My main MMO is Guild Wars 2. I like that since there's no sub fee I don't feel pressured to "get my money's worth" every month, keeps it from feeling like a job. Of course I do buy some cosmetics from the shop on occasion when I'm actively playing to make up for the lack of a fee.
FF14 is my main MMO but my second one is GW2! I'm playing it with my girlfriend, we don't play often so not having a sub fee is perfect
Yup, and the progression style is perfect for if you don't play it often. I took a 3 year break from it from about 2019-2022 and my gear was still good and I was still max level. Didn't need to do much other than catch up with story (because I chose to, not because it was required).
Also my personal favorite! Which class do you play the most, chronomancer Mesmer for me.
Reaper Necro, so much fun! Nigh unkillable in overworld content as long as I'm actively engaging.
My main is a Guardian, but I’ve been playing a lot of Revenant lately as well.
Guild wars 2, just one that I've been playing for years
#1 has gotta be Guild Wars 2. The content is engaging and fun, I adore the combat, and the COMMUNITY is the best! Such friendly folks there. It's definitely the MMO that has held my attention longest, and I recommend it to literally everyone. It's free to get started, so you can decide if it's for you without any monetary cost. Then, the price of the game is the cost of the expansions. No subscriptions like other MMOs, or xpaks + subs (looking at you, WoW!).
#2 is WoW. 😅 Been playing it since I was a kid. My whole family plays, actually, which is how I got into MMOs to begin with. It irks me that there's a substantial sub fee plus the cost of the new xpaks every time. Especially since I got back into it, I was going to hit max level before I picked up Dragonflight but the game actually stopped me from doing so. Couldn't go the last 10 levels to max until I bought the expansion.
#3 right now has to be Dungeons and Dragons Online. DDO is a lot of fun! I love the "dungeon master" narration of quests and things, I think it's a great gimmick.
Outside of that, my tier list really falls apart, lol. I have ESO, but I haven't given it enough time to actually decide if I like it. FF14 seems so much fun, but it's also a sub fee game and... I only have space in my life for one of those right now. 😅
I really like FFXIV. It's the only MMO that's ever hooked me, and I think that has everything to do with the communit (it definitely wasn't A Realm Reborn, if anyone checks it out be prepared for the first.... Thirty or so hours to be kind of a slog?) . FFXIV folk are just the best.
Yeah the community around XIV is just the best. I dip in and out a couple of times a year but if it wasn't for the community (and the memes) then it would be much less often.
I have a hard time playing anything but World Of Warcraft (when it comes to MMOs). I always gravitate back towards it (usually only for a couple of weeks every few years). No other MMORPG has really clicked for me.
What I can recommend though for anyone whose favourite WoW was Classic (or any of the earlier expansions) is WoW Classic Hardcore mode. It brought me back playing WoW again for much longer than any of the previous expansions managed to.
I like WoW, but I only play on private servers in hardcore like you. What I prefer in a MMO is the story and the levelling, so I didn't get a lot of fun on the normal WoW but the hardcore mode make it fun, it touch my love of roguelike
I'd love to get back into FFXIV, but that was the main game me and my partner played for six years. We are separated now and the memories just too hurtful :/
Lotro - great community, great designs on raid encounters in endgame, where you will die if not everyone plays their role, starting from tier 2. Tier 1 is always designed as a learning experience before moving to tier 2, which makes it great for casuals like myself to get into. Only issue I have is the bloat of leveling, where you now have to go endless hours untill reaching endgame, almost mostly without seeing other players, as those areas are now empty. Feels more like a mediocre Singleplayer game during that time. Otherwise I have started recently on tWoW, lots of people to quest with, which is great 😃
How is the new update? I would love to get into it but I have trouble with how dated it is sometimes.
Honestly, I haven't yet played it. The newest update introduces just a new quest zone in Gondor to prepare for the next expansion, coming this autumn. Not so much group content in this, so people still play the gundabad and carn dûm group content. With the raid in carb dûm now only being out for like 2 month, and only being introduced to tier 3, this is still the relevant endgame content to play in.
Warframe is in my favourite. Be a space ninja doing flips while electrocuting a whole room of enemies before blowing them up with your hand carried cannon. Also fair monetisation and a very friendly community.
I second this. Warframe is fantastic and so well done. It never feels pay to win.
Used to play a ton of MMOs. Ffxiv was probably my favourite. Tons to do though I mostly focussed on trying to do the difficult boss content. Non existent PvP though which is probably the only downside. New world was quite fun, looks like they added a bunch of new stuff there too but it's probably not a game that will keep you entertained for a long time. I played archeage as well. Had a very modular class system and the combat was very entertaining imo though it became a p2w type of game.
You might want to check out FFXIV again, when End walker dropped they redid the PvP systems. I mostly just like to run content and hang with my FC, but a lot of people seem to enjoy the new PvP.
Owh thats good to know might give it a go again
ESO. They're coming out with a massive expansion in a few days so I got back into it. It is rich in Elder Scrolls lore and has a ton of content, and you can play it solo easily if multiplayer isn't for you. Scratches the Morrowind/Oblivion/Skyrim itch. Also like that it isn't pay-to-win.
Yeah I tried it 2 or 3 years ago, I find it was okay but didn't get attached. I will maybe try it again later, I don't want to only play MMOs even if I love it
Yeah it does take a little getting used to. I'm not super fond of the combat. Using the bow is much less satisfying than in Skyrim and there's no ridiculous ragdolling of your foes.
But... the characters and story arcs make up for it, along with the sheer variety of environments and the feel of exploration that comes with it. Morrowind alone feels much like Morrowind of yesteryear.
The customization is also really nice, lots of different outfits to try on and endless ways to decorate your house. It makes the social aspects feel much more natural with that level of expression.
The upper character levels do feel a little samey when getting to high champion levels, but unless you're min/maxing it doesn't make a huge difference imo.
Star Trek Online - I really like the ship combat. It does get a bit repetitive after a while, so I take breaks to reset mentally.
The only one I'm semi active in these days is FF14. I used to be into WoW for a long time, and before that EverQuest. I've dabbled with Ultima, Dark Age of Camelot, Guild Wars 1/2, SWTOR, ESO and RuneScape (and EQOA and Phantasy Star Online back in the day if those count) but those top 3 are the only ones I got into extensively.
I'm playing FFXIV and Eve Online.
I've been playing FFXIV very casually on and off for the last several years, sometimes taking multi-month or even multi-year-long breaks. But I finally "committed" in like 2021. MSQ-wise, I'm in post-Stormblood content, having finished SB about 4mo ago. Been doing a lot of the instanced content and enjoying it, especially the alliance raids that are centered around the FFT/FF12-inspired content. Getting back on MSQ progression though. I like FFXIV because it's a pretty chill MMO. Moreso than any other WoW-type I've tried.
Concerning Eve, I got back into again in March after taking a year off. I've played Eve from 2005-2008, then took at 10yr break, returning in 2018. Played through early 2022, then took a 1yr break, and now I'm back. I'm mainly a nullsec guy since 2018, but I've been enjoying low-sec Faction Warfare since returning this year.
Of those two, Eve is probably my favorite. I love sandbox MMOs. As such, my absolute favorite (and first) MMO is Ultima Online, though I haven't played since about 2003. I like the player-driven meta and stories and economy that games like UO and especially Eve have. I love the social dynamics that arise within these games, whether that's players coming together or backstabbing each other to get "ahead," whatever being "ahead" means to them.
There is/was this game called Last Oasis that was a sandbox MMO coupled with hardcore survival PVP. Came out in 2020 I think. It was a great early access title, with that same player-driven everything that I like (though I'm pretty garbage at that kinda movement-based PVP). I poured hundreds of hours into the first year alone. Unfortunately, the devs absolutely suck and had no unified vision for what they wanted to do, so it's dead.
If you're post Stormblood, you're about to see the very best the game has to offer (in my opinion). Shadowbringers is amazing, so is End walker. You have a lot of great things to look forward to :)
Eve look so fun, but I always have a hard time to commit to games (that's why i'm not even in guilds) so I know I would not totally enjoy the Eve experience. I love watching videos about the lore tho
You're not wrong. Eve really does require a higher-level of commitment than most MMOs I've played; and I've played/tried many over the last 20yrs.
As a null-sec player, I've "alarm-clocked" for fleet ops at 3 or 4am, even during the work week, more times than I'd to like to admit. I've participated in some of the largest fights in game that have run 10+ hrs. There was a brief period there during the last major in-game war where these would be back to back. I think the longest fight I've been in was 14hrs.
But even when I was just a high-sec miner, mining with a small group in relative safety, I would wake up at like 7 or 8am during the weekend to run mining ops for my corporation (guild). The stereotype of Eve feeling like a job at times is absolutely true.
That all said, I'm choosing to do these things. Because
I'm an idiotit's fun to me. None of this is by any means a requirement. I'm sure there are groups in Eve where showing up in the middle of the night to attack or defend something, is a requirement. But those groups suck. I've never been in any group like that. At the end of the day, it's a game. And when it stops being fun, then it's no longer a worthwhile game.I do recommend Eve to pretty much everyone. It's easily one of the best games I've ever played. And because it's a sandbox, you can play it casually or hardcore or somewhere in between. Or go back and forth between casual and hardcore. I'm definitely in one of my casual phases, and I'm expecting to stay there for a bit!
If you do ever give it a try, make sure to join a player corporation right away. Eve players have a reputation for being assholes at times. And we are! But we're helpful assholes; we always want to tech and help others learn the game we are obsessed with. Even if it means blowing up their ship from time to time; it's just a learning experience, that's all! But seriously, new players are treated very well.
I used to be a big time WoW player. 15 years I managed to squeeze out of it before I got tired of the new style they made. Got a big ol' Kirin Tor sorcerer tattoo to commemorate it.
Still looking for a new good "wowkiller" mmorpg, but everything nowadays seems to be too bland for my tastes. What're your favs?
I don't think there will ever be a true "wowkiller" MMO, because what people are looking for in a "wowkiller" isn't actually achievable. WoW has a nostalgia that none of the other games can possibly recreate because it was many people's first ever MMO, and it was the first MMO community they experienced, and it was a cultural phenomenon that no other game can possibly create again. No other game can match that, including WoW itself.
To an extent I agree. The wowkiller dream is just that, a dream. When wow Classic came out, I felt it captured the parts of old game design that I have been missing. Of course, its impossible to make a new game like old wow, particularly because the reason the gameplay is so "good" (in my personal opinion) is because its so dumb. Tedium is a key ingredient. Taking ages to do anything, and waiting tick for tick to do auto attack damage? People would lose their minds.
But I don't think its actually impossible. I still have (some) faith in the video games industry to innovate and find the formula that'd become a new phenomenon. Nothing can be the same as the first time, the rpg cat is out of the mmo bag in that regard, but I do think there is some mix of gameplay, world design, lore construction, and community interaction, that can bring a new game to the same heights as old wow.
FF14 and GW2. To find something interesting to you, like you said, it really depend of your tastes. What do you prefer in a MMO?
I like taking my time with things. Doing all the niche sub-par activities. Crafting in lotr online was such fun, even though it was tedious as all hell. Having things that aren't just 'get to max level' or 'grind gear to make bigger numbers' is essential. As soon as the game becomes an efficiency simulator, I'm out.
Having good explorable lore is hugely important too. A world thats more interesting than skin deep.
For years I've been dreaming of a persistent communal base building game, without the chaotic undertones of something like Rust or 7 Days To Die. Working together to gather resources and make something. Thats my jam.
What would be in your dream MMO?
Star Wars: The Old Republic
It's not as expansive as many MMORPGs are for dungeons and raiding (flashpoints and operations) unless you subscribe and join an active guild. However, the RPG storylines with player choices are fabulous.
The base game is free and there are a ton of activities to participate in without having to spend any money. Events rotating on a regular basis, PVE, PVP, start-fighter action, or just play solo and explore a ton of planets and storylines. If you want to dip your toes further into the expansions, subscribe for one month and they all become available permanently.
Definitely worth a try for someone looking for casual entertainment with end-game playability if one wishes to do so.
Not very "massive" but still falls into the category: Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis
How are you enjoying that? Was thinking about it yesterday. Has the content picked up at all? I didn't play much but I might go back
I play it every day since launch. The release content steadily; they are four regions now. But if you didnt enjoy the content back then, you'll probably wont enjoy actual and forth coming content, its all into the same line. Like every phantasy star and every mmo.
FF14 is fantastic.
Project Gorgon is an actively developed MMO, it's very jank, it's by 2 folks, it's very old school, but if you like skill based MMOs with tons of unique places to investigate I actually really enjoy it.
GW2 is good if you like more action, beautiful places to explore, but I like PvE and while GW2 has it, it definitely felt really focused on the PvP which it is.
