What is happening? Developers are taking content previously designed for players, and turning it into content deemed fit to be touched only by the lowly avatars: Exploration, Crafts, Skills, Selling. These aspects of virtual worlds are now often automated. A player finds that virtual worlds expect him to be less and less competent when it comes to anything that doesn't involve combat. In other words, developers are packaging avatars with more abilities and more knowledge, with the goal of allowing players to get by without these. Let's look at the abilities and knowledge that avatars possess in some of the recent MMOGs.