The first generation of MMO's didn't appeal to me at all(though to be fair I never got to try AC); EQ and UO felt so grindy and pointless that I could almost hear the devs laughing at me for being stupid enough to waste my time on the trial. I skipped them and stuck to MUD's until SWG. The only game I've enjoyed more than pre-cu SWG is LotRO.
My first MMO was UO, i remember playing it at a friends house. The first MMO i actually owned and played for myself on my own account was EQ. I bought UO later for myself but i found that i played EQ alot more than UO. I have very fond memories of both games. The only games after that i found i enjoyed was actually WoW up until they added TBC. I remember being pissed after earning my stuff from MC and BWL just to have it all negated by "green" items. Still to this day though i go back to EQ and play it and i play UO on a free shard every now and then as well to play alittle but mostly go back and say hi to all the friends i made in the games because thats what kept me interested was the company i had while playing the game. Adventures arent fun unless you can share it with some friends so you can jibber jabber about it later while camping that MoB you need.
My first was Ultima Online. I was there at launch and for some of beta with my Uncle who was mailed a CD to beta test. After that, I got into EQ heavily as well...so it seems both of those are the "firsts" together I would imagine since they are completely different games at the core.
Since then, games that have come close for me have been AC1, DaoC, SWG at launch (I was an architect only at first), and lastly World of Warcraft in beta and at launch. I played that until a little before BC and quit though. The feeling when I started playing still was unique, even though I had played EQ. WoW felt revolutionary at the time...just because of the idea of not having to camp mobs as hardcore as EQ.
No game since has come close! Mortal Online is closest to UO I've had in a while...but still. I do believe it's possible to get that "new feeling" of something...doesn't have to be your first MMO. There is no excuse for game developers in this area as far as the "newness" factor in features.
Disclaimer: This is not a troll post and is not here to promote any negative energy. Although this may be a criticism, it is not meant to offend anyone. If a moderator feels the post is inappropriate, please remove it immediately before it is subject to consideration for a warning. Thank you.
my first was EQOA for the ps2 and never played a game with no breaks (not hours in the day i mean without quitting off and on) for as long as i played that. 3 years without stopping and trying other mmos, would still be playing but SoE refused to use the ps2 hard drive with it wich made expansions impossible. they did have 1 xpac but only so much can fit on a disc.
second longest would be WoW, tho i only tried it because like 30 of us from eqoa went over to it together. and the differences between a console to pc alone made the games feel so different. and the fact that i saw conent added constantly rather than 1 time in a year and then no expacs for 2. WoW was alot of fun for a good while there, even putting up with how buggy it was at launch. compared to the only other MMO EQOA i had played WoW was VERY buggy, EQOA had no trouble ever, probably more due to the fact they REALLY needed to have it right on the dvd can't patch it. i played WoW for 4 years off and on, probably a year and a 1/2 to 2 years total if you add up the time my account was active. first year or so nonstop tho before the first time i quit (before TBC) went back for TBC played for close to another year off and on quit, went back for wrath and just didn't like it at all lasted maybe 2 weeks.
distant 3rd being AoC was like maybe 6month total i don't even remember anymore. the combos was fun at first then just got annoying after awhile, community on cimmeria turned to shit after they started free server transfers.
My first mmo ever was runescape. I played it with some friends, it was fun in that time ( now not anny more)! It took me into the genre. After that I went with a friend to Rubies of eventide. I stayed there for a little while until I tried out wow. I was hooked! and I can say it was/ still is, the best mmo I ever played ( I mostly love the good old vanilla times, tbc sucked for me, and wotlk brought me back) I played it on and of for the past 5 years. But I recently quit. I got a bid bored, maby I return I don't know yet. I also played Guild wars, I had a great time with it. I probably return soon wit ha friend and I will buy the boxes I still don't have. I also played lotro (cause I didn't like tbc lol) but I quit right before Mom came out and I still didn't return. (wotlk came out then also hehe) Don't know if i will ever return. I also tried EVE (just the trail) a verry nice game! But I hear a lot of people are dualboxing in it, and I don't wanna spend more cash for those extra accounts so, I never bought it. You see I have plently of games I enjoyed the most stupid mmo's were the f2p's I tried, and I tried a lot of them. Annyway, we will see what the future brings, at the moment I'm keeping my eyes on SWTOR, Oh and I'm also playing TCOS at the moment. It's really f2p! and it's a good game
------------------------------------------------------------------- waiting for ... nothing..
My first was SWG, and it was my very BEST MMo time I EVER had. But I understand it was due to a big part because of the wonderful guild and the community. There was nothing ever coming even remote close to those grand days. ^^
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
As to others I enjoyed as much as that one it would be only WoW and LotR. Kind of disappointing when you think about it considering how many I've tried out.
1. For god's sake mmo gamers, enough with the analogies. They're unnecessary and your comparisons are terrible, dissimilar, and illogical.
2. To posters feeling the need to state how f2p really isn't f2p: Players understand the concept. You aren't privy to some secret the rest are missing. You're embarrassing yourself.
3. Yes, Cpt. Obvious, we're not industry experts. Now run along and let the big people use the forums for their purpose.
EverQuest was my first, and after that I've just been bouncing around a lot. Right now I'll play WoW, LOTRO. Future will be a tiny bit of STO (not promising enough), and money is on SWTOR as a savior. 38Studios is way too quite all the sudden on their game for me to hold my breath on it any more... also ZeniMax Online is silent too.
Maybe (hopefully), that silence is golden and we'll get to MMO's worth the subscription fee... but again... I no longer hold my breath for this genre... that is about to loose me as a customer.
And my Second ORPG was Guild Wars, which I got alot of suggestion from by MMORPG sites, and by a friend of mine who was also new to Boxed-MMORPG, wanted me to join him.
But both of us QUICKLY quit Guild Wars and went back to Runescape. I left because I felt the game lacked a Ecnomy and Crafting like RS has.
From my mindset, I figured Runescape was the back bone of MMORPGs, and that all Boxxed-MMORPGs would be basically a 100% improvment over all areas of Runescape. But GW lacked ecnomy. Also I learned that it is not really a MMO but just a Online Co-op RPG.
Later my same friend started playing WoW. I joined him again. He left because his uncle stop paying (whos account he was using), plus his Computer had issues. But I kept on playing. WoW was Awesome.
First one was DAoC, but I didn't like it much at all. Skipped around to different games that were out at the time, but I didn't like them either. I was ready to give up on the MMO genre until I played CoH, the combat could be better and the game got grindy but it is probably my favorite one I played. I was hoping Champions would fix those issues and they did, but also created a lot of unbalanced powersets and onedimesional game play.
I also liked WoW for different periods over the 5 years it has been around though I am just tired of it now. I actually enjoyed WAR for a while, and LotRo was a lot of fun too. Other than that other games were either not remarkable or had some glaring flaw that made them unplayable.
Don't you worry little buddy. You're dealing with a man of honor. However, honor requires a higher percentage of profit
Guild Wars was third and found it very satisfying as well.
As far as traditional style mmorpgs go I have played wow, WAR, AoC and others to level cap but I have not found them as satisfying as my first (DAOC) largely because they feel like the exact same thing with a different skin and usually have worse pvp setups.
Guild Wars was third and found it very satisfying as well.
As far as traditional style mmorpgs go I have played wow, WAR, AoC and others to level cap but I have not found them as satisfying as my first (DAOC) largely because they feel like the exact same thing with a different skin and usually have worse pvp setups.
I've listed the MMO's I enjoyed the most as my first in chronological order:
UO -> EQ -> WoW (first year of release)
There are several other titles I think deserve honorable mention, like DarkFall and AOC, which I happened to enjoy quite a bit while I was actively playing, as well as LotRO and EVE. The problem with these four in specific was in the amount of time I enjoyed them, though the base level for my beginning experiences felt similar to the first time I played Ultima Online. Essentially, they were burn out titles that got old after a couple of weeks. The sad fact is that despite how many new, AAA MMO's I play, or how many I find that are indie developed, I still go back to UO. I'm actually playing a free RP Ultima shard to this day, and I think that goes to say quite a bit about the classic quality of content and the community of emulator developers that spawned in its wake. Some of the customization tools for private servers are nearly endless if you have a firm grasp on programming in general and are willing to spend the time to learn how to manipulate the resources. In fact, it's almost hard for me to play anything else without saying to myself, "Ultima does it better, Ultima is more creative, Ultima is more interactive." It's obviously my favorite.
"This is life! We suffer and slave and expire. That's it!" -Bernard Black (Dylan Moran)
My first MMO was Asherons Call 2 and it's the one I enjoyed most. It had elements of exploration and skill base.
The other MMOs I've played are enjoyable on some level but are affected by the dreaded min-maxing. (In my profile but highlighting a few below)
With Pirates of the Burning Sea you had to lose your ship to make the economy efficient.
World of Warcraft is a materialist's dream come true and was good before the raiding gear grind.
(PvP in the early days was fun before making changes to satisfy PvE efficiency)
Vanguard used to have longer travel times I liked but it made the compromise of shorter travel times in name of efficiency. It suffers the gear grinds too.
Skill based games are the only compromise I can fathom that can at least address those of us against min-maxing domination.
Even my first MMO was affected by min-maxing. It had the rushing, player guides, and ET cetera that min-maxing brings. It was the twilight era between the good communities of the old days and the WoW crowd however. (You'll find good communities rarely these days)
Disclaimer: I wholly accept that my definition is blurred between min-maxing and achievers. These last catered groups require so much dev attention they have destroyed the genre in my opinion.
None. I started in Clan Lord. Talk about close-knit community. To be tossed from that to the "integration project" that was WoW was just terrifying. I've yet to find a community I wanted to be part of since CL.
My first was WoW. You can never truly relive those first moments in an MMO. The feelings I had making and playing my first toon in WoW were amazing. I wanted to explore every nook and cranny of the game world. Discovering new creatures and areas was awesome. Realizing you were working with people from around the world to accomplish a common goal was exciting. I played WoW for 3 years before I finally lost my interest in it. I still have a soft spot for it, but I don't think I could ever regain those same early feelings if I went back to it. The others I've enjoyed as much (or close to it) were LotRO and DFO. I'm a major Tolkien nerd that had been dreaming of a LotR-based MMO since my early days in WoW. LotRO had one of the best launches I've ever seen in an MMO and has awesome visuals and storytelling. The community was great and the gameplay was fun. I played it for 2 years before losing interest after the MoM expansion. It was turning into a game I didn't want to play. I'm a lifetimer though, so I could jump back in any time, I just can't work up the interest anymore. What I had really wanted in an LotR-based MMO was a real "world". A real Middle-Earth. No rails. No set paths. No quest "breadcrumb trail" to lead me through the world. Wide open lands that begged to be explored. If you could see a mountain top, cave or ruins in the distance, you could eventually get there. Dangerous creatures and locations. Spooky scenery and locations that gave you a sense of dread or danger. And for the most part, DFO has scratched that itch. The game world is one of the best MMO worlds I've seen (Ryzom and VG being the other two great ones). There's a sense of danger from both the PvE mobs and PKers. The explorer in me gets rewarded with chaos chests and other goodies I discover. DFO has issues that need to be dealt with, but it's the only MMO since my early days in WoW where I felt like I was in another world and not just going from quest to quest.
Totally agree so far as LOTRO goes. I had fun up until Moria was released and then LOTRO went downhill imo. I was hoping for a great MMO but Turbine let me down...
Afew months of EQ1 followed by EQ2 were my first. I had a blast in EQ2, almost playing for two years. I'm now in Aion and having hella fun with my g/f in pvp. We go rifting often and hit up the abyss on a regular basis together. I'd go as far as to say that Aion is some of the most fun in pvp that I've had in a MMO. I've yet to find an MMO with the excitement of questing in the opposite factions zone, knowing that your KOS if your sighted..not too mention that the whole zone is usually alerted if your spotted by someone...Assassin stealth ftw!! :-)
this is gunno sound really lame but my favorite mmo was runescape and i havnt found any other mmo that compares to it....i dont play anymore but my best times were on that game. the only other game that came close was Cabal online and i dont know why i liked it so much it was awful...i wasnt a mmo player back when AC or EQ came out =/ way before my time
Comments
Many more so than my first. My first was EQ, and I absolutely hated it, and the type of people that played it. Couldn't stand it.
My First MMO was EQ1 and loved it my 2nd one was DAOC and love it almost the same just a little less.
The first generation of MMO's didn't appeal to me at all(though to be fair I never got to try AC); EQ and UO felt so grindy and pointless that I could almost hear the devs laughing at me for being stupid enough to waste my time on the trial. I skipped them and stuck to MUD's until SWG. The only game I've enjoyed more than pre-cu SWG is LotRO.
SWG pre cu was my first and I still say the best communities in all games after it havent been a patch on it.
My first MMO was UO, i remember playing it at a friends house. The first MMO i actually owned and played for myself on my own account was EQ. I bought UO later for myself but i found that i played EQ alot more than UO. I have very fond memories of both games. The only games after that i found i enjoyed was actually WoW up until they added TBC. I remember being pissed after earning my stuff from MC and BWL just to have it all negated by "green" items. Still to this day though i go back to EQ and play it and i play UO on a free shard every now and then as well to play alittle but mostly go back and say hi to all the friends i made in the games because thats what kept me interested was the company i had while playing the game. Adventures arent fun unless you can share it with some friends so you can jibber jabber about it later while camping that MoB you need.
First MMO I ever tried was UO, but I hated it. Quit playing the same day I installed it.
I tried DAoC, but only very briefly as I didn't like it either although my son played it quite a bit.
Earth and Beyond was the first MMO that I played extensively. Played for about a year.
Played City of Heroes for about 2 months after E&B was shutdown and before WoW beta. Have played off and on for a few months after that.
I've been playing WoW for over 5 years now and I consider it the best of all the MMO's I've played.
Played Warhammer for about a month and quit.
Played Champions online for about a month and quit.
I've tried a few others in that time as well, but nothing lasted more than a day.
Great thread!
My first was Ultima Online. I was there at launch and for some of beta with my Uncle who was mailed a CD to beta test. After that, I got into EQ heavily as well...so it seems both of those are the "firsts" together I would imagine since they are completely different games at the core.
Since then, games that have come close for me have been AC1, DaoC, SWG at launch (I was an architect only at first), and lastly World of Warcraft in beta and at launch. I played that until a little before BC and quit though. The feeling when I started playing still was unique, even though I had played EQ. WoW felt revolutionary at the time...just because of the idea of not having to camp mobs as hardcore as EQ.
No game since has come close! Mortal Online is closest to UO I've had in a while...but still. I do believe it's possible to get that "new feeling" of something...doesn't have to be your first MMO. There is no excuse for game developers in this area as far as the "newness" factor in features.
Disclaimer: This is not a troll post and is not here to promote any negative energy. Although this may be a criticism, it is not meant to offend anyone. If a moderator feels the post is inappropriate, please remove it immediately before it is subject to consideration for a warning. Thank you.
DaoC
AC2
Earth and Beyond
-enjoyed all as much as my first- EQ. Enjoyed WoW too to- certain instances and areas.
My first MMO was DAoC but only played for 3 days as I didn't like it. Then I tried WoW and got hooked up for years.
my first was EQOA for the ps2 and never played a game with no breaks (not hours in the day i mean without quitting off and on) for as long as i played that. 3 years without stopping and trying other mmos, would still be playing but SoE refused to use the ps2 hard drive with it wich made expansions impossible. they did have 1 xpac but only so much can fit on a disc.
second longest would be WoW, tho i only tried it because like 30 of us from eqoa went over to it together. and the differences between a console to pc alone made the games feel so different. and the fact that i saw conent added constantly rather than 1 time in a year and then no expacs for 2. WoW was alot of fun for a good while there, even putting up with how buggy it was at launch. compared to the only other MMO EQOA i had played WoW was VERY buggy, EQOA had no trouble ever, probably more due to the fact they REALLY needed to have it right on the dvd can't patch it. i played WoW for 4 years off and on, probably a year and a 1/2 to 2 years total if you add up the time my account was active. first year or so nonstop tho before the first time i quit (before TBC) went back for TBC played for close to another year off and on quit, went back for wrath and just didn't like it at all lasted maybe 2 weeks.
distant 3rd being AoC was like maybe 6month total i don't even remember anymore. the combos was fun at first then just got annoying after awhile, community on cimmeria turned to shit after they started free server transfers.
My first mmo ever was runescape. I played it with some friends, it was fun in that time ( now not anny more)! It took me into the genre. After that I went with a friend to Rubies of eventide. I stayed there for a little while until I tried out wow. I was hooked! and I can say it was/ still is, the best mmo I ever played ( I mostly love the good old vanilla times, tbc sucked for me, and wotlk brought me back) I played it on and of for the past 5 years. But I recently quit. I got a bid bored, maby I return I don't know yet. I also played Guild wars, I had a great time with it. I probably return soon wit ha friend and I will buy the boxes I still don't have. I also played lotro (cause I didn't like tbc lol) but I quit right before Mom came out and I still didn't return. (wotlk came out then also hehe) Don't know if i will ever return. I also tried EVE (just the trail) a verry nice game! But I hear a lot of people are dualboxing in it, and I don't wanna spend more cash for those extra accounts so, I never bought it. You see I have plently of games I enjoyed
the most stupid mmo's were the f2p's I tried, and I tried a lot of them. Annyway, we will see what the future brings, at the moment I'm keeping my eyes on SWTOR, Oh and I'm also playing TCOS at the moment. It's really f2p! and it's a good game 
-------------------------------------------------------------------
waiting for ... nothing..
My first was SWG, and it was my very BEST MMo time I EVER had. But I understand it was due to a big part because of the wonderful guild and the community. There was nothing ever coming even remote close to those grand days. ^^
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
My first was EQ.
As to others I enjoyed as much as that one it would be only WoW and LotR. Kind of disappointing when you think about it considering how many I've tried out.
1. For god's sake mmo gamers, enough with the analogies. They're unnecessary and your comparisons are terrible, dissimilar, and illogical.
2. To posters feeling the need to state how f2p really isn't f2p: Players understand the concept. You aren't privy to some secret the rest are missing. You're embarrassing yourself.
3. Yes, Cpt. Obvious, we're not industry experts. Now run along and let the big people use the forums for their purpose.
EverQuest was my first, and after that I've just been bouncing around a lot. Right now I'll play WoW, LOTRO. Future will be a tiny bit of STO (not promising enough), and money is on SWTOR as a savior. 38Studios is way too quite all the sudden on their game for me to hold my breath on it any more... also ZeniMax Online is silent too.
Maybe (hopefully), that silence is golden and we'll get to MMO's worth the subscription fee... but again... I no longer hold my breath for this genre... that is about to loose me as a customer.
My first MMO was Runescape.
And my Second ORPG was Guild Wars, which I got alot of suggestion from by MMORPG sites, and by a friend of mine who was also new to Boxed-MMORPG, wanted me to join him.
But both of us QUICKLY quit Guild Wars and went back to Runescape. I left because I felt the game lacked a Ecnomy and Crafting like RS has.
From my mindset, I figured Runescape was the back bone of MMORPGs, and that all Boxxed-MMORPGs would be basically a 100% improvment over all areas of Runescape. But GW lacked ecnomy. Also I learned that it is not really a MMO but just a Online Co-op RPG.
Later my same friend started playing WoW. I joined him again. He left because his uncle stop paying (whos account he was using), plus his Computer had issues. But I kept on playing. WoW was Awesome.
my first was Anarchy Online
enjoyed WOW (well first 3 months) SWG (about the same) and GW
My first was UO but I hated it, I loved EQ, DAoC, Horizons and Eve more than any of the other 100 or so i've played.
First one was DAoC, but I didn't like it much at all. Skipped around to different games that were out at the time, but I didn't like them either. I was ready to give up on the MMO genre until I played CoH, the combat could be better and the game got grindy but it is probably my favorite one I played. I was hoping Champions would fix those issues and they did, but also created a lot of unbalanced powersets and onedimesional game play.
I also liked WoW for different periods over the 5 years it has been around though I am just tired of it now. I actually enjoyed WAR for a while, and LotRo was a lot of fun too. Other than that other games were either not remarkable or had some glaring flaw that made them unplayable.
Don't you worry little buddy. You're dealing with a man of honor. However, honor requires a higher percentage of profit
DAOC was my first - Greatly enjoyed it.
Planetside was second, loved it even more.
Guild Wars was third and found it very satisfying as well.
As far as traditional style mmorpgs go I have played wow, WAR, AoC and others to level cap but I have not found them as satisfying as my first (DAOC) largely because they feel like the exact same thing with a different skin and usually have worse pvp setups.
yeah i forgot to add Planetside
i think i enjoyed it more than everything else
b4 orbital strikes
I've listed the MMO's I enjoyed the most as my first in chronological order:
UO -> EQ -> WoW (first year of release)
There are several other titles I think deserve honorable mention, like DarkFall and AOC, which I happened to enjoy quite a bit while I was actively playing, as well as LotRO and EVE. The problem with these four in specific was in the amount of time I enjoyed them, though the base level for my beginning experiences felt similar to the first time I played Ultima Online. Essentially, they were burn out titles that got old after a couple of weeks. The sad fact is that despite how many new, AAA MMO's I play, or how many I find that are indie developed, I still go back to UO. I'm actually playing a free RP Ultima shard to this day, and I think that goes to say quite a bit about the classic quality of content and the community of emulator developers that spawned in its wake. Some of the customization tools for private servers are nearly endless if you have a firm grasp on programming in general and are willing to spend the time to learn how to manipulate the resources. In fact, it's almost hard for me to play anything else without saying to myself, "Ultima does it better, Ultima is more creative, Ultima is more interactive." It's obviously my favorite.
"This is life! We suffer and slave and expire. That's it!" -Bernard Black (Dylan Moran)
My first MMO was Asherons Call 2 and it's the one I enjoyed most. It had elements of exploration and skill base.
The other MMOs I've played are enjoyable on some level but are affected by the dreaded min-maxing. (In my profile but highlighting a few below)
With Pirates of the Burning Sea you had to lose your ship to make the economy efficient.
World of Warcraft is a materialist's dream come true and was good before the raiding gear grind.
(PvP in the early days was fun before making changes to satisfy PvE efficiency)
Vanguard used to have longer travel times I liked but it made the compromise of shorter travel times in name of efficiency. It suffers the gear grinds too.
Skill based games are the only compromise I can fathom that can at least address those of us against min-maxing domination.
Even my first MMO was affected by min-maxing. It had the rushing, player guides, and ET cetera that min-maxing brings. It was the twilight era between the good communities of the old days and the WoW crowd however. (You'll find good communities rarely these days)
Disclaimer: I wholly accept that my definition is blurred between min-maxing and achievers. These last catered groups require so much dev attention they have destroyed the genre in my opinion.
AC2 Player RIP Final Death Jan 31st 2017
Refugee of Auberean
Refugee of Dereth
None. I started in Clan Lord. Talk about close-knit community. To be tossed from that to the "integration project" that was WoW was just terrifying. I've yet to find a community I wanted to be part of since CL.
Check out the MUD I'm making!
Totally agree so far as LOTRO goes. I had fun up until Moria was released and then LOTRO went downhill imo. I was hoping for a great MMO but Turbine let me down...
Afew months of EQ1 followed by EQ2 were my first. I had a blast in EQ2, almost playing for two years. I'm now in Aion and having hella fun with my g/f in pvp. We go rifting often and hit up the abyss on a regular basis together. I'd go as far as to say that Aion is some of the most fun in pvp that I've had in a MMO. I've yet to find an MMO with the excitement of questing in the opposite factions zone, knowing that your KOS if your sighted..not too mention that the whole zone is usually alerted if your spotted by someone...Assassin stealth ftw!! :-)
"I play Tera for the gameplay"
this is gunno sound really lame but my favorite mmo was runescape and i havnt found any other mmo that compares to it....i dont play anymore but my best times were on that game. the only other game that came close was Cabal online and i dont know why i liked it so much it was awful...i wasnt a mmo player back when AC or EQ came out =/ way before my time
my first post!