I need a new MMO

[TheRundownRabbit]

I swear I've posted something like this before...ok, enough with the deja vu. Im done with Wildstar because of incompetent devs and I need a new MMO, I've been exploring options listed below.
-Tera
-Blade & Soul
-FFXIV
-Renewing my WoW sub

I am open to other options but I am looking for something with the following
-Good amount of solo play content, especially at level cap. I am not opposed to group content, I'll do group content all day like dungeons and raids, I just like to have fun on my own sometimes.
-Good amount of equipment/gear/weapon options. If I hate one thing about some MMO's, it's the lack of gear. Fro example, I hate hate hate reaching a level and having the same gear/weapons as nearly everyone else who is that level

And thats about it...hit me with some suggestions or comment on the options I listed.

 

[TheRundownRabbit]

Tera is pretty good and it's free so no real reason not to try it. Blade & Soul is free, but I found it to be pretty boring. I'd suggest Elder Scrolls Online, it has quite a lot of the stuff you're looking for, in fact it almost sounds like you're talking about it when you put down what you're looking for.

There is also Black Desert Online, not really suggesting it, just want to say that going off what you said here, it really isn't the MMO you're looking for.

 

[mardocOz]

I'm running FFXIV at the moment. Best story in an MMO as far as I'm concerned, most content can be soloed, plenty to do... took a bit of getting used to do for me coming in from WoW but I'm thoroughly enjoying it. You're able to glamour (transmog) your gear as well so plenty of customisation options. From that list above I'd go with this option (I'm hearing good things about Legion, but I daren't open that can of worms again)

 

[TT Kairen]

I'm running FFXIV at the moment. Best story in an MMO as far as I'm concerned, most content can be soloed, plenty to do... took a bit of getting used to do for me coming in from WoW but I'm thoroughly enjoying it. You're able to glamour (transmog) your gear as well so plenty of customisation options. From that list above I'd go with this option (I'm hearing good things about Legion, but I daren't open that can of worms again)

Pretty much this. Plenty of side activities, lots of dungeons, raids, pvp, quests, good story, and hands-down the best crafting I've seen in any MMO period.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

Well this one is left of field, but Star Wars the Old Republic is pretty fun (even if F2P players have gimped EXP and other stuff) but it's a fun look at the broader Star Wars universe, and there are some old BioWare hands in the voice acting of each class/gender like Jennifer Hale as the female republic trooper and Jo Wyatt as female Sith inquisitor.

It's not perfect but it is fun.

 

[ErrrorWayz]

I liked Guild Wars 2 for the tiny amount of time I invested in it.

 

[Kina]

Guild Wars 2 definitely used to be up there for me, but then I got hooked in FFXIV and that's one of the only MMOs I'd recommend to people these days.

 

[Asita]

Guild Wars 2 would certainly be an option. Among other things, the core game is now free and its expansion is Buy to Play (Not to be confused with a subscription. I mean a 1 time payment). And the overwhelming majority of the game can be done as a single player. That being said, the players do often organize for some of the more challenging content such as the meta events for late game content (notably "world bosses" such as the Shatterer, Tequatl, and Triple Trouble).

Regarding everyone using the same thing...eh, mixed bag there depending on the specifics. There's certainly a meta regarding optimum equipment stats, but that's purely a rarity/level/stat distribution thing[footnote]Which is to say that one level 80 exotic "carrion" backpiece is statistically identical to every other level 80 exotic "carrion" backpiece[/footnote]. That being said, everyone looking alike is not much of an issue. Ignoring for a minute the fact that the races are very visibly different, every piece of equipment can be reskinned to look like something else, provided that you have enough transmutation charges stored up, and your armor pieces can almost always be dyed in whatever colors you've unlocked for your account.

 

[CritialGaming]

WoW just got a new expansion that is pretty damn good. So if you've played in the past, you can do that. PLus buying the expansion will give you a free character boost to 100 so you can start experiencing the expansion immediately.

If you are uninterested in WoW, or want a free-to-play option, I would suggest Swtor. It's still fun to go in and mess around for me to this day, even juggling both WoW and Swtor at the same time.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Renewing my WoW sub

Legion has been pretty fantastic thus far. Easily the best expansion since Lich King, and quite possibly the best expansion in terms of total feature set they've ever done. Obviously time will tell in terms of post launch support, but 7.1 already looks pretty fantastic.

 

[Lufia Erim]

I vote for final fantasy 14. Tons of content, can do most of it solo ( apart from dungeons and raids). The end game

 

[RedDeadFred]

Guild Wars 2 is the only MMO I've played and a lot of it comes down to the thing you're asking for:

Solo Content -The entire, lengthy story can be done solo. Map completion can easily be done solo. A lot of events can be done solo. Hell, if you want to push yourself, lots of the dungeon paths can be done solo too. As someone who likes playing solo more than in a group, I can say that this game is quite good for that when you want it. Grouping is pretty easy in this game (raiding being the exception since it's tough to organize a group quickly unless you're part of a guild that frequents this content) since the dungeons and fractals (shorter dungeons with scaling difficulty) are all only 5 man content. That being said, Anet is moving away from dungeons so completing those will probably require a lot of waiting around nowadays. The other form of group content comes as open world group events. Most of these take the form of World Bosses where you'll use the LFG tool to "taxi" into a map instance that's organized to kill a tougher boss.

Gear -This will depend on what exactly you mean. If you mean you want your character to look different from everyone else, you're in luck. There's a reason the game is often called Fashion Wars 2. If you're talking about the specific stat and weapon combination, there is always going to be a meta for what is optimal to run and if you stick to that, yes, you'll be running the same builds as lots of other people who play your profession. Having said that, most classes have multiple viable builds, and people usually only request dps stat sets if you're doing raiding or high level fractals.

As a side note, GW2 finally seems to be going in a good direction again. There was a huge content drought for a while when upper management was shifted around and design philosophies changed with it. The current living world (basically the story and content that's added between expansions) is adding entire new zones and a more compelling story than the game's ever really had. Heart of Thorns (the game's first expansion) made a lot of players, myself included, question whether they wanted to stick with the game, but I'm pleased to say that they seem to be moving in a good direction and are winning my trust back.

 

[BearShark]

What's the best WoW-style free to play?