So its been a while, im sorry but I needed a break. A lot of water has floated under the bridges. Im still in ArcheAge but very random nowadays. I spend most of my online time in The Elderscrolls Online (TESOTU or shorter ESO) instead. Why is that? I read a posting in the Elderscrolls Online forum the other day and I found part of the answer in a comment regarding grinding achievements to get dyes for armor;
“In my opinion this was the best way this could have ever been implemented. Bound on dye + achievement based = doing the content is rewarding. Keep adding stuff like this and I think it’ll go a long way in making people feel like the gameplay is fun and rewarding.”
But Then someone replied, and here is where I recognized myself:
“-That, or exactly the opposite. Doing content is rewarding because you like the content, and have fun doing it. You shouldn’t *need* a carrot to do content other than the content itself. If you do, than that means the content *isn’t* fun, and thus acquiring the reward is work. I get enough work at, well work. I don’t need it in my game.
Doing achievements explicitely *reduces* the fun of games, and requiring you to do said achievements to get cosmetics thus actually makes the game less fun. This game becomes less fun than other games, that aren’t silly enough to base things like this on achievements, then I switch over to those other games.”
They were talking about ESO which is far from as hardcore a grinding game as ArcheAge is…. It depends on what kind of person we are if we enjoy ArcheAge and similar games or not. I found out im not that person. Im too much of a casual to be able to play ArcheAge. ArcheAge endgame requires you to either pay with real money for gear (a sub wont take you far!), grind 24/7 or rather both if you want to be competitive in pvp especially but also in some pve instances.
People who critizises ESO havent played AA im sure ;) I guess endgame in ESO can be a bit grindy (as in all games) but im far from that stage atm. ESO has an interesting Lore, almost all NPCs have a voice (in english!). Kate Beckinsale and John Cleese are some of their more well known voice actors. The quests are fun and there are both puzzels and chests you have to picklock first to get the treasure. The combat style is awesome! Not just tag the mob, you have to aim and I love that! :D
The community isnt as poisonous as in AA either and thats a relief. PVP from lvl 10-50 is equal, all gear is the same when you enter the pvp area so its all about skills, not gear. ESO is Buy to Play and has a small shop where u can use credits but it contains mostly of vanity objects and no RNG chests (thank god!). Ok they added some XP potions recently but hey, its a company :) The grind for gear starts after lvl 50 and then the pk party starts in Cyrodiil :P But overall and for now, ESO is that exciting adventure I was looking for.
Credits
Link ESO comment
7 Days a Week 
It’s a tough design decision to make. We’re all so conditioned to do content for a reward that we sometimes lose sight of the content and focus too much on the reward. I see this individual’s point. MMOs should have more freedoms, and shouldn’t be so focused on rewarding every activity or collection of activities. I also can see the opposite view, where doing something – even if it was fun – feels lackluster since we are all so used to getting something/anything in return.
I have no hard stance on this, but I do miss Ultima Online. When I played it, clothes could be dyed almost any color, over and over, for little to no money spent. All you needed was a dye tub and some dye from any NPC that sales them. With the dye, you could change what color the tub dyed, and then you could use that tub over and over again.
No achievements, no quests, no paywalls – just the freedom to become who you wanted to become. Simpler times, but somehow just as rewarding.
I agree and i wish I had played UI too but sadly never tried it… I dont judge any game. They are just different and no game is a perfect fit for everybody. Most games are fab and we are maybee a bit spoiled. Our expectations raises after each game we finish and it takes more and more to satisfy us im afraid;)