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MMOs That Are Actually RPGs?
Deioth
Member UncommonPosts: 64
I don't know about anyone else, but I'm getting rather sick of seeing so many MMOs come out that literally are just online games and not ROLE PLAYING games. By which I mean the VAST majority of the community (even on designated RP servers, if there are any) has little interest, if any, let alone some immature need to debunk or insult or disrupt, in roleplay. A lot of MMOs that come out these past couple years have sometimes had a wonderful story to pick up on and good opportunity to RP, yet they often place no real content to build off with it and focus entirely on either PVE or PVP or both. It's becoming increasingly aggrivating trying to find a good MMO that is actually worthy of having RPG added to the accronym. Perhaps some of you can help me find a good game that has some decent roleplay and story content, perhaps even to the extent that player actions truly have an effect on the evolution of the world, and I do not mean just changing another virtual kingdom border.
What I'm looking for, in short:
1. A decently mature community at the very least open to roleplay (Only Nexus ever had that, and years of poor GMing and a breakaway from a story focus for a PVE/PVP focus ruined that game's community bad)
2. A game with content designed with roleplay in mind, preferably live events and/or story altering potential through player action (Nexus, again, sort of had this, but has lost its way with bad GMs, so that game is ruined for me)
3. Decent enough PVE to give me goals, a distraction, and a means to always feel I am bettering my character, preferably with story and meaning and accomplishment behind it (WoW did this wonderfully... until I hit level 60... and then it sucked no matter what I did)
4. Decent and hopefully balanced PVP with reasoning and story backing it up or at least potential to roleplay it out (Despite the loads of story loopholes, again, WoW did well... until the dishonor system... which made me feel like I was a fucking farm)
5. Actual content, period, that doesn't involve much tedium or monotony and is actually worthwhile (I've yet to find a single worthwhile crafting system in ANY game)
Thanks for the help!
Comments
1: The Saga of Ryzom definitely has this.
2: Again, Ryzom has this.
3: "PVE ... preferably with story and meaning and accomplishment behind it (WoW did this wonderfully"
If you mean quests like WoW has, then Ryzom has none of that, because there is no meaning in accomplishing some epic adventure when that same thing will be done by thousands of other people again and again. Instead, Ryzom has #2 - frequent live events which sometimes allow players to affect the ongoing storyline, and in all cases, allow players to take actions which are entirely their own, rather than prescribed by a static quest. I think that the point of Ryzom is, as the name suggests, to participate in the saga.
4: Ryzom has this. See the PvP section of this link: http://www.ryzom.com/newcomer/features
5: Ryzom has one of the best and most complex/involved crafting systems. But if you mean "content" like quests and "endgame," then no, there is none of that.
I have a post here (<- link) that might help you with more information if you're interested.
Anyway, there's an unlimited-time free trial that doesn't require any payment info, and you just download the free game client, so there's no risk in giving it a try (<- link).
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In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on August 13, 2008.
To 3:, in a sense yes and in a sense no. I liked how in WoW if you completed the quest to kill, oh what was his name, that Blackrock spire warchief and his dragon? Thrall gave everyone in Durotar and the Barrens that hour long buff and said so and so killed him. Aside from that, WoW actually seemed to put real effort behind many of the quests, so it was fun to complete them (at least the first time through) but yeah, I knew I'd be repeating them all on a new character and got bored of my alts quickly.
To 5:, I can't stand "end game" in an evolving world, another reason why I grew to absolutely detest WoW. While I enjoy the increased challenge of raid instances in moderation, it's pretty sad when that's all that's left to do. Could you explain some of the different content Ryzom has to offer to keep high level characters interested?
If there's now an unlimited free trial, I suppose I could try it once more when I get around to it. Anything you could suggest to me to quickly get into the game itself and out of newbieville? Or anything at all to help me enjoy the game? Or maybe why all the newbie resource nodes started exploding on me...
It'd probably be best to ask your questions in Ryzom's forum here:
http://mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/category/174
I'd answer all of them right here but I'm tired. xD So here's one answer. Source nodes explode because their Extraction Risk bar falls to zero over time. This effect only begins after you reach level 10 in Harvest. The "Ground Stability" action increases the Extraction Risk bar a bit. You can use that action occasionally while digging to help prevent explosions and/or toxic clouds. At early levels it isn't very efficient to do so, though.
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In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on August 13, 2008.
I would like to find a community with those kind of features too. But for number 5, I think it will always be in RPG games. Grind. Grind. Grind. I haven't heard of Nexus before but when you mention about poor GMing I plan to avoid that game.
Um... I know it's not out yet, so it probably isn't what you're looking for, but... Would Hero's Journey be of any interest to you? Simutronics, the company making it, has a couple fairly popular text-based games under it's belt, and they promise that role playing will be one of their main focuses.(Is that a word?)
Anyway, you could check out the HJ forums on this site if you want, but they're not very active. The official forums are kind of... unique, and the official site is rather lacking in info. I would suggest looking at Hero's Hall. It's a fan site, and they've done a very good job of compiling information. Plus, the Hero's Hall forums are frequented by GMs working on the game, so, ya know... that's always a plus.
The guildwars series has all except the part of bettering your character since guildwars is more of a umm how well you can cooperate with your team rather than who can come up with a soloing --- kicking build because builds are limited but the formation of your team is not but then again you dont have to get into that kind of things. There is definately a story to it and best part about guildwars that almost no other games have is to NOT have to spend hours and hours and days and years working on 1 character. To finish the story youre party can be made up on the spot with other people you dont know.(once your 3/4 finished the story you should be maxed level 20 by the reward exp from quests and missions) Though the best part about guild wars factions is pvp BUT you dont just go in and kill everyone you see when your alliance wins a certain # of battles you can take a territory either for the alliance called the kurzicks or luxons. If your looking for a longer story you should get guildwars prophecies (the first one which this site just calls guild wars). Im pretty sure both games have alot of events but most events help fund your character (as in gws money not real). And pvp is fair since for theres is no such things as a PERFECT build. Though let me give you a piece of advice if your deciding to purchase it... If you get EXTREMELY pissed at it dont give it away and call it crap because your gonna fins your self back into the game in a few days or so.
Try Face of Mankind. BRILLIANT roleplay and mature storyline, ect. PLUS when the new milestone 2 patch is released there will be even MORE emersive roleplay such as civilian role as well as military and new planets and items. Also did i mention it ROCKS!
Guild Wars doesn't support RP at all. Just look at everyone's crazy names! Ad that to the lack of character customization, and the utterly horrible community,(I know this relates to the names, but I needed to say it directly) and you get a game that makes it practicly impossible to RP in.
In other words, if you're looking for an MMORPG, don't bother picking up Guild Wars.
Heh. Interesting that one of the few threads having to actually deal with role playing has only a few responses. Some great responses, though, and thanks to those who put forward some of their suggestions. I think I'm going to have to check out Face of Mankind - it looks pretty awesome, although not in the genre I normally play.
I think it is true to some extent that its the community that determines the quality of the role play, and while yes, the story line is very intrinic to good player backstories, that giving the player lots of options (and support) is perhaps the most important thing in fostering good role play. If it was all about game lore, then SWG would win hands down... but it doesn't does it. I think because it really limits the player's options. While there may be a lot of variety in what you can do in that game, once you chose, you are truly shoehorned into a box (traders and entertainers can't get combat xp, for example).
Lord of the Rings Online shows a lot of promise. It's got a great lore story (the mother of all lore stories!), but since it only started in beta, we don't know yet if Turbine has given the player enough options to allow role play to flourish. They have pretty much shied away from out and out RP support (such as RP servers), but once again, who knows if that will really make a difference. I think, though, that it's safe to assume its one game that is going to have the role-players flock to its release. Hopefully, we won't be disappointed.