Friday, March 20, 2026

Crimson Desert Review

If you like solo adventuring in a wide world, Crimson Desert sounds good.  (If you get the Subscribe message when you click on the link, just click on No Thanks and you'll go straight to Crecente's Substack article.)

Check the reviews and the specs you'll need to play.  Like all new games, this thing only runs on the latest gear.  It's also buggy so I'd wait a while until updates fix the worst ones (no inventory space) before buying.

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Thursday, March 12, 2026

Just How Many WOW Expansions Are there?

The Solo MMO Player just asked me how many expansions there have been to World of Warcraft?  I didn't know, but it looks like as of May 2025 there have been ten addons to the original game which we call Vanilla WOW:  The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, Cataclysm, Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor, Legion, Battle for Azeroth, Shadowlands, Dragonflight, The War Within and Midnight.  Looks like at least one more is planned:  The Last Titan.

After all, the game is 21+ years old.  And we are still talking about it.

By the way, Microsoft bought WOW in October 2023.  The War Within and Midnight are the expansions released in the Microsoft era.

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Warcraft Tavern Still Open

In this era of dead links to gaming information I've discovered Warcraft Tavern is still open and still serving information about World of Warcraft.  You'll find guides, a gear planner, enchantment list, even a server population listing.  If you are still playing WOW, it's worth a visit.

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Monday, February 23, 2026

Styx: Blades of Greed Guide

I'm a sucker for stealth games, so I had to add a link to this guide to Styx:  Blades of Greed.  I don't know how good the game is and haven't play any of the earlier games in this series, but here is the info for my fellow sneaks.

Here's a bit about the game.
https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2026/02/19/styx-blades-of-greed-out-today-ps5-ps-store/

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Monday, October 20, 2025

New Elder Scrolls Blades Communication Error (500-12-100-user name)

I stumbled across a new Communication Error code in Elder Scrolls Blades last night--Communication Error (500-12-100-user name and number).

To fix it, I rebooted the tablet and then logged in with my user name and password.  Everything was fine after that.  I think this might be related to a wireless Internet interruption as we had very heavy rain last night that messes with the satellite signal.  Even though I had a good signal when trying to log in --I checked--it is possible the tablet was confused by a previous fluctuation.  This is all speculation, of course.  All I know for sure are the error number and how I fixed it.

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Elder Scrolls Online Game Pad Problems

After this year's updates, the Solo MMO Player has found his Logitech Gamepad is acting up.  This is apparently an issue with a lot of players who use controllers, too.  

Reddit has some help.  Thorolhugil says, "Make sure the in-game setting under settings -> gameplay for gamepad mode is set to auto and it should auto detect and switch. Sometimes it's a little glitchy though....
Also! Check the gamepad settings under the game's settings in the steam launcher, and check what checkboxes are enabled in the gamepad settings of steam in general."  

Apparently auto gamepad mode sometimes randomly unchecks, so look at your gamepad mode in both the game and the Steam launcher.

MaggyTwoFlagons reminds us, "Make sure Accessibility Mode is on in ESO settings menu. That tripped me up once, iirc."  ESO confirms "You cannot use a controller before logging into a character unless you enable Accessibility Mode at launch. If you have already disabled this setting, you will have to enable it from the Settings menu."

Brandywjn adds, "Two things to check would be: your controller settings in Steam (and does the controller work for other games), and if you have a good pre-made controller map selected (or make your own).
Also, controller won't work on character selection screen. Need a mouse for that. Maybe confirm if controller works after loading in to a character?"

However, Wallofcans claims the controller will work on the character selection screen. "That's incorrect, and easily missed. There's a setting that you can toggle for kb [keyboard] or gamepad title screen. You don't need a mouse+kb at all for the character select screen. It took me a while to find it."  Unfortunately Wallofcans doesn't say where this setting is located.

Here is the entire discussion from Reddit.

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Sunday, May 25, 2025

Is This What Happened to Gaming?

I used to read the Greedy Goblin's blog religiously, not because I played World of Warcraft (I don't), but because he was always interesting.  This morning I clicked on a link to one of his old articles and discovered he has a new blog.  This was the last posting at the new place, dated February 2019.

Food for thought....

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Monday, February 17, 2025

The MMO Gypsy Looks Back at 20 Years of World of Warcraft

It's hard to believe that WOW has been around 20 years, but then time flies faster and faster the older you are.  The MMO Gypsy has posted a retrospective look at WOW on their blog which is interesting and also has a lot of links to content WOW players might find helpful.

Here's to the gaming bloggers who have preserved their musings for other players to enjoy, no matter how much time has passed!

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Monday, August 19, 2024

A History Lesson




While cleaning out a closet I found this huge paperback, published in 2003.  It cost $19.99 plus tax and was almost certainly purchased at GameStop.  It is essentially a walkthrough, with all sorts of character and lore information plus maps thrown in.  

How times have changed!  When the Solo MMO Player started playing video games around 2002, the xBox had been out a few months.  Many games had walkthroughs and there were a few blogs about various PC games.  Podcasts and Twitch and Discord were unheard of.  Back then you could buy game discs at Best Buy, Target, GameStop, online, etc.  Over the next 5 years, blogs exploded.  There were plenty of player blogs that had lots and lots of information about the blog writer's favorite game.  Some people collaborated on the larger websites.  Very few people were paid for this--it was a labor of love.  You can still see vestiges of this era in some of the blogs I reference here that haven't vanished or sites like The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages.

Gradually I've watched the main game websites be purchased and consolidated.  YouTube videos started to become more common as the verbal generation is replaced by the visual generation, then Twitch arrived with Discord not too far behind.  Games are digital only.  You don't actually buy a game, you buy digital access to it.  Now the people who write for the big websites are paid and often have only a cursory acquaintance with the game instead of being obsessed with it.  There are very few sources of information about a game in many cases.  If you need help, it is hard to find.

So the Solo MMO blog hangs on.  Hopefully some of the links I wrote about years ago aren't dead and you can still find useful information.  

RIP gaming for fun.  Corporate gaming is here to stay.





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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Wednesday, July 3, 2024

How to Use an xBox Controller to Play ESO on PC

Here are the steps to using a controller to play ESO on a PC, courtesy of YourSixGaming:

"To use a controller in The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) on PC, follow these steps: 
Check Controller Compatibility: ESO for PC supports XInput controllers, including Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S controllers. If you’re using a different type of controller, it may not be compatible with ESO. 

Enable Gamepad Mode: Launch the game using your keyboard and mouse. Once you’re in the game with a character, press ESC to bring up the menu. 

Select Settings, then go to Gameplay. 
Scroll down until you find the section for Gamepads and set Gamepad mode to On. 

Reactivate Your Controller (if needed): If you’ve recently updated ESO, the Gamepad Mode might default to Off. Make sure to reactivate your controller by following the steps above/

Additional Troubleshooting: If your controller still doesn’t function in ESO, consider reinstalling the controller’s drivers or software. Remember that you cannot use a controller before logging into a character unless you enable Accessibility Mode at launch."

If you prefer your instructions in video mode, watch this YourSixGaming YouTube video.   It is much more detailed than the above.  (You can read the auto generated transcript if you prefer.)

The Solo MMO Player thinks keyboards and a gaming mouse like Logitech's  G13 may be more versatile, but I suppose it depends on what you are used to.

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com