Progression

In nearly all MMORPGs the development of the player's character is a primary goal. Many titles feature a character progression system similar to that of Dungeons & Dragons, in which players earn experience points for their actions and use those points to reach character "levels", which makes them better at whatever they do.^[3] Traditionally, combat with monsters, either alone or in groups, is the primary way to earn experience points. The accumulation of wealth (including combat-useful items) is also a way to progress in many titles, and again, this is traditionally best accomplished via combat. The cycle produced by these conditions, combat leading to new items allowing for more combat with no change in gameplay, is sometimes pejoratively referred to as the level treadmill.^[3] The RPG Progress Quest was created as a parody of this trend.

Also traditional in the genre is the eventual demand on players to team up with others in order to progress at the optimal rate. This tends to force players to change their real-world schedules in order to "keep up" within the game-world. Though some titles recognize this trend as a problem and provide ways to progress within short, unscheduled periods of time, this is still a widespread criticism of games in the genre.