Econ-Friday Ranting 08/28/26

On ‘Territory’, ‘Gathering’, and the Consistency vs Novelty ‘Spectrum’, (also technically the second half of the Micro-slots “proof”)

The previous two weeks’ Rants are the foundation of the logic paths I intend to lay out in this one, so they may need to be referenced.

“Without some Consistency to compare it to, things meant to provide Novelty (or just Dopamine Spikes) feel like Gambling. Without some Territory to connect economic actions to, Gathering/Mob Farming also feels like Gambling.”

Most players of MMORPGs are retained by some amount of Novelty in their experiences, otherwise they seem to eventually conclude the game is a Grind or a Chore and stop playing, or get drawn away by a new game simply because just having a slightly new environment for those same experiences counts as Novelty. Since it is impossible to generate new experiences at the rate most ‘tourists’ or ‘casual’ players claim to want them, complaints about this are Inevitable. Fortunately, most Developers have started to learn the ‘correct amount’ of attention to pay to this. We are leaving the era where Devs just ignored the complaints or were just reactionary about it.

What we haven’t seen as much of, is the clear understanding that Novelty requires a backdrop of Consistency to be felt at all. Those games which do show an understanding of this, differ somewhat from Classic MMORPGs because they often apply the Consistency too much, across everything, which works for a while, but eventually collapses in the Economic Perception space. Enough Preamble, hold onto your hats, we’re diving straight in. For each Example I’ll lessen the talking/explanations each time so you can quickly see what it looks like ‘in my mind’/‘on the Whiteboard’ by the end.

Beadeaux and Pashhow Marshlands, FF11

Beadeaux is the Quadav Stronghold in the Pashhhow Marshlands in FF11, part of the Derfland Region. There are no notable noncombat-Gathering options in the Beadeaux area. The linked page gives the list of mobs here, and that is the resultant Ecology. The region is geographically a maze of muddy channels and raised earthen areas that these channels run between. The muddy channels contain Pugils (Fish-type Mobs, but not regular fish), Quadavs, and a few Slimes. The Earthen areas contain Quadavs mainly, and sometimes Sheep they raise. A few special areas where they raise “Crawlers”, a type of giant Caterpillar that has mutated long ago to lose its ‘butterfly/moth’ form, are tucked away underground usually.

All of this is very ‘interesting’ ecologically, but making it interesting Economically requires some Complexity, though not much. First thing to remember is that this is FF11, so everything drops Crystals if you have the right buff. Most things here drop Earth and Water Crystals. Secondly, players know that Sheep drop meat and wool, Crawlers drop Thread and Eggs. In this region, the Quadav are high enough level/status to drop Backscales which are metal plates that Blacksmiths can use Lightning Crystals to sometimes convert into Ingots (usually Iron and Darksteel). The Slimes drop Slime Oil, the Fish don’t drop much. Occasionally, Notorious Monsters appear as a result of Lottery Pops where you were fighting other creatures.

The player has a baseline for ‘I want X so I go Here’. Ingots, Thread, Oil, Earth and Water Crystals, maybe a small novel random chance at lower level gear with interesting properties from the Lottery Pops. Economically, this is an Armorer’s ‘Territory’, without a single Ore Vein. Armorers from the nearby regions are already ‘taught’ to associate Quadav with their Territory for other reasons that happened at low levels.

Castle Oztroja and the Meriphataud Mountains, FF11

Castle Oztroja is the Yagudo Stronghold in the Meriphataud Mountains, part of the Aragoneu Region. It’s a ‘rock nest’ rookery, and contains Yagudo, bats, Crawlers that they raise to eat, Crabs, parasitic Leeches, and Slimes. These ecological facts are conveyed to the player by the names of the mobs. Other games might use ‘distinguisher titles’ for example. The players don’t need to be taught what they drop. If you were Bastokan and had always been in Beadeaux and then changed here for some reason, you’d learn ‘Yagudo drop Necklaces and Feathers’. You might use your Lightning Crystals on the Necklaces. It would work.

The player has a baseline for ‘I want X so I go Here’ without even being from this region (technically Nation) or following most of the same Knowledge Path. They might be here because they are hanging around this region for some other purpose, or just ‘need Wind Crystals, not Earth or Water’. This is a Clothcrafter’s Territory, if anything (they use a lot of wind crystals and the Grass Thread from deconstructing Yagudo Necklaces is sometimes used even in somewhat higher level gear).

Davoi and Jugner Forest, FF11

Davoi, Orc Stronghold. Bees, Slimes, Pugil, Lizards, Orcs, Bats at night, the occasional Morbol, and a few places to catch regular fish. Orcs drop Fire Crystals. Bees drop Wind Crystals and Beehive Chips which can be made into Honey using those Wind Crystals. Orcs have better/different equipment so they drop leather armor directly. Nonspecialist/Cook/Leatherworker’s Territory.

QuickNote

Each of these provides a form of Consistency that is unique to it, creating an ‘Economic Territory’. Each is closest to the city containing the relevant Artisan guild (none are very close to Cities). The player can think “I spend a lot of time here, I fought this Lottery Pop mob and got this drop that I don’t need right away but maybe will someday want” and because of that Consistency could choose to sell it anyway because “I will be back, I will eventually get it again”.

Fonos Basin, Throne and Liberty (before a certain subtractive update)

Orc Region/Stronghold. Just Orcs. Some Herb Gathering. Orcs drop the same things as everything else at this level in the game but also Milk, and in the older version of the game being referenced, occasionally dropped Purple-tier Wood, needed as a material for crafting high level Staves, Wands, etc. Consistent, yes, Ecologically interesting… debatable. The player still has the option to think “Well since most mob-farming at this level is the same I might as well go to the region that tops off my Purple Wood supplies”. A much weaker Territory association, but it exists.

Fonos Basin, Throne and Liberty (after that subtractive update)

Orcs, now added low level stone and mid-level Ore gathering. Orcs still drop Milk but no longer drop Wood. In both instances they do drop lowish-level gear, useful for raising Traits, but admittedly this was confusing to some.

Saurodoma Island, Throne and Liberty (after that update, which was not subtractive for this region)

Lizardmen (basically just Lizardmen, the whole way). Soil deposits, Leather gathering after defeating Lizardmen, Mining points. All three of those things were added in the update that removed ‘Purple-Tier material drops’. This region as the demonstration/reminder that updates change ‘systems’ and ‘Territories’ interactions, but the result isn’t always just ‘this is better’ or ‘this is worse’ across the board. Since neither Fonos nor Saurodoma had any ‘Lottery Pop’ Monsters really to expand the Ecology, this is Economic benefit only, providing Consistency without reliable Novelty.

Oldton Movalpolos, FF11

Oldton Movalpolos. Goblins, Bombs, Bats, Crabs via Fishing, Slimes via Fishing, a few regular Fish, and noncombat Mining Points. Metallurgist/Alchemist Territory. Goblins drop Fire and Lightning Crystals depending on their Job. Ore Veins give access to most Ore types, but higher level ones are extremely rare due to the level of the area. Less Lottery Pop mobs, the ‘Dopamine Hit’ is provided by the Mining points. Consistency remains there too. “This is an ore Mine with very occasional good ore” combined with ‘Fire Crystals available to process the Ore on the spot.

Micro-Slots

These places are littered with Micro-Slots, but why were they necessary?

Economic Players (even the ‘casual’ ones) love to feel that ‘comfortable’ feeling of knowing why they are choosing to do a specific thing or go to a specific place, economically. It drives even games like 2010s BDO (and 2020s Console BDO) where the only distinguishing factors were ‘which occasional rare gear drop’ and ‘is my class good at fighting these mobs quickly/safely?’. This is where the Micro-slots ‘hide’.

Feeling comfortable comes from the knowledge that your target activity is neither ‘useless after a point’ nor ‘the only useful thing so everyone will do it’. The occasional Novelty then elevates it from a Grind. Better Ecology can help a bit with this for a while too. Both of these allow retention and longevity because a player who has ‘always gone to Beadeaux’ and learned ‘this has an Ecology, and if I stay long enough something novel appears’, can then go to Davoi with similar expectations. They don’t ‘go to Davoi’, ‘realize that it’s just the same drops from marginally different piles of mobs’ and then ‘look for something else novel to do’ instantly.

That said, I don’t have a percentage for how many players don’t have the patience/interest to not have that reaction. We don’t get this information directly from games like Elden Ring, they can’t show us ‘how many players didn’t care about any preparation or style and just took whatever the game gave them on their path and hit things with it’. What we can do, is look at what types of players the True Classic MMORPGs tend to retain, and how those players interact with the games.

Unfortunately as the years pass, the clarity and relevance of data from the one place that is truly easy to get lots of it for FF11 degrades if you don’t know what to look for. Many new games have new ‘Auction House Price Tracker’ sites in the same way, but less ‘historical discussion’ to reference. This then means that more games are designed without any form of Micro-Slots, or designed with them but don’t attract the audience that openly praises them, often leading to their removal, even though this is not generally necessary.

If there’s only one thing I could convey to Developers of Modern Classic-likes in this Rant, let it be that you should let your Designers add their Micro-Slots and Novelty Experiences, especially if they’re low effort, make a big file noting them all, and then don’t touch them except in Economic Updates. Those who don’t expect them will bounce around and return for the other aspects of the game, if you have Combat they enjoy, interactions they enjoy, Exploration they enjoy. Those who learn them through good Knowledge Paths will at least leave with good Memories and maybe Nostalgia Triggers if they do leave. A game without these isn’t often holding onto this player type, and if you think that your own game isn’t holding them either, it’s probably because it takes time to get up to the density and quality of the Classics, but as one who wanted the Phoenix to soar and who currently enjoys Liberty, I can assure Designers/Developers that at least some of us are willing to walk the path with you.

Still here. Lord Remus Bercant thanks you for all the fish.