The State of MMORPGs - End of an Era

[4RM3D]

After the gigantic success of World of Warcraft a lot of companies got gold fever and went on to greenlight a multitude of MMORPGs. Most of them failed and those that didn't only made a small impact. Now years later the market has learned from their 'mistakes' and there doesn't seem to be any great MMORPG releases anymore. They are too risky and expensive. Instead every dev seems to go for Call of Duty / Battlefield multiplayer'ish games. They are cheaper and faster to make and more popular.

What do you think of the state of MMORPGs these days?

And while on the subject:
- What is the last MMORPG you have played?
- Are you still playing it?
- Which MMORPG have you spend the most time on?
- Are you looking forward to any new MMORPG?


Finally a small list of recent big MMORPG for a complete picture:

Upcoming:
- The Elder Scrolls Online is coming, but IMO it doesn't look that great. Just a multiplayer version of Skyrim.
- Neverwinter is coming too, but it seems fairly small... Not sure if it's going to be good. But it won't be great.

Released:
- Guildwars 2 was fun for a while, but the player base has dropped rapidly.
- Star Wars: The Old Republic was doomed from the start and has seen a significant drop in players also.
- Lord of the Rings Online is holding steady but hasn't made a great impact.

- Eve Online is the only other popular MMORPG that is still thriving. I reckon that is because there really isn't anything like it.
- League of Legends, though technically not a MMORPG, is thriving also.

 

[DoPo]

What do you think of the state of MMORPGs these days?

Meh, I don't really play any, so I can't say. Most don't look that interesting to begin with for the rest, I just don't feel like devoting too much time and energy into a single game.

- What is the last MMORPG you have played?

Oh, gees, I can't remember exactly. I think it would have been one of the free MMOs that weren't that great. Maybe Rapplez, I remember playing that. It wasn't for very long, though, the game really wanted to push the extra stuff you buy from the shop.

- Are you still playing it?

No, not really. It's been years.

- Which MMORPG have you spend the most time on?

Must have been WoW. I played it for a while - it was my first MMO. Then I tried some free MMOs (Rapplez was the only one I remember the name of) and finally stopped.

- Are you looking forward to any new MMORPG?

Actually, I am - I really want to see the World of Darkness MMO. Details about it are very few and far inbetween but it does sound promising.

 

[IllumInaTIma]

If you're mentioning League of Legends, you should also mention Dota 2.
If LoL and Dota 2 are anywhere close to be defined as MMO, then I've played Dota for the last God knows how many years and I still play it.
As for other MMOs, last one I played more or less seriously was The Old Republic. I really enjoyed until I've reached lvl 50, after that there was just nothing to do!
Right now I'm really intrigued by the Secret World, but I'm just not sure if it's worth it.

 

[Tom_green_day]

I swear not many devs even make CoD knock-offs any more...
The only MMO I've had any fun with is Runescape. It functioned well and had loads of amazing mechanics which I haven't seem echoed anywhere. Also, the fantasy was more relaxed. Most fantasy recently I find is too much up its own arse, but Runescape was more chilled about it and didn't take itself too seriously- however not to the extent of self-parody and ridiculing the setting.
Great fun exploring the map too, it didn't get old. I just... grew out of it. Good times
A friend of mine recently suggested that there should be a single-player exploration game in the same nature, as it was fun but has passed its prime.

 

[Longstreet]

What do you think of the state of MMORPGs these days?

The community per individual MMO seems to be going down, but that quantity seems to only be going up, which doesn't mean bad quality per se, but does give a nice clusterfuck

For example, what exactly is the point of, instead of clearing Silkroad online of all the cheaters / botters, of creating a new game called Silkroad online 2 and just let it go wild again.

And while on the subject:
- What is the last MMORPG you have played?

TERA, but only for a few hours.

- Are you still playing it?

So nope, not any for that matter.

- Which MMORPG have you spend the most time on?

Man, i played SO many. The top must be 9Dragons, but i swore never to touch that one again.

- Are you looking forward to any new MMORPG?

Nope, don't give a fuck anymore. If i run across one that looks interesting ill get it, but i wont actively seek it out.
Only the free ones though.

 

[Aeshi]

What do you think of the state of MMORPGs these days?

They seem to have slowed down from their 'Blaze of glory' days back when every company and their dog was trying to get a piece of WoW's pie, don't really have anything else to say.

- What is the last MMORPG you have played?

The MMO I'm playing right now is the 15-day trial for Perpetuum (aka EvE Online with Mechs), and I'm probably going to give EvE Online itself a(nother) go after that ends.

- Are you still playing it?

Sparingly, as my aforementioned trial is almost over (about 3-4 days left)

- Which MMORPG have you spend the most time on?

I have about 527 hours on Spiral Knights, WoW might beat it, but it would be very close.

- Are you looking forward to any new MMORPG?

That new 'Star Citizen' thing on Kickstarter looks interesting, but aside from that not really.

 

[Gatx]

-I think it's about as okay as it's ever been, maybe better. There's about as many F2P mmos as there have ever been, and definitely more big name ones than ever.

-Last game I played was the Secret World (maybe Champions if you count the one time I got a weird urge to create a new superhero)

-No, but mostly because my computer couldn't run it as smoothly as I would've liked, and I needed to free up hard drive space.

-Either Champions Online or maybe DC Universe.

-Was excited for Age of Wushu but the discrepancies between F2P players and subscribers might be too big for me. Also can't wait for Phantasy Star Online 2 to come out (though if it's anything like PSO1, then it's about as much of an mmo as Diablo).

 

[scorptatious]

My first and only MMORPG was World of Warcraft.

Played it for a good long while, and for the most part, I had fun.

Unfortunately, my experience got bogged down the further I played.

I wanted to play with my friends on there, but considering how much time I got to play in comparison to them, I would usually be underleveled. I would see people who were at one point at a lower level than I am boost their way forward in a matter of a few weeks while I lagged behind. So, I would end up trying to find people via chat whenever I needed help with a quest or a dungeon. That process in itself was quite tedious.

I also played as a Tauren Warrior. It kinda sucked for the most part, as I went up to higher and higher levels of play, my armor costed more and more to maintain. So as a result, I could never pony up enough gold to buy myself a mount. (Mounts were a lot more expensive than they are now I hear) So I couldn't help but feel a little left out when I see so many people with mounts.

Eventually, I got sick of how much the game was consuming my life and stopped playing for a while. I donated all the in-game money I had to the guild I was in, left it, stripped off all of my armor, stood on the edge of a cliff, and yelled via chat:

"GOODBYE WORLD OF WARCRAFT!"

And jumped to my doom.

A few months later, I tried the game again as a Dark Elf Druid, it was fun for a while, but then I got bored and stopped playing again. This time for good.

I have never played or have any intention of playing another MMORPG ever again. And personally, I wouldn't really miss the genre if it disappeared. No offense to any MMORPG fans on here.

 

[YunakoTheWitch]

- What is the last MMORPG you have played?
TERA
- Are you still playing it?
60 dollars for a stupid outfit and the most annoying dance in existence! OH BOY! (In short, Absolutely not.)
- Which MMORPG have you spend the most time on?
Everquest 1 and 2
- Are you looking forward to any new MMORPG?
Everquest 3 (AKA Everquest Next)

 

[Lucyfer86]

- What is the last MMORPG you have played?

New ones or..? Anyway, WoW this evening. And latest new one is The Secret World.

- Are you still playing it?

Yes, on both above.

- Which MMORPG have you spend the most time on?

WoW, no other game can compete. Way over 10k+ hours played (who needs life anyway?)

- Are you looking forward to any new MMORPG?

Actually Neverwinter looks decent enough so i am waiting that.

 

[Scarim Coral]

- What is the last MMORPG you have played?
Guild Wars 2

- Are you still playing it?
Yes

- Which MMORPG have you spend the most time on?
Guild Wars

- Are you looking forward to any new MMORPG?
Yes (Phantasy Star Online 2)

 

[Mr Cwtchy]

- What is the last MMORPG you have played?
LOTRO

- Are you still playing it?
Yes

- Which MMORPG have you spend the most time on?
LOTRO(it's the only one I play)

- Are you looking forward to any new MMORPG?
I have a passing interest in ESO, but nothing really grabs my attention.

 

[Tazzman]

- What is the last MMORPG you have played?
Does borderlands count as an mmo? cause it sure felt like one (Not a good thing). Anyhow a more serious answer is runescape.

- Are you still playing it?
Nah that game's been the same for the last god knows how many years. Last thing I did on there was tell those people who literally spend all day outside the bank burning wood to stop as it was hurting the environment and they should burn coal instead. It wound them up a treat.

- Which MMORPG have you spend the most time on?
Again runescape, it put me off MMO's. It was probably better to play if you were a paying member, or at least that?s what all the NPC's and Jagex kept telling me. I get it, you don't like people who didn't pay for your MMO. But please don't keep shoving member only items/areas into the free areas; it's rather off-putting and makes me want to play something else.

- Are you looking forward to any new MMORPG?
Unless they operate on a pay-once strategy, and even then not really. I don't think any game is worth paying for every month and, from what I can gather, the pay once mmo's aren't as good after a few months. I'm sort of keeping an eye on the elder scrolls online, mainly just for the lore rather than the actual game, but who knows it may be the first proper MMO I play.

 

[WoW Killer]

- What is the last MMORPG you have played?

Guild Wars 2 was the last full release I've played. I dabbled a bit in the Firefall beta around Christmas time.

- Are you still playing it?

Nope. GW2 wore off the moment I got a character to cap. I'd give Firefall another go but they've really cocked up the progression/crafting system and there's little point playing till they fix it.

- Which MMORPG have you spend the most time on?

Either WoW or DDO.

- Are you looking forward to any new MMORPG?

Nothing specifically. The genre has improved a lot due to modern tech, but every game I look at seems to be one or two steps short of where it needs to be. I'm still waiting for that one game that ties all the new ideas together and still manages to nail all the basics.

 

[Darks63]

What do you think of the state of MMORPGs these days?

It seems like things are in stasis as most wait for the great WOW beast to devour its own tail and die off.

What is the last MMORPG you have played?

Warhammer online And Aion before that

Are you still playing it?

No the player base has shrunk too much and player attitude has become very poor in that game

Which MMORPG have you spend the most time on?

Warhammer online

Are you looking forward to any new MMORPG?

I was looking forward to the 40K MMO but THQ before their demise scrapped that anyway so now id say nothing. I sometimes like the idea of getting into Warcraft but the 100+ price tag to get into the game fully is a too little intimidating.

 

[Lunar Templar]

- What is the last MMORPG you have played?

Was Ether Warframe or Vindictus, I also play DCUO to get my 'super hero' fix

- Are you still playing it?

My alternative are what? exactly? no other MMO ive played (and i've played a lot f eh) give me the same satisfaction for kills like Vin and WF do, so yeah, still playing. Still play DCUO to, even though it kind of dull. CoH was better in so many ways :/

- Which MMORPG have you spend the most time on?

City of Heroes (RIP) I was playing that for nearly 7 nears when it went down

- Are you looking forward to any new MMORPG?

No, nothing I've come across has given me reason to care. The death of City of Heroes, a 'skill bar' based MMO, has also killed my tolerance for such MMOs, so unless it's something that at a MINIMUM has Terra's combat system, I'm not likely to get it a second glance

 

[Siyano_v1legacy]

- What is the last MMORPG you have played?
Guilds War 2

- Are you still playing it?
Nope

- Which MMORPG have you spend the most time on?
WoW with close to 3 years on and off
and close second with City of Heroes with 2 years

- Are you looking forward to any new MMORPG?
Not at all, I'm quite tired of any MMO
There no new thing and everyone seem to want to do that

 

[madwarper]

What do you think of the state of MMORPGs these days?

In general, they need to fix the existing issues, before they introduce new bugged content.
Which can be applied to every MMO I've ever played.

- What is the last MMORPG you have played?

LotRO

- Are you still playing it?

Yes. Switching toons as I type this.

- Which MMORPG have you spend the most time on?

EverQuest from Kunark to Yasheka(sp? the froggy expansion).

- Are you looking forward to any new MMORPG?

Not particularly. Most single player games that have tried to become a MMO is usually the death knell of the franchise.

I doubt we'll ever see another KotOR. And, I doubt we'll see another TES after the MMO, regardless of how it turns out.

 

[Souplex]

- The Elder Scrolls Online is coming, but IMO it doesn't look that great. Just a multiplayer version of Skyrim.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

I haven't played an MMO since City of Villains back in like... 06? It was okay.
My first MMO was RuneScape. Baby's first MMO. I hear it's unrecognizable now.
The only MMO I remember fondly is Puzzle Pirates, because it was actually fun.

 

[elvor0]

Technically the last MMO I played Was FF14, but I'm not allowed to talk about that, lest Square Enix send their lawyers round to repossess my computer.

-WoW.
-Which I'm still playing on and off, I'm busy with exams so y'know....
-and the longest one I've played is of course, WoW.

-I'm not really looking forward to any MMOs at the moment,anyone sensible knows that you just don't get excited, because most of the time it's just WoW with a paintjob, you get one or two friends who play it for the first month and call it the WoW-Slayer, you log on and are sucked in for a couple of days before you realise it's a really unpolished buggy version of WoW, you argue this with your friends, who by the end of the free month realise it too... then the game goes F2P.

Elder Scrolls looked interesting when they were still using Elder Scrolls style combat, but I've heard they've gone closer to the standard MMO combat, which is a crying shame.

Slightly on but off topic. Why is it loads of people don't know what an MMO is these days? LoL, Dota and Borderlands are not MMOs. Same as Guild Wars was not an mmo. Otherwise every game on the planet is an MMO by virtue of them all using a lobby system of somekind. the keyword is in the title MASSIVELY Multiplayer Online.