Good to hear, I see you really like your crafting.
Crafting is my go-to activity when I'm having an off-day. It's also my main thing, how I make my money, how I achieve my real goal in the game -- uber wealth.
Very different type of mmo the only thing I can compare it to is Eve Online but a fantasy version.
Crafting, Building, Sandbox, Open world, player driven economy, trading, politeness (you name gets around if you steal and do bad shit), grinding, skill based.
What its not. Lore, Combat(there is combat but not to impressive), dungeon/raids.
I like to call it mine craft for adults.
Word of warning its a big learning curve but the community is extreamly helpful. And wiki help a ton.
This is my current suggestion as well. SWG would have been my first suggestion if that still existed (would have fit your requirements to a tee). There may be a MMO that better fits what you need / desire, but I can only comment on what I have played. UO I have not tried but from what little I do know about it it might be a good choice. I also know nothing about FFXIV myself.
Check out Wurm as Keeno states above. It has a wacky community that's as dysfunctional as a space shuttle in rush hour traffic but that's part of it's charm. Has one of the best crafting systems I have had the pleasure to play with, slow and grindy but when if you set your mind to a goal it feels awesome when you reach it, very satisfying from a MMO Crafter's point of view.
Wurm has small character type however the font size can be enlarged in the settings. A good primer about the game and it's features can be found at the Wurm Wiki site http://www.wurmpedia.com/index.php/Main_Page
There is another MMO that is in development that might be suitable, but I am not the one to address that one, also it will be 2017 before release. Watch for "SoL" over the next year or so.
Good luck Lady Crescenda, may you find the MMO you seek.
**edit** I see from a post above that Crescenda has found her game, awesome and have fun
I'm not sure if this really fits 100% of your criteria, but if you enjoy turn based combat, you might consider Wakfu.
Its an mmo, but has French Anime style graphics, which might be a turn off.
The lore is strange but interesting.
The combat, at least, is fairly slow. It has a timer for you to make your decisions and is turn based. Might spark your interest in strategy.
Character customization is pretty much non-existent but the gear you get covers most of your character anyway.
I don't know about the economy, I was more of a lone wolf, but I did join a guild so I could ask players questions.
The crafting is pretty basic, but the gathering is a whole new take on mmo crafting. You have to re-plant trees and such or you will kill off an entire areas resources.
1. Have multiple sclerosis with serious hand tremors at times
2. Some loss of vision (small text difficult)
3. Stress is a component of my disease so random squads are a problem
4. I'm more finesse than wham-bam, more methodical than running around with my hair on fire
5. Horrible at PvP for the above reasons
Looking for a game that:
1. Offers meaningful alternatives to continual PvE/PvP combat
2. Has excellent, non-cartoonish or non-anime graphics
3. Possesses rich, meaningful lore
4. Has a good crafting/gathering/farming function
5. Possesses a solid, player-driven economy uninfluenced by external gold/resource buying
6. Preferably a mostly open-world/sandbox environment
7. Game mechanics should lend themselves to mouse/keyboard macros and voice command (i.e., Tazti)
8. A battle pet and mature, helpful player community are huge plusses
Games I have tried:
1. WoW -- played for a long time and did well with economy -- left because of changing player population and expansions
2. SWtOR -- sucky economy and little to do but combat
3. TSW -- bad economy (when I played) and the environment bummed me too much
4. PWI -- totally P2W, found a good private server, but end game is all about PvP and crafting is meaningless
5. GW -- played for a long time -- weak economy and little to do aside from combat
6. LoTRO -- hated the player animations
7. EVE -- played briefly -- there was no *me* in the game
8. PoTBS -- great game theoretically -- ship fighting, crafting great, land-based fighting was too hard for me
9. ESO -- weird economy and the fighting mechanic was difficult for me. Quit one month after game launch, may try again
Bit more background:
1. I'm 32, medically retired professional woman
2. Other than my disabilities, I'm quite hardcore, often playing as much as 16 hours a day
3. I'm very goal driven and will put in the time/effort when there's a meaningful goal
4. My character(s) become an extension of me, so I hate dying in game
5. I place greater value on politeness than on being first to the prize
6. I know all the dirty words (some in multiple languages), but I'd rather not hear F*** in every sentence
I realize, given the current player/gaming environment, I may be asking for the moon, but I'm hoping someone can offer something I've overlooked.
Thank you in advance!
Heh I was gonna suggest EVE but you already played it. Maybe try it again but get involved in one of the bigger alliances where you can get in to Industry & such. You could do mining ops and build ships, PVP eventually once you get there.
It for sure is a slower game in the beginning till you have better skills trained up to do more things but it has everything you've asked for in a game.
I'm sure if you go on the EVE Forums and introduced yourself in the Corporations section and explained what you're looking for someone would reply to you and help you out
1. Have multiple sclerosis with serious hand tremors at times
2. Some loss of vision (small text difficult)
3. Stress is a component of my disease so random squads are a problem
4. I'm more finesse than wham-bam, more methodical than running around with my hair on fire
5. Horrible at PvP for the above reasons
Looking for a game that:
1. Offers meaningful alternatives to continual PvE/PvP combat
2. Has excellent, non-cartoonish or non-anime graphics
3. Possesses rich, meaningful lore
4. Has a good crafting/gathering/farming function
5. Possesses a solid, player-driven economy uninfluenced by external gold/resource buying
6. Preferably a mostly open-world/sandbox environment
7. Game mechanics should lend themselves to mouse/keyboard macros and voice command (i.e., Tazti)
8. A battle pet and mature, helpful player community are huge plusses
Games I have tried:
1. WoW -- played for a long time and did well with economy -- left because of changing player population and expansions
2. SWtOR -- sucky economy and little to do but combat
3. TSW -- bad economy (when I played) and the environment bummed me too much
4. PWI -- totally P2W, found a good private server, but end game is all about PvP and crafting is meaningless
5. GW -- played for a long time -- weak economy and little to do aside from combat
6. LoTRO -- hated the player animations
7. EVE -- played briefly -- there was no *me* in the game
8. PoTBS -- great game theoretically -- ship fighting, crafting great, land-based fighting was too hard for me
9. ESO -- weird economy and the fighting mechanic was difficult for me. Quit one month after game launch, may try again
Bit more background:
1. I'm 32, medically retired professional woman
2. Other than my disabilities, I'm quite hardcore, often playing as much as 16 hours a day
3. I'm very goal driven and will put in the time/effort when there's a meaningful goal
4. My character(s) become an extension of me, so I hate dying in game
5. I place greater value on politeness than on being first to the prize
6. I know all the dirty words (some in multiple languages), but I'd rather not hear F*** in every sentence
I realize, given the current player/gaming environment, I may be asking for the moon, but I'm hoping someone can offer something I've overlooked.
Thank you in advance!
You should try Eternal Lands. The game has a very complex story encountered as you quest. The graphics are dated but you can add customization to your in game clothing. There are 12 skills in the game and no classes so you can do anything that you want and the skills have a lot of depth to them. Guilds are very welcoming of new players and are very helpful as well. There is an island where you start with an NPC who will guide you in learning the game and starting the storyline quests. You go very nearly everywhere in game without combat and combat can be only at your discretion over 36 maps. You can play solo if you like and do very nearly all of the content that way as well.
I am disabled myself and play it because I can keep in touch through discord so I don't have to type and use only the mouse to play. I have some problems with my left hand too but it never causes in game problems.
It is mechanically light, eliminates bar switching, and provides abundant pet support. It is quite easy to play but still quite effective even for some of the more difficult content.
I'll try to think of other options as well, but this is the first that comes to mind.
Unlike most of the other "action" MMOs, it has tab targeting, which makes it easier for the non action type. It has a thriving player run economy that can be played with skill, the crafting is quite good though not super in depth like SWG.
There is scaleable text and UI which can help you with with your seeing difficulties.
the crafting and gathering is excellent, rewarding and meaningful.
The community is very helpful and pleasent. More than in any other game I have played.
There is ranged classes with Pets (Ranger can tame animals, Necromancer has minions)
The game used a dodge mechanic but it can be customized to any key you want, and ranged classes can use it less.
The graphics are not super realistic, but the characters (humans) are made to be and feel realistic. the character creation is nice and robust, and there is the most customizeable dye and skin system I have ever seen.
The game is very accessable because you dont need to join groups to have fun. You just run around and explore and are part of the experience.
The game has a really nice lore, cool races. It has fantasy elements and tropes but no orcs and elves. It's quite its own.
The art is quite wonderful, as is the music.
I've played it for almost 3000 hours now, and I still really enjoy it a lot. Particularly thanks to the inclusive gameplay, the friendly community. I feel that its a game about having a good time and it really shines through.
Another good aspect of GW2 is there are some people that post low intensity builds. These are designed to give good performance while minimizing the number of actions the player must take, using carefully chosen passives and so forth to magnify the effectiveness of a more passive play style.
However, completing some of the exploration challenges and the like could be difficult due to platforming elements, some of which I at least found quite demanding.
Comments
Check out Wurm as Keeno states above. It has a wacky community that's as dysfunctional as a space shuttle in rush hour traffic but that's part of it's charm. Has one of the best crafting systems I have had the pleasure to play with, slow and grindy but when if you set your mind to a goal it feels awesome when you reach it, very satisfying from a MMO Crafter's point of view.
Wurm has small character type however the font size can be enlarged in the settings. A good primer about the game and it's features can be found at the Wurm Wiki site http://www.wurmpedia.com/index.php/Main_Page
There is another MMO that is in development that might be suitable, but I am not the one to address that one, also it will be 2017 before release. Watch for "SoL" over the next year or so.
Good luck Lady Crescenda, may you find the MMO you seek.
**edit** I see from a post above that Crescenda has found her game, awesome and have fun
Its an mmo, but has French Anime style graphics, which might be a turn off.
The lore is strange but interesting.
The combat, at least, is fairly slow. It has a timer for you to make your decisions and is turn based. Might spark your interest in strategy.
Character customization is pretty much non-existent but the gear you get covers most of your character anyway.
I don't know about the economy, I was more of a lone wolf, but I did join a guild so I could ask players questions.
The crafting is pretty basic, but the gathering is a whole new take on mmo crafting. You have to re-plant trees and such or you will kill off an entire areas resources.
Might be worth taking a look at.
Heh I was gonna suggest EVE but you already played it. Maybe try it again but get involved in one of the bigger alliances where you can get in to Industry & such. You could do mining ops and build ships, PVP eventually once you get there.
It for sure is a slower game in the beginning till you have better skills trained up to do more things but it has everything you've asked for in a game.
I'm sure if you go on the EVE Forums and introduced yourself in the Corporations section and explained what you're looking for someone would reply to you and help you out
Just a suggestion though
I am disabled myself and play it because I can keep in touch through discord so I don't have to type and use only the mouse to play. I have some problems with my left hand too but it never causes in game problems.
ESO may be worth another try with this particular build:
https://alcasthq.com/eso-magicka-sorcerer-one-bar-build/
It is mechanically light, eliminates bar switching, and provides abundant pet support. It is quite easy to play but still quite effective even for some of the more difficult content.
I'll try to think of other options as well, but this is the first that comes to mind.
Best of luck in whatever choice you make.
Another good aspect of GW2 is there are some people that post low intensity builds. These are designed to give good performance while minimizing the number of actions the player must take, using carefully chosen passives and so forth to magnify the effectiveness of a more passive play style.
However, completing some of the exploration challenges and the like could be difficult due to platforming elements, some of which I at least found quite demanding.
Oops. Oh well, perhaps another will benefit from the information.