A benefit of Shared Worlds

Last updated on 26 May 2025

I started this publication because I am a player that struggles with online interaction and as I got older, I grew tired of the "elitist" mentality that exists in online gaming. Constantly having to deal with min/maxing your equipment in order to find groups for certain content is exhausting.

Before you freaking out, I understand why optimizing your equipment is beneficial, but it shouldn't be this made up requirement that is so heavily enforced by the self-proclaimed "Gatekeepers" of the community. If you have a guild or clan where only the most optimized loadouts are required – that's great. Players joining your guild know what they're signing up for, but for the general population of players, this min/max "requirement" does nothing but discourage and alienate them.

Another side-effect of the min/max or "THE META" loadout is that it can make a game very stale by the fact that every loadout is EXACTLY the same. It gets rid of any sort of variety and forces players into a specific play-style, which means every group you get in feels the exact same. It leaves no room for you and the other players to create your own rhythm. I get it, optimizing can make a difficult raid run a lot more smoothly – it just gets so boring.

On top of all that, you have most of those players who require optimized loadouts not taking the time to help the other players who don't quite understand all the stats or how to optimize their gear. Yes, those players have no obligation to do so, but it's a great way to uplift a community and make it more welcoming - plus you'll have more players able to participate in the difficult content. It's a win-win for everyone.

Perfect blend of online & single-player?

Well...It can be if it's done right

This section is not sponsored. It's simply a game that I have sent a lot of time in and with the Definitive Edition coming out soon, it's back on my mind again.

With seemingly every single game being a Live-Service title and it's just not working – but publishers don't seem to want to give up that any time soon. This is where Shared Worlds come into play.

Like I said earlier and if you're new here, I started this publication because I see a massive gap in tools to help timid players enter into online games with how toxic the video game community as a whole has become. A popular series to feature this are the FromSoftware games but also Xenoblade Chronicles X.

If you never played the original release on Wii U, Xenoblade Chronicles X is a fully fleshed out single player RPG with some online elements which you're not required to take part in, but add to your overall experience. Squad hunts will randomly occur tasking you and 31 other players to hunt a certain amount of creatures and world bosses within a time limit. These players don't enter your game – players can either ignore the request and continue with what they were doing or can contribute towards the hunt. It all ends (if completed) in everyone getting rewards for the event. The game also features a Monster Hunter-esque boss mode where players team up in the same game to take down giant bosses.

Having these Shared Worlds offers you a chance to slowly build up your confidence with participating online and by the time you're ready for the end-game boss events, you'll be less hesitant when joining up with other random players to complete the difficult content.

If you're new here, feeling free to catch-up on with the previous articles.