MMOs have come a long way since the early days of dial-up dungeon crawls and spontaneous 40-man raids organized on AOL. But with all that progress… oof, we’ve certainly lost a lot of that magic along the way. Some beloved features weren’t just fun — they were foundational. They gave MMOs heart. Soul. Chaos. And community.
Whether it was systems that forced real human interaction or just gloriously janky ideas that somehow worked, here are 10 game features we seriously miss the most — and why modern MMOs need to bring them back.
1. Manual Grouping & Social Interaction
Before automated matchmaking, you had to spam “LFG Tank” in chat and wait. It was clunky. It was awkward. And yet it worked. You made friends. You made enemies. And when you finally cleared that dungeon? It felt like YOU did it, not an autogrouping algorithm.
Why we miss it: manual grouping forced real human interaction. You had to talk to strangers. Like, real strangers. And maybe even add them to your friends list. But you also had to prove your worth, which gave you value in the server you so proudly fought for. You didn’t just play with other people — you bonded with them, too.
What modern MMOs should do: make it EASY to actually connect with other people in-game! It’s 2025 and we’ve been connecting with like-minded weirdos on socials for nearly 20 years. Why can’t we do the same inside a game? Give us smart filters, devs! Match us based on how we play, not just our level or gear scores. Swipe right for Tanks with good vibes, swipe left on loot ninjas. And better yet, let us add interest tags attached to our character so we can connect with like-minded players: roleplayer, fashionista, horse girl energy, the works. I wanna play with other horse-lovers because I know those are the best kind of people… despite what the ‘neigh’sayers say.
2. Open World Bosses That Everyone Raced For
Remember when a giant dragon spawned in the town square and the entire server scrambled to kill it first? Open world bosses were chaotic, community-driven, beautifully unbalanced, and delivered pure dopamine dumps when you finally got an item to drop. Or just survived to tell the tale.
Why we miss it: nothing creates engaging social stories like a surprise world boss and a last-minute scramble with 99 strangers. These were meaningful events, not just a checklist or another daily quest complete. We are so over that.
What modern MMOs should do: bring back world bosses! But this time with meaningful loot and a timer system that isn’t buried in some Discord. Bonus points if it causes a little server-wide drama. And these bosses should be insanely hard, too. No one ever basks in the glory of killing an easy boss — it’s the challenge that makes moments meaningful!
3. Player Housing With Actual Functionality
Some MMOs have houses you can decorate and interact with. That’s cool… but gamers want more. Ultima Online let you build anything from a shop to a bakery to a PvP murder mansion. And these weren’t instanced dollhouses — they were part of the world. Part of the lore. Part of the magic that made MMOs great.
Why we miss it: player housing often looks pretty but often does nothing. We miss housing that mattered. We miss housing that gave gamers the ability to carve out a piece of an online world that was legitimately built by us, the players, who probably love the game more than our parents.
What modern MMOs should do: bring back the freedom of player housing: let us build towns together; let us run shops; let us sell blueprints to the things we make! We want to duel to the death in each other’s front yards, we wanna make our own battlegrounds and dungeons with monsters we place ourselves. We only want it all, more or less. Because a cozy house is great… but a house with purpose is unforgettable.
4. Social Hubs That Weren’t Just AFK Zones
Time for your daily dose of nostalgia! We’re talking Ironforge Bridge. Yulgar’s Inn. Orgrimmar’s mailbox. And that bench in Limsa Lominsa. These places weren’t just populated — they were alive! People roleplayed. Hosted weddings. Formed bands. Started spontaneous dance parties… and drama. Snapped a million screenies and shared them with their Myspace Top 8. Screenshot or it didn’t happen, amirite?
Why we miss it: a good MMO has a main city. A great MMO has a place you log into just to vibe. All without 99 players being AFK in a map that holds 100.
What modern MMOs should do: create hometown hubs with things to do! Co-op minigames, fashion contests, live music, player-run booths where we can actually sell all the crap clogging our inventories. I’m hoarding enough illicit potions to make Breaking Bad blush — let a girl sell her wares! Basically: give gamers reasons to hang out beyond waiting for queues to pop or DLCs to drop.
5. Weird & Wonderful Skills
Lockpicking. Firemaking. Cooking. Sheep herding? Games like RuneScape, Star Wars Galaxies, and even Wurm Online have dozens of skills that aren’t tied to killing stuff. But these have everything to do with immersion. Trade skills and professions truly make you feel alive in the world, no matter your play style.
Why we miss it: not every “adventure” in an MMO needs to be kill-30-rats-and-repeat. Sometimes you just wanna chop wood or fish for fun. Maybe throw a home-cooked pie at someone. If you’re anything like me, we just wanna cozy up to a campfire and cook (or burn) shrimp on a skewer because we need a break from the grind. And maybe our failed cooking attempts IRL.
What modern MMOs should do: bring back — or introduce — skills that are cozy, optional, and fun. Sometimes you don’t want to slay a dragon. Sometimes you just wanna burn some seafood and vibe.
6. Hardcore Death Penalties
Dying used to hurt. A lot. Losing XP. Corpse runs. Item drops. Gear breaks. The fear of dying was very real. Death meant something — something sinister. Which made survival that much sweeter. And made Healers a highly coveted class instead of the most challenging thing for anybody to level up.
Why we miss it: challenge creates meaning. You didn’t just zerg rush bosses — you strategized. Danger made the world feel real. And that tension made players into actual heroes.
What modern MMOs should do: give us difficulty options and/or hardcore servers. Let death be scary again — but optional for the casual gamers. Remember: risk creates reward… and unforgettable stories worth sharing.
7. Servers Actually Mattered
Before megaservers and cross-realm everything, your server was your identity. You knew the top guilds and the best PvPers. You also knew the ninja looters while avoiding that one dude who was online for 3 days straight. Your reputation followed you like a very clingy cat — and existed even when you logged off.
Why we miss it: MMOs used to feel like towns, not theme parks. People knew your name… for better or worse. Your actions had consequences, and your server identity created stories. Allies. Enemies. A literal league of legends. You mattered, they mattered, everyone mattered.
What modern MMOs should do: add optional servers that have character binding, introduce server-based leaderboards beyond PvP accolades (most kills, most gold earned, most heals, most deaths, most moss collected, etc), and community shoutouts such as “Guild of the Month” like AQWorlds does. Let us earn fame. Or infamy! We’ll take either. We’re clearly a thirsty group.
8. Player-Run Economies
Trading. Auction houses. Pure capitalism. Pure fun. EVE Online and Lineage let players control every piece of the market. Crafting wasn’t just viable — it was essential. Think Jeff Bezos with better drip and more hair; that’s the gist of player-run economies.
Why we miss it: a player-driven world made items, professions, and people matter. You didn’t just craft for XP — you crafted to carve your legacy! This made interaction meaningful while supply and demand created something to strive for.
What modern MMOs should do: make crafting systems deep and social. Allow us to sell and trade our items and recipes. Let crafters brand their gear. And remember, devs: scarcity creates value! Seems like Stars Reach is one of the few (only?) modern MMOs bringing that sense of value back by putting it into the hands of players.
9. Creative Quests That Aren’t Kill 20 Slimes… Again and Again
We’re talking the Water Totem quest. The EverQuest epic weapon chains. And WoW’s escort quests with NPCs who would jump into combat like lunatics, pull tons of mobs, walk agonizingly slow, and potentially give you PTSD. These weren’t just quests — they were trials of fire and chaos and insanely low success rates. And yet we loved them dearly.
Why we miss it: questing used to be an adventure… now it feels like a chore. You had to think. You had to strategize. And oftentimes you had to suffer. But when you finished? Pure joy and an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.
What modern MMOs should do: let there be multiple outcomes to quests! Add actual challenge. And consequences for failing… or succeeding. Stop the grind for 500 skeleton bones — no productive adult has time for that. Save the grind for exceptionally rare items, not “12 Boar livers from 47 Boars that apparently don’t have livers.” And please for the love of lore, stop making every story arc be “you are the chosen one.” We get it, Morpheus.
10. NPCs Who Remember You
Imagine a world where NPCs actually remember you — not just your name (even if they still call you “adventurer” after 200 hours together; looking at you, Zanaris Fairy), but your choices, your behavior, even your vibe. Help a shop keeper’s cousin in a dungeon? You get a discount. Leave them to rot? Enjoy your 200% markup, ya heartless villain.
Why we miss it (even though we’ve never had it): interactive NPCs make the world feel alive — not just scripted. When NPCs evolve with you, it turns fetch quests into friendships… or long-standing feuds. Your actions stop being disposable and start becoming legendary. Think Baldur’s Gate 3; their NPC logic is unmatched, and is undoubtedly one of the top reasons it won Game of the Year in 2023.
What modern MMOs should do: leverage AI and behavioral tagging to give NPCs persistent memory and emotional logic. Instead of just talking to you, let them talk about you. Let them spread rumors. Let your past haunt you — or earn you fame. MMOs need more drama that aren’t player-based politics spamming global chat. And we all know some NPCs are just petty enough to deliver that drama.
Final Thoughts About the Best MMO Game Features
Modern MMOs might be sleeker, faster, and more accessible… but sometimes, that comes at the cost of soul. Also known as fun! These missing features weren’t always perfect per se — but they sure made these online worlds feel real. And maybe it’s time to bring some of them back to make MMOs great again.
What game features do you miss the most? And what features do you wish modern MMO devs would actually deliver? Leave a comment below!
