World of Warcraft at Ten Ton Hammer

Since the dawning of the modern MMO era, players have constantly been vying to see who was the best. Either through direct competitions like EverQuest's "Best of the Best" tournaments to Final Fantasy XI's constant grind for the best loot, players have constantly wanted to be the king of the hill. With so many upcoming MMOs accepting this competitive spirit, Executive Editor Cody "Micajah" Bye thought it was time to start up his own commentary on competition in MMOs and has dubbed his newly penned series "In the Trenches". If you're a competitive MMO player or simply are looking for the next great thrill, come and check out his brand new article, "The Competitive Edge".

So when I eventually found myself playing massively multiplayer online games, I was caught between a rock and a hard place. In the earliest MMOs, trying to “win” meant that you were the hardest of the hardcore. To win at an MMO like EverQuest or Ultima Online or Final Fantasy XI, you might need to raid fifteen hours a day, go to work to pay your rent and/or subscription fees, get an hour of sleep, then be at it again. Between my family, social, and job-related activities, I’ve never had an extremely open schedule, so being an elite member of the MMO community was never an option. Ultimately, my competitive spirit was quashed by the very nature of MMO design.

• To read the entirety of "The Competitive Edge", click here!