What is a history of rested bonus to experience mechanics in MMOs [closed]

Question

In what game was it introduced?

Answer

MUD developers experimented with resting mechanics as far back as the 1990ties and likely even earlier. In particular, this post from Matt Chatterley in the "There can be.. only ONE!" thread on the MUD-Dev mailinglist outlines the common approach taken back then:

Date: Fri, 24 Apr 1998 18:12:44 +0000 (GMT)

[...]

Players will have a 'stamina level' tied in somewhere, and this will go down with movement. Walking will very gradually reduce it, running will rapidly reduce it (but move you much faster), and resting will refill it. Being injured will also reduce it (and the more injured you are, the lower the max you can rest to is - not that this is a worry; if you are badly hurt you will probably eventually curl up and die from your wounds).

Similar mechanics existed in other MUDs. For the most part, they limited experience gain (and exploration) by making the characters less effective unless they had a small downtime - sometimes with enforced log out, most of the time without this requirement. Often, this was combined with inns, taverns, bars and similar gathering and socialising spaces providing quicker resting.

Star Wars Galaxies (2003) implemented a whole character class ("profession") around the concept of helping people rest and gain experience faster: The Entertainer.

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