General Discussion

Just wondering what the general MMO player base prefers.  A real time system where you are able to actually aim your spells and swings, or a target + click ability type of system?  Of course a lot of this depends on how it is implemented, but in a perfect world with perfect combat systems, which do you find the most fun?  Why?

 Sadly, voting doesnt bump the thread :(

For me, real time requires way to much in depth thinking. I play MMO's to chat and occationally light stuff on fire (yes, I usually play caster classes). Also, when it comes to balancing how the melee combat works of real time combat systems with casting combat, it usually ends up badly unbalanced (just look at AoC, well the good parts of AoC (yes there are a few)).

Point and click makes things; Fast, simple, and flow easily. It also can have the same amount of depth as a real time combat system if the user puts their minds to it. Yet is allows those of us with less of an attention span to still compete

Real time.

But i agree with Quake, i dont want a MMO to become CoD4. Real time combat can still be simple and relaxed. As in WWII Online : )

For real "massive" games "real time" targeting is very bad choice. Net lag or gfx lag (with 100 people on screen) can make game unplayable. And person with best connection always wins. This system exclude people with higher pings. It can work in FPS or mmo that really aren't "massive" and you can't see more then 50 people at once on screen, but not for real mmo games.

 Thanks for the replies.

Me and some buddies have started a software project that will hopefully turn out to be an MMO.  Trying to get data like this from the public is difficult, but very valuable when making gamebreaking decisions.

After playing the real time combat system in DDO I could never go back to that yawn-fest that is target and click combat. Pull a Mob and target it, hit auto attack and maybe a hotbar button, check your e-mail while waiting for a power or ability to recharge, hit a hotbar button, go grab a beer while waiting for it to recharge, hit the button again, go make a sandwich....... ect., ect., ect.

Personally I play games period to have fun, if I want slow paced combat I go play a turn-based RPG.

RPG Combat = No Skill Needed

I like real turn-based combat, like it Atlantica. Done right, turn-based combats require the most strategy, while twitch-systems rely on mouse-fu. Which isn't a display of anything but reflex training. More of real-turn based, please.

Classic MMO combat, real-time-with-refresh, is okay. Some is done better than others. It's the standard, so I'm used to it. Oh, and its NOT TURN BASED! Turn-based purists know this.

Twitch combat: as far as I'm concerned, save it for when I play games like Grand Theft Auto. It works there.

Prinny Squad!

Target based for sure. I want time to chat and have some fun.

I don't want to play an MMO FPS.