Scratching the MMO itch

Tek7

Tek7

CGA President, Tribe of Judah Founder & President
Staff member
Okay, I'm not going to drop $80 to buy the World of Warcraft Battle Chest and the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, then pay $15 a month to play WoW.

I'm not going to drop the money to buy Guild Wars and its expansions.

But I'm feeling the familiar MMO "itch," where my interest in MMO games is temporarily rekindled.

I know most free MMOs are pretty weak (at least, the ones I've tried have been).

Are there any MMOs out there that aren't weak that people on these forums have personally played and would recommend?
 
LOTRO. o.o

Or...

Uhh. Yeah.

DND Online is going to be free to play within a week or two (if it's not already), so you could try that out if you like rolling things. >_>
 
Free Realms is pretty decent, as is Runes of Magic... But they are still weak, like all F2P games...
 
  • Runes Of Magic actually held my interest for a long time. I got to mid 30s and fooled around with tons of neat addons.
  • Free Realms was neat to see but didn't hold me long.
  • Wizard101 is actually very fun and I could see me sticking around if I didn't have other games now.
  • DDO free in August looks to be great.
  • domainofheroes is great old school fun.
  • Aion Online on a Chinese server is complex to setup but well worth it.
 
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I play mostly Sony games these days, which a lot of people opine as falling into the "weak" category, but they have a few things going for them.

1) Many of them are free downloads, not just in giving you a free two week trial but if you continue your subscription after the trial you get access to the whole game up to the next to last expansion for free without having to purchase the discs.

2) You can make money playing some of their games (see my sig below). Not enough to replace a real income, but enough to cover your subscription costs plus some extra. I usually make 100-300 per month which is enough to enable me to stay home to take care of my family.

4) They have a value-priced subscription option so that if you'd like to play more than one of their games, you pay one price of 30 per month and get access to seven games in return: Vanguard, Pirates of the Burning Sea, Planetside, Everquest, Everquest II, Everquest Online Adventures, Star Wars Galaxies, and FreeRealms. Two of those games, Everquest II and Vanguard, are on the system that allows legal in-game sales for real money.

As far as gameplay goes, I don't really know your gaming preferences enough to make a recommendation for you there, but you can find a list of their free trials here: http://www.station.sony.com/en/freeTrials.vm. Personally I find Vanguard the most satisfying, but as you know ToJ has an active guild on EQ2 so you'd probably find a great welcoming experience checking there, too.
 
I know you already knocked Guild Wars, but you can easily get all 4 games for under 50 bucks. Newegg sells Game of the Year edition Prophecies and Factions for 9.99 each. Free shipping too. And there are always other deals to get the other two games. It's actually the cheapest thing you're going to find that's not free. And, all those free MMO's aren't gonna have a ToJ Chapter already established to play with nor the experience of WoW/Diablo/GW producers working on the game.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832197012
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832197002
 
The issue with GWs is it is not an MMO, it is a CORPG (says so even on their official website)...

Best GWs explaination:

"There's a lot of misunderstanding going around, but GW is an online RPG that blends elements from Diablo-style online multiplayer, while integrating some MMO elements. The cities and certain dungeon entrances are basically hubs, but once you exit those areas for the wide expanses of desert, rolling hills, and snowy mountains, you'll be flying solo, most of the time."

...and in my opinion has the similar lack of content of f2p MMO, which it in itself is a f2p game...

That set aside, I think GWs is a good game...just not when you look at it like a MMO...
 
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Stc95 said:
I know you already knocked Guild Wars, but you can easily get all 4 games for under 50 bucks. Newegg sells Game of the Year edition Prophecies and Factions for 9.99 each. Free shipping too. And there are always other deals to get the other two games. It's actually the cheapest thing you're going to find that's not free. And, all those free MMO's aren't gonna have a ToJ Chapter already established to play with nor the experience of WoW/Diablo/GW producers working on the game.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832197012
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832197002
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I got tired of guild wars after they decided to have expansionitis. Instead of increasing the level cap they just made it so you had to play through hundreds of hours of missions where you need to have a decent team to have any chance of completing. Sitting around waiting for a group is what makes guild wars lame, that and the occasional sour apple that makes your life hell for their amusement.
 
That is why they introduced heroes. And they've always had henchmen to fill spots. Most people rarely PUG anymore except for high-end areas. However the Alliance always gets together to do stuff and help each other out. No it's not a traditional MMO, but then again I don't think Tek is looking for a traditional MMO. GW is unique in its ability to be played for a half hour and leave for a week and not lose money and have the ability to play with people if you want to, or go solo.

Instead of increasing the level cap they just made it so you had to play through hundreds of hours of missions
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What's the difference? Gaining levels is just another thing to suck your time away. Same thing with missions. It's the exact same thing, just different names. How long does it take to get to lvl 80 in WoW? Hundreds of hours right? however, in my opinion, missions are a lot more fun than leveling.

But in the end, it comes down to if Tek wants to spend any money at all or not.
 
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Stc95 said:
What's the difference? Gaining levels is just another thing to suck your time away. Same thing with missions. It's the exact same thing, just different names. How long does it take to get to lvl 80 in WoW? Hundreds of hours right? however, in my opinion, missions are a lot more fun than leveling.
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To me gaining a level is a public view of your accomplishment...that feeling you get when you hit a level especially ones that take a lot of time fills you with a great feeling of accomplishment...makes you feel like the hard work paid off...
 
XionTawa said:
To me gaining a level is a public view of your accomplishment...that feeling you get when you hit a level especially ones that take a lot of time fills you with a great feeling of accomplishment...makes you feel like the hard work paid off...
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And GW has its own way of showing off and feeling accomplished: titles. Beat all the missions in the game, get a title that you can show off to the world where ever you go.
 
I think Guild Wars is more about facilitating fun and engaging social experiences rather than personal individual achievements. The reason they don't increase the level cap is so that people can continue playing with their friends without having to buy extra expansions.

Personally I think it's a great game in its own right. My Ranger/Warrior there is probably the most enjoyable character I have ever played. I didn't stay with it because I enjoy building up great mercantile empires in my games and the GW economic system isn't really that satisfying for that, but at the same time I think it's great that at anytime I can still go back and pick up my character again after any amount of time without fear of having been left behind.
 
Stc95 said:
And GW has its own way of showing off and feeling accomplished: titles. Beat all the missions in the game, get a title that you can show off to the world where ever you go.
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Ehh...I have titles in the MMOs I play...not that enticing for me...but I do have a question...what can you do once you have completed all the missions?

I think RiverTigress said it best...
I think Guild Wars is more about facilitating fun and engaging social experiences rather than personal individual achievements. The reason they don't increase the level cap is so that people can continue playing with their friends without having to buy extra expansions.

Personally I think it's a great game in its own right. My Ranger/Warrior there is probably the most enjoyable character I have ever played. I didn't stay with it because I enjoy building up great mercantile empires in my games and the GW economic system isn't really that satisfying for that, but at the same time I think it's great that at anytime I can still go back and pick up my character again after any amount of time without fear of having been left behind.
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XionTawa said:
...but I do have a question...what can you do once you have completed all the missions?
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I ran my Elementalist through the necessary quests and missions to complete all four areas. Then I went back to really play the game - completing bonuses - capping skills I wanted - little side games like Polymock - vanquishing explorable areas, which involves hard mode - missions in hard mode. There is a years worth plus of things to do once you have initially completed the missions.

Then I started bringing new characters through - enjoying new skill sets and fighting techniques. It is a whole different game with a Warrior or a Monk or a Necro or an Elementalist or whatever. I know I will still be going back to GW even after GW2 comes out.
 
Stc95 said:
I know you already knocked Guild Wars [...]
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I didn't mean to knock Guild Wars by saying I wasn't going to drop the money on GW and its expansions. I've played GW before and I enjoyed what little I played. If given the opportunity to attend future Spirit of Elijah/Elisha celebrations, I'd like to stop by and hang out with the guild.

I doubt I would download or play the guild if not to visit SoE/SOE, but that has less to do with the quality of the game and more to do with my personal gaming preferences. One of the biggest draws of MMOs for me is the feeling that you're running around a world with hundreds, if not thousands, of players nearby.

That being said, my main reason for not buying Guild Wars is simple: My gaming budget at the moment is zero. My most recent "game" purchase was Wii Fit and that was because my wife and I both wanted it, we purchased it as a stepping stone to regular exercise (not as an all-inclusive fitness program), and I had two Best Buy Reward Zone certificates to use.

I think my second most recent game purchase was BioShock for $5...because it was $5.
 
I still pick up 9Dragons every now and again. It's F2P but like others you can spend money to level faster and such.

I used to love SilkRoad, but then I could never get logged on and it was way too populated.
 
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