Generally, there are two distinct schools of thought when it comes to designing an MMORPG.
Generally, there are two distinct schools of thought when it comes to designing an MMORPG. There’s the traditional model, which employs combat based around global cooldowns, long casting animations, and more often than not, a multiplayer partying paradigm dubbed the Trinity – tanks, healers, and DPS classes. Then there’s the Action MMO, which tends to eschew the Trinity and global cooldown-based combat of traditional MMOs in favor of gameplay that resembles an action game, like the Devil May Cry series. Action MMOs typically have a harder time coming over to the West from their East Asian homelands, though Western fans of the genre regularly keep up with their overseas releases and are likely familiar with them through titles like Vindictus and Dungeon Fighter Online .
2016 is shaping up to be an exciting year for Action MMOs. Pearl Abyss’ Black Desert Online is set to release sometime this year, for example. And as of today, NCSOFT’s incredibly successful Blade and Soul is making its way to Western shores for free.