I Dislike Multi-Player Trophies

Ryan expresses his opinions on multi-player trophies and why obtaining a platinum trophy should be achievable playing the single player portion of games.

[MrSwankSinatra]

There is so many games i would like to platinum, unfortunately though they're riddled with multiplayer trophies that have ridiculous requirement. An lets be honest every game that has a multiplayer, more than likely you're not gonna like every single one of them. An if you're trying to get the platinum for a certain game you're screwed. I wouldn't mind if it was a simple requirement like "Play this mode once" to unlock this trophy, but that's not always case. You always get this type of trophy though "Reach level 50" to unlock this trophy.

[thorstein]

Not only that, but I wonder if there could be a Platinum that doesn't require every single trophy. I think that would be worth it.

You can get a Gold for getting all MP trophies, but the Plat wouldn't be contingent on getting "all trophies."

[christian hour]

This is one thing Naughty Dog seem to have nailed pretty well. Uncahrted 2 had zero MP trophies as far as I can remember, uncharted 3's ones were literally "Play a round of MP" and The Last of Us was very similar. 95% of the Trophies were single player related, and the multiplayer ones didn't require hours of grinding, at least 2 rounds of MP, maybe 12 rounds with the last of us (I cant remember the exact amount). Nothing too heavily skill based or grinding based. Perfect if you ask me :)

I'm not a fan of MP, I only ever play a short amount then go back to explore the single player in a game for the umpteenth time and appreciate the level design (assuming theres anything there worth appreciating)so MP trophies/Achievements have always annoyed me.

Im literally 10-40 points off 1000 in halo 3, halo:reach and halo 4 because of silly little MP achievements. I think in halo 3 the one I'm missing is mow down five people on a mongoose or something like that. I spent a weekend trying this, round after round, until it dawned on me I'm no longer playing the MP the way I'm supposed to,and I'm letting the rest of the team down. Or sometimes you'd get thrown in to a round where nobody is playing the game because they're all lining up and helping each other get that Splaser achievement.

[dodgemoose]

Sorry but you're wrong about The Last of Us' multiplayer trophies. The two journeys required some grinding.

[The Great Melon]

Uncharted 2 had I think 2 multiplayer trophies, but as with Uncharted 3 they were simply play a co-op match and play a multiplayer match.

[AidenPearce]

*Tomb Raider

[avengers1978]

My main problem with MP trophies is the ones that they take away from you playing the MP to the best of your ability, cause your trying to get a trophy for unlocking everything, or building up certain weapons, reaching max levels with multiple different characters, or the ones that require that not only you do well, but so does your teammates. There should be only be trophies for your own skills. I just don't seem to care that much about getting plats that much though, I mean there are plenty of games that I didn't like enough to play through more than once, or even finish the first time.

[rainslacker]

I don't mind the simpler MP trophies. Ones that maybe have you play 10 or 100 matches. Ones that require you to grind out a ridiculous number of kills or perform some super hard thing that requires the cooperation of the rest of the team I don't bother with.

Overall, if someone doesn't like MP trophies, or doesn't like playing MP, then the simplest thing to do would be to not go for them. Same goes for SP in this regard If one isn't going to have fun trying to get those trophies then I don't see the point. I would love to get a platinum for FFX-HD, but I'm not going to suffer through the poor control of the chocobo races, or try to dodge 200 lightning bolts. The time required to do so could be spent having fun with another game IMO.

I'm pretty OCD about such things, but I know that not getting a platinum on a game isn't the end of the world.

[RiPPn]

Me2, in fact I didn't platinum several games like Assassins Creed after 2, Tomb Raider, etc. for this reason. Grabbed all the single player trophies though.

[kyzer1978]

Totally agree with this article. There are so many great games that have completely nonexistent multiplayer modes. You shouldn't be shit out of luck because a game's multi-player servers are no longer running.

[blackblades]

Most games shouldn't have mp trophies, but cod deserves them since people play that none stop, you can still get matches in waw.

[christian hour]

Haha agreed, in CODs case, it shouldnt have Single Player Trophies/Achievements :P

[-EvoAnubis-]

This argument does my head in every time I see it. Why do some people seem to think that they're owed platinum trophies? Those are a reward for those that play all aspects of the game, not an entitlement for anyone who so much as puts a disk into the drive. If you want the plat, do what it takes to earn it. Otherwise shut up.

Seriously, do Xbox gamers try about dumb crap like this as well? I haven't seen not a single one of them whining about, "I want the full 1,000 points for this game, but I don't want to play online and I should be able to get them anyway."

Just play the damn games, people. FFS.

[christian hour]

"Seriously, do Xbox gamers try about dumb crap like this as well?"

Yeah, they do actually, I've seen plenty of xbox gamers moan about this, myself included.

And most times its not because they don't play MP, or that they're not good enough to get the achievement or trophy.

What if it's an old game they just picked up on a bargain or got through Games with Gold or PlaystationPlus? Where the multiplayer servers are no longer in operation or there's no longer a sizable install base actively playing the game and you just sit in matchmaking searching endlessly? Should you be denied attaining 100% bragging rights among friends because you were late to the party? I doubt it.

Personally it doesnt bother me too much, I agree that some trophies should be hard to attain, so they actually have some worth amongst gamers, but then there are some that just take the p***, that involve no skill, rather pure luck or hours of endless grinding. Those are the problem childs of achievements and Trophies.

[-EvoAnubis-]

"What if it's an old game they just picked up on a bargain or got through Games with Gold or PlaystationPlus? Where the multiplayer servers are no longer in operation or there's no longer a sizable install base actively playing the game and you just sit in matchmaking searching endlessly? Should you be denied attaining 100% bragging rights among friends because you were late to the party?"

To answer that last question, yes. What do I care about someone having "bragging rights?" Just play the game.

"And most times its not because they don't play MP, or that they're not good enough to get the achievement or trophy."

Then I guess they're not good enough to get the platinum trophy. Why does it matter? I'm not too big on MP for most games either, and I don't care to be. I also don't sit about whining because of it like other gamers do because their lack of skill in online multiplayer results in not getting a platinum trophy that has no actual value. I play my games, whatever trophies I get are the ones I get, and then I'm off to what's next.

[christian hour]

Erm... you responded to my point about it not being about them lacking in skill or because they don't play MP, by saying "And I don't fancy playing with strangers online to get the trophies or enjoy the game fully." and then continuing on in that fashion completely sidestepping what I was trying to get across about the gamers in question... I think I may have mis-worded my sentence or you misread it...

I have friends who've 100% COD,BF etc games on 360's, ps3's xbones and ps4's, they're the ones I'm discussing, when they buy an old game and can't get, what to them, is part of the content they paid for, because servers are no longer in existence, or the install base has dwindled etc.

I'm not just voicing concern for my own opinion, I'm here to discuss a multitude of opinions towards achievements and trophies and the little problems inherent in some of them.

I couldn't give a damn about what I think, I'm more of a put up and shut up kinda guy, but I do speak out for other people cos I tend to empathize a lot and care about other people more so than myself. That's why I'm not sitting back and saying "Just play the Game". It's inconsiderate of other peoples views and opinions on why they game and what they get out of gaming.

*edit* Sorry If that came across a bit mean, it was not my intention, I don't mean to say yr an inconsiderate un-empathetic person, you obviously arent, very little people are that cruel. I'm jsut trying to be clear on the points im making :)

[thorstein]

Lack of quality internet connection, lack of server support, lack of servers, and the obvious: the MP trophies do not coincide with the SP trophies: for instance: if the SP is to kill X amount of enemies, then why not have a similar MP trophy?

[Bengaroo]

Good article. And it's not the fact gamers are owed the trophy dude above ^

Take games that require online achievements as an example. Many gamers outside of the US will never be able to get certain achievements simply because of lag or in many of EA games, terrible servers.

Add that to low selling games (NBA Live is the laggiest POS Ive ever seen online and to make matters worse, there are about 12 people who actually bought the game) and you will almost never reach 100% completion.

Online and multiplayer should be kept separate from the rest of the trophies.

[-EvoAnubis-]

"Many gamers outside of the US will never be able to get certain achievements simply because of lag or in many of EA games, terrible servers."

So what? I guess no platinum for you. Who cares? Just play the game.

"Add that to low selling games (NBA Live is the laggiest POS Ive ever seen online and to make matters worse, there are about 12 people who actually bought the game) and you will almost never reach 100% completion."

Also so what? No platinum for you. Play the game, get the trophies you get, and be happy with it. Why do you feel that you're owed a platinum for only playing a part of the game?

[christian hour]

He's not trying to say he's owed a platinum trophy, he's not demanding anything here, just discussing there is a slight problem in the way trophies/achievements are divvied up in games, and that there is definitely room for improvement and change.

Arkham Asylum has no MP, I didn't platinum that and I'm not complaining that I didnt, I needed one last "bat" symbol rating in the challenges and a 40 hit combo. I'm perfectly happy to say I'm just not good enough to get those trophies. And I'm happy not to get that platinum. It's for truly skilled players. However there are some MP trophies that exist purely for grinding or no longer attainable due to lack of community or servers no longer being around. Theres the problem.

I also only needed one trophy in Uncharted 1 to platinum, which was finish it on hard. I didnt, and thats ok. I'm not good enough, the people who did have that bragging right and fair play to them. That's not the complaint here :) The complaint is trophies that are no longer attainable or require you to put in 200+ hours sometimes just to get. These kind of ones need to disappear. I've no problem with unattainable ones based on skill. That's perfectly fine.

[christian hour]

@Bengaroo

Damn I spent too long rephrasing my point, fixing my terrible grammatical errors despite knowing I probably still missed a few, that you ended up beating me to the punch. Plus bubs for being awesome though :)

Another game recently for me that was a bit annyoign for trophies was Trine 2. I bought this on ps4, because it looked liek the kind of game that would appeal to me. However the majority of the achievements are catered to playing with other people. Fair enough, it is a much more enjoyable game with more players but I dont fancy playing with strangers online to get the trophies or enjoy the game fully.

So some PSN account having buddies popped around, I bought a second controller and my friend brought a third. The three of us ordered some pizza and signed in on my ps4, beers in tow and the reclining couch at full torque. We picked local play and spent the first 30 minutes messing around with the characters and hindering each other for a laugh in the intro segments, while getting a feel for the games controls.

Not long after I got my first shiny achievement, or should I say my friend did since he started the game from the PS4's menu. But nobody else got it... sadly its one of those games where only the main profile signed in actually has its trophies tracked... Totally killed the experience for me.

We swiftly turned it off, paid the nice man for the cheeseburger crust pizza, and stuck on Trials Fusion for the night :)

[jocomat9]

How was the pizza?

[Dustinf11]

I agree 100%. I dont have a single plati

[Dustinf11]

I agree 100%. I dont have a single platinum trophy because I cant stand playing online. Mostly because it feels like running in circles and doing the same thing over and over again. (Not to mention the people...)

[Moe-Gunz]

Agree with this. I hate MP trophies.

[zero_gamer]

The only platinums I collected that required multiplayer play were the LBP games. The rest of my 28 platinums were entirely single player.

[rainslacker]

Think the only one with MP that i have is for Mass Effect 3. It had MP trophies that weren't an excessive grind fest, and it was fun enough for the afternoon it took me to achieve them.

Still working on the DOA5 ones, but otherwise, I could care less about MP. Haven't even tried to get TLOU ones yet.

[snarls200]

mp trophies did not make sense on the ps3.

[DefenderOfDoom2]

Well , to the author i can understand your frustration. But for me , i would rather play a new single player game, rather than play the same game over just to receive a few more trophies! The PSN level up system, rewards players who play a bunch of games a lot. The player who plays a ton of games will level up at slower pace! But my trophy total is higher than players who go for platinum trophies! So no complaints here!

[MaxwellBuddha]

Achievements/Trophies are literally the most stupid gimmick ever foisted upon the industry.

[Bengaroo]

In terms of people thinking it shows they are 'better' than others/epeen yes for sure.

But for giving you something to aim for once a game is finished, they are great. The extend the replayability and likely reduce the reselling and trading of games a little as well.

[thejigisup]

Problem with mp trophies/achievement/in game systems that treats people for online play for 100 % completion is that games will often have their multi player taken offline, Maybe a broken system, me3 I'm looking at you. I didn't buy me3 right away and I missed out on on some/ a lot of in game achievements that the completionist in me just can't tolerate.

[MasterofMagnetism]

I also hate MP trophies but they're not gonna stop me from playing certain games.
I know many people that will avoid a certain game(s) just because of the MP trophies.

[MasterCornholio]

Some of them are almost impossible to get. Like those trophy's in fighting games where you have to win 10 online matches in a row.

[LAWSON72]

As do I the only game I liked MP achievements in was Halo 3, though they were not necessary if I still got the armor unlocks. The only games I will attempt to platinum on my PS3 are SP RPGs.

[jocomat9]

i like some but not all. They just gotta make sure they can't eventually be unattainable in the future.(killing the servers and such) Otherwise don't tie it to the platinum. Let those who really care about getting %100 go for them. Like me. They should make it mandatory for every game to have a create your own pvp server so you can boost if you have to. Especially in a dead community.