This article was written as part of Nexon's PEAK activities.

There is a personality test that once relatively few people knew about, but these days hardly needs an introduction: the MBTI. Answer its questions, and it tells you your personality type. As a self-report test, it depends on your honesty—the more truthful your answers, the more accurately it describes you. What does this have to do with games? We generally play not because we have to, or because someone tells us to, but because we enjoy it and have our own reasons for continuing. In that sense, gaming brings out our most honest, authentic selves.

Does that mean I need to take a self-report mobile RPG personality test to properly enjoy this game? We do not have that sort of questionnaire, but there is a simpler way to find our own answers: trying things for ourselves. Take a moment to think back over your time in games and the activities you have focused on. Then, when you enter a new game, explore it firsthand: try combat, life-skill activities, and spending time with other people. Sometimes, though, you can make a choice without actually trying something, simply by considering the situation and imagining yourself in it, much as you would when answering a self-report questionnaire. So, as you read along, why not reflect on which moments you have enjoyed most? Let's begin.

Combat offers a more intense, immediate kind of enjoyment, complete with a rush of dopamine. More than any other activity, it puts your achievements on display, especially in games, where your level and stats are visible at a glance. There is nothing ambiguous about it: you consider how to overcome the enemy in front of you, then put that plan into action. Nothing else engages your strategic thinking and mechanical skills quite so dynamically. Whether you fight alone or alongside others, there is a thrill in defeating enemies one by one, and that is what makes combat the centerpiece of RPGs.

In Mabinogi Mobile, combat is a fundamental part of adventuring in Erinn, essential both to reaching new regions and to discovering Erinn's story. That makes it easier than you might think to decide whether combat is something you enjoy. If you seek out more battles beyond those you encounter as you play Mabinogi Mobile, whether because you want to grow stronger or because defeating enemies delivers such a satisfying dopamine rush, combat is likely a good fit for you. Of course, it can also be enjoyable in its own right, with or without that drive to improve.

Even players who enjoy combat approach it in different ways. Some are happy to repeat the available battles, while others work out easier, faster ways to win. Others focus on improving their stats, pursuing better gear and a stronger character. Which type are you? How do you feel when you imagine yourself in combat, defeating one enemy after another?

Life-skill activities are less dynamic than combat, offering a quieter, more peaceful experience. You can compete with others, but often there is no need: you shear sheep, gather wood, fish, and make clothes and weapons. Quite a few players who focus exclusively on combat seem to find little enjoyment in life skills. “Isn't that just grinding?” they might ask. Yet the sheer variety of things people create in games where these activities are essential, such as Animal Crossing, Minecraft, and Palworld, makes it clear that life skills are a major source of enjoyment in games.

Different as they are from combat, life-skill activities offer their own sense of fulfillment, in part because you can see your proficiency and crafting progress reflected in numbers. In real life, harvesting crops or taking an axe to a tree, processing the materials, and crafting something yourself is genuinely difficult. Some people certainly handle the entire process from gathering to crafting, but these tasks are usually divided up: one person gathers, another processes, and another crafts. Naturally, all sorts of variables and collaboration come into play. Still, gathering materials from a tree of your choice, processing them, and crafting something yourself is undoubtedly easier in a game. You can enjoy the activities to the fullest while seeing your accomplishments clearly reflected in numbers.

I have found that players who focus on life skills generally approach the game quite differently from those drawn to combat. They follow the main story or its broad outline, but rather than spending time seeking greater challenges or growing stronger, they often find more enjoyment in pursuing their life-skill activities. One friend I play with has no interest in combat and follows the main storyline only to unlock the next life-skill activity. Even so, they keep playing regularly and clearly enjoy themselves. I think the vicarious satisfaction of these everyday pursuits is also one of the major pleasures of RPGs.

Humans are social animals, as the saying goes, and we bring that sociability into games, interacting with NPCs as well as fellow players. Mabinogi Mobile offers a variety of ways to connect, from gathering around campfires and sharing food to building relationships and playing side games together. Even when the available content is limited, we can create all sorts of activities simply by coming together, like the cosplay contest I saw on a stream.

Some people prefer to work things out alone, while others have more fun with company, putting their heads together over strategies, teasing one another about mistakes, and working toward the results they want. I often enjoy myself more when I am with friends, too, and find myself laughing 2 times as much as I otherwise would. After all, the people I meet in this game share my hobby, so there are things that make sense only in that shared context, along with feelings and experiences we can relate to. What about you?

Closing Thoughts

I enjoy all three, though if you asked which suits me best, my answer would change from day to day. Some days I play for the pleasure of connecting with people; on others, it is the fun of combat and conquering raids, or the satisfaction of gathering materials bit by bit, crafting things, and building a space of my own. Other players may be drawn to one particular kind of enjoyment, and there are simply too many ways to enjoy games to count. With that in mind, I put together a playstyle quiz just for fun. As you consider the questions below, where do you think you fit? All of them, like me? Or is combat still the only one for you? That, too, is your choice.

모비노기 Playstyle Quiz, Just for Fun

Choose the three statements that best describe you.