I highly suggest The Secret World if you don't mind a more mature, gritty setting. The quests are, quite possibly, the best stories I've experienced in any MMO, and even most RPGs. It's a great game to pick up and get immersed into. Combat is a bit flakey but you can get into it easily.
Buy to play like Guild Wars 2, but free to play after.
I don't think any other games have come out yet that capture the feel of WoW... and I'm not saying Wildstar will, but, I've tried almost every other mmo I could possibly find, and nothing, nothing has the draw that WoW(van-wotlk) had. So, based on all the available information about Wildstar.. I'd say that's the only game that *might* do it.
Scarlett, based on what it seems you'd be interested in, I'd suggest one of two games, both with F2P options:
LOTRO: Probably the best pure themepark game aside from WoW on the market. It has one of the best world designs, and is a very deep game. Crafting is WoW-ish, but a bit deeper. It's got a great storyline/lore aspect to it (obviously), and a very large game world with mostly open zones. Lots of exploration, and you aren't forced down corridors from Point A to Point B like in many theme parks with smaller zones. Content is still gated, but exploration is much more viable due to the large, open design of the zones. Turbine really has done a great job of re-creating the Tolkien world. Its also got two forms of Alternate Advancement for max-level characters that will keep you busy: Legendary weapons and Mounted Combat. One of the best appearance options in game to customize the look of your character's armor/gear, and one of the very best communities you will ever seen in an mmo. Just make sure you pick the right server. I suggest Brandywine or Landroval (the server I play on).
Positives: If you like questing, crafting, a great-looking world, and great storyline, then this is a great game. As a F2P player, you can buy bits and pieces of content a little at a time if you don't want to subscribe. Great community.
Negatives: Little to no endgame raiding content. Turbine has pretty much written off this aspect of their game, unfortunately. Combat is sluggish and dull, not nearly as responsive as WoW. Classes are designed fairly well, but you end up with serious skill bloat. Looks like Turbine is going to be addressing both of these issues in their next expansion, however. Game can also be pretty grindy, as you customize/progress your character through deeds that require you to use a skill x amount of times or kill x amount of mobs. And the character models needs some serious work.
SWTOR: The game gets a lot of flack on these forums, and for good reason, but it does some things well: If you enjoy questing, this game does a great job of making it less monotonous and more heroic in nature due making all quests 100% voiced over. Obviously, it's Bioware, so the storyline is going to be top-notch. Class storylines are excellent and very immersive. The term "Wow-clone" is used too frequently on this site, but if ever there was a game that was, this is it. Still, it's a great deal of fun to play IF you play it like a single-player game. The MMO stuff is there, but very limited due to Bioware putting all their eggs into the storyline basket.
Positives: Immersive storyline, fun WoW-style combat, lightsabers and cool combat animations, plenty of endgame raid content. Talent trees! (I miss those)
Negatives: Terrible world design. Huge zones that are cordoned off into narrow, gated strips that funnel you from Point A to Point B with no room for exploration. Dead, lifeless feeling to the world. F2P option is extremely limited. Not much to do at endgame unless you want to raid. Lots of instancing and loading screens.
I am currently playing both these games. LOTRO because I just love the overall game and SWTOR as a single-player game for the storylines. These are the two I'd recommend based on being a former WoW player myself.
Alka, you're rad - going to check out these videos shortly. Thanks for taking the time to find them!
Yep, no worries. Again about Rift, don't write it off because of my comments since I really didn't play it long, didn't really give it a chance since it just wasn't what I was looking for at the time. For all I know you could love it especially because of the similarity between it and WoW.
Aion might be another one you'd be interested in although my brother has told me it gets very grindy later on, especially with upgrading gear and crafting (though that's the case in most MMOs anyways). Can't say too much bad about it, it seems like a solid MMO and from what I have seen it is getting updates pretty consistently so it must be doing well. I do know they made leveling much much easier and less tedious from when I played it so that's kind of a plus. The one thing I think you may not like about it is that it seems to be very PvP oriented, especially end game. I'm not huge into PvP so I've never bothered with it in Aion but from what my brother has told me almost all of the best gear is gained through PvP.
Haven't seen Aion mentioned before, so I'll give that one a look too. Thanks again for the videos, enjoyed the TERA one especially. Going to have to wait till my data cap resets before downloading that one though. 25+ GB, yikes!
Originally posted by Caiden
I highly suggest The Secret World if you don't mind a more mature, gritty setting. The quests are, quite possibly, the best stories I've experienced in any MMO, and even most RPGs. It's a great game to pick up and get immersed into. Combat is a bit flakey but you can get into it easily.
Buy to play like Guild Wars 2, but free to play after.
Thanks Caiden! I mentioned it above, but I actually bought TSW on Amazon during a sale a while back and lost the download, so it slipped my mind till it was mentioned earlier. Definitely going to re-download it soon, will likely be the first one I try since I already own it. (Skyrim sucked me in so hardcore that I forgot about every other game for a good long while!)
Originally posted by Betaguy SWTOR imo OP. I'd even roll with you, I just downloaded the game the other day.
Cheers, Betaguy - that's really chill of you to offer! Even though I'm not particularly familiar with SW, that game keeps getting rave suggestions so I'm definitely keeping it on my list. I believe it's been mentioned that it's pretty solo-friendly too?
Originally posted by Howry
RIFT would be a good second MMO IMO and you can play the whole game for free.
Yeah, love that aspect of it! I keep going back and forth between RIFT and TERA; likely will end up trying both. Any suggestions for good (med/high pop) PvE servers?
I don't think any other games have come out yet that capture the feel of WoW... and I'm not saying Wildstar will, but, I've tried almost every other mmo I could possibly find, and nothing, nothing has the draw that WoW(van-wotlk) had. So, based on all the available information about Wildstar.. I'd say that's the only game that *might* do it.
Loved the trailer, Maelzrael! Wildstar looks like the jam; are you in the beta? Would be fun to actually be with a game from launch. I came into WoW so late, I felt like I'd always be a perpetual noob.
Originally posted by RebelScum99
Scarlett, based on what it seems you'd be interested in, I'd suggest one of two games, both with F2P options:
LOTRO: Probably the best pure themepark game aside from WoW on the market. It has one of the best world designs, and is a very deep game. Crafting is WoW-ish, but a bit deeper. It's got a great storyline/lore aspect to it (obviously), and a very large game world with mostly open zones. Lots of exploration, and you aren't forced down corridors from Point A to Point B like in many theme parks with smaller zones. Content is still gated, but exploration is much more viable due to the large, open design of the zones. Turbine really has done a great job of re-creating the Tolkien world. Its also got two forms of Alternate Advancement for max-level characters that will keep you busy: Legendary weapons and Mounted Combat. One of the best appearance options in game to customize the look of your character's armor/gear, and one of the very best communities you will ever seen in an mmo. Just make sure you pick the right server. I suggest Brandywine or Landroval (the server I play on).
Positives: If you like questing, crafting, a great-looking world, and great storyline, then this is a great game. As a F2P player, you can buy bits and pieces of content a little at a time if you don't want to subscribe. Great community.
Negatives: Little to no endgame raiding content. Turbine has pretty much written off this aspect of their game, unfortunately. Combat is sluggish and dull, not nearly as responsive as WoW. Classes are designed fairly well, but you end up with serious skill bloat. Looks like Turbine is going to be addressing both of these issues in their next expansion, however. Game can also be pretty grindy, as you customize/progress your character through deeds that require you to use a skill x amount of times or kill x amount of mobs. And the character models needs some serious work.
SWTOR: The game gets a lot of flack on these forums, and for good reason, but it does some things well: If you enjoy questing, this game does a great job of making it less monotonous and more heroic in nature due making all quests 100% voiced over. Obviously, it's Bioware, so the storyline is going to be top-notch. Class storylines are excellent and very immersive. The term "Wow-clone" is used too frequently on this site, but if ever there was a game that was, this is it. Still, it's a great deal of fun to play IF you play it like a single-player game. The MMO stuff is there, but very limited due to Bioware putting all their eggs into the storyline basket.
Positives: Immersive storyline, fun WoW-style combat, lightsabers and cool combat animations, plenty of endgame raid content. Talent trees! (I miss those)
Negatives: Terrible world design. Huge zones that are cordoned off into narrow, gated strips that funnel you from Point A to Point B with no room for exploration. Dead, lifeless feeling to the world. F2P option is extremely limited. Not much to do at endgame unless you want to raid. Lots of instancing and loading screens.
I am currently playing both these games. LOTRO because I just love the overall game and SWTOR as a single-player game for the storylines. These are the two I'd recommend based on being a former WoW player myself.
RebelScum, you're awesome - thanks for summing up the pos/negs of these games! Always interesting to see balanced views. Both LOTRO and SWTOR are on my list. The former is appealing just from the standpoint of being a fan of the books and films, and SWTOR gets so much positive feedback in this thread, it's hard to resist. I appreciate the heads-up on the good servers too.
Where endgame is concerned, I max leveled a few toons in WoW but my guildmates were dragging along and losing interest (all were former vets who were coaxed back to the game after Mists launched). So we never managed to get any raids going. Would be fun to finally get to an MMO endgame and see what it's all about, but I do enjoy the grindy quest stuff that gets you there, at least!
RebelScum, you're awesome - thanks for summing up the pos/negs of these games! Always interesting to see balanced views. Both LOTRO and SWTOR are on my list. The former is appealing just from the standpoint of being a fan of the books and films, and SWTOR gets so much positive feedback in this thread, it's hard to resist. I appreciate the heads-up on the good servers too.
Where endgame is concerned, I max leveled a few toons in WoW but my guildmates were dragging along and losing interest (all were former vets who were coaxed back to the game after Mists launched). So we never managed to get any raids going. Would be fun to finally get to an MMO endgame and see what it's all about, but I do enjoy the grindy quest stuff that gets you there, at least!
Yeah, I played WoW for about three years and did the full endgame progression/raiding thing as an MT of our guild. Probably the most fun I've had in an MMO, and made some great friends. So if that's something you're looking to experience, than maybe SWTOR or Rift would be your best bet, as both games have a focus on endgame raiding.
I think Rift is the better overall game, but I can't help it...I enjoy SWTOR more. It's probably the most fun, poorly-designed game I've played, if that makes sense. Kind of a guilty pleasure. And, like I said, the questing aspect is enjoyable on your way to max level as well.
If you want f2p then imo no game comes close to EQ2.Better graphics than Wow,does the same things as Wow,does some things Wow does not.Does have a push towards cash shop at times.You start out in a great city as all games should do,not in the wilderness with no reason as to why you are out there.
Runes of Magic is another Wow clone ,does do some things better than Wow and some are unique.It has a very big push towards cash shop to fully enjoy the game.However aside from the very tough dungeons,you can enjoy and level through the game with no cash shop.Being free you can of course duo box ,meaning you can have a healer as well a dps.Interesting thing about the pet class is the pet can and will auto attack anything that attacks you,so you can go make a sandwich and it will protect you lol.You start in a large village setting,with graphics that are sort of Wowesque but slightly better.
FFXI was and still is my personal favorite but not free.Most challenging combat of any game,most diversified class system of any game.Once attaining level 30 on any class you can go Beastmaster which imo is the best solo class in game.All otehr classes can now be soloed but not as good as BST.Starts in one of 3 large cities.
Vanguard is now run by SOE and is also f2p with cash shop.Vanguard is a very robust game that offers a little more than many other games.Only real problem is lack of players.Vanguard was suppose to be the game that took Wow+EQ2 and did it all better and imo it may have done that ,depending who you ask.Starts in a unique setting,you try to escape the confines of your captors from a ship,with combat npc's all around you.
SWTOR is free and imo quite free but combat was boring to me and class design is also boring.The world is pretty good,decent quests,but the group content is just that group,no way to solo.In my fave FFXI certain classes can take on group type mobs solo,swtor gives you no ability to solo group mobs.
AOC good game,i liked it,nice graphics a bit linear at times was my main concern.However combat is decent enough,classes are decent and some map areas range from really good to average.Starts in the wilderness and starts with a linear path you must follow to get to the city.
Rift...One trick pony and doesn't do it very well.Rifts will seem cool for all of one day then you realize they are auto repeated everywhere.It has most of the components you expect in a MMORPG but imo it just does not do anything great all done average.Starts in a warehouse,a cheap looking one.
These are imo the only games decently playable,i am sure i may have forgotten one or two but not more than that.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
For Rift I recommend the "Deepwood" server if you are going to give it a try, Frankly, what do you have to lose with it being free?
Everyone likes different things so what one person may like another may not. Its hard to ask people for opinions on games because every ones opinion varies.
I recommend picking one and trying it. if you dont like it try another one.
It is so nice having the ability to do that with so many free to play games on the market.
I would recommend Neverwinter. F2p and great fun, you wont have to stray to far from your single player roots for about 70% of the game, and lastly, the combat is pretty good and its actually great when compared to 95% of all other mmorpgs. If you play Neverwinter, my advice is to steer clear of p2w pvp. Steer clear of the auction house. If you can do both of those, your primed to have good time. Enjoy!!!
If you want f2p then imo no game comes close to EQ2.Better graphics than Wow,does the same things as Wow,does some things Wow does not.Does have a push towards cash shop at times.You start out in a great city as all games should do,not in the wilderness with no reason as to why you are out there.
Runes of Magic is another Wow clone ,does do some things better than Wow and some are unique.It has a very big push towards cash shop to fully enjoy the game.However aside from the very tough dungeons,you can enjoy and level through the game with no cash shop.Being free you can of course duo box ,meaning you can have a healer as well a dps.Interesting thing about the pet class is the pet can and will auto attack anything that attacks you,so you can go make a sandwich and it will protect you lol.You start in a large village setting,with graphics that are sort of Wowesque but slightly better.
FFXI was and still is my personal favorite but not free.Most challenging combat of any game,most diversified class system of any game.Once attaining level 30 on any class you can go Beastmaster which imo is the best solo class in game.All otehr classes can now be soloed but not as good as BST.Starts in one of 3 large cities.
Vanguard is now run by SOE and is also f2p with cash shop.Vanguard is a very robust game that offers a little more than many other games.Only real problem is lack of players.Vanguard was suppose to be the game that took Wow+EQ2 and did it all better and imo it may have done that ,depending who you ask.Starts in a unique setting,you try to escape the confines of your captors from a ship,with combat npc's all around you.
SWTOR is free and imo quite free but combat was boring to me and class design is also boring.The world is pretty good,decent quests,but the group content is just that group,no way to solo.In my fave FFXI certain classes can take on group type mobs solo,swtor gives you no ability to solo group mobs.
AOC good game,i liked it,nice graphics a bit linear at times was my main concern.However combat is decent enough,classes are decent and some map areas range from really good to average.Starts in the wilderness and starts with a linear path you must follow to get to the city.
Rift...One trick pony and doesn't do it very well.Rifts will seem cool for all of one day then you realize they are auto repeated everywhere.It has most of the components you expect in a MMORPG but imo it just does not do anything great all done average.Starts in a warehouse,a cheap looking one.
These are imo the only games decently playable,i am sure i may have forgotten one or two but not more than that.
Hrmm..
Runes of Magic
I found that RoM was a lesser, "free" version of WoW. RoM didn't have much depth (interesting music though). The main additions WoW didn't have were personal housing (which was instanced in RoM), and guild housing (which was instanced, also in RoM). I wasn't a fan of RoM after I tried it, and I used to play WoW for years before that .. and having said that, I also wasn't a fan of WoW either (when I tried RoM). Both games left much to be desired (RoM also had/has a shitty graphics engine to boot). And to get anywhere in RoM, you are going to need bank authentication for the level of fund transfers you are going to need to be worth anything to anyone in a raid.
RoM didn't do anything better than WoW .. just not seeing it.
Star Wars: The Old Repulic
You blew my mind. No way to solo. Holy bajeezits! No way to solo in a game cantering to casuals, centered around soloing and getting max gear without grouping ...
I suggest you hit this link and look for your game by yourself. No one can see into your head /feelings/moods. And it is not so hard to do that.
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.? -Albert Einstein
"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent" - Qui-gon Jinn. After many years of reading Internet forums, there's no doubt that neither does the ability to write. So if you notice that I'm no longer answering your nonsense, stop trying... because you just joined my block list.
Help me pop my MMORPG forum cherry by recommending me what would be only my 2nd MMO experience! (WoW being the first and only).
Looking for free-to-play, ideally. Very curious about GW2 but waiting till the Xmas sales roll 'round to see if I can score a great deal on the deluxe edition.
You might find GW2 to your likings..
It's very solo oriented, and people claim it's social .. while some don't .. it just depends on your definition of what social it... to GW2 fans, being social is the act of simply playing the same game others also play, with no interaction.
Do you consider actively talking to people you come across, then seeing where they are later on and joining them? If so GW2 might not be for you then (can't see where anyone in the game is, no /who command).
Do you like to be a valued part of a group? Erm, if so, GW2 might not be for you .. everyone is the same, nobody is important to a group.
Do you like to just log on occasionally, never care if others around you are players or NPC's .. just log on, do stuff, and log off? GW2 is for you!! With short stays, some people take liberties at rudeness too, since nothing matters. Ohh those casuals!!
I think Rift is the better overall game, but I can't help it...I enjoy SWTOR more. It's probably the most fun, poorly-designed game I've played, if that makes sense. Kind of a guilty pleasure. And, like I said, the questing aspect is enjoyable on your way to max level as well.
"Most fun, poorly-designed game" reminds me of Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines. With that respect, I definitely get the guilty pleasure thing!
Originally posted by Wizardry
If you want f2p then imo no game comes close to EQ2.Better graphics than Wow,does the same things as Wow,does some things Wow does not.Does have a push towards cash shop at times.You start out in a great city as all games should do,not in the wilderness with no reason as to why you are out there.
Kicking myself for not trying EQ2 years ago, honestly. Looks like something I'd have really enjoyed. I'm curious if the game still attracts new players on the regular, or if it's mostly long-time veterans. Someone made a good point in another thread that games like EQ/EQ2 are tricky for newbies simply because of the sheer content that's been released over the years. A much different beast than getting into a game at or shortly after launch.
Originally posted by Howry
For Rift I recommend the "Deepwood" server if you are going to give it a try, Frankly, what do you have to lose with it being free?
Cheers for the server recommendation!
Originally posted by Rockniss I would recommend Neverwinter. F2p and great fun, you wont have to stray to far from your single player roots for about 70% of the game, and lastly, the combat is pretty good and its actually great when compared to 95% of all other mmorpgs. If you play Neverwinter, my advice is to steer clear of p2w pvp. Steer clear of the auction house. If you can do both of those, your primed to have good time. Enjoy!!!
Thanks, Rockniss! Curious, why do you recommend steering clear of the auction house? That place was my jam in WoW, but maybe that was also my undoing. Too much time crafting and listing, not enough time smacking my guidies to get them to end-game!
If you like the great stories from solo RPGs, then you must seriously consider..
SWTOR and TSW, SWTOR is free to play and TSW has no sub but you pay the box... These games both play more like a solo RPG then an MMO... both have great stories and lots of character immersion.
On top of that there are allways the great AAA+ MMO´s out there, personally i think LOTRO is a must for every fantasy fan. EQ2 is great to, lots of content and just like LOTRO is mostly free. Personally i think DDO is fun, but mostly for those people that have some pen and paper experience with D&D 3 or 3.5 (or even 2)..
You also might like Neverwinter which is free, and there is some great stuff in the player created content.
And then there is Rift, if you can stand the annimations its probably the best and most improved traditional MMO out there, personally i have a problem with the unnatural annimations, which prevents me from getting into the game.
These are the non subscription based games i keep returning to (including GW2), all are fun and kind of unique in their own way, and all are extremely streamlined to give a good solo expereience..
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
I suggest you hit this link and look for your game by yourself. No one can see into your head /feelings/moods. And it is not so hard to do that.
Oh I've enjoyed looking through the master list for sure, but hot damn is that thing long! As a genuine MMO newbie (I only started playing WoW because The Guild got me intrigued; had only ever played solo RPGs till then), I've really appreciated that the LFGame sub-forum exists for welcoming suggestions.
Originally posted by Karteli
Originally posted by scarlettx
Help me pop my MMORPG forum cherry by recommending me what would be only my 2nd MMO experience! (WoW being the first and only).
Looking for free-to-play, ideally. Very curious about GW2 but waiting till the Xmas sales roll 'round to see if I can score a great deal on the deluxe edition.
You might find GW2 to your likings..
It's very solo oriented, and people claim it's social .. while some don't .. it just depends on your definition of what social it... to GW2 fans, being social is the act of simply playing the same game others also play, with no interaction.
GW is definitely the 1st P2P that I plan to buy when the prices come down around the holidays. (Here's hoping!)
If you want to play something different and with probably the best action combat up to date, do try Phantasy Star Online 2.
PROS
-Free To Play
- One of the best char customizations of the industry and the best for an Action Online RPG
-Stylized, futuristic universe, not unlike Mass Effect (I saw you like it)
- Hands down the best action combat to date, with fully customizable combos and chains.
-A popular Japanese Role Playing IP with a decent storyline going strong since 1987
-A loyal, undying community that has supported the online Phantasy Star games since 2000 and has fully fan translated the entire game, from items to the storyline
-Easy to learn, difficult to master the advanced stuff.
-While instanced, the dungeons layouts and many more things are completely&randomly generated so even doing the same dungeon several times makes up for different experiences.
-Interactive events that may pit you against secret bosses (with good loot) or switch the goal of your mission on the fly.
CONS
-Sega
-Released only in Japanese so far (The game is fully translated to English by fans though, so easily averted)
-Downloading the game can be slow due to the servers being in Japan
-If you want to become a premium player, doing so from outside japan is more costly
-The support is up to the community unless you can speak Japanese (Very helpful bunch, though)
-The game can be grindy at later levels (although i read you like that)
Originally posted by Torkaz LOL its a girl so she has over 5 pages of replies... figures...
LOL, c'mon - give the fellas here some credit. There's also another thread on the 1st page of LFGame with 4 pages of responses. I don't think the boobs-having has that much of a magical effect.
Torvaldr and SagaSoluna, thank you for your suggestions as well!
Many games mentioned like Rift, Lord of the Rings Online or Aion have mostly outdated
engines and combat systems without delivering in even one strong point worth mentioning.
LOTRO doesn't have one strong point worth mentioning? Rift doesn't have one strong point worth mentioning? Huh? Both those games have far more positives than negatives.
Figured I would back up Warframe. I have well over 300 hours spent on it. If you do like shooting games it's a pretty good choice, I wouldn't really consider it an MMO personally as you're never with more than 4 people (the max for missions, excluding clan halls which are just meeting areas really) but it's good none-the-less. They are also beginning to focus more on story and lore. It's not fully in yet as of now but I believe they said they will be beginning to focus more on it from update 10 onwards (which just happened).
The developers are great people and they do a live stream every once in a while (maybe bi weekly or once a month? don't remember) to update all the fans about what's coming. It's free to play and you can get absolutely "everything" in-game just by playing aside from cosmetic items. Personally I found their cash shop to be extremely pricey for almost every single thing in there so I haven't bought anything despite spending the 100 or 150 dollars on the masters founder pack. Worth looking at if you like shooting games. Also worth mentioning that enemies get really really bullet spongey later on, especially some bosses so you might be forced to group up with other people (especially in defense missions), but I don't think you'll have any issues with that. Honestly I think you would enjoy it far more if you find a handful of people to play with who have similar play styles. A lot of people like to rush through levels, some people like to explore and loot everything. Doesn't work too well when there is a team consisting of both these types of people.
Another MMO (an actual MMO) you may like if you're interested in playing shooting ones is Firefall. Developers are very active on forums and with updates. They will remove and redo entire features of the game if they see people are not enjoying it since it still is in beta. I'm just glad they are willing to put in that much work to try and create a good game. It's pretty solo friendly but I think it's starting to go more towards "get a group of people to enjoy the better content." You can switch from first to third person quickly depending on what you prefer. Both Firefall and Warframe sort of rely on you being pretty good at shooting games if you want to do decently.
These are the only two MMOs I've spent money on (ok well excluding TERA, but it was cheap) within the past 8 or so years, so if you like shooting games and are pretty good at them these are worth looking into. I believe Firefall is getting an auction house soon too (I haven't played it in several months since my computer doesn't like it anymore, it throws up every time I try to play it) if it isn't already in there.
Comments
I highly suggest The Secret World if you don't mind a more mature, gritty setting. The quests are, quite possibly, the best stories I've experienced in any MMO, and even most RPGs. It's a great game to pick up and get immersed into. Combat is a bit flakey but you can get into it easily.
Buy to play like Guild Wars 2, but free to play after.
RIFT would be a good second MMO IMO and you can play the whole game for free.
I would recommend you wait for this:
http://www.wildstar-online.com/en/media/videos/
I don't think any other games have come out yet that capture the feel of WoW... and I'm not saying Wildstar will, but, I've tried almost every other mmo I could possibly find, and nothing, nothing has the draw that WoW(van-wotlk) had. So, based on all the available information about Wildstar.. I'd say that's the only game that *might* do it.
Scarlett, based on what it seems you'd be interested in, I'd suggest one of two games, both with F2P options:
LOTRO: Probably the best pure themepark game aside from WoW on the market. It has one of the best world designs, and is a very deep game. Crafting is WoW-ish, but a bit deeper. It's got a great storyline/lore aspect to it (obviously), and a very large game world with mostly open zones. Lots of exploration, and you aren't forced down corridors from Point A to Point B like in many theme parks with smaller zones. Content is still gated, but exploration is much more viable due to the large, open design of the zones. Turbine really has done a great job of re-creating the Tolkien world. Its also got two forms of Alternate Advancement for max-level characters that will keep you busy: Legendary weapons and Mounted Combat. One of the best appearance options in game to customize the look of your character's armor/gear, and one of the very best communities you will ever seen in an mmo. Just make sure you pick the right server. I suggest Brandywine or Landroval (the server I play on).
Positives: If you like questing, crafting, a great-looking world, and great storyline, then this is a great game. As a F2P player, you can buy bits and pieces of content a little at a time if you don't want to subscribe. Great community.
Negatives: Little to no endgame raiding content. Turbine has pretty much written off this aspect of their game, unfortunately. Combat is sluggish and dull, not nearly as responsive as WoW. Classes are designed fairly well, but you end up with serious skill bloat. Looks like Turbine is going to be addressing both of these issues in their next expansion, however. Game can also be pretty grindy, as you customize/progress your character through deeds that require you to use a skill x amount of times or kill x amount of mobs. And the character models needs some serious work.
SWTOR: The game gets a lot of flack on these forums, and for good reason, but it does some things well: If you enjoy questing, this game does a great job of making it less monotonous and more heroic in nature due making all quests 100% voiced over. Obviously, it's Bioware, so the storyline is going to be top-notch. Class storylines are excellent and very immersive. The term "Wow-clone" is used too frequently on this site, but if ever there was a game that was, this is it. Still, it's a great deal of fun to play IF you play it like a single-player game. The MMO stuff is there, but very limited due to Bioware putting all their eggs into the storyline basket.
Positives: Immersive storyline, fun WoW-style combat, lightsabers and cool combat animations, plenty of endgame raid content. Talent trees! (I miss those)
Negatives: Terrible world design. Huge zones that are cordoned off into narrow, gated strips that funnel you from Point A to Point B with no room for exploration. Dead, lifeless feeling to the world. F2P option is extremely limited. Not much to do at endgame unless you want to raid. Lots of instancing and loading screens.
I am currently playing both these games. LOTRO because I just love the overall game and SWTOR as a single-player game for the storylines. These are the two I'd recommend based on being a former WoW player myself.
Haven't seen Aion mentioned before, so I'll give that one a look too. Thanks again for the videos, enjoyed the TERA one especially. Going to have to wait till my data cap resets before downloading that one though. 25+ GB, yikes!
Thanks Caiden! I mentioned it above, but I actually bought TSW on Amazon during a sale a while back and lost the download, so it slipped my mind till it was mentioned earlier. Definitely going to re-download it soon, will likely be the first one I try since I already own it. (Skyrim sucked me in so hardcore that I forgot about every other game for a good long while!)
Cheers, Betaguy - that's really chill of you to offer! Even though I'm not particularly familiar with SW, that game keeps getting rave suggestions so I'm definitely keeping it on my list. I believe it's been mentioned that it's pretty solo-friendly too?
Yeah, love that aspect of it! I keep going back and forth between RIFT and TERA; likely will end up trying both. Any suggestions for good (med/high pop) PvE servers?
Loved the trailer, Maelzrael! Wildstar looks like the jam; are you in the beta? Would be fun to actually be with a game from launch. I came into WoW so late, I felt like I'd always be a perpetual noob.
RebelScum, you're awesome - thanks for summing up the pos/negs of these games! Always interesting to see balanced views. Both LOTRO and SWTOR are on my list. The former is appealing just from the standpoint of being a fan of the books and films, and SWTOR gets so much positive feedback in this thread, it's hard to resist. I appreciate the heads-up on the good servers too.
Where endgame is concerned, I max leveled a few toons in WoW but my guildmates were dragging along and losing interest (all were former vets who were coaxed back to the game after Mists launched). So we never managed to get any raids going. Would be fun to finally get to an MMO endgame and see what it's all about, but I do enjoy the grindy quest stuff that gets you there, at least!
Yeah, I played WoW for about three years and did the full endgame progression/raiding thing as an MT of our guild. Probably the most fun I've had in an MMO, and made some great friends. So if that's something you're looking to experience, than maybe SWTOR or Rift would be your best bet, as both games have a focus on endgame raiding.
I think Rift is the better overall game, but I can't help it...I enjoy SWTOR more. It's probably the most fun, poorly-designed game I've played, if that makes sense. Kind of a guilty pleasure.
And, like I said, the questing aspect is enjoyable on your way to max level as well.
If you want f2p then imo no game comes close to EQ2.Better graphics than Wow,does the same things as Wow,does some things Wow does not.Does have a push towards cash shop at times.You start out in a great city as all games should do,not in the wilderness with no reason as to why you are out there.
Runes of Magic is another Wow clone ,does do some things better than Wow and some are unique.It has a very big push towards cash shop to fully enjoy the game.However aside from the very tough dungeons,you can enjoy and level through the game with no cash shop.Being free you can of course duo box ,meaning you can have a healer as well a dps.Interesting thing about the pet class is the pet can and will auto attack anything that attacks you,so you can go make a sandwich and it will protect you lol.You start in a large village setting,with graphics that are sort of Wowesque but slightly better.
FFXI was and still is my personal favorite but not free.Most challenging combat of any game,most diversified class system of any game.Once attaining level 30 on any class you can go Beastmaster which imo is the best solo class in game.All otehr classes can now be soloed but not as good as BST.Starts in one of 3 large cities.
Vanguard is now run by SOE and is also f2p with cash shop.Vanguard is a very robust game that offers a little more than many other games.Only real problem is lack of players.Vanguard was suppose to be the game that took Wow+EQ2 and did it all better and imo it may have done that ,depending who you ask.Starts in a unique setting,you try to escape the confines of your captors from a ship,with combat npc's all around you.
SWTOR is free and imo quite free but combat was boring to me and class design is also boring.The world is pretty good,decent quests,but the group content is just that group,no way to solo.In my fave FFXI certain classes can take on group type mobs solo,swtor gives you no ability to solo group mobs.
AOC good game,i liked it,nice graphics a bit linear at times was my main concern.However combat is decent enough,classes are decent and some map areas range from really good to average.Starts in the wilderness and starts with a linear path you must follow to get to the city.
Rift...One trick pony and doesn't do it very well.Rifts will seem cool for all of one day then you realize they are auto repeated everywhere.It has most of the components you expect in a MMORPG but imo it just does not do anything great all done average.Starts in a warehouse,a cheap looking one.
These are imo the only games decently playable,i am sure i may have forgotten one or two but not more than that.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
For Rift I recommend the "Deepwood" server if you are going to give it a try, Frankly, what do you have to lose with it being free?
Everyone likes different things so what one person may like another may not. Its hard to ask people for opinions on games because every ones opinion varies.
I recommend picking one and trying it. if you dont like it try another one.
It is so nice having the ability to do that with so many free to play games on the market.
Good luck with whatever game you choose.
-Howry
Hrmm..
Runes of Magic
I found that RoM was a lesser, "free" version of WoW. RoM didn't have much depth (interesting music though). The main additions WoW didn't have were personal housing (which was instanced in RoM), and guild housing (which was instanced, also in RoM). I wasn't a fan of RoM after I tried it, and I used to play WoW for years before that .. and having said that, I also wasn't a fan of WoW either (when I tried RoM). Both games left much to be desired (RoM also had/has a shitty graphics engine to boot). And to get anywhere in RoM, you are going to need bank authentication for the level of fund transfers you are going to need to be worth anything to anyone in a raid.
RoM didn't do anything better than WoW .. just not seeing it.
Star Wars: The Old Repulic
You blew my mind. No way to solo. Holy bajeezits! No way to solo in a game cantering to casuals, centered around soloing and getting max gear without grouping ...
Want a nice understanding of life? Try Spirit Science: "The Human History"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8NNHmV3QPw&feature=plcp
Recognize the voice? Yep sounds like Penny Arcade's Extra Credits.
F2P: Rift
P2P: FFXIV ARR
Also, you can try other games suggested by posters. Advice - avoid any game with "China" involved.
I suggest you hit this link and look for your game by yourself. No one can see into your head /feelings/moods. And it is not so hard to do that.
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.? -Albert Einstein
"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent" - Qui-gon Jinn. After many years of reading Internet forums, there's no doubt that neither does the ability to write.
So if you notice that I'm no longer answering your nonsense, stop trying... because you just joined my block list.
You might find GW2 to your likings..
It's very solo oriented, and people claim it's social .. while some don't .. it just depends on your definition of what social it... to GW2 fans, being social is the act of simply playing the same game others also play, with no interaction.
Do you consider actively talking to people you come across, then seeing where they are later on and joining them? If so GW2 might not be for you then (can't see where anyone in the game is, no /who command).
Do you like to be a valued part of a group? Erm, if so, GW2 might not be for you .. everyone is the same, nobody is important to a group.
Do you like to just log on occasionally, never care if others around you are players or NPC's .. just log on, do stuff, and log off? GW2 is for you!! With short stays, some people take liberties at rudeness too, since nothing matters. Ohh those casuals!!
Want a nice understanding of life? Try Spirit Science: "The Human History"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8NNHmV3QPw&feature=plcp
Recognize the voice? Yep sounds like Penny Arcade's Extra Credits.
"Most fun, poorly-designed game" reminds me of Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines. With that respect, I definitely get the guilty pleasure thing!
Kicking myself for not trying EQ2 years ago, honestly. Looks like something I'd have really enjoyed. I'm curious if the game still attracts new players on the regular, or if it's mostly long-time veterans. Someone made a good point in another thread that games like EQ/EQ2 are tricky for newbies simply because of the sheer content that's been released over the years. A much different beast than getting into a game at or shortly after launch.
Cheers for the server recommendation!
Thanks, Rockniss! Curious, why do you recommend steering clear of the auction house? That place was my jam in WoW, but maybe that was also my undoing. Too much time crafting and listing, not enough time smacking my guidies to get them to end-game!
If you like the great stories from solo RPGs, then you must seriously consider..
SWTOR and TSW, SWTOR is free to play and TSW has no sub but you pay the box... These games both play more like a solo RPG then an MMO... both have great stories and lots of character immersion.
On top of that there are allways the great AAA+ MMO´s out there, personally i think LOTRO is a must for every fantasy fan. EQ2 is great to, lots of content and just like LOTRO is mostly free. Personally i think DDO is fun, but mostly for those people that have some pen and paper experience with D&D 3 or 3.5 (or even 2)..
You also might like Neverwinter which is free, and there is some great stuff in the player created content.
And then there is Rift, if you can stand the annimations its probably the best and most improved traditional MMO out there, personally i have a problem with the unnatural annimations, which prevents me from getting into the game.
These are the non subscription based games i keep returning to (including GW2), all are fun and kind of unique in their own way, and all are extremely streamlined to give a good solo expereience..
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
Oh I've enjoyed looking through the master list for sure, but hot damn is that thing long! As a genuine MMO newbie (I only started playing WoW because The Guild got me intrigued; had only ever played solo RPGs till then), I've really appreciated that the LFGame sub-forum exists for welcoming suggestions.
GW is definitely the 1st P2P that I plan to buy when the prices come down around the holidays. (Here's hoping!)
If you want to play something different and with probably the best action combat up to date, do try Phantasy Star Online 2.
PROS
-Free To Play
- One of the best char customizations of the industry and the best for an Action Online RPG
-Stylized, futuristic universe, not unlike Mass Effect (I saw you like it)
- Hands down the best action combat to date, with fully customizable combos and chains.
-A popular Japanese Role Playing IP with a decent storyline going strong since 1987
-A loyal, undying community that has supported the online Phantasy Star games since 2000 and has fully fan translated the entire game, from items to the storyline
-Easy to learn, difficult to master the advanced stuff.
-While instanced, the dungeons layouts and many more things are completely&randomly generated so even doing the same dungeon several times makes up for different experiences.
-Interactive events that may pit you against secret bosses (with good loot) or switch the goal of your mission on the fly.
CONS
-Sega
-Released only in Japanese so far (The game is fully translated to English by fans though, so easily averted)
-Downloading the game can be slow due to the servers being in Japan
-If you want to become a premium player, doing so from outside japan is more costly
-The support is up to the community unless you can speak Japanese (Very helpful bunch, though)
-The game can be grindy at later levels (although i read you like that)
Here is a little trailer about it :
LOL, c'mon - give the fellas here some credit. There's also another thread on the 1st page of LFGame with 4 pages of responses. I don't think the boobs-having has that much of a magical effect.
Torvaldr and SagaSoluna, thank you for your suggestions as well!
After reading your post, I think you would love Aion
It's free to play and I think you can download it too
There is plenty of stuff you can sell if that's your thing. Grinding alone is something everyone does in Aion, so you would be right at home there
Plus you get to fly in some zones
Many games mentioned like Rift, Lord of the Rings Online or Aion have mostly outdated
engines and combat systems without delivering in even one strong point worth mentioning.
Since you mentioned Bloodlines and aiming mostly for solo play there's really only a
handful of notable mmos these days you can stick with for longer than one weekend,
most you already got on your list:
The few games worth the story
- The Secret World (most thought out plot and characters I've ever seen in a mmo,
combat system is a drag though but well worth it for the story)
- SWtoR (like TSW complete story voiceover... can be nice at times, but the writing is
generally unimaginative imho. If you try it go for the Imperial Agent or Jedi Knight class,
since the only thing the game has going story wise is your class storyline anyhow)
For your quick Mass Effect fix
- Warframe (nothing much to say, imagine Mass Effect with Space Ninjas and a challenging
To keep an eye on
- Everquest Next (clean and easy artstyle. Gameplay as of now looks smooth, most likely
the next title worthwhile to join for launch. Maybe even Everquest Next: Landmark if your
looking for a more personal and engaging system for building things in your game.
LOTRO doesn't have one strong point worth mentioning? Rift doesn't have one strong point worth mentioning? Huh? Both those games have far more positives than negatives.
Figured I would back up Warframe. I have well over 300 hours spent on it. If you do like shooting games it's a pretty good choice, I wouldn't really consider it an MMO personally as you're never with more than 4 people (the max for missions, excluding clan halls which are just meeting areas really) but it's good none-the-less. They are also beginning to focus more on story and lore. It's not fully in yet as of now but I believe they said they will be beginning to focus more on it from update 10 onwards (which just happened).
The developers are great people and they do a live stream every once in a while (maybe bi weekly or once a month? don't remember) to update all the fans about what's coming. It's free to play and you can get absolutely "everything" in-game just by playing aside from cosmetic items. Personally I found their cash shop to be extremely pricey for almost every single thing in there so I haven't bought anything despite spending the 100 or 150 dollars on the masters founder pack. Worth looking at if you like shooting games. Also worth mentioning that enemies get really really bullet spongey later on, especially some bosses so you might be forced to group up with other people (especially in defense missions), but I don't think you'll have any issues with that. Honestly I think you would enjoy it far more if you find a handful of people to play with who have similar play styles. A lot of people like to rush through levels, some people like to explore and loot everything. Doesn't work too well when there is a team consisting of both these types of people.
Another MMO (an actual MMO) you may like if you're interested in playing shooting ones is Firefall. Developers are very active on forums and with updates. They will remove and redo entire features of the game if they see people are not enjoying it since it still is in beta. I'm just glad they are willing to put in that much work to try and create a good game. It's pretty solo friendly but I think it's starting to go more towards "get a group of people to enjoy the better content." You can switch from first to third person quickly depending on what you prefer. Both Firefall and Warframe sort of rely on you being pretty good at shooting games if you want to do decently.
These are the only two MMOs I've spent money on (ok well excluding TERA, but it was cheap) within the past 8 or so years, so if you like shooting games and are pretty good at them these are worth looking into. I believe Firefall is getting an auction house soon too (I haven't played it in several months since my computer doesn't like it anymore, it throws up every time I try to play it) if it isn't already in there.