MMO Itch to scratch, Any suggestions?

[Reven]

Ok so lately i've been itching to get back into the mmo scene, i tried the secret world, didn't really enjoy it. Tried guild wars 2, same thing, tried going back to SWTOR now that it's free to play, but the money gouging system is ridiculous.

I used to play WoW but stopped when things started getting way too easy dungeon wise and que times got too long, have either of these issues improved? Is the expansion any good? I don't really trust professional reviews, I've always preferred to hear lot's of people's opinion to get a general idea.

So, did it improve? or is there any mmo that you recommend? (one note, i rather dislike games where spell-casters don't have mana or some equivalent, i think it's because i like the battle management aspect of trying to avoid running out mid fight)

 

[madwarper]

Have you tried DDO or LotRO?

Both are F2P and made by Turbine, so they share a similar model. In both, you start with a fair amount of free content and in playing that content, you can earn currency to purchase more content. Thus, you never have to pay cash, but they sure would appreciate it if you would.

DDO is pretty much straight forward D&D (3.5? idk, never got into PnP). Anyway, everything (outside town hubs) is instanced, so the only other players you see will be the ones your bring with you. Also, HP/Mana don't automatically regenerate, you have to visit rest shrines in a dungeon to recuperate/revive a fallen teammate. So, this could be up your ally when it comes to strategically spending mana.

LotRO is does a great job of capturing the lore and atmosphere of the books, but if you prefer PJ's movies[footnote](ie. are a mouthbreather)[/footnote], there's also a fair amount of cut scenes. Also, each class comes with some variety with how they're played (except for Hunters). And, probably my favorite thing is that (a side from the raids), pretty much the entire game can be done solo with any class. As for the mana thing, there's super fast out of combat regen for all classes[footnote](compared to EQ, where you had to wait forever)[/footnote], and all classes have at least 1 ability to restore some power during combat, but that doesn't stop some players from running out if they're not paying attention.

So, they're both free. They cost you nothing to try. Why not?

 

[Reven]

Have you tried DDO or LotRO?

Both are F2P and made by Turbine, so they share a similar model. In both, you start with a fair amount of free content and in playing that content, you can earn currency to purchase more content. Thus, you never have to pay cash, but they sure would appreciate it if you would.

DDO is pretty much straight forward D&D (3.5? idk, never got into PnP). Anyway, everything (outside town hubs) is instanced, so the only other players you see will be the ones your bring with you. Also, HP/Mana don't automatically regenerate, you have to visit rest shrines in a dungeon to recuperate/revive a fallen teammate. So, this could be up your ally when it comes to strategically spending mana.

LotRO is does a great job of capturing the lore and atmosphere of the books, but if you prefer PJ's movies[footnote](ie. are a mouthbreather)[/footnote], there's also a fair amount of cut scenes. Also, each class comes with some variety with how they're played (except for Hunters). And, probably my favorite thing is that (a side from the raids), pretty much the entire game can be done solo with any class. As for the mana thing, there's super fast out of combat regen for all classes[footnote](compared to EQ, where you had to wait forever)[/footnote], and all classes have at least 1 ability to restore some power during combat, but that doesn't stop some players from running out if they're not paying attention.

So, they're both free. They cost you nothing to try. Why not?

I actually did play both of them awhile ago, but when i recently tried to return, my game would just load forever (never stop loading) when i first create a character on either, i tried looking online for solutions for 2 days straight but couldn't find anything i actually enjoyed ddo alot so if anyone knows a fix i'd love to hear it!

 

[yuval152]

Try to play Aion, it has good graphics(for a MMO) fun to play and has great customization.(you can turn your character into a 8 feet person with tiny head, tiny person with gigantic head,etc), you can also get the ability to fly at a certain point of the game.

Here's a video for a more in-depth explanation:

 

[Akytalusia]

if you liked DDO, that's my recommendation. so i'd recommend trying to fix whatever problem you're having with it.
if you're looking for something more traditional, then try Runes of Magic. though you'll have to dish out serious money if you want to stand a chance in the end game.
i just started playing Aion. not very far, but i kinda like some of the things i've seen. they say it's 'truly free' whatever that's supposed to mean, but i guess we'll just have to see about that.

 

[Slip05]

You can try www.mmmorpg.com, it is a database of hundreds of mmos.
As for a suggestion, you can try Atlantica Online which I found pretty slow but has lots of strategy late game if that's what you like.
The above listed DDO and Runes of Magic are some of the higher quality FTP games out there that I have enjoyed.
Otherwise if you may want to try even searching out old text based MUDS if you just want the multiplayer aspect

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Ok so lately i've been itching to get back into the mmo scene, i tried the secret world, didn't really enjoy it. Tried guild wars 2, same thing, tried going back to SWTOR now that it's free to play, but the money gouging system is ridiculous.

Are you sure you WANT an MMO?

You don't seem to like them very much...

 

[YCRanger]

Rift is pretty good. It just got it's first expansion so the world is bigger, there's more to do and since it came out recently the player population has been higher than it's been in a long while.

 

[Z of the Na'vi]

Give Champions Online a shot, it is free-to-play on Steam. I'm having a great load of fun with it.

The character creator alone is worth mentioning in its ridiculousness-itude.

 

[DeltaEdge]

IF you like 2D side-scrolling real-time combats, then I would recommend maplestory Latale. It has about 32 different classes (5 starter classes that all branch off in further classes minus the engineer class which has a single line of job advancements), the sprites look great, and I think that the game has a nice community.
I'll also say this right now though. If you don't like anime, cutesy characters, don't want to put a fair amount of time into playing the game, or don't like the idea of late job advancements (the first job advancement is at lv 80, the second and 3rd ones at lv 140), then this game is probably not for you. '
Also worth mentioning, if you want to get more out of the game, I would suggest joining a guild. There are a lot of bosses in the game that are just a bit too difficult to handle at their specified level so it's good to have higher level people to kill the boss for you. You'll also learn a lot more about the game more quickly in a guild.
Here are some game play videos:

Spoiler: Some High level Latalers taking down a high level boss

Spoiler: Some PVPing

[youtube.com=ozyfSwDbXuk]

 

[Shdwrnr]

I suggest Firefall. If SWTOR played like firefall instead of trying to be like WoW, I'd never have quit. Still in Beta though, so the content isn't quite there at the moment.

 

[AlexWinter]

Ok so lately i've been itching to get back into the mmo scene, i tried the secret world, didn't really enjoy it. Tried guild wars 2, same thing, tried going back to SWTOR now that it's free to play, but the money gouging system is ridiculous.

I used to play WoW but stopped when things started getting way too easy dungeon wise and que times got too long, have either of these issues improved? Is the expansion any good? I don't really trust professional reviews, I've always preferred to hear lot's of people's opinion to get a general idea.

So, did it improve? or is there any mmo that you recommend? (one note, i rather dislike games where spell-casters don't have mana or some equivalent, i think it's because i like the battle management aspect of trying to avoid running out mid fight)

I left WoW back during WotLK for about 3-4 years and went back to it a month or two ago.

X Dungeons are extremely easy up until level 85 when they get challenging.

X Queue times for dungeons have never been longer than ten minutes for me (playing as a healer) apart from in the middle of the night when they've been up to 30 minutes.

X Pandaria is a nice place graphically and isn't really like the rest of Azeroth in any way.

Without listing all the improvements (increased gold flow, guild perks, reforging, battle pets etc) I can tell you I'm glad I returned and if you decide to LET ME RESS YOU DAMMIT!

Hope that helped.

 

[DrunkOnEstus]

if you liked DDO, that's my recommendation. so i'd recommend trying to fix whatever problem you're having with it.
if you're looking for something more traditional, then try Runes of Magic. though you'll have to dish out serious money if you want to stand a chance in the end game.
i just started playing Aion. not very far, but i kinda like some of the things i've seen. they say it's 'truly free' whatever that's supposed to mean, but i guess we'll just have to see about that.

If NCSoft is telling the truth about it, the "truly free" is just that...here's everything for absolutely free and we'd really appreciate it if you bought some items so the servers stay up and (I quote) "because developers need to eat too". It's actually a solid game from what I've played, though I've heard you've got to be immune to the grind as you proceed. Same people did Lineage 2, same "payment plan", but even more grind there.

I have to second the notion that if GW2, TOR, Secret World, and newer WoW all don't suffice...maybe you really aren't in the market for an MMO or those individual games didn't get enough of a chance to be able to actually grow and show you what they've got. I got a trial for GW2 and all other game purchases are cancelled until I have that game first. I took a nibble and I must have the whole damn thing. That's my personal MMO plan, pushing the f2p limits of TOR (and enjoying it, I promise) in the meantime.

 

[Twyce]

if you liked DDO, that's my recommendation. so i'd recommend trying to fix whatever problem you're having with it.
if you're looking for something more traditional, then try Runes of Magic. though you'll have to dish out serious money if you want to stand a chance in the end game.
i just started playing Aion. not very far, but i kinda like some of the things i've seen. they say it's 'truly free' whatever that's supposed to mean, but i guess we'll just have to see about that.

I played Aion for a long time both when it was sub and f2p. From what I saw, it truly is F2P, I don't recall ever being limited or restricted unless I shelled out cash. I think they are making their money by selling skins and the like on the market. People aren't lying when they say it's a grindy game, it is very much so (think... a repeatable quest of killing enemies that drop items needed for quest completion, but only 1/3 of the time).

That being said so, I had a great time with it. It's nothing ground breaking, but it is enjoyable for what it is.

 

[Smolderin]

I just recently got back to playing WoW and MoP is a pretty cool expansion. I especially like the setting, they did a great job with the design. Dungeons are actually much more challenging than they were back in Cata, so if you want to..I would re-reccommend WoW if you have the money to throw away..if not...I have played a great many F2P titles..but a good many of them suck to high heaven. Try playing a game called Raiderz...its kinda like Monster Hunter but..different. Combat is fun at least.

 

[Nomanslander]

I used to play WoW...

Yeah, I have a feeling you're in the same boat as me. Now I left WoW years ago, I'm an old vanilla player and personally I always felt the game went down hill after the first expansion.

So I'll tell you what I'm doing. I'm waiting for Blizzard's titan project: there next MMO. So there.

And if you're in the same boat as me - whereas nothing has done it for you the way WoW did - then I fear that's your next best hope. And I use the word "fear" because we all know how Blizzard is in releasing new titles.

Sorry.

:/

 

[L4Y Duke]

Well, if you're a little lenient on the RPG part, PlanetSide 2 recently hit Steam. I like to dub it "Unreal Tournament: The MMO".

Or, if that's not your thing, Dungeon Fighter Online's pretty good.

 

[Rose and Thorn]

My mother always told me not to scratch the itch. If you get what I'm saying.