Where are all the MMORPG Tutorials?

Posted by: Erhan Altay on: June 25, 2009

• In: Mmorpg editorials
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I’m not sure why, but it seems like the growing trend in free MMORPG games it to launch the game without a tutorial. I had the opportunity to play the Dragon Sky open beta just the other day and I found myself a bit confused, as the game didn’t have a tutorial. Now, I’m no newbie to genre, so I know the jist of how most MMORPG games work, but I just couldn’t figure out Dragon Sky. For a good two hours I played the game without learning a single skill, as the game never explained to me where to train skills. Heck, the game didn’t even present me with starting quest. It basically told me, ‘ready… set…. GO GRIND!’. I eventually figured things out on my own, but it would have been a lot more convenient if the game provided me some instructions. Enough Dragon Sky bashing though,  as it’s not the only game without a tutorial. Even newer games like HolyBeast Online, Twelve Sky 2 and Titan Online don’t have tutorials.

One reason why games like Atlantica Online, Runes of Magic and Maple Story are as popular as they are is because they’re fairly straight forward games and have EXCELLENT tutorials / tooltips so newbies and veterans alike can quickly learn the ins and outs of the game.  When I install and new MMORPG, I think it’s fair for me to expect some sort of guide / tutorial. As a hardcore MMORPG gamer, I can usually figure things out on my own, so the people really getting ‘screwed’ are those that are new to the genre, as they’ll end up wandering around for a few minutes, dying and quitting the game. I really can’t understand why MMORPG developers spend so much time, money and effort creating a game, and decide to cut a corner and release their game without a tutorial. It really doesn’t make sense. Like I said earlier, MMORPG veterans usually don’t need a tutorial when trying out a new game, but those unfamiliar with the genre certainly do.

The fact is, there really is no reason to launch a free MMO without a tutorial. Without one, newbies will flock to the more popular games that DO have them and this will hurt the entire game’s community. This really wouldn’t be an issue if only a handful of games didn’t have tutorials, but from my experience MOST Free Online MMORPGs don’t have tutorials. It’s simply ridiculous how many games don’t have tutorials.