What is the best free-to-play or single-purchase MMO?

[The Wykydtron]

. Don't pick Blade Master though, it's easily the most boring class in the game.

this severely limits the amount of classes I can play now. Can't play KF because ping isn't good enough(neither am I) and I wont play any classes specific to the lyn race because I don't like how they look. S know I'm stuck between FM and Destroyer.

Also how's the PvE in that game?

The PVE was really fun but that's only because the combat is so enjoyable, it's probably the first MMORPG with awesome combat. I would run around just farming mobs for fun. I did all the quests in the area yet kept farming enemies who give basically no EXP at this point. When does that happen?

As I said before, i've seen people who play a lot of MMORPGs say the way the quests are done is outdated but I had so much fun with the combat I don't have much to complain about. The locations aren't bad, I particularly enjoyed the graveyard area since there were jiangshis kicking around instead of more conventional zombies and there's a pretty sick field boss there.

What i've heard about BMs is that they rely very heavily on getting levels to be effective. As in their level 45 is amazing but an under-equipped BM is a sad BM. Which is exactly how I was feeling since I didn't get access to all the cool stuff yet, so if you really want to run a BM, do it but I found it boring to level. I assume they'll be great in the end game dungeons, which look fantastic by the way.

In comparison I made an Assassin once the game launched and from level 3 onwards I was having way more fun because they have all this bullshit available from the word go. Assassin isn't Lyn so you could try one of those. They're kind of ping reliant because you have to combo all your shit together in one huge burst of damage (fun in PVP I assure you) but they stun and knock you down and flashbang you so they have all the CC in the world to help bad ping from breaking combos.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

I'm currently having a good time with PSO2. That's Phantasy Star Online 2 (With the fan Translation patch, since for some dumb reason they never released it in north america). Also, it's Free to Play where I literally don't know what I would want to actually pay for if I chose to drop some money on it (MAYBE an additional stat-altering Mag so I can have one for my Spellcasting classes and one for my melee/ranged classes would be helpful, but that's basically it, and it's really not that essential).

It's a really fun action RPG MMO with a great degree of flexibility and customization and loaded with convenient touches like being able to swap your class at any given time on the same character.

Also, it's got a really neat mechanic with "Emergency Quests", where every few hours (on a schedule), a server-wide quest will be made open, and you can team up with up to 12 people at once instead of just the usual 4, and take on missions with massive swarms of enemies or gigantic titans, or outright tower defense missions where one of the abilities you can trigger is a short-duration goddamn GUNDAM Mecha you can ride around. It's a BLAST.

There's no big huge world to explore like WoW or anything, but if you want a fun mission-based action RPG with lots of loot, customization and some really insane moments if you participate in the EQs, PSO2 is a great game.

This also reminds me, I should really try the online mode for that space sim I enjoy (Evochron Legacy)...

 

[Foolery]

Xenoblade Chronicles X. I know, not a MMO, but might as well be, with the gameplay mechanics and world. There is online play for missions and such, plus you get a mech halfway through the game.

 

[Sonicron]

(Snip).

Good to see you again. And I just looked up the game. Turns out I had it confused with something else; it looks very interesting. I'd love to get into it to follow the development, thank you for the offer! I do like MMOs that try and deviate somewhat from the norm.

And as one of the folks who is also a part of the closed alpha and, so far, severely annoyed with it, let me just give you a heads-up. Yeah, the game looks promising, I want it to turn out great, and the devs definitely did their homework in terms of 40k lore, but right now the damn thing is so horribly unpolished and lacking in optimization that it's an insult to paying customers. (And no, the 'alpha' state is no excuse for me, since there was a significant fee of entry.)
By all accounts it runs reasonably well on powerful rigs using Nvidia tech, but if you're using AMD GPU and/or CPU, you're boned. I speak from experience. I have a decent mid-tier PC with a damn good CPU and 16GB DDR3 RAM, and I get an average of 4-6 FPS, making this fast-paced team-based TPS lobby shooter (which is what it is at the moment) effectively unplayable for me. So, again, if you're an AMD user, steer clear for now. But do keep an eye on it!

 

[Barbas]

(Snip).

Damn. Well, I just looked it up on Steam and it's over 30GBP. Pretty damn cheeky for Greenlight. Luckily I don't have an AMD card, but I think I'd better give it a few months and see what it's like again when it goes on sale.

 

[gigastar]

For me it is Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade. It is the multiplayer component of Space Marine.

Space Marine does have multiplayer components.

Eternal Crusade might shape up to be the MP it deserved though.

 

[Xeorm]

The PVE was really fun but that's only because the combat is so enjoyable, it's probably the first MMORPG with awesome combat. I would run around just farming mobs for fun. I did all the quests in the area yet kept farming enemies who give basically no EXP at this point. When does that happen?

As I said before, i've seen people who play a lot of MMORPGs say the way the quests are done is outdated but I had so much fun with the combat I don't have much to complain about. The locations aren't bad, I particularly enjoyed the graveyard area since there were jiangshis kicking around instead of more conventional zombies and there's a pretty sick field boss there.

What i've heard about BMs is that they rely very heavily on getting levels to be effective. As in their level 45 is amazing but an under-equipped BM is a sad BM. Which is exactly how I was feeling since I didn't get access to all the cool stuff yet, so if you really want to run a BM, do it but I found it boring to level. I assume they'll be great in the end game dungeons, which look fantastic by the way.

In comparison I made an Assassin once the game launched and from level 3 onwards I was having way more fun because they have all this bullshit available from the word go. Assassin isn't Lyn so you could try one of those. They're kind of ping reliant because you have to combo all your shit together in one huge burst of damage (fun in PVP I assure you) but they stun and knock you down and flashbang you so they have all the CC in the world to help bad ping from breaking combos.

I'll also put Blade and Soul as my top for this genre as well. The combat really is nice and different.

Questing wise (as a lvl 30 Kung Fu Master with a blade dancer friend) it's...mediocre. The biggest thing I'd ask for is harder, but fewer mobs, and enough mob density to make sense. General quest mobs die in 3 hits, one of which is a leap towards them. Just not enough time for a reasonable fight, which makes it fairly boring. Anything that has a decent bit of health is much more fun. Mob density is the other gripe. Many quests are made long just because there's not enough items or mobs lying around.

Only had one encounter with an assassin, which consisted of unbreakable (at the time) CC from full to dead. I was not amused.

 

[major_chaos]

I'll be the only one, but I would say Dungeon Fighter Online. It plays as a 2d beat-em-up with significant RPG elements (think Vanilaware but with much worse graphics and infinitely better RPG components). And now is a great time to pick it up since there was just a huge update that reworked early game questing to be much less repetitive and brought a number of under powered classes up to spec.

 

[Squilookle]

No love for War Thunder? right then- here it is.

War Thunder.​

Accept no substitutes.

 

[Yuno Gasai]

For single purchase, I'm gonna side with Guild Wars 2.
Though I may be slightly biased because of my excitement when it comes to actually being able to jump. 8D

For free to play, I'd have to say Warframe.
It's not an MMO RPG, but it is an MMO, and it has excellent replayability value.
The best way I can think to describe it is Diablo 3, in space, with ninjas.
Also it appeals to the side of me that enjoys nurturing/breeding things because of the Kubrow (space puppies).

 

[Barbas]

(Snip).

Good to see you again, Yuno! I have to say your description of Warframe does make it sound like a unique and attractive prospect. I'll have to look into this.

 

[Barbas]

(Snip).

How could mine eyes pass callously over such beauty? Ten years gulag and my sincerest apologies. I was blown away by the visuals of this game, particularly during the torpedo bombing tutorials - it's more gorgeous than any free-to-play MMO I've ever seen.

Landing on the carrier's an absolute bastard, though.

 

[Sam Billin]

Planetside 2 is pretty solid. The in-game store is one of the better ones I've seen. There is a cap to how much a weapon can cost, and money is pretty much showered on you. All weapons are available for purchase with in-game currency, and the only "premium" content is strictly aesthetic.

While the 3 factions can appear to have some balance issues, the difference is usually made up for when fighting in groups, which the game practically begs you to do. Often I chalk up what would appear to be balance problems with just the nature of asymmetric factions. Not always tho. There are a few instances of factional weapons that are CLEARLY superior (TR's Gatekeeper, NC's Raven, VS' Lancer)than their factional counterparts, but the imbalances tend to counter each other out in the long run.

 

[Flammablezeus]

After playing a bunch of Guild Wars 2, I'd recommend against it if your idea of an MMO is a big open world. Everything is split into tiny zones which aren't even in the same world (might walk from one zone to another only for it to switch from midnight to midday after a lengthy loading screen.) Even if you're on the same server and in the same world as a friend, the game might decide to switch one of you into another server against your will.

The combat's fun (or I find it fun with a mesmer or elementalist) but it is incredibly limited since you can only use a set 5 moves which are set in stone as they're attached to the weapon/weapons you have equipped. Unfortunately, I can't judge the PvP since it's unplayable in Australia unless you happen to be psychic. I get hit before the enemy animation even starts, which makes dodging useless. This might be fine for you if you're in America though.

The crafting is fun for an MMO. You actually get to figure out recipes rather than simply follow them. It's a far cry from being a deep crafting system, but it's head and shoulders above the likes of WoW.