EQ2 during The Shadow Oddessy expansion. Best itemisation, best dungeons and best raids I have played, along with a fantastic community.
This rapidly declined when they released Sentinel's Fate, with bland itemisation and terrible dungeons / raids.
GW2 is pretty solid too, although the lack of skill choices and relatively bland dungeons prevents me from choosing it over EQ2. The PvP in it is the best out of any MMO though.
SWG is my top pick. I compare every other MMO I play to SWG. I wish current MMOs were more like SWG. I played it from launch until NGE. I went back half a dozen times after NGE, whenever I found myself missing it.
WOW, despite the love-hate relationship I have with it, deserves a top spot right behind SWG. Techincally speaking I played WoW longer than I have any other MMO. Though I often wished it was more like SWG, it did hold my attention for years.
SWTOR is my honorary mention. Yes we all wished it was more than it was, but I enjoyed it for a time. I give top marks to the combat system in that game.
I absolutely concur.
For two years - 2003-2005 - SWG was and in my opinion remains the benchmark of sandbox MMOs. However, developer companies then didn't understand that once a game was launched, the work had to keep going. The idiotic concentration on creating further paid expansions rather than bug fixing and content creation killed this game. Ten years after it effectively died, people are *still* talking about this game.
WoW would be my second choice. But it's a much simpler, much shallower game though, all credit to Blizzard, every inch of it is well-planned, well-executed and well-supported.
This thread might need a sticky because for every "Mmorpg's suck/are getting worse/the genre is dead" threads the naysayers need to see how good Mmorpg's were, are and still can be.
I played many MMO´s since 1997 (but only a few for a long time) but my best memories ever are connected to these games:
Ultima Online
Lineage 2
Warhammer Online
I keep playing MMO´s every day of my life but these are really my top 3.
Best regards,
Red
Leonard: Penny, you are on fire. Penny: Yes, so is Sheldon. [laughs] Sheldon: Okay, that's it. I don't know how, but she is cheating. No-one can be that attractive and this skilled at a video game. [walks away] Penny: Wait, wait. Sheldon. Come back, you forgot something. Sheldon: What? Penny: This plasma grenade. [explosion] Penny: [laughs] Look! It's raining you. Sheldon: You laugh now. You just wait until you need tech support. (Big Bang Theory)
Do not judge me, but I'd honestly have to say Mabinogi was the best MMO I played. It was only my second MMO I ever played and there's a bit of a learning curve to it but once you get it's pretty fun. Skills go from rank N (Novice) to rank 1 and then you can work for a Master title (in total each skill has 16 ranks).
Their is a character rebirth system and you can choose to be anywhere from 10-17 and will age from that point on. I've played the game for a good 3-4 years now, but I take breaks because the community can be a bit frustrating although I do like my guild. That and also it's very tempting to spend cash on the game every time a new mount is added or new items are added to the gacha (I hate gachas by the way... Such a waste of money and you usually get junk unless you're willing to spend $100+).
Ultima Online its been all down hill since . It wasnt a very good game if you conpare to the games today but the attuilde of the players that made it such a great game.
All Sandbox, even DAoC. I don't care what raid garbage they tried to cram into it later, all the good stuff was PvP Sandbox Keep Sieges. All had solid crafting that actually mattered. None really had much in the way of the WoW quest structure (which I despise).
I don't want to use the word "best," but by far my favorite was SWG.
That game pretty much destroyed MMOs for me going forward. Every game I try is compared to SWG, fairly or not. SWG was the most immersive, detailed, open, entertaining experience behind the monitor I have ever had and probably ever will. The game had it's problems, I do not deny, thus, I cannot call it the "best" (probably give that to EvE.) But no other game have I so willingly given so much of my free time.
I've been playing WoW on and off for 8 years... and right now I'm back "on" and am having a great time playing in a new way.
Though I have very fond memories of my earlier MMO experiences (UO, E&B, SWG) nothing since 2004 has really had that same hook and I just can't argue with 8+ years of great (at times) game play.
Short-term: DAoC pre-SI. That was the most fun I had ever had in an MMO but it didn't last unfortunately. I hated the addition of the superbuggy Animists in RvR, which is what I primarily played for. After SI, the game started a slow decline.
Medium-term: EQ2. I hate the engine though and prefer the game when it was a bit harder.
Long-term: WoW and EVE. EVE is the game I played the longest, but I played so much of it that I got tired of it. I have not been back for several years and don't feel that strongly inclined to go back.
WoW is the game I have played the second longest and I am still enjoying it with no plans to leave even though I was disappointed initially with MoP.
Honorable mentions: GW1/2 and AO.
If I were recommending games to someone just coming into the MMORPG genre, I would recommend WoW or EVE. I still think those two games are the top of what the industry has to offer for themeparks and sandboxes.
Comments
EQ2 during The Shadow Oddessy expansion. Best itemisation, best dungeons and best raids I have played, along with a fantastic community.
This rapidly declined when they released Sentinel's Fate, with bland itemisation and terrible dungeons / raids.
GW2 is pretty solid too, although the lack of skill choices and relatively bland dungeons prevents me from choosing it over EQ2. The PvP in it is the best out of any MMO though.
I absolutely concur.
For two years - 2003-2005 - SWG was and in my opinion remains the benchmark of sandbox MMOs. However, developer companies then didn't understand that once a game was launched, the work had to keep going. The idiotic concentration on creating further paid expansions rather than bug fixing and content creation killed this game. Ten years after it effectively died, people are *still* talking about this game.
WoW would be my second choice. But it's a much simpler, much shallower game though, all credit to Blizzard, every inch of it is well-planned, well-executed and well-supported.
#1 WW2 Online
#2 SWG
#3 Darkfall
EVE Online. Its in its own league.
WoW and TSW share 2 and 3 place
Express your opinion
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/371172/Poll-Most-hated-MMORPG.html
Hello all,
I played many MMO´s since 1997 (but only a few for a long time) but my best memories ever are connected to these games:
Ultima Online
Lineage 2
Warhammer Online
I keep playing MMO´s every day of my life but these are really my top 3.
Best regards,
Red
Leonard: Penny, you are on fire.
Penny: Yes, so is Sheldon.
[laughs]
Sheldon: Okay, that's it. I don't know how, but she is cheating. No-one can be that attractive and this skilled at a video game.
[walks away]
Penny: Wait, wait. Sheldon. Come back, you forgot something.
Sheldon: What?
Penny: This plasma grenade.
[explosion]
Penny: [laughs] Look! It's raining you.
Sheldon: You laugh now. You just wait until you need tech support. (Big Bang Theory)
Do not judge me, but I'd honestly have to say Mabinogi was the best MMO I played. It was only my second MMO I ever played and there's a bit of a learning curve to it but once you get it's pretty fun. Skills go from rank N (Novice) to rank 1 and then you can work for a Master title (in total each skill has 16 ranks).
Their is a character rebirth system and you can choose to be anywhere from 10-17 and will age from that point on. I've played the game for a good 3-4 years now, but I take breaks because the community can be a bit frustrating although I do like my guild. That and also it's very tempting to spend cash on the game every time a new mount is added or new items are added to the gacha (I hate gachas by the way... Such a waste of money and you usually get junk unless you're willing to spend $100+).
Smile
1. LDoN era EQ1
2. EoF era EQ2
3. Vanilla WoW
1. Original SWG (not the New Coke version)
2. pre-Tram UO
3. Earth and Beyond.
SWG was by far the best for me. So much different stuff to do, it was very hard to get bored with.
Original SWG was the only game, MMO or otherwise, that I took vacation days to play.
Glitch, Mabinogi and Ultima Online. They attempt (for the most part) to replicate worlds rather than being a game, something I enjoy.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/innovation
SWG without a doubt.
DAoC is the only game that made me get up at 4 in the morning just to get some gaming hours in before school.
So DAoC without a doubt. The atmosphere in the start zone when I started out as a Highlander was pure magic.
1) DAoC (Even after Trials of Atlantis)
2) EvE Online
3) SWG
All Sandbox, even DAoC. I don't care what raid garbage they tried to cram into it later, all the good stuff was PvP Sandbox Keep Sieges. All had solid crafting that actually mattered. None really had much in the way of the WoW quest structure (which I despise).
I don't want to use the word "best," but by far my favorite was SWG.
That game pretty much destroyed MMOs for me going forward. Every game I try is compared to SWG, fairly or not. SWG was the most immersive, detailed, open, entertaining experience behind the monitor I have ever had and probably ever will. The game had it's problems, I do not deny, thus, I cannot call it the "best" (probably give that to EvE.) But no other game have I so willingly given so much of my free time.
I've been playing WoW on and off for 8 years... and right now I'm back "on" and am having a great time playing in a new way.
Though I have very fond memories of my earlier MMO experiences (UO, E&B, SWG) nothing since 2004 has really had that same hook and I just can't argue with 8+ years of great (at times) game play.
My list is:
Short-term: DAoC pre-SI. That was the most fun I had ever had in an MMO but it didn't last unfortunately. I hated the addition of the superbuggy Animists in RvR, which is what I primarily played for. After SI, the game started a slow decline.
Medium-term: EQ2. I hate the engine though and prefer the game when it was a bit harder.
Long-term: WoW and EVE. EVE is the game I played the longest, but I played so much of it that I got tired of it. I have not been back for several years and don't feel that strongly inclined to go back.
WoW is the game I have played the second longest and I am still enjoying it with no plans to leave even though I was disappointed initially with MoP.
Honorable mentions: GW1/2 and AO.
If I were recommending games to someone just coming into the MMORPG genre, I would recommend WoW or EVE. I still think those two games are the top of what the industry has to offer for themeparks and sandboxes.
Playing MUDs and MMOs since 1994.
1st/2nd: swtor and wow, not sure which too put first
3rd/4rd: rift and gw2, again not sure which to put 3rd