s focus is slightly shifted towards group play. WAR however emphasizes “soloability” which in turn makes the game feel like a single player game at some times. i do not play MMOs to have a single player experience, i want to interact and play with other players. hence forcing players to group up is actually something good in my book. however, there should be alternatives available if you cannot seem to get a group for a party quest.
point, click, repeat – delete
i honestly don’t mind clicking the same buttons for a few hours but that’s just me. what bothers me more is running the very same instance again and again. WoW (in The Burning Crusade) and LotRO (in Shadows of Angmar) tried to bring some variation to instances by making the encounters more random. the Black Morass instance and the Angmar battleground come to mind: both featured dynamic spawn mechanics. waves of mobs did not always spawn at place A first, then at place B and after that at place C. it was random, you had to observe and react quickly in order to succeed. i’d like to see more of these dynamic encounters in MMOs.
an RPG without a story
from what i have been told about WoW: Wrath of the Lich King so far, the storytelling seems to be impressive with the use of phasing so that your advancement is reflected in the environment. the overall LotRO storyline is awesome as well, complete with cut scenes and you really feel like you are helping Frodo. there is some kind of phasing in place, too: key quest NPCs are placed in instances you can only enter as long as you are on the quest. once completed, the instances are closed to you because in the storyline the NPCs have moved on in their journey. WAR does not offer an ongoing storyline except the war between order and destruction.