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0 Hunting achievements has become a way of life for many and a great escape to explore games. Achievements go back as far as 1982. Starting with leaderboards and Evolving in 2010 when Xbox with focused accomplishments in form of achievement lists. Since then all platforms have been using this system to create play-ability, goals and have built a massive community around them. In this time we have had 3 generations of consoles. Some believe achievements are a waste of time. While others have used it to test their skills and reflexes. Fan-made communities have popped up over the years from well-known websites, TrueAchievements, TrueTrophies and TrueSteam. These websites have been a database of user-created guides, forums and even healthy competitive events with user donated prizes too.
There are three types of achievement/trophy hunters in the community; these are:
- The Casual – tries to get achievements when they can and want but doesn’t focus or go out of their way to unlock harder achievements.
- The Hunter – Will pursue achievements in content to be no.1 on global leader boards no matter if they can get 100% or not.
- The Hardcore – Just like the hunter, they will pursue being no.1, however, will only add a game to their list if they know they can 100% the game for keeping a pristine record for their profile.
The achievement hunting community is united more than ever
As we dive deeper I will uncover how big these communities really are and share my thoughts on why achievement hunting is very much alive and why you should be part of the community too
Xbox
As a gamer of Xbox ecosystem for over 10 years, I have had my fair share of achievement hunting. The TrueAchievements site has been a big part of that and over the years annd has allowed me to get more involved with the community. I have given my fair share of knowledge to help others and even discovered my dream hobby.
The community itself is more than just a website of data. But an entire gateway of new friendships, healthy competition and a source of knowledge. In my time I have racked up almost 10,000 achievements totalling 220,000 gamerscore. Some of which I am very proud of achieving. The community has helped me countless times overcome veteran mode on COD with simple tips and even uncover every collectable in the Forza Horizon games. Sharing knowledge with the entire gaming base can be helpful to improve other skills or simply help them grown their knowledge of a game’s story. FA great example of this is, Halo fans expanding on the halo universe sharing Easter eggs or guides to help uncover them.
TrueAchievements has invested a lot into their website by offering community challenges to spice up achievement hunting, offering events such as the yearly GTSC (The Great Trueachievements Score Challenge) and Warboats (Variation of battleships with achievements). These add more fun to the grind and encourage many to enter these optional events and unlock achievements.
PlayStation
Trophies on the other hand focus more on just colour graded trophies starting at bronze up to platinum, which is for unlocking all achievements in a game. But do not feature the second value of gamerscore like Xbox uses for lifetime achievement score. Many have used Trophy hunting similar to Xbox’s community to discover amazing hidden gems. Paul (TC Writer) added;
“Having trophies pop, getting a platinum for doing everything in the list and seeing 100% completion was a great dopamine boost. I’m not particularly proud of those trophies now, but I did discover a fun game in the process (Mini Ninjas).”
Trophy hunters enjoy the test of skill and challenge of hard trophies to unlock. Many in the community found this a fun competitive way to enjoy gaming beyond just playing a game. Many have found friendships from competitive trophy hunting and share their tips to help each other overcome the challenges. Like Xbox, PlayStation also has a few focused online communities; including TrueTrophies. However, Guides, discussions and leaderboards are still key in these communities and help everyone share a common interest in limitless content.
Steam
Like PlayStation steam uses a simple system of just achievements, but has vast achievements for many games. Steam’s achievements are usually more vast than the console counterparts and offer far more challenges in many games. Steam offers their own forums and space to share discussions around games and achievements. TrueSteam is a great website for all your achievements needs and just like Xbox and PlayStation’s allow you to create your own guides and get involved.
These websites offer automatic scanning of game and achievement library to keeping your journey up-to-date. This helps timestamp and verify completing games in the community. Therefore giving you the backup for when sharing your accomplishment in the hunting community. This is handy as like all communities also includes cheaters who try to exploit the online community. Luckily these websites protect and disqualify anyone seen cheating.
As you have read so far the big 3 gaming platforms communities have a dedicated player base and wealth of knowledge. Whether you are just joining the community or have been part of one for years. These main websites offer all the tools you will ever need to feel part of an amazing community. Xbox and steam’s achievement hunting communities are vast, however PlayStation’s isn’t so successful. Although small and intimate; compared to gamers worldwide, the Achievement Hunting community is still a vital part of the gaming community. Without these guides, how to’s and walkthrough’s would be limited on YouTube and other gaming sites. In my Opinion thanks to Achievement hunters we have a whole wealth of knowledge in the gaming community.
Are you a trophy/achievement hunter? let us know in the comments below along with your proudest moment!
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