Any good MMORPG besides WoW?

Started by Bloody Rose, November 09, 2011, 09:46:48 PM

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Samael

If you do play STO, do this: http://www.alienwarearena.com/giveaway/star-trek-online-subscription-bundle/
It'll give you gold membership for 10 days, inclusive increasing of your Bank and inventory slots, as well as a free ship, and new uniforms to use.
The nice thing is, all of this remains after the 10 days are over.
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TankNSpank

I do not recommend Final Fantasy unless you really like console RPGs.  I have a number of friends from WoW who tried and neither myself nor any of them found it enjoyable (the menu system was very offputting among other things).

Two I would highly recommend are EverQuest II and EVE.

EverQuest II - This one was released right around the time WoW was and it was a very weak product at launch.  Thankfully it's come a very long way and it's now a very polished, matured MMO.  It just went free-to-play in December so you can try it and see how you like it (and unlike many F2P MMOs it isn't pay to win - none of the items bought with $$ are stat items).  There is no box to buy (you get all but the last 2 expansions for free just creating an account - and that's a good 7 or so xpacs I believe) and if you do love the game there is a $15/mo subscription plan that removes all limitations and gives you some marketplace coins too.  It's like a more grown-up version of WoW.  It has quests and is very friendly to solo or grouping as you desire.  It has raids and guilds that level up.  It has a deeper crafting system.  You can mentor lower level players (temporarily reduce your level to do lower level content without it being trivial) so it's very easy to group with friends even if one of you is much further ahead.  The free to play change also brought a huge increase in the number of subscribers so there's lots of people to play with.  The playerbase is also very very helpful and friendly and it's much rarer to come across obnoxious Barrens-chat type people.  Oh, and the latest xpac added the ability for players to create their own dungeons so you can actually play through dungeons made and scripted by other players.  (And you can collect mob spawners from killing NPCs to use in creating your own dungeon).

EVE - This is the absolute opposite of WoW so if you want something very different, check it out.  It has a free trial (2 weeks I believe) after which the game costs $20 (including 1 free month).  Subscription is $15/mo and all expansions are free.  It is a space-based game centered around spaceship combat.  It is a PvP game, altough there is a significant section of space that is 99% safe.  There are no levels, you choose skills to train that go up with time (wether you are on or offline, so you don't fall behind in advancement if you have little time to play at times).  There's a lot to do (PvP, PvE, crafting, mining, scavenging, exploration, planetary control, conquering space sectors, etc).  It's a very social game and people do best if they enjoy being part of a guild and working in a team.  Corporations (guilds) and alliances (formally allied groups of guilds) can control space sectors and can build their own starbases.  This leads to massive PvP wars and politics (for those so inclined).  You can have battles anywhere from 1-on-1 to armies of 700-1000 ships  (each controlled by a real life player) fighting each other.  If you do decide to try it give me a shout, I can send you a referral (I get a free month if you decide to buy the game and in turn I can set you up with a good amount of starting cash and help out with any questions you may have).

Shjade

Quote from: TankNSpank on January 27, 2012, 06:36:37 AM
It just went free-to-play in December so you can try it and see how you like it (and unlike many F2P MMOs it isn't pay to win - none of the items bought with $$ are stat items).
Unless you count entire races and classes as stat items...?

Actually going to go check out EQ 2 for nostalgia value - played EQ 1 for several years - but the F2P model looks relatively limited compared to the character options. Four races and eight classes out of something like 20 race options and about that many classes, and all the race options are neutral. A little surprising they wouldn't at least give you one option for evil and one for good for a little variety.

Still, free is free. ;p
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AlphaWolfQuin

I don't know if anyone has mention FlyFF or Rappelz but both are pretty decent games found on Gpotato.com FlyFF has a more cartoonish style to it while Rappelz has a more Anime look both in my opinion are great games and worth a try. They are free to play with the option to buy upgrades and items and stuff. I also like Shin Megami Tensie Imagine Online that's a great MMORPG as well.
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Kazyth

Sadly, unless I win a free Key or some such for Star Wars, I doubt it'll be in the cards for a while.  Oddly enough it isn't the monthly subscription that's the issue (I've been playing CoH for long enough now that I can play it without paying... as long as I don't mind giving up the Incarnate stuff and Signature story stuff.  Which I don't.), is the shelling out that up-front 50+ to get the key.  I know the why behind it, and I'm not arguing against it.  Heck, I know it comes with a free month.  Just... eh.  Ah well.  Maybe I'll sell my body instead. >_>
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Saku

Star Wars: The Old Republic - MMORPG I think it was $14.99 a month but can't remember, it's cheap. I really liked the set-up and everything and its more interactive than any other game so far. Lots of story, dialogue, nice fighting and I like the way the controls are. It's quite similar to WoW which was nice.
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Kaernak

You get a free month with the game so you aren't just paying 50 for the game itself!  I mean....that should count for something.

Kazyth

It does!  Still, that means I'm shelling out 36 extra for a virtual key, because I don't really buy phyiscal disks anymore if I can do a digital download.
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Shjade

Addendum regarding EQ 2 and how you can't buy stats in the market: might be technically true, but you do still unlock stats with real cash. You can't equip the top two tiers of item quality unless you're a Gold member, and that doesn't just mean high-end raid gear; I came across some "legendary" mitts around level 9 that I couldn't equip because I'm on a free account. So yeah, if you have to pay to wear the better gear, I'd say that's "pay to win" style market modeling.

Not having access to global channels is also a pain. I can understand not allowing access to auction and guild recruitment channels maybe, okay, but not being able to ask a question on the "Help" channel seems foolish.

Can't say I'm blown away by their F2P model. On the upside, the gameplay is better than I'd dreaded it would be, and the art's advanced to a point of being tolerable. I can think of worse games to play for free, even with the unappetizing restrictions.
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Kazyth

I will admit, player-owned housing was one of the big draws for EQ2 for me when it came out.  It didn't hold my interest for long, but I loved that idea.  No clue how much you have to spend now on the F2P model to get your own house in the game.
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RubySlippers

Quote from: Shjade on January 27, 2012, 03:19:50 PM
Unless you count entire races and classes as stat items...?

Actually going to go check out EQ 2 for nostalgia value - played EQ 1 for several years - but the F2P model looks relatively limited compared to the character options. Four races and eight classes out of something like 20 race options and about that many classes, and all the race options are neutral. A little surprising they wouldn't at least give you one option for evil and one for good for a little variety.

Still, free is free. ;p

Just a reply, its FREE TO PLAY so ,ummmm, fewer options for FREE in these games is not bad, plus with the micro-transaction model it supports the games in question. An example Champions Online had a core set of popular archetypes and added a two-weapon wielder to the options for free ones and you get two character slots. Its pretty flexible but for more options you need to spend some money that is fair.

In Star Trek Online I noticed you can trade Dilithium for cryptic points, its not easy 250-300 D per point but you can do that to get things in the game, making it for f3p more free friendly it may take time and all but not hard to do if you want that cool ship or must have those extra character slots. And since you get on Federation and one Klingon character slot its decent enough for now.

In comparison WoW just doesn't get it some players will spend money but on small transactions a little at a time I would love to see that limited to two character slots and say three classes and a few races then unlimited on the way up with micro-transactions. They can keep subscription for the hardcore players. That is just my take on it.

TheGlyphstone

Turning WoW to a microtransaction game would destroy it. That's the reason so many games are FtP with micro-buyins, because they can't compete with the Blizzard juggernaut on a subscription basis and need some sort of income to fund the servers. The entire game is designed to be 90% fully accessible to 'casual' players, closer to 95% with the Raid Finder difficulty mode, so they would gain no players (they already out-player their top two or three competitors combined, even with TOR's meteoric rise) and lose almost all their revenue.

Shjade

#112
Quote from: Kazyth on January 28, 2012, 05:52:18 AM
I will admit, player-owned housing was one of the big draws for EQ2 for me when it came out.  It didn't hold my interest for long, but I loved that idea.  No clue how much you have to spend now on the F2P model to get your own house in the game.
Nothing, as far as I can tell. There are probably limitations on housing features (I don't think you can use the marketplace board thing, for instance), but no "give us money" windows popped up regarding housing when I leased the cheapo two-room acorn apartment in Kelethin. Their housing mechanics are much more appealing than LotRO's, I'll give them that.

@RubySlippers: I said that myself at the end of that post, y'know. That said, when I can look at other games (like the aforementioned LotRO) that give you access to all the races and classes except for two (which were added with an expansion after release) and compare it to EQ 2 having a whole heap of classes/races and only letting you sample a tiny fraction of them, it mystifies me.

Also, unless there's some secret to it that I'm not getting, you apparently can't alter the amount of experience that goes to your AA points (as opposed to just leveling up your character) on a free account, which means I've cleared out all the quests up to level 24 content in GFay and I'm only level 17 because 50% of my experience is stuck going to AA points. So add experience gimping to the list of limits on non-subscribing players. Oh, and the upper-level improvements of skills, so you not only can't use the better grades of gear, you can't use the improved versions of your abilities, either. Who said you don't pay for stats in this game? 'Cause it's pretty obvious you do, across the board.

Edit: One thing they did so far that is pretty nice - there's a quest in the mid-to-late teens in Greater Faydark that rewards you with a mount. Not just some show mount, or a slow starter baby mount - no, a full-fledged +130% runspeed horse. At no cost to you. For someone like me who enjoys just running around and exploring things, that's pretty awesome.

Edit 2: It makes me sad. I'd like to get into EQ 2 given it's free now and I still have rich nostalgia for Norrath from years of EQ time, but jarring framerate issues (Neriak in particular was a slog to navigate at all), bugs I can barely believe are in a game that's been online this long (my entire map pushed all its icons down into the corner so that the map was useless for actually finding anything while I was trying to find my way around a new city and proceeded to remain screwed up that way the rest of that play session; the majority of quests outside the starting zones - and even some within those zones - don't give you any navigational hint as to where to begin even looking for what you're supposed to find; quest indicators over NPCs vanishing after about two hours of play for no apparent reason; I could go on) and a F2P structure that not only places fairly hefty restrictions on what you can choose to play in the first place but also refuses to let you use things you earn in the game itself (though it's happy to let you grind for said things only to tell you AFTER you have them that you can't use them without buying an upgrade - dick move), I just have to shake my head. :|
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makizushi

check out Pirates of the Burning Sea. It's a MMORPG made by Sony. It's free.

SinXAzgard21

#114
Thought I'd post up this vid of a shooter mmo that I'm really looking forward to.

'Firefall' Cinematic Trailer
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DeadCell

being the massive Trek fan that I am, Star Trek is pretty damn good :D

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TheGlyphstone

Quote from: SinXAzgard21 on March 10, 2012, 12:33:43 AM
Thought I'd post up this vid of a shooter mmo that I'm really looking forward to.

'Firefall' Cinematic Trailer

Starship Trooper: The MMO? Looks nifty.

Moraline

The game I'm waiting for is The Secret World. (TSW)

Release Date: June 19, 2012 (Pre-ordering is already beginning)

http://www.thesecretworld.com/

QuoteGAMEPLAY
The Secret World is a massively multiplayer online world with a unique modern-day setting and unparalleled freedom of character progression.

Imagine if every myth, conspiracy theory and urban legend was true. Imagine a world where you can become anything you want to be, without restrictions such as classes or levels. This is the premise for The Secret World, Funcom’s upcoming massively multiplayer online game set in the modern-day real world.

Choose a side. Join one of three secret societies – the Illuminati, the Dragon or the Templars – and battle with or against other players for world domination.

From the creators of Age of Conan, this game will possess graphics that are unrivaled by any game on the market. For those of us that like to be a little naughty and enjoy games with an adult edge to them,  TSW will have nudity and graphic violence.

I seen a sneak peak from a games conference that's going on right now and the opening sequence of the Dragon Society has a very sexually suggestive choreographed cinematic scene as part of it.   ;D

You'll find me in The Secret World come June.

SinXAzgard21

#118
Quote from: TheGlyphstone on March 10, 2012, 12:43:56 PM
Starship Trooper: The MMO? Looks nifty.

It is what everyone one is saying but whatever... There is a lot of underground talk about this game... I recommend checking the out firefallthegame.com and reading over everything and checking out the interviews for it on youtube.

Quote from: Moraline on March 10, 2012, 03:12:02 PM
The game I'm waiting for is The Secret World. (TSW)

Release Date: June 19, 2012 (Pre-ordering is already beginning)

http://www.thesecretworld.com/

From the creators of Age of Conan, this game will possess graphics that are unrivaled by any game on the market. For those of us that like to be a little naughty and enjoy games with an adult edge to them,  TSW will have nudity and graphic violence.

I seen a sneak peak from a games conference that's going on right now and the opening sequence of the Dragon Society has a very sexually suggestive choreographed cinematic scene as part of it.   ;D

You'll find me in The Secret World come June.


I've known about this game for 2 years... I have the wallpapers and design stuff you could get when applying for beta and what not on the site... It looks awesome and I'm looking forward to playing just hope it isn't all hype.
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SinXAzgard21

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Acid


Samael

Soul Worker really does look interesting, although I have the feeling it'll be one of the games again where you have zero means of actually designing your characters look. The Korean F2P games generally like to just give you 5-6 different characters, and you need to choose from one, with very little customization outside of what gear you may find/buy.
On & Offs | My Games | Apologies & Absences | Tumblr
Et comme des fleurs de glace, on grandit dans la nuit
La lumière nous efface, dans la noirceur on vit
Comme des fleurs de glace, on rêve et on reste unis
Des fleurs au cœur de l'insomnie

"Eisblume - Fleurs De Glace"

SinXAzgard21

rusty hearts reminds me of Vindictus... soul worker I may have to try.
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Acid

Quote from: Samael on March 10, 2012, 08:23:18 PM
Soul Worker really does look interesting, although I have the feeling it'll be one of the games again where you have zero means of actually designing your characters look. The Korean F2P games generally like to just give you 5-6 different characters, and you need to choose from one, with very little customization outside of what gear you may find/buy.

It is one of those games. Lunia and Rusty Hearts fall into those categories as well and it's done that way because

There's always cash shop items. I don't know about Soul Worker, but in Lunia and Rusty Hearts there's several ways to acquire cash shop items which don't involve any IRL money to customize your character further. I have no qualms with gender-locked and/or appearance-locked characters in MMOs.

Sel Nar

#124
Speaking of awesome MMOs, I'm going to have to throw my hat into the Ring created by the (still-upcoming) Guild Wars 2. Since the announcement of its development in 2007, the devs have worked hard to ensure that the game is not only massive in scale, but that it has the visceral 'heft' you rarely feel in other games.

For example, in other Fantasy-Flavoured MMOs, a warrior shieldbashes a random mook; the mook is stunned but doesn't really move. In GW2, a Guardian (defensive-oriented warrior, akin to a Paladin in regards to general attitude) gets a hammer attack called 'Banish'. It 'Banishes' an enemy with a vicious underhanded swing from a two-handed warhammer to send even Centaurs and larger creatures flying 20 or more feet away.

In other MMOs, you can interact with the Environment in one of a handful of ways; mining for ore, pulling levers to open gates, harvesting herbs. In GW2, you can pick up a boulder from a partly-crumbled wall, and toss it at an enemy to knock the sucker flat, or bowl him or her over and away from his buddies. (Or, if playing as an elementalist, you can imbue the stone with pure magical force to drop a meteorite swarm on an enemy's head)

For sheer scale, I'm going to pull a direct example from WOW and Compare it, as the reigning champion of the 'Old Generation' to GW2's status as the Vanguard of the New Generation (Alongside The Secret World, which I'm also looking forward to). In WoW: Cataclysm, Deathwing, the 'So evil, he shits pure hate' Big-Bad-Evil-Woe-Unto-The-World-As-Long-As-He-Lives-Dragon-Boss-Guy, has, as approximate scale, a wingspan of ~Roughly~ 1200 feet. (Citation here: http://www.wowpedia.org/Deathwing#Trivia Second entry)

In GW2, The Shatterer, one of the ~lesser~ Generals of the Elder Dragon Kralkatorrik, is, approximately, half again Deathwing's size. (Of Trivia is that 'Shatterer' as a name, is merely the rank and title; once one dies, another dragon is given the position and name) Some short animated images of its usual entry to the battlefield, and 'wake up' call should help.



This is an enemy that's considered a major threat for level 45-50 players; the true Elder Dragons of Tyria are so physically immense and alien to comprehension that trying to describe one does not truly work. However, as a sense of scale, Kralkatorrik, when its awakening was described in the novel 'Edge of Destiny', had been, for centuries, mistaken as a medium-size mountain.


See those little white sails in the left corner? Those are what we now call 'tall ships' Brigandines, Frigates, and Ships of the line, essentially. Yeah. Big is an understatement.

Another feature GW2 has that most Fantasy MMOs do not is the abolition of 'Fantasy Gun Control' Every Race, and nearly every class can whip a pistol or rifle out of their backpack or robes and take potshots at an enemy. The classes that can not, or do not use firearms, are, in general, either stupidly powerful at range already (Elementalist), or use weapons that are easier to maintain when exploring the wild areas of the world (Ranger).

Also, how often do you go through a dungeon in most MMOs and end up paying around half of your hard-earned profits into basic repairs for your gear? GW2 still has gear maintenance, though in a way that'll make you smile; every time you're Defeated in battle (not just 'downed' which is where you can get back up if you kill your foe, or bandage your wounds), a piece of armour gets damaged; only after all five pieces of armour you can wear are damaged does one break and need to be repaired to restore function; So, you have five 'lives' before anything breaks, and it's only a handful of copper coins to get it back up to original, if well-worn, condition.

Now, I'm just running the bulletpoints by really quickly, and there's a massive pile of extra information out there, but this piece of information should probably be the most important. Like Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2 does NOT Require a Subscription fee. Once you buy the box in a store, or online, that copy of the game is yours, and you play as much or as little as you like.

Personally, I spent 230$ on Guild Wars; 50$ for a regular edition of the original campaign, 70$ each for the CE of Factions and Nightfall, and 40$ on Eye of the North. I have played just under 11,000 Hours over 7 years. Doing the math, I have spent roughly 0.02$ per hour to play Guild Wars. For WoW, assuming you bought all the expansions, and played for the same amount of time over 7 years, you will have invested a total of 240$ into the games itself, and 1260$ for subscription fees. Broken down to cost-per-hour, if you play WoW for 11,000 hours over 7 years, the 1500$ investment you made breaks down to just over 0.135$/hour. (Note: This mathematical breakdown conveniently ignores things like ISP bandwidth usage for the purpose of removing extra variables) So, economically? I think I'll toss my hat into GW's ring once more. I like it over here, where I don't pay 15$ a month to play something I bought.

Edit; For a much-more informative summary of just how much GW2 is looking to upend the table of modern MMOs, read the OP of this thread. http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3455607&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=1 It has links to all the original information, and breaks it down into easy-to-digest chunks.