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craving DnD atmosphere instance f2p mmorpg
Ok so I've been hunting a game that I could stick with for a long time. I played 6 years DDO on a single toon. That's just my cup of tea - investing and caring for my toon like I did on table-top DnD as a kid. I left DDO because i pretty much "finished" the game. I'm going to elaborate alot in this post cause i want to be specific, maybe too specific about what I am looking for, so please be patient - i need your help 
I moved to LOTRO - no skill tree, you just get skills as you level up and you got some control on how your "build" will be but hardly like DDO with it's multiclass system. Further more - boring combat system. Moved then to NW - great game, two problems: the game is young and the servers keep DCing certain players every 5 seconds, making the game uplayable. the other problem is that the game is way too short - made it to cap with casual play in like a week, made enough astral diamonds to buy the top gear from AH. So I moved to TERA - didn't like the open world system but the game was great and fun, but instance-base is more what I am looking for. The other problem is that after 30 levels and only 2 instances I realized I'm simply a goffer - I am doing the exact same quest all the time - "go kill 5 and come back"... boring. So I moved to Vindictus. Nice action-combat but again no skill tree, pretty much the same 1 button you use to kill, and the quests keep sending you to the same instances so you simply run the same instance 5 times for 5 different missions, plus i was level 40 in less than three days, way too easy. So I moved to Wizardry online - now that game I liked - hardcore DnD atmosphere and it's not the boss you should be afraid of - every battle, every HP that goes away scares ya... and it has Permadeath and crime system (though a bit absord and taken too far, still allows you to be more than just a swing/cast-machine). But the respawn rate... no god can create so many creatures - ruined the entire game for me. monsters comming back while you are still fighting to defeat their friends. you must constanly move, no time to search, look around, enjoy yourself.
Besides those games, I looked at endless lists and watched endless youtube videos. There are several games that look nice and fit what I want but I just don't know anymore.
So... I am desparate... really. So here is what I am looking for and I hope someone can help:
1. Must be able to play 3rd person POV, 1st person gives me headache.
2. 3D graphics, I don't need fabulous, amazing, klling graphics, I just need nice - ddo was all polygons and I didn't care less.
3. Atmosphere - as close to DnD as possible, that rules out any non-fantasy, sci-fi games and also the hardcore asian-fantasy games (nothing personal but TERA was too "final fantasy" for me though i got used to it since it was still somewhat close to the concepts of DnD). Also, if you can be something other than adventurer then it's a huge plus (like have a lifestyle, profession etc.)
4. Difficulty - hard. very. I want to feel each level I gain, each gear I upgrade, each loot I rightfully ... looted. but the game should still be somewhat soloable to an experienced MMO player. At least until mid-way.
5. Skill tree and Builds - can't say it enough. it's important that my last choice on how my combat will look like won't end at character creation.
6. instance-base - well... it's felxible, but it goes with the atmosphere that you are in a dungeon with your group and no guy twice the level of the mosnters can come by and one-shot everything. open world is ok but it should be at least half of the game that i spend in a scary exciting place... alone.
7. I don't care much about PvP but it shouldn't interrupt with my soloing. it's nice to be afraid of other people that can "rob" you or murder you, but at least at towns I expect some safety or at least when I need to go afk.
8. F2P... of course.
9. instances has no respawns, open world has but not faster enough than you cant kill 5 monsters at the same spot without worrying the ones you killed already will come back.
10. action base comabt
I was very specific and of course I don't expect to find EXACTLY everything on my list. I just wrote everything and the clostest you get me the better.
Thank you if you took the time to read all this long post and if you help me out. Now I am going to see maybe Everquest 1/2 has what I am looking for...
Comments
As an old D&D player, and former player of DDO, it sounds like the term "WOW clone", when it is accurately applied, should be useful to you in your search.
World of Warcraft was based on Warhammer, which started life as a genericised wargame version of D&D from 1983.
Buy yourself a copy of Neverwinter Nights 2 from GOG and find a player world. That is about the only option that I know of that might meet your needs.
James T. Kirk: All she's got isn't good enough! What else ya got?
OP, your OP post describes Neverwinter Online.
It kind of lacks difficulty with some classes but it fits the description you gave. Check it out to see if its what you want. And its F2P.
If you are fond of NW Online (NW) but the game itself is having problems then I have an unconventional suggestion for you.
Why not play the MMO that NW was derived from: Champions Online (CO)?
If you play it free to play it has Classes (Archetypes), build decisions, plenty of instances and essentially the same mechanics.
You can even design a fantasy character using the character builder, although the first time you create a character you will be presented with a simpler character editor, and many of the F2P archetypes map well to D&D classes.
Here is my mapping of D&D classes to CO F2P Archetypes:
When did you try Neverwinter Online? It is pretty stable now.
I think you ask an awful lot of a free to play. lol
CO is good for character creation but I found the stories and game play boring as hell.
Help support an artist and gamer who has lost his tools to create and play: http://www.gofundme.com/u63nzcgk
Another thing you might want to consider is the Pathfinder MMO.
When Wizards brought out D&D4 it was a disaster and a lot of old players abandoned the product line.
However Pathfinder succeeded in producing a classic role-playing game licensed from the previous version of D&D, with improvements to some tidy things up and expand others. Pathfinder essentially picked up that D&D market that Wizards inadvertently lost via the madness of D&D4.
With this success in hand, Pathfinder successfully used Kickstarter to raise over $1M to fund an MMO. I don't believe it is ready to play yet but there might be some kind of early Beta you can investigate.
Essentially this MMO should be more true to classic D&D than NW Online, which is infamously based on D&D4.
Which started life as genericized Tolkien, which started life as genericized myths from human history, etc... etc...
Free to play = content updates for the cash shop. Buy to play = content updates for the cash shop.
Subscription = Actual content updates!
Have you looked at Vanguard? Has great atmosphere. Main caveats would be that it is mostly not instanced. The respawn rate is a touch too fast for me, and might be there for you as well. Tough game, loads of class/races. Interesting bits to explore, etc. On the other hand, I consider most D&D rules to be haphazard and murky, and don't care for Neverwinter Online much, so our opinions may not line up that well.
Given your specific interests, you may have to wait.... A few possibilities in the next six months or so at least.
If you are holding out for the perfect game, the only game you play will be the waiting one.
If you are waiting for MMOs to be released, and want to play something very much like D&D, then I can suggest a very left-field idea if you don't mind considering something very retro.
Have you heard of Nethack?
Asheron's Call
1. Both 3rd and 1st person, you can move your camera a thousand feet above you to see layout of town, where the next mountain ( you can climb mountains ) is, all sorts of thing, and is very intuitive, fluid.
2. Graphics are not the best ( came out in 99' ), but once you get used to them you realize that this game has the most unique and original graphics you have ever seen, weapons are all differently awesome, thousands of different types of armor, and nothing gets Un used, you can find a sweet helmet you like, and tink it up to par, or just take the look you like and apply to an item with good stats.
So you could start as a Missile weapon/Creature/Life/Item Magic, and as you progress you gain more skill credits, you could pick up Lockpick, or maybe a Melee skill, anything you can think of.
On Red servers everyone can attack everyone, but most people join allegiances ( guilds ) and you usually do not team attack your friends, but there are big allegiance battles happenings constantly.
Some allegiances on Red Worlds, are called Anti-PK, they help noobs and do not KOS ( kill on sight ), and there are PK allegiances that attack everyone but there own guild.
Guilds also "peace" together to take down more powerful guilds to take control over a valued landscape area or town.
8. Not F2P, sadly, but this game gets awesome updates, well worth your money, the story line for this game has been going for 13 years, and still going strong and remains exciting, developers sometimes play main story line characters, for example a big evil guy, came down, was played by a developer, many people tried to kill him, some people swore allegiance to him and used magic to heal and buff him, all sorts of things happen.
10. This game has all sorts of things Action based, you can side step and arrow coming at you, jump on a house to escape a pursuer, all things are dodge-able in real time and active in the enviroment.
Heres so videos for my above post, like I said once you get into you hardly notice the graphics because the world is so awesome,
first video & second is from a White Server, of a random quest - ( hyper linked and direct Http )
First
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=A7aF9idIjjY
Second
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Zn64dy1zgHw
here is a video from some PVP in AC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=rhLdzvLtemQ
as you can notice, you can dodge anything! makes for a very very skill based game
Have you ever taken a look at Wurm Online?
Check out the video http://wurmonline.com/
[URL="https://forums.darkfallonline.com/image.php?u=45765&type=sigpic&dateline=1276129943[/URL]
"Vox Populi, Vox Deorum"
There are no games that will check on that full list.
Every DDO player hates Neverwinter although that is possibly the closest match to what You describe, fun for awhile but not long term. I would look towards older mmorpgs to find some of what You seek, but those will definately also have what You don't want.
With older games atleast You will get to build a character for a long time, real fantasy worlds You can beleive in and not just playgrounds for gamers. Although You might not have action like the modern button mash and movemovemove style, You can still push Yourself into situations where you need much skill and quick thinking to survive. EQ1, AC, Vanguard. Or if You want to go out of Your element, Path of Exile on hardcore (permadeath) might just present some fun for You, although its hard to tell what are total turnoffs for people
Cheers, good luck.
"I am my connectome" https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HA7GwKXfJB0
"If I offended you, you needed it" -Corey Taylor