Massively Overpowered’s end-of-the-year 2016 awards continue today with our award for Most Improved MMORPG of 2016, which was awarded to WildStar last year.

All MMOs, regardless of release date, were eligible for this award, provided they made improvements this year. Don’t forget to cast your own vote in the just-for-fun reader poll at the very end!

The Massively OP staff pick for Most Improved MMORPG of 2016 is…

THE ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE

Andrew Ross (@dengarsw): Landmark. Once EQN died, Landmark seemed to start picking up what may have been the best scraps. PvP was removed for “reasons,” but the storytelling aspect that suddenly popped in, as well as new crafting, was a welcome surprise.

Brendan Drain (@nyphur): Nominating World of Warcraft as a result of the Legion expansion.

Brianna Royce (@nbrianna, blog): The Elder Scrolls Online launched as a solid MMORPG, but One Tamriel was a huge leap forward for the game and the genre. Not only did the game improve significantly as an Elder Scrolls game this year (thanks to One Tamriel’s levelscaling as well as the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood DLC), but it also improved significantly as an MMORPG and raised the bar for all other games vying to stay in the top tier of MMOs.

Eliot Lefebvre (@Eliot_Lefebvre, blog): The Elder Scrolls Online. Yeah, I said it. Look, I have things I don’t like about the game, but making the entire experience level-scaled and approachable by everyone is really cool, and it makes for a marked improvement that trickles down to every single aspect of the game’s mechanics. If that’s not “most improved” I don’t know what is.

Justin Olivetti (@Sypster, blog): EVE Online. The dual tactics of overhauling its tutorial and offering a free-to-play model were brilliant ways to open up this game to the larger population and put EVE once more on the map of major movers and shakers in the MMO world.

Larry Everett (@Shaddoe, blog): The changes to Elder Scrolls Online started last year, actually, but they came to full realization with the launch of One Tamriel. I’m not completely ignoring the blunder that is the Crown Crates, but I cannot ignore the Thieves Guild and the Dark Brotherhood DLCs, which I believe changed the fundamental aspects of ESO for the better.

MJ Guthrie (@MJ_Guthrie, blog): Although I haven’t really played it in forever I give this award to Elder Scrolls Online, pretty much for the One Tamriel update. I actually will play this more this next year now that I can enjoy it more with friends; that was what drove me away. And I am really really excited for the housing feature to go live! Just announcing that bumped the game up in my estimation by leaps and bounds.

Tina Lauro Pollock (@purpletinabeans): How could I justify nominating anything other than World of Warcraft after the amazing response to Legion? Considering the expansion has been as successful as Cataclysm in terms of sales and that the launch feedback was so positive, I just have to give it major props for pulling such a successful expansion launch out of the bag this far along in the game’s lifespan. It seems as though WoW’s mythical evergreen status isn’t going anywhere soon.

The Elder Scrolls Online won our award for Most Improved MMORPG of 2016. What’s your pick?



Reader poll: Which MMORPG was the most improved in 2016? Elder Scrolls Online (55%, 1,217 Votes)

World of Warcraft (15%, 338 Votes)

EVE Online (3%, 71 Votes)

Landmark (0%, 8 Votes)

Guild Wars 2 (5%, 99 Votes)

Star Wars The Old Republic (2%, 50 Votes)

Black Desert (1%, 21 Votes)

Final Fantasy XIV (3%, 59 Votes)

Neverwinter (0%, 7 Votes)

Skyforge (0%, 4 Votes)

Blade and Soul (0%, 2 Votes)

Riders of Icarus (0%, 1 Votes)

TERA (0%, 8 Votes)

WildStar (1%, 27 Votes)

DC Universe Online (0%, 1 Votes)

RIFT (0%, 9 Votes)

The Secret World (1%, 11 Votes)

ArcheAge (1%, 17 Votes)

EverQuest II (0%, 4 Votes)

Lord of the Rings Online (4%, 87 Votes)

Trove (0%, 4 Votes)

Star Trek Online (1%, 19 Votes)

RuneScape (1%, 14 Votes)

Age of Conan (0%, 6 Votes)

Destiny (0%, 5 Votes)

Defiance (0%, 0 Votes)

Aion (0%, 4 Votes)

Path of Exile (2%, 35 Votes)

Devilian (0%, 1 Votes)

Nothing (2%, 49 Votes)

Something else (let us know in the comments!) (1%, 20 Votes) Total Voters: 2,198

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MOP’s 2016 AWARDS (SO FAR)

Poll options include all games nominated plus several major MMOs from the last few years.