Play online games long enough, and you notice how differently people play, even when they share the same space. How players handle items is especially revealing. Today, I've put together my take on 5 types of item collectors.

The Plogger

Miscellaneous loot scattered across the ground is a common sight in classic MMORPGs

Plogging is the practice of picking up roadside litter while out for a run. MMORPGs have their own version of this: players who pick up, one by one, the miscellaneous items everyone else walks past without a second glance.

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Each item may be worth very little, but sell the whole lot and you can cover your potion costs. There's also a simple pleasure in watching those small gains add up, which helps explain the appeal.

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Players used to call this “collecting wastepaper,” though the expression now refers more broadly to farming in certain genres. Meanwhile, players who actually collect discarded loot have become much less common.

When The Kingdom of the Winds recently held its 30th-anniversary event, I logged in and leveled a character to 600. The main hunting areas had a remarkable amount of miscellaneous loot lying around.

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Some maps were practically blanketed in item labels. Among the clutter were quest items you could pick up and use, and I actually enjoyed the nostalgia of it all.

The Completionist

Collection logs are a common feature in games these days

If a game has a collection log for items, monsters, regions, or achievements, these players won't be satisfied until it's 100% complete.

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They can become particularly fixated on items obtainable only through hidden quests, puzzles, jumping puzzles, Easter eggs, or exploration of hidden areas.

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In some cases, this takes far more effort than defeating an endgame boss. A completed collection log can inspire genuine admiration: “Wow, you really did all of this.”

I can't register the expensive cards, so I'm adding the cheaper ones a few at a time...

I think collection systems make good content when participation is left up to the player—as long as special stat bonuses or outsized rewards don't make them feel mandatory.

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I don't usually pay much attention to collection logs when I first start a game. Once I've grown attached to it and have some time to spare, I'll occasionally browse the entries and tackle anything that looks easy to complete right away. Filling them in one by one offers its own kind of fun.

The Sentimental and Cosmetic Collector

When did I collect this many...

These players collect what they like rather than aiming for 100%.

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A typical example is cosmetic items such as avatar outfits. These players enjoy building an impressive collection of designs that suit their tastes.

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Stats and design aside, they may also focus on items with personal significance, such as limited-edition costumes, event-exclusive mounts, or old quest rewards. In that respect, they're a little like antique dealers.

The Squirrel

These players collect without a particular purpose in mind, or stockpile currency and materials to progress efficiently.

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Often, they're simply people who can't bring themselves to throw anything away. Having ample reserves of currency and materials can itself provide a sense of security and satisfaction.

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I'm quite close to this type myself, with plenty of items from past seasons piled up in storage. I think of them as an emergency fund: I can always sell them to a shop if I need to.

The Show-Off

There are also players who see items as a way to show off to others. They enjoy making their presence felt by equipping rare items and standing in a plaza or outside a raid entrance, or inspiring guildmates and party members to think, “I want to be like that player.”

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There's some overlap with completionists, but these players tend to use items to establish how others see their standing in the game: server-first or top-ranked clear rewards, ranking rewards, proof of item drops, proof of successful upgrades, and so on.

You'll find plenty of these players in DNF Mobile, too. Defeating a difficult boss earns a badge that players can display to say, “I'm skilled enough to beat this,” or show when looking for a party. Seeing is believing, after all.

Wrapping Up

That wraps up my overview of 5 types of item collectors in online games. Of course, few people fit neatly into a single category; most are a mix of two or three. Personally, I fall somewhere between the sentimental collector and the squirrel. Which type are you closest to?