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Looking for new MMORPG
I resolved not to renew my premier gold membership for Runescape this year. I probably won't be spending much period on it. I will still be playing occasionally (been on it for 14 years so I am not about to quit now. And, I still enjoy the game, just not enough to pay for it consistently anymore). That is just to say that I will have in the fast approaching new year, some extra money to put into a new game. And, that Runescape need not be amongst the suggestions. Another game That can be dropped from possible suggestions would be EVE Online (have played it for a few months and it bores me out of my skull. I don't feel like taking two years to hit the actual entry level play).
So, that said, here are my criterion:
Graphical Fidelity and Visual Aesthetic:
I have no real preference here (photo realistic, anime, cell shaded, 16bit etc. all fine). Just as long as my machine can run it with reasonably good performance most of the time. And, so long as what ever the choices made for this were, they were implemented well within the scope of it.
With that in mind here are my relevant specs;
OS - Windows 7 (64bit)
Processor - Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-4130 CPU @ 3.40GHz (a Quad core)
Memory - 8.00 DDR3 RAM
Connection: 100mbps Hardline (ethernet, through Cable Internet).
Graphics: On board for the moment (and given a 350 max output at 12v 16amp from my core and how small my shell is I am not even sure what i could reasonably drop in it GPU wise). Intel(R) HD Graphics 4400.
PvP/PvM/PvE:
Any mix, so long as it's full scale. And, at least half way not instanced.
World type:
I prefer open world and something of a sandpark (some sandbox elements with overarching themepark mechanics, features and tone). I don't like heavily on-rails play. I'd prefer no class system or a non-restrictive (build into an archetype) class system. Decent crafting would be good and at least some ability to make money playing the market. No decidedly pay to win (cash shops are fine as long as it's mostly cosmetic and where it isn't there is some in-world answer or the purchasable game improvement items are tradeable in world). Not a fan of pay gates (like unlocking what should reasonably be default content, such as the ability to have money over certain amount or even to speak/use shout, hold a friends list or join a faction/guilds/clans.
Questing:
I like to quest. When it's worth doing. I like voice acting (good voice acting). Good storyline (even if it is generic I like when it is told well). I do like it when a game doesn't provide for my character through the quest line (such as giving me all the gear I need).
Things I hate (any one thing is not an automatic disqualifier but if the game has all of them count it out):
Useless Jumping.
Starting out ship Wrecked on a beach.
Dead LFG System (at least at entry level).
Comments
i agree with jomsviking, but if only last 3 are dealbreakers i would say try guild wars 2
GW2 can be a lot of fun, Keep in mind its a end game gear grind but more of a get skins for the looks. It has a cash shop but it works both ways so u can farm and then get cash shop items for nothing. WVW is mad fun on a t1 server but its a also a huge zergfest.
This sounds like the harder path, but the correct one. Wanting to play a game now I really get, but a new video card would open a new world of games and options for you.
If you want a break and good month long sandbox that's very alpha. Project gorgon. very cool, truly amazing npc storylines, and interesting role play thou its pvp free at the moment.
IF you don't mind alpha. The Repopulation. Large, got the pvp/e/m storyline is huge, play area is huge, only a bit of themepark for the new players. Mostly sandbox and skill based.
HomePage/Gaming Blog - http://dalewj.com . MMORPGer - Current game: http://AfterWorld.ru .
Author of Diaries of Afterworld- http://www.jconsult.com/afterworld and the Outside Sci-Fi series- http://www.jconsult.com/outside
There's no sandbox anything in GW2 though.
So you can try Ultima Online which still has a lot of players.
Mortal Online but I don't think your machine can handle it and it has basically zero pve story content.
Archeage isn't as bad as people claim it is, has some pay to win elements, but your machine might not handle it.
Wurm Online, I haven't played it cuz its looking outdated but heard good things bout it and sandboxy.
There aren't many sandparks around these days but for the sandboxy elements with some quests, deep crafting, economic playfield and wide open classes, ArcheAge might fit. Plus you can jump right in since it's F2P.
Having said that, F2P misses out on some parts of the game like housing and having a farm. But you certainly can check it out before you spend a dime. Here are the minimum specs required to run the game: https://support.trionworlds.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1763/kw/requirements/session/L3Nuby8xL3RpbWUvMTQxOTM2NzQzNy9zaWQvUFg0KmtFYW0=
http://www.trionworlds.com/archeage/en/game/
http://www.trionworlds.com/archeage/en/game/faq/
I had tried Archeage on my old machine. Seemed alright, accept that the devs don't seem to have a concept of limiting what people can put down within a certain area. I got poly stormed several times by just looking in the wrong direction. Also, I saw a few reviews of this that covered the games housing issue. I don't mind a game not having one feature or another. But, I feel like if a feature is there. It shouldn't be so exploitable (which seems to be the over arcing thing with a lot key features in Archeage). But, regardless I don't think this machine (as is) will handle it well.
UO I actually have an account for. I don't play it much because the interface is terrible to work with (they made some really weird choices with how all of that side of things works and appears).
Wurm Online I have tried. I couldn't get out of the tutorial area because elements of it were broken preventing progression (and thus exiting it).
Project gorgon...Looks interesting. Think I will give that a try, thanks.
Been playing this project gorgon all day and having a blast. I got cursed into cow...but started getting a ton of cow gear. So I am (instead of fixing it) going around and solving problems as a cow. Here is a pick of me on top of a dead, mostly buried godlings head (I didn't kill it of course it's apparently been there a long time):
Aside from the useless LFG system, ESO might be your cup of tea.
GRAPHICS
ESO has a very wide range of graphics options. On low settings, it looks like Runescape in the good ol' 2007 days, while on Ultra it rivals Skyrim plus you can add graphics mods like SweetFX to ESO. Your specs should be able to handle it on low or medium settings (My R9 280 can handle it on Ultra, 1080p at a constant 60FPS) at a playable framerate. It will drop like a rock if you dive into PvP - PvP in this game involves ALOT of players and it's poorly optimized for low-end machines.
GAMEPLAY/WORLD TYPE
If you aren't talking about the main story then ESO is not on-rails at all, whatsoever. Character Progression is very diverse and it's very deep, too. Once you level up your character you'll get an attribute point which you can place into either your Health which is explanatory, Magicka which affects your spells, and Stamina which affects sprinting, sneaking, dodging, blocking, bashing, stun-breaking and Stamina-using abilities. You also get a skill point which you can use to unlock a new skill or a passive ability in one of the many skill trees. The more you use the abilities in that skill tree or the weapon/armor that is tied to a certain skill tree, then you'll level up that skill tree which gives more abilities for you to unlock.
You can also level up abilities and the more they level up the more powerful they become. Once they reach Level 4 you're able to morph the ability into a more powerful version of itself, and you have two choices to morph it into - you can't choose both and it costs a skill point. Passives can't be morphed and only get better by placing more skill points into that passive.
There are 4 classes in the game, but all your class gives you is 3 unique skill trees. You can use whatever weapon or armor type that you want e.g You can be a mage who wears both heavy and medium armor and wields a bow. Your class' skill trees work like normal skill trees but each of the class skill trees have their own ideal role. For example, the Daedric Summoning skill tree for the Sorcerer is more ideal for CC and DPS. You can choose to ignore your class's skill trees altogether and use your own set of abilities and armor.
In the next update, releasing in January, they're adding 11 new skill trees. 2 for both factions in the Justice System (Unrelated to the game's 3 main factions) and 9 in the Champion Constellations. The Champion Constellations are a bit weird, because they require a special type of point known as a Champion Point, and all 9 only contain passives. You can also invest 100 points in each passive and it will get better each time, but the more points you spend the less it increases e.g You start off by increasing a stat by 1%, the next point you spend will increase it by a further 0.9% making the total increase 1.9%. However, Champion Points can only be earned on a character that's reached Veteran Ranks (The levels after 50) but they can still be spent on lower-level alts.
I'm not a big crafter so I can't tell you much about it. It's pretty complex plus there are daily jobs you can do for crafting regardless of your crafting level, which gives you things like gold and rare materials in exchange for an item or several items. There are 6 crafting skills: Provisioning (Cooking), Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Clothier, Woodworking (Bows/Staves) and Enchanting.
Economy in ESO is pretty good. If you have a big guild you can talk to a trader and set up shop in a city or along the road for the rest of the week, for a sum of gold. You can either buyout the trader or bid on him. Or you can also set up shop for free in a keep in Cyrodiil, provided a spot isn't taken and the keep isn't owned by the enemy. However, Cyrodiil is very dangerous, being the big-boy PvP zone where all the max-level folks from all 3 factions go to duke it out and gank people that aren't at the Veteran Ranks yet.
As for cash shop, the only thing they sell in it is an ugly-looking horse with minimal stats and the collector's edition of the game. That's it. No P2W involved.
QUESTS
ESO's fully voice-acted quests are a little bit on-rails (Most locations are quest hubs with interesting stories, and the hubs are unlinked to eachother and to the zone's story unless it's part of the story, so they're essentially just sort-of lengthy mini-stories about the location) but to compensate for it they all tell a very interesting story. There's a main quest both for your own character and all of the zones that starts off with something e.g Pirates are raiding, vampires are running around and then the story evolves from there, and you might find some interesting plot twists throughout the lengthy main quests (Main quests can be several hours long. Your character's story will take you days because each quest unlocks based on level, and ends at Level 50).
To complete all the quests in a normal zone will take you well over a day depending on playtime.
ESO is advertised as a Themepark but really it's a sandpark game. Normal themeparks don't let you wreak havoc on an otherwise friendly city and murder the NPCs there and steal their stuff (This crime system is coming in January's update). Also you can enter every single building in towns, cities etc. and loot lots of the stuff inside. However, this is going to become a criminal act in the next update and guards will run after you if they spot you trying to lockpick the door open.
I hope I helped!
I've noticed the skilling is a little like EVE Online. In that there are major skills and subset skills (which require having the major skills that govern them at a certain level to begin training). And, in that you have to acquire new skills as you go (you don't just start out with them). The big difference is that they are mostly practice based to advance, instead of time-elapsed based. However, some NPC's have the option to 'Hang-Out' with them. Which means you can earn experience while offline. It all makes the experience of learning new things and getting better at them feel organic.
A good for instance of this is that:
I started off just looting enemies after I killed them. But, eventually I acquired a few tools and new skills. and now if I kill, say a pig, I have options (depends on it's base loot as to which of these two following options I tend to choose). I can skin or gut it and I can do an autopsy on it, as well (regardless of skinning or gutting). Things I have killed and field dressed more often I 'understand how to kill' better. the result is they are easier to autopsy, easier to kill, and the loot and experience is better.
But, basically there seems to be a proficiency for every thing you would do. And, in-so-much the game basically trains itself to adapt to how you want to play, while also influencing how you ultimately decide to play. Still this game has a long way to go mechanically. I've run into plenty of bugs and things that could definitely be improved upon. And, of course the graphical fidelity leaves a lot to be desired. Yet, even with it's very alpha status. I am having more of a good time in this game then many full release games I have tried in the last few years.
I was going to suggest Star Trek Online to you.
It will run on your rig fine and at pretty decent settings.
There is a cash shop, but the items can be got via in game.
The game provides story missions- 'episodes' which are cool and work well, if a little linear occasionally. However users can contribute Episodes some of which are excellent!
Space combat is great fun. Ground less so, but still a very good game.
And it does not start on a beach!