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Looking for active MMORPG with lots of GROUP Play
TheMaskedHamburger
Member Posts: 3
Hello, I realize this has been asked elsewhere, I've done roughly a week of google searching but just can't seem to find the answer I'm looking for. I searched the forums as well, I found one related forum posting "Best group-based mmorpgs?", and the "Easily find your favorite type of MMO" topic. However neither really provided enough insight and each was outdated.
I like MMOrpgs for the "Massively Multiplayer" fact. I want to have an easy time finding people to quest with, and hopefully play with people that interact. Advice and recommendations are appreciated 
Here is the Criteria:
No Subscription Based games.
Must have easy to find groups from a low level.
Fantasy Based, not Sci-Fi.
Pay once is OK (like GW2)
Free to Play is OK
Action based combat is a big plus, but not necessary.
What I have tried/ will not try
Tera - Gameplay is OK, but nobody, I repeat NOBODY, seems to have any intention of grouping up in the 15 levels or so I've played. I spend a half hour the other day shouting out looking for group in a populated town in a non flooded chat and nobody replied back. As well, I went in the looking for group chat for about 15mins, nobody replied. I tried the Area Chat, nobody replied. So this game is pretty much out, as everyone appears to be happy soloing
Guild Wars 1 - This is so far the best mmo I've ever played, and most of the reason stands to the group play at the time. At the time, everyone was very friendly, it was very easy to find groups and most people just seemed to be playing for the fun of it with plenty of Rping. I tried it recently but the servers are pretty dead in population in most towns.
Vindictus - Fun combat unfortunately the sole instance based aspect got tiring fast with the lack of level. It pretty much was fight in the same level for about 10 levels, then move onto the next area. Rinse and repeat. Grouping was alright, but I found no one talked.
RaiderZ - I loved this game while I was playing it with a player I met up with. We quested up to a high point and then they disappeared xP. Unfortunately I now cant find anyone in the area that talks so I unfortunately had to drop this one.
SWTOR, EVE, World of Warcraft, FFXI, WOW - Either not my cup o' tea or sub-based. FFXI sounds like a fun game but unfortunately its sub.
Vanguard - Read that its getting the axe soon.
Possible Games (depending on your answers)
Guild Wars 2 - Unsure how active this game is, or how well grouping works. Input on this would be really nice
Rift - Nobody talked, don't know if its worth it to keep playing. Dropped it halfway through the tutorial zone. Is it easy to find groups at a low level in this game if I play past tutorial zone?
Everquest 2 or DDO - Maybe? Unsure how group heavy either game is.
LOTRO - Maybe, I've heard A LOT of mixed opinions on this one.
Okay long post, I know, I just wanted to make it easy on people to avoid the cat and mouse game of "have you tried this" "Yes, anymore recs?" "Have you tried this" "No I don't like that genre" ect. Thank you for your time.
Comments
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Thank you for the recommendations Tygranir
So for Rift, when is it that I start being able to find groups? And is it easy to find groups for the regular quests, not just Raids? I'm currently in the tutorial zone but I stopped playing because nobody talked, but maybe its different past the tut zone?
Also, I didn't find TERA very group based, I searched on numerous occasions for a group and at one point spend half an hour looking for a group at level 15 to no avail. So really not sure about TERA.
He said no subscription ...
Honestly no mmorpg will fit your terms, mmorpgs today are bascally solo player rpgs with a glorified chat system. Most you will mostly solo to level cap, maybe group for a dungeon or 2 but thats about it. Also I hate to burst your bubble but in most mmorpgs no one talks in party, its one of the downsides to mmo's being brought to casuals. Since you want group play I don't know what to reccomend since most people today just solo to cap doing their rail-like quests. Well one game comes to mind but its kinda old, but people group at all levels. The problem is its a bit of a grinder. Its called Priston Tale, but its about the only thing I can think of where people group up at all levels. Its not the best mmo by far but it has a unique sense of getting stronger as you level. Usually when you enter a new area you get wrecked, but as you lv and upgrade gear you notice your killing faster and also getting hit for less.
I think for most mmo's these days they think of soloability first and then grouping is sort of a afterthought, aside from the one dungeon per level bracket they usually have. So yeah, I don't really know what to reccomend.
Being a pessimist is a win-win pattern of thinking. If you're a pessimist (I'll admit that I am!) you're either:
A. Proven right (if something bad happens)
or
B. Pleasantly surprised (if something good happens)
Either way, you can't lose! Try it out sometime!
Guild Wars 2 or Final Fantasy a Realm Reborn(Subscription) is like what you need.
There is a very nice group system. The player hi-level can be with you and there will be a "syncronisation" of the levels.
There is Dynamic quest in the two game. (A huge evenement in every map, exemple a boss and every player in the map see where is it and can join. )
Guild Wars 2 have nice dungeons system. FFXIV too, but there is raid too.
Both game can be casual.
(Sorry for my english.
)
If you loved GW1, like me. Don't bother with GW2. I've played it on and off since the betas, but it's pretty much turned into zerging around competing for last hits and tagging mobs. The action combat and non stop competing for last hits leaves next to no room for player interaction. Also there's no player trading and all this combined, unless you are a RP'er the community will feel very lonely even though there's plenty of people playing.
And they just put our lovely tormented weapons from GW1 into RNG boxes in the cash shop.
The leveling process was a lot of fun, also experiencing dungeons for the first times but the repeat value is nowhere close to what of FoW/UW in GW1.
The game has kept me playing for almost a year on and off, but it certainly is loosing my interest rapidly the more time that passes with no real content other than temporary new content every two weeks.
The game has been worth the money for me, it's an okay game, but the way they are playing around with the cash shop just makes me mad.
It's probably worth the bucks, but don't expect too much similarities of GW1. The weakest part of the game for me is that there are too few skills, 5/10 equipped skills depends on you'r weapon which makes experimenting with skills way more limited than what we had in GW1. Although they funnily enough said pre launch it would have more possible combinations.(It probably has, but less meaningful alterations)
Second, it's the limitations of interactions and incentives to play with you'r guild and friends. So many big guilds have left the game due to this. Finding groups for dungeons is not that hard, but it's mostly a few of them that are still popular.
Instanced loot is another contributing factor to the whole experience of the game feeling so meh as well. It's just more fun to have random loot for everyone on the ground imo.
I dunno, ask some more if this whole text of rambling wasn't too helpful. I may be a bit too negative on some points, but it's the feeling I have now that I'm just fed up with the game due to mentioned issues above.
Not that I played them alot but GW1 I liked much better than 2. The voice acting in GW2 is pretty bad and the controlling was better in GW1 imo. I can only think of Rift as the most free MMO and you can do dungeon's with others. It's up to you to find friends in an mmo to do stuff with, but like the above poster said, these days you dont really talk alot in MMO's when doing random stuff.
Thank you for your input, and time, everyone
I read through all of your posts and I guess its as I feared, the old mmo experience I grew up with in GW1 seems to have died, or is at least dormant until something else can bring it back up from the ashes. I don't think I'll be getting Guild Wars 2, thanks for the heads up Andre369, much appreciated. Thank you Arunasme, you saved me many hours ^_^ Thanks Siveria, appreciate it, I'll check out Priston Tale. DMKano, thanks for the suggestion man, I'll check out 1999, looks promising!
Its a sad state of affairs, at some point MMOs lost their "group" aspect. Call me old fashioned but I used to feel a real sense of adventure as I traversed the lands, first with one person, then another and another and before you knew it were a team, coordinating attacks to take down bosses. We'd play for hours before eventually it was just me and another person taking down bosses with precision. And that was that, friends were made, and the next day? Well the next day you'd play with a new group. That's what it was like in Guild Wars, but unfortunately, that has came and went. If it existed before, I'm sure it can happen again.
So anyway, appreciate the time everyone, hope you all have a nice week.