What About Your First MMO Got You Hooked On The Genre? | MMORPG.com

System · July 31

What About Your First MMO Got You Hooked On The Genre? | MMORPG.com

If you're here reading MMORPG.com, chances are you're a fan of the genre. What about MMOs, and what about your first MMO experience get you hooked on the long-standing genre?

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Alverant · July 31

For me it was Earth & Beyond. I loved flying around and zoning out as I gathered resources. The fact other people were playing and chatting added to the experience. When EA pulled the plug, I never bought another thing from them. I considered EVE but the PvP FFA nature didn't fit my personality (all you EVE players, I hope you are having fun; just because a game isn't for me it doesn't mean I'm going to hate on it).

tooque · July 31

For me, Ragnarok Online.

I'm essentially a single-player type of person, but even as a loner, I like the occasional social interaction, and also love showing off my character and what my character has achieved to other people.

I also like how MMOs gave me a place to keep going back to. All of the same stuff, and also continuing to evolve in new ways. They are like a home in a way that single player games can never be.

cdubbz · August 1

Final Fantasy 11. I still hope to this day I might run into some of my old friends in 14.

Sovrath · August 1

Lineage 2. I had tried shadowbane for all of 5 minutes and I hated the movement and couldn't figure out how to do things. Plus I didn't really like the look of the world.

After a lot of research and saying "no" to Everquest, I bought Lineage 2. Right away I loved the energy, all the players, the look of the game.

And then I entered Dark Elf Village for the first time and saw the arm coming up from the floor, dark energy coming from the hand and I was hooked. Hooked!

cameltosis · August 1

My first MMORPG was SWG back in 2003, but I wouldnt say it was what got me hooked on the genre. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the game a lot, but I was in my final year of school, had a busy social life and lots of other hobbies, so I didn't really commit to it.

The one that got me hooked was LotRO, in 2007.

Partly it was just because it was Lord of the Rings, and the world had been so lovingly crafted. Partly it was the same as the OP: the community aspect. My boss was my guild leader, the guild was really friendly, and the community in general was better than any other game I've played.

But mostly, it was the combat mechanics and the classes! I've never played an RPG before or since that had such deep mechanics and such varied classes. I found it so engaging, and I loved coming up with new group setups and tactics when repeating the same old content. I even loved the PvP! That sort of emergent gameplay is only possible with depth, a depth that just doesn't seem to exist elsewhere. and sadly, i dont think it exists anymore in lotro.

As a counter-point to the original question, the game that broke my MMO addiction was SWTOR. From 2007 to 2013 I only played MMORPGs, pretty much every day. The old saying "friends don't let friends quit" was definitely true. I was running a guild, had people relying on me, and that kept me motivated to keep logging in and getting stuff done.

Until SWTOR.

That game was so shockingly bad, it made me take a needed step back and re-evaluate my gaming habit. The combat mechanics were so shallow and easy I got no real enjoyment from it. The game wasn't even massively multiplayer, so it lacked the sense of scale that I loved and prevented community events from happening. There was minimal endgame content, and what was there was so easy we cleared everything first go.

So, I quit, examined my motivations, and came up with a set criteria:

1) Must have deep combat mechanics

2) Must have horizontal character progression

3) Must include objective-based open world PvP (e.g. fighting over keeps)

4) Must have an IP I really like

I vowed to myself I wouldn't spend money or commit to a new MMORPG unless it met those 4 criteria. 11 years later, im still waiting! But I keep coming back, I keep hoping, because those early years of LotRO, WAR, SWG remain my highest gaming highs.

Kyleran · August 1

I picked up two MMORPG trial disks for free at GameStop back in 2002. The first one I tried didn't last 10 minutes, try as I might the Hercules video card in my computer wouldn't run it faster than a slide show.

So I loaded up the next, Lineage 1, the Blood pledge, Western edition which ran well.

In six months I experienced a number of wonders, made several friends in game that I still keep in touch with online over 22 years later.

I also learned a valuable lesson to never share personal details about real life when a disgruntled guild member of the clan I was running threatened to come to my town and harm my teenage daughter.

I also experience my first major character/class nerf, a gameplay change that totally invalidated 6 months of hard effort to create my build, wiped away in a single patch.

Was my first perma banning, I was disgruntled about the nerf, decided to go try another new MMO I had heard about, so dropped about 10 in game scrolls in local towns on all 3 of my accounts, inviting people to come join me on DAOC.

Even though a NCsoft moderator was a member of my guild, (or maybe because he was) couldn't prevent my 3 accounts being banned forever.

I had a much better time playing DAOC and Shadowbane in the years that followed,even mellowed my enough to try Lineage 2 in early 2004, well, at least until WOW launched in Nov 2004.

Akulas · August 1

Just simple stuff like whoa I can light a fire. Whoa, I can mine a rock. Digging a hole in the ground was a big deal back in the old days.

cheyane · August 1

Some of you may have read this before when I wrote this so I apologize for writing it again.

In 1999 I was at home a housewife after years of working 9-10 hours a day and through the weekends because in Malaysia the private offices close on Sunday but the courts are open because it's a Muslim country and they follow Friday as the day the government offices close.

I was really slowly going nuts looking after my son and my husband suggested we go buy another video game. I had been playing on the Playstation only at this point and Fallout. So we went and in this huge computer shop I mean it was massive in Singapore. This women on the cover of a box caught my attention.

Who is the elf on virtually all the Everquest cover art reverquest

Who is the elf on virtually all the Everquest cover art reverquest

I looked inside and was completely hooked by the images

If you look carefully all the races are represented in that artwork.

I have always loved fantasy books since my mother got me interested in Tolkien when I was young. She herself is a huge fantasy genre fan. I took it home and mind you I have never played online. I log in and I am in this world, I had picked a human ranger and started in Surefall Glade and as you know humans are blind in the dark. I had a torch and didn't know how to use it and I had not even opened the inventory. Didn't know how to chat either.

I walk into the tunnel and I'm stuck there for close to an hour until someone comes up to me and talks to me and explains everything from equipping the torch and chatting. I was so grateful and I just could not believe how much it felt like I was actually in that tunnel groping around in the dark or when I walked around and looked at the buildings and opened doors and went inside to find it inhabited. It was completely mind blowing to me how much I felt like I was actually in that tunnel, it was surreal and exciting. I was panicking and my hands in real life was so sweaty because I didn't know how to get out, my heart was thumping. I kept getting turned around and coming back to the glade. After that kind soul helped me get out I come out to Qeynos Hills. To verdant rolling hills as far as I could see.

I think I had the over the shoulder camera and I just stared at the snakes, rats and beetles and the occasional grey wolf. It was so beautiful. Everything about the game was completely breathtaking and I never looked back. That was it I was in love.

I died a lot I mean like really a lot. I ran out of food and drink and was unable to buy anything as the lodge only had iron rations. Every egg in my inventory was quickly consumed and I finally found the forage skill. If I was any other class I would have been still looking at 'you are hungry and thirsty' messages.

Everquest was so well made. It was truly a world that you could be in. It felt like that. It was remarkable and totally addictive.

You're in our world now.

Valdheim · August 1

Phantasy Star Online on the Sega Dreamcast in 2001 with dial-up internet!

I was completely blown away by the fact that all those people in the hub were real people.
Some guy named Wilson started a chat with me, explained a lot of the game and gave me some nice equipment and money. I just couldn't believe it. Some great memories.

This was it, the moment I got hoocked on MMORPGs and it followed directly with Ragnarök Online, Star Wars Galaxies, EverQuest 2 and World of Warcraft in that particular order.
After that I tried almost every MMORPG ever made but those first 5 will always be special to me

Lithuanian · August 1

The very first was Runescape. Did not hook though.
First to hook me: Istaria. This is where I discovered mmo. Good community, player-ran economy...even grind was not that tedious. No advancements purchasable from cash shop (but they, you can have T-shirt!). Dragons and their hoard-ful lairs. Helping other players and being helped by them. All this was really, really nice.
Then it was Lotro, my second big step and last one.

Homura235 · August 2

Vanilla WoW. I started playing right when Burning Crusade came out and played up through Pandaria. I loved the fact that leveling took months and months. That's what I really loved about MMOs - it was about the journey and not the destination. Now you can hit max level in an MMO in a week. I just don't see the fun in that. I still remember the first time I walked into Zangarmarsh. It was a magical experience. I love exploring and discovering cool hidden things. I even enjoyed spending hours and hours grinding for a rare drop (that one slime pet which you could sell for a lot of gold) or grinding rep to get a cool mount.

Ryukan · August 5

While I got started on Everquest once my8 dad showed it to me, my first true MMO love was Asheron's Call. First MMO I was able to play with my dad at the same time (we only had one PC when we played Everquest) and we played Asheron's Call together for years. Good times those were. Nowadays I miss playing MMO's with my dad after he passed away.

MadBomber13 · August 5

Shadowbane way back when. Sure it was somewhat flawed and poorly optimized but boy the stories. No quests but the community made up their own stories and drama. Was part of the resistance in the ice continent against a dominating alliance of guilds. Great times!

flash_xx · August 6

For me it was Asheron's Call. One of the most underrated mmos of all time. No instancing, open world, you could drop items on the floor and someone else could pick them up, loot just dropped, floor was littered with stuff after fights. Great community. Made some amazing friends. Still miss it. None of the other mmos I've played since then have been as fun as AC.

hupa · August 7

Realms of Despair MUD in the 90's was my first MMO. I think it was just the whole experience that was so new that got me hooked. Nothing specific comes to mind. Before that I had only played Doom with my friend through serial cable.

Arglebargle · August 7

City of Heroes! A friend was in the Beta, and I played for an hour or two in the lead up to release. The household here was very superhero oriented, so it struck a chord, and the little bit of play before release cemented the deal. None of the other MMOs of the time held the same attraction.

Was fun solo, and playing lead to three great Superhero Team experiences over the years.

Was pretty much subbed from the first month through the last. Held a torch under the statue when the lights went out.

But hey, I can play again now!

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