What MMORPG are you playing, and why?
What MMORPG are you playing, and why?
I'm back for my annual month on FFXIV, but I honestly admit I'm growing a bit tired of the gameplay loop, the "omg you're the main hero !!" story and the sometimes very weird community. I love the world setting though, so I usually stick around anyway.
I would love to give GW2 more chances, but I'm not totally vibing with the combat system; plus, I wish art direction went a little differently, the game is not exactly holding up well these days (but I admit that square-enix is quite a high standard in that regard: even FFXI still looks artistically coherent, two decades and a half later).
Guild Wars 2 mostly for me.
I played WoW a lot until the expansion after WotLK.
GW2 is my jam. I love the painterly art style, Charr are the best beast-race out there, I like the combat system (WoW drove me crazy! Hated not being able to dodge). So... don't listen to me.
Tombstone is out! Skilling MMO (So think runescape) with a retro-future wild west type theme and pixel gfx that can be played from steam, its own client (available on itch), a browser, or android. Runs on anything, obscenely fast update pace, developers on discord respond to issues dummy fast. I'm currently playing tombstone.
Ive been playing Final Fantasy 14, but I keep getting distracted by other games that are not MMORPGs recently. I kinda rotate around different genres and games and stuff. I'll try to stay on topic tho.
Guild Wars 2 was good. Idk if it still is because I haven't played it in a very long time. I do have fond memories of Guild Wars 2 though.
The only other one I got my eye on right now is "WoW Ascension: Conquest of Azeroth". They recently put out a new server with new classes and stuff in alpha I think. They have youtube videos of the new classes and it looks pretty cool. I'm watching that one for if/when it does an official release. Cause I've grown up on WoW and used to play it a lot. Wow Ascension does have other servers too but I've already played those.
I literally just got an email from ascension. Its hard to say if its just regular marketing stuff but it seems to imply the new server is out and ready to be played on. I plan to check it out as well.
There's different ones depending on what kind of experience you want to play.
- The default ascension server is "Classless". Abilities are randomized from the base game content. And maybe some new abilities have been added too. I've already played this one and it's kinda fun. Highly recommend. ;-)
- There's one called "Project Ascension Classic+" which was just announced a few days ago. It's a fresh start with the original classes and abilities and some extra ascension content. I don't know if this one is available yet.
- And then there's "Project Ascension Conquest of Azeroth". This is the one im most excited for right now. It is technically available free on beta for a limited time i believe. But if you wish to play further you'd have to donate $35 to gain alpha access.
Right now, I can't buy into the alpha due to budget concerns. And I've been quite busy during the holidays. But somewhere down the line in the future I'll definitely try playing it.
All of the servers are free to play. And any alpha access I believe is just a one time donation to gain access.
I used to play Lord of the Rings Online every year in December because they have some neat events. Haven’t done it for a while (lost my install with a hard drive and never reinstalled).
I tried GW2, but I'm just not a fan of the graphics. There are also numerous clipping issues throughout the world. With a game as old as GW2, it worries me that simple vertex issues still exist. I need to see what end-game looks like, though. Maybe it's worth it, idk.
None.
Because I hate people.
Good point. Most people suck.
I do miss the goofballs from my old WoW server though. They were pretty great.
Every year I return to play GW2 for 2-3 month it's always a blast. It would have been better if I had enough tine to play it constantly but. I love how fluid the combat is, I love how different classes are, I love the worldbuilding.
Been playing GW2 since beta, but haven't been that active since I had my a baby. I've played thousands of hours, have over 40k AP, was even mildly famous in the community for a bit, but I just haven't had the time for any games lately. It's still my favorite though, I love the art, the music, the player centric design and how they really try to make a fun experience and not waste your time. I tried Star Trek Online because I heard they had screen writers from the shows writing some of the content, and had enough fun to max a couple of characters and upgrade a ship or two and then they raised the level cap on me and made it all obsolete. I quit. I have no patience to put up with that kind of crap. I've been spoiled by GW2's design philosophy, and they've proved worthy of my trust and time. I recommend it to anyone looking for an MMO.
GW2 is the first MMO i out over 2k hours into. It's a shame that the last few years have felt pretty meh. I haven't been playing seriously since PoF, life got busy, and the narrative just wasn't hitting with me. Also the desert maps weren't that great imo. I guess i have more problems than I expected with it.
Wow, that’s quality armor!
By Droknar's hammer, what a savings!
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XIV player here. Started a few years ago but recently picked it back up again. It has certainly taken over my life again
Do you still play?
GW2 is probably one of the best MMOs out there, but it just no longer grabs me as it used to. I play sometimes, but in bursts. As soon as I run out of story content, I just fall off.
Lately I've played Corepunk and quite enjoyed it but it has ways to go still. And the servers are down for like a week now due to tech issues.
Last MMO that really grabed me long term in the last fee years was New World, but I feel the devs just don't know what game they want. And there was huge content drought with them focusing on launching console version. I'm playing with an idea of getting the expac and make a leap of faith that it has a future because I'd really love that.
Also keeping my eye on Soulframe. It's (or is supposed to be) a MMO lite but it looks like something that could definitely scratch an itch for me. Still in pre-alpha but I like what they are aiming for and it already plays quite well.
Brighter Shores! It's a new game by Andrew Gower on his new game engine (just came out last month).
It's a point and click game similar to RuneScape that's mostly a second screen game. It's in early access and a lot will probably change in the coming months based on feedback (they've already confirmed they're rethinking some of their combat design and adding action queuing).
Unlike RuneScape it's been designed out of the gate to provide people with a way to engage without sinking a ton of time. You can do fully offline training in this game, so you can be gaining XP while you sleep.
The game runs like a dream, has a very well done sound track, tastefully simplistic graphics, and just generally is a cozy/feel good MMO with light humor and puns.
No micro transactions, generous amount of free to play content, and a $6/mo subscription for all content.
Huh I heard about his new game but didn't realize it was already in some sort of early access. Cool!
If you're interested, now is a good time to start playing. There are some limited edition hats being dropped for the holiday!
I usually jump between Guild Wars 2 and the Elder Scrolls Online myself. But Warframe has been on the side of them as well since forever, but its more of MMO lite.
GW2 is very nice when it comes to combat and such, even if the large world events aren't really my cup of tea as the FX gets pretty bad. The story is decent enough and there is no subscription option at all. You do however need to buy the expansions and the living world story to get the entire game, i think there is a "complete pack" on steam. But its free to play the base game even though free accounts are very limited and should be seen more as an endless trial.
ESO has a far better world and deeper lore than GW2 does but i find its combat to be especially awful. A subscription is practically mandatory if you want to do crafting as there are a /lot/ of crafting materials and not a lot of inventory space. With the subscription you get access to the crafting bag which is just unlimited storage for crafting materials. The subscription also gives you access to all the episodes and expansions apart from the latest one. The story is often good, but nothing too exceptional.
Warframe is completely different as its a third person shooter. Its got some of the best movement in the business imo. Its entirely free to play as well with ways to earns everything in game, including the premium currency as its tradable between players. Its got some of the wildest lore of any game ive played and as such is quite unique in its take on sci fi. The story is great, but relatively short. If you do give this one a shot and hate the gameplay its not going to be for you as there is a lot of grind. But if you want to play a space ninja/walking WMD bouncing off of the walls while murdering hordes of enemies its definitely worth a try.
Project: Gorgon is my forever home MMO, I'm not super active currently but am online for events and such. I've found it to be the only title on the market that feels like a world you join instead of a game you log in.
Not playing it, but AoC seems to have a lot of potential.
The last MMO I properly played was Black Desert Online. It is an absolutely amazing game but with disgusting monetisation. It did however also become a dangerous addiction in my life. It is currently free on steam I believe though!
Since that experience I haven't really played any MMOs, I tried out Throne and Liberty a few weeks ago and that was the most boring couple of hours of my life this year.
As a huge Guild Wars 1 fan, GW2 was one of the biggest disappointments ever.
Old school runescape. I just get addicted to the grind until I need a couple month break.
I'm not playing it at the moment but the most recent one i was actively subscribed to was ffxi. I find that now when I want to pay an MMO I stray away from the wow likes (if i want that style it's xiv for me though). I like the older ones that use more archaic combat systems because they're often very unique on a genre where everything now feels very similar.
Also here's an obligatory "I miss Wildstar"
Wildstar was cool. I got a free shirt and Logitech keyboard out of their booth at PAX one year. (Never played the game, though.)
Horizonxi. It's set in CoP era and has a population of near 2k during primetime. It's been hella fun.
Played many over the years and while playing think of how GW2 implemented this specific thing and become nostalgic for GW2 and start playing that again. New world was fun for a while, but I missed magic (literally), so I started gw2 again and went through two expansions over 4 months, burned out and am now 1.5 years MMO sober.
GW2 is cool like that. No subs, respects your time, many players drop in and out every few years. It's getting old but I hope it never dies. I might start it up again this weekend...
Trying to hold onto my desire to play FFXIV since I have a personal large house and years invested
But honestly the recent expansion having the worst story we've seen in a final fantasy ANYTHING alongside multiple staff members pretending Wuk Lamat's voice acting was acceptable (and the large portion of the player base that will call you a transphobe for that opinion) has me seriously considering if this is the end of the line for me
Tried picking up GW2 but tank controls disgust me
I haven't played Dawntrail yet, but I have to admit that I felt something was troubling the game even in earlier expansions: as I finished both ShB and EW I couldn't help but be left with a state of "oh, tome grinding... again... in the same exact way as all the other expansions". No one seemed to care, however, so I thought it was my problem. And it's a big shame, because I expected differently from Dawntrail: from what I heard, it feels more like the character going on a vacation than anything, with really just the same gameplay loop.
Another thing I was expecting from Dawntrail, apart from big gameplay changes, is to redefine the story more significantly: FFXIV up to Endwalker was a great story, but sometimes I couldn't help it but feel like I didn't want to be so central to everything: it's great when MMOs make you feel like "a hero from the sidelines" because there's less immersion breaking (and FFXI did this succesfully, if I recall). I think writers really dug themselves in too deep of a hole:
spoiler
how the hell do you write a threat that feels significant after you've talked about universes, ancestral gods from previous eras trying to destroy everything, etcetera? I understand that resetting everything to the point of no one having any recollection of the Hero of Light would have required a lot of writing, but maybe it would've been better - having EW's ending trigger a sort of memory-wipe similar to that of FFXIV 1.0's story.
From what I hear - reason I haven't played it yet - is that Dawntrail is fram from such expectations. I agree that once you try FFXIV's legacy controls you can't go back. Same thing goes for gamepad optimization.
You just need a way to rationalize it. For me, I focused on the fact that the praise the Warrior of Light usually receives is in the vein of never giving up, not that they are just plain powerful. As such, I don't view my character as any more powerful than any of the Scions, or Raubahn. I think the narrative of Shadowbringers and Endwalker support that idea. That fight with Zeno's at the end was just pure willpower at the end, neither had any strength left and they still fought till they couldn't move.
Ultima Online the OG mmorpg. There's a private run server that launched 6 years ago and took the community by storm. They've reworked almost everything and it's amazing. Outlands is the name of the server. UO outlands is like the UO2 we never got.
Wakfu. MMO in a kinda cutesy animation style. Combat is turn based, very final fantasy tactics (which I enjoy), and actually quite complex. You can spend ages min maxing your build.
There’s an actual lore and storyline (and crazy enough an entire TV show). Harvesting and crafting professions that are fun and useful. A kind of player housing. Mounts. All shop items are cosmetic or resets only.
It’s a great game that’s been around for a long time and isn’t going anywhere.
Jump on the Ogrest server, which is the most active international server today.
Palia, which is the closest I can get to a cozy, friendly MMORPG with a decent community. The lack of enemies doesn't bother me, and I like feeling that I don't need to grind for gear or status. That being said, the game desperately needs more content. I'm on hiatus at the moment.
As far as the others go, Everquest and World of Warcraft were/are still my favorites but I haven't played them in years. MMORPGs are a dying breed, and today most if not all of them bring very little to the table. They don't make 'em like they used to, that's for sure.
These days, I prefer single player RPGs where choices matter, or games that have base-building elements and open world survival. I really don't care for playing with other murder hobos anymore.
I dunno if it counts as an MMORPG but Warframe has sunk its claws back into me and I can't get it out of my head. The new update is mindblowing in many ways and I'm so into whatever the devs keep cooking if they continue like this.
It's a tough game to get into but I've been playing it on and off for a decade now and there's nowhere I'd rather be
If I haven't played in a year or so. Will there be any painful grind barriers to get to the 1999 content?
Just completing the main quests afaik, if it's only been a year then there shouldn't be too many.
They actually went back and reduced the painful grinds for some of the previous stuff, like crafting railjack/necramechs and most syndicates are now much easier to progress.
Eve online because I hate myself
I've been playing for the past year and I'm about to quit. It really demands so much time and being on coms. I want an MMO that I can play while I have videos or a movie going on the other monitor.
I couldn't think of an amusement park MMO that would allow me to sit on a wormhole all day listening for an activation and watching youtube and not feel like I'm wasting money by not playing. the beautiful thing about eve is it requires as much of your time and attention as you're willing to give and it never feels like you're not progressing.
I don't usually like MMORPGs because I haven't yet found one that hasn't been spoiled with microtransactions and a toxic playerbase, so I just play Outside. I'm much more a fan of singleplayer, or multiplayer with friends games like Terraria, Stardew Valley, or Minecraft.
Ive been off mmorpg's for years now. I miss it a bit but I don't miss the grind and stick to games I can put down and pick up whenever. I used ot play the cryptic ones which I do feel were very well donw. Well champions and star trek. I was not a big neverwinter fan.
WoW but losing interest. Got Keystone Hero on my main months ago and the only upgrades I have left are from the raid...And my guild isn't big enough for mythic raiding so I'll never get them. My friends are playing alts but there's no spec I enjoy anywhere near as much as my main
I usually take a break between major patches. 11.1 looks really good though, I'm absolutely going to be playing that.
Yeah, same. I'll probably keep my sub and just play less. There's still a few legion class campaigns I want to do on alts
I started playing GW2 at the end of 2023 an been having a blast with it! I played WoW for a decade until the combo of Shadowlands and the Acti-Blizz allegations soured me on that company forever. I tried FFXIV with everyone going over to that game and the story was good but the button bloat pushed me away from really getting into it. I then had that MMO itch at the end of 2023 again and decided to try GW2 and it's been great. Fun story, good gameplay and most importantly no subscription. It's so nice to be able to play with breaks and come back whenever you want to with no need to open up your wallet every time, just buy the expansions and Living Worlds once and you are done!
I played a lot of MMOs during childhood but they're not fun anymore to me. I hop on FF14 when a new expansion drops, play for like a month and go play something else. I miss the big group content sometimes but my schtick nowadays are these 4-player multiplayer games with actual good combat, maybe with like a lobby of more people to interact.
Looking forward to the new monster hunter and ER Nightreign next year. Also Destiny 2 is my guilty pleasure. The gunplay is godlike, so satisfying but omg Bungie fumbled so hard, I legit hate this company.
I'm growing a bit tired of the gameplay loop
I tried WoW, GW2, ESO, NW and nothing stuck. I guess MMOs are not for me.
I'm not really a fan of MMORPGs, both due to the gameplay (MMOs are grindy by nature and the hotkey-driven autocombat of most MMORPGs isn't interesting enough to sustain that for me) and because of often aggressive monetization.
I do like some MMOs in other genres, though. Path of Exile is an action RPG with drop-in multiplayer and a rudimentary built-in trading system. It's basically Diablo 3 in good. Plus, its monetization system is one of the fairest I've seen so far, with the only MTXes that offer gameplay benefits being on sale literally every other weekend.
Path of Exile 2 (currently in closed beta) is basically the same with a tweaked skill system and a soulslike dodge roll mechanic that you're expected to use. Pretty decent, a bit slower-paced than the first one.
I should also pick up Warframe again one of these days. The repetitive nature of MMOs isn't as bad when it's a mobility-focused third-person shooter. And IIRC, there's not much you can get with MTX that you can't also get through gameplay somehow. Plus, it's also a game that you can just play singleplayer if you want.
Guildwars has been my choice for quite a while now. I enjoy most things about it, and it doesn’t feel like a job either. I can do my things, take a break, come back and still have fun. Plus all the cash shop items can be bought with in-game gold, which i do regularly.
Apart from that, I still really like ESO, in theory, but Zenimax continue showing incompetence and greed, so the interest there is decreasing fast. And that’s a shame
Elite Dangerous, because it can be as intense or chill as I want, it's a remarkably good space sim, and I can easily opt out of PvP while still affecting the state of the galaxy.
I've wanted to get back into Elite Dangerous but I wasn't even aware that it was an MMO. What am I missing?
I wasn’t even aware that it was an MMO.
The entire galaxy is shared by everyone playing the game, in real time. You can encounter each other, fight, team up, or avoid each other, and your actions influence the state of the shared simulation. Definitely an MMO.
What am I missing?
The most recent thing you probably missed was the thargoid war, culminating in a battle with the titan that parked itself over Earth and took over the Sol system. You might compare it to a fantasy MMO raid, but at a much larger scale.
Colonisation is coming soon.
2009scape. Because I can self host it.
Not really into MMORPGs, but I've been trying The Finals and it's pretty cool. Like the destruction of Battlefield mixed with the movement of Apex Legends and maybe a light touch of Rainbow Six: Siege or COD. Definitely worth the $0.
FFXIV because I'm trans and I think it's a requirement at that point.
I've recently gotten into New World: Aeternum. I'm on console so my MMORPG options are limited but I'm really enjoying it. There's dungeons, raids, world bosses, collecting, crafting and more.
I have almost no time to play much, especially an mmo, but I have been trying Throne & Liberty and was kind of impressed from what I have played so far. Again, I am only at the beginning and barely did much, but from what I have seen, I like the mechanics, and it looks really good. I have no clue if it holds up once you get near end game stuff or if P2W takes over.
None but the sweet siren of eve is making its annual beckon
I've always said I'll play eve if there's an afterlife. The idea is fascinating to me but I ain't got that kind of time
I've come to enjoy it a lot more after giving up on minmaxxing and just having a good time screwing around
I'll probably try Project Rubi-ka when they reopen the servers/help them out with some bug hunting, since Anarchy Online, despite its flaws, is still the best MMORPG I've played to date.... which is kinda sad tbh
Re-subbed to WoW for a month, for the huge 20th Anniversary Event. Since I've played so much earlier in the year (another event and expansion launch), I'm not interested in continuing after the sub runs out. There are a few more achievements I'll finish, but otherwise I'm kinda done.
FF14 is the only other MMO I've played, have like 650 hours on Steam, and I think I'm in the middle of the Stormblood campaign. It's been a while since I played it, but some day I'll make it to Endwalker.
I'm still playing endless Luanti while waiting for Guild Wars 2 to get SteamDeck verified.
Edit: Downvoter can't handle that Luanti is an MMO, now. I can't help that I'm the world's most accomplished self-hoster. (This is sarcasm, humorously implying that I'm hosting the world's biggest Luanti instance, such that it qualifies as "massively multiplayer". Which one might almost believe if they read my post history... I'm pretty active in both the Luanti and self-hosting communities.)
Why do you need to wait for GW2 to get verified? I’ve been playing it on deck for over a year.