MMORPGs and MMOs with live service actually have one thing in common: you collect more and more progress over long periods of time and you can still own items in World of Warcraft that are more than a decade old. However, some games regulate this differently and let you start over and over again.
Imagine playing your favorite MMORPG and grinding as hard as you can. Materials, equipment, reputation – everything is taken, resources are stowed away, dozens of quests are ticked off.
However, there is an event in the game every 6 months, a so-called “wipe”. All progress is erased, nothing is left. All twinks are gone, the bank is empty, your account is blank.
Terrifying idea? Perhaps. But there are actually games that use such a concept and are very successful with it. MeinMMO shows you the appeal of it and wants to know what you think of it.
In the dino game ARK, server admins like to rely on regular wipes. Here is an impression of the survival title:
Everything you need to know about the survival game ARK: Survival Evolved
First everything is crazy – then everything is gone
What games do this? The best known are probably the hardcore shooter Escape from Tarkov and the survival title Rust.
What happens with a wipe? Let’s focus on the Escape from Tarkov example. Here the wipes are an integral part of the gaming experience.
This also applies to Rust, which forces all servers that want to play the new update to restart with every update. However, you can always start on a fresh server and get the newbie experience.
Escape from Tarkov has a different server infrastructure that works more like a lobby shooter.
In the hardcore shooter, events run before each wipe that turn the gaming experience upside down for a few days. At the last wipe event in June 2022, more and more air drops with strong loot came from the sky. The drop points became popular spots that were heavily contested. This gives a completely different experience of a game like Escape from Tarkov.
All progress will then be deleted on the wipe day. Only the starter inventory remains, which depends on the game version purchased.
How can I play Escape from Tarkov and where can I buy it?
It’s like a reboot – but years after release
Where’s the appeal in that? An established game is suddenly back to how it was when it was first played. What’s more, all players experience the game as if it were their first hours again.
You know your way around better, you know about the mechanics, maps and ways of playing. But it still feels like a fresh start, fueled earlier by the pre-wipe events.
Escape from Tarkov brings a wipe every 6 months on average and manages to convey a feeling of “fresh beginnings” with every new start.
Many MMORPGs already do something very similar with their extensions – current example World of Warcraft with Dragonflight.
There is a new level to reach, new equipment to farm and fresh content. With Season 4 of Shadownlands, they even brought a kind of pre-wipe event, tried new things – raid rotation, fated loot or old dungeons on a new level.
But how about if WoW wiped all old progress with every expansion? Do you think that would increase the feeling of “fresh beginnings”? Do you even want that? Do you play a game that drives regular wipes?
Take our poll and/or share your thoughts with us in the comments:
Escape from Tarkov is a fascinating phenomenon. Despite high entry hurdles, regular wipes and fire from unknown directions, the hardcore shooter has managed to attract a large number of players.
Even more: Tarkov even forms the basis for an entire shooter subgenre: A whole new gaming genre is currently emerging – What are EFT Likes?