I was just reading the FAQ for Shadowbane, and in their combat section, they say the following: "Shadowbane incorporates a timer-based combat system (not to be confused with turn-based combat). Once combat begins, your character will make attacks automatically at timed intervals, and will continue attacking until you disengage by leaving Combat Mode or run away. This automated approach "levels the playing field" between players with faster (or slower) internet connections." Is a timer-based system all that dial-up is capable of? Can MMO games improve at all without gamers spending some more money and massively switching from dial-up to DSL or cable? Is dial-up the weakest link?

Timer based means that they can''t attack more often because of their internet connection, they just automatically attack based upon actual time passage.

Dial-up can be a weakness for PvP, though only when movement is completely server based and you have to wait for the server to acknowledge your movement before you can move. This means that you could be running for .3-.7 seconds before the server acknowledges it on dial-up, while on broadband that will generally be between .1 and .3 seconds between when you make the command to move and when it actually happens. Definitely a benefit in the situation where the client is trusted only to pass player keyboard input and not actually do any work (such as handle movement of the player).