Poll: Looking for WoW Replacement

[Alorxico]

UPDATE: Thank you to all those who have made suggests. I know it is kinda late in the game, but I have added (or attempted to add) Rifts to the Poll, as many have suggested that I try it and, to be honest, I had completely forgotten about it. If you do not see Rifts and would like to suggest it, click "Other" and post a comment.

If you have a different suggestion, please do not hesitate to post!

Again, thank you to all who have made a suggestion thus far.

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With school being over and a massive amount of free time now on my hands, the MMO bug has bit once again. I used to love playing WoW, but am currently unhappy with what they have done to the talent trees, spells and some of the tweaks to the weapons and armor. So, are there any good MMOs out there that you can recommend for me? The poll lists a few I have heard good things about, but there are many more out there.

I am looking for something with replay value, something that will keep me coming back because there is always something new (not necessarily because they keep releasing content but because there is alot to see), and somethings that gives me a chance to create my own character, not a cookie-cutter hero.

~~ Alorxico

 

[Zantos]

I've never played WoW so I don't know how these compare to it, but I really like Rift and The Secret World. The servers are probably not as full as you're used to, but in terms of look and feel I've had a lot of fun with both of them.

Dungeons and Dragons Online is also pretty fun, but the free membership is really sparse on content after a few hours. Though that said, if you're coming from WoW you probably don't mind paying a subscription, and the free is a good way to see if you think it's worth paying for.

 

[Zeckt]

None of those, I vote Rift as a really good alternative to wow. It will at least be fresh and new enough to hold your attention for a bit, my time in the game was not wasted.

 

[Karoshi]

Rift is pretty good and bears many similarities with WoW. It has an expansive talent system (really expansive, about 6-9 talent trees between which you can switch and combine them in different ways) and it allows to radically change playstsyle of your character. While I wasn't too fond of the quest system or the rifts, I enjoyed its PvP and the polish of that game.

Besides, it's going to be F2P next month, so I definitely recommend checking it out.

Whereas Guild Wars 2 looked very promising, but the 4-skill limit and boring talents left me wanting. I really wish to enjoy it, but it's combat isn't very responsive or fun. Still, it's not a bad game and has plenty of fans, but since you wanted customization, this game is clearly not for you.

 

[Colt47]

It might be easier to list the games to avoid as a fan of WoW than to list the games that are good alternatives, as there are quite a few. From my experience as a long time WoW player, avoid Star Wars the Old Republic and Guild Wars 2. They aren't bad games, but GW2 is just not the same genre as WoW and Star Wars the Old Republic has picked a really bad nickle and diming scheme with their Free 2 Play model.

Final Fantasy XIV ARR Beta phase 3 is going to be starting at the end of the month, and that game shares many aspects of World of Warcraft while having better writing and a more involving craft system. Rift is a long time released game that is also a good World of Warcraft alternative, though they went F2P and it probably wont keep your interest in the long haul.

Really, I'd actually recommend people to NOT get World of Warcraft as it's on the decline, the stories it tells are bland, and the community outside of guilds is toxic to the extreme. A lot of servers are suffering from severe population declines and imbalances: some as low as 26 people online on a given faction at any one time, while other servers and factions are stuffed to the point of people having a hard time logging on. The game has already burned up all it's lore expanding prospects of the Warcraft RTS, which was it's major selling point up through Wrath of the Lich King, and now is completely leaning on Chris Metzens writing skills and repetitious gameplay.

 

[Orange12345]

I liked guild wars 2 a lot, mainly because there was a greater focus on exploration and quests were spread out across an area instead of having hubs

 

[Madkipz]

With school being over and a massive amount of free time now on my hands, the MMO bug has bit once again. I used to love playing WoW, but am currently unhappy with what they have done to the talent trees, spells and some of the tweaks to the weapons and armor. So, are there any good MMOs out there that you can recommend for me? The poll lists a few I have heard good things about, but there are many more out there.

I am looking for something with replay value, something that will keep me coming back because there is always something new (not necessarily because they keep releasing content but because there is alot to see), and somethings that gives me a chance to create my own character, not a cookie-cutter hero.

~~ Alorxico

Planetside 2 is very much the fps version of Vanilla wow. Alterac valley levels of awesome put on crack. If you can get past the obvious shooter mechanics and the relatively twitch infantry gunplay due to a lowered TTK then you can then start developing that sixth sense that you used to need during a bossfight.

With outfits or guilds wanting to field three to four twelve man squads to accomplish various goals at various evenings. The diversity of vehicles, and styles of play give you a lot of variation and best of all it is free 2 play in the best of ways (some elements require investment, but the core can be played without any investment other than time).

The best part of it is. NO DAILIES, and every day is whatever the outfit deems it to be. Very sandbox feely and awesome. With sweeping battles and tactical operations at some days, or casual faffing about on the offdays.

 

[Eduku]

I hear Rift is the closest thing to WoW there is without actually being WoW. If you're looking for something a bit different, go for Guild Wars 2, although it isn't as deep or refined as other MMORPGs. Personally, I'm going through TERA, which follows the standard MMORPG formula but with the addition of an action combat system.

 

[Ickorus]

My recommendations would be:

Guild Wars 2 - Great game, expect it to be VERY different from WoW though.
Rift - Good game for ex-WoW players, lots of stuff to do.
Neverwinter Online - Pretty cool game, combat system is very cool if a little restrictive on the number of abilities available; the Foundry is something to keep an eye on, lots of potential there.

 

[Colt47]

My recommendations would be:

Guild Wars 2 - Great game, expect it to be VERY different from WoW though.
Rift - Good game for ex-WoW players, lots of stuff to do.
Neverwinter Online - Pretty cool game, combat system is very cool if a little restrictive on the number of abilities available.

I haven't gotten to playing Neverwinter Online so I couldn't give a recommendation on it. But I've heard good things about it and the game sounds like it is a superior version of Dungeons and Dragons Online.

 

[Tragedy's Rebellion]

My recommendations would be:

Guild Wars 2 - Great game, expect it to be VERY different from WoW though.
Rift - Good game for ex-WoW players, lots of stuff to do.
Neverwinter Online - Pretty cool game, combat system is very cool if a little restrictive on the number of abilities available.

I haven't gotten to playing Neverwinter Online so I couldn't give a recommendation on it. But I've heard good things about it and the game sounds like it is a superior version of Dungeons and Dragons Online.

Well, it is based on 4E which is a HUUUUGE HUUUUUUGEEEEE issue for some people (me included), so if you don't mind 4E yeah give Neverwinter a try. Although it nickle and dimes you very obnoxiously and constantly and that put me off the game entirely.

 

[5ilver]

I would definitely go with GW2.

This picture expresses my feelings upon trying out the EVE tutorial a couple years ago:

Spoiler

 

[nexus]

I don't know man, probably none.

You're about to go into a downward spiral where no MMO will satisfy you, and you'll by hyper-critical of everything you play. Everything will seem like a pointless grind, because all the novelty is usually a one-deal thing.

I mean, good luck.. but people have been chasing that bug since EverQuest.

I offer you "The Secret World".. as it is *by far* the most unique MMO available, and quite good.

 

[Aeshi]

TERA might be worth a look at, the combat in that is fairly good.

This picture expresses my feelings upon trying out the EVE tutorial a couple years ago:

Spoiler

Same here, but I've been doing a new trial recently and it has gotten quite a lot better since then (or maybe I've just gotten smarter, who knows?) So EVE Online might be worth at least a try if nothing else ( ask around and see if you can get somebody to give you a 21-day trial.)

 

[PanYue]

Final Fantasy 14 (releases soon) is looking to be something you might wanna take a look at. It's kinda WoW like in it's systems but updated and modern. If not that, Guild Wars 2 then, as you've already looked at that one.

 

[Nomanslander]

Blizzard's next MMO, Titan project. We know jack shit about it, but still, if you're looking for a WoW replacement, this will be the only game that will measure up. Only problem is the wait. It's a Blizzard game, so, here's looking forward to 2045.

0.o

 

[RomanceIsDead]

None of those look appealing tbh. I vote borderlands 2 or Age of Conan Unchained.

 

[WouldYouKindly]

Guild Wars 2. Do not just expect to do a dungeon easily. They are goddamned hard to beat.

As far as variety goes, there's a massive amount based on the weapons you carry. I'd say the elementalist is the most varied class. Using a wide variety of weapons and 4 different elemental attunements per weapon means you can change it up whenever you want and have different abilities. You can change the attunements on the fly(with a cooldown) but you can't change weapon sets in combat. Can't have it all your own way. Depending on the situation, you can tank, heal, or dps depending on the weapons you have equipped and your auxiliary skills. It's one of those games where you can find your own playstyle and make it effective.

 

[Edl01]

Every MMO out there now is WoW unless you want to go ahead and play Eve online.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

Neverwinter and Tera and Rift (soon free to play) are the closest ones that come to mind that I might recommend you try.

All of them are free to play so you can always try them out before deciding to stick to them.