(09-18-2018, 05:53 PM)Ikkir Isth Wrote: In the end, thinking about progression is thinking about how the core game works; you want to make sure its engaging all the way thru, has player action and investment, encourages working together (it is an MMO after all), and it at least has to make some semblance of sense in the game setting. This is a very, very big topic; expect a lot of complications, and a lot of time to put everything together for the big picture.Many MMO's are built on presumption of a session game but brand themselves as an "open world game".
The core distinction is player's ability to join mid-session and achieve competitive performance in a reasonable time.
In an open world MMO (true open world) progression should be aimed at player education, rather than hindering the player for no explainable reason.