Help me find an MMO to play with my partner

Veerdin

So, my better half and I are desperate to find a game to play together. And sadly, there aren't many decent co-op games out there these days (at least, not ones we haven't already tried) so we've decided to try and find an MMO to get into together. We've played a few in the past, and some we did get into but later left for one reason or another (see below) but in a nutshell, here's what we're looking for:

1) Something at least somewhat established. Beta MMOs and new releases are probably not going to do it for us.
2) Good character customization. We like to make pretty boy characters together, so something that accommodates that.
3) No forced-PvP. We've tried games with open PvP in them and they always seem to create unnecessarily hostile environments.
4) Not grindy. We don't want a game that will mostly consist of us killing the same enemy fifty three times in a row, if possible.

Apart from that, some other nice bonuses would include player housing, possibly a marrige system, and generally just a nice-looking, nice feeling MMO we can just zone out to together.

Here's some we've played in the past and why we're no longer playing them:

TERA: Wonderful visuals and character creation and fun gameplay, but once you've had your fill of the combat, that's pretty much it. No player housing, no detailed crafting, not even a solid resource gathering system. It's all combat, all the time. Also, the focus has been shifting more and more towards highly sexualised female/loli characters, which isn't what we want. 

ArcheAge: This game would have been perfect... Great world design, decent graphics, tonnes to do, almost entirely seamless and a lot of content being added fairly regularly. But sadly, the incredibly pay-2-win nature of the cash shop and subscription model, paired with a very hostile and toxic community with open PvP (even including inter-faction murders) after level 30 made it a chore to play. Not to mention that it has a very heavy focus on huge, large-scale guild things. We tried revisiting this a month or so ago, but our level 50 characters were now so obsolete that our only option was to grind for hours on end, which wasn't appealing.

Black Desert Online: We downloaded the free trial of this because we'd both heard a lot of hype for it. But it was just... too strange. Not to mention that the supposedly "great" character customisation was still very, very limited - If you wanted to be a wizard boy, you had to be an old man, no exception. Not to mention it also features open PvP after endgame and ultimately was too difficult for us to wrap our heads around. 

Final Fantasy XIV: Again, we tried the free trial of this game, and at first it seemed promising... But the very strange character customisation system (giraffe elves!?) and incredibly slow-burn combat system that saw a single enemy taking ages to die put us off initially. We probably would have stuck with it, though, had it not been for the forced monthly sub fee. We hate games that constantly charge us money whether we play them or not, and while we went in with an open mind, this game just didn't deliver enough to keep us there.

Elder Scrolls Online: The both of us literally just stopped playing this. We've so far given this game two chances to hook us but neither time have we been engaged by it. The game feels far too nebulous and bombards the player with buckets and buckets of information all at once. Feels far too floaty and unfocused, neither of us could actually get engaged with it. We need some direction in our games.

The Secret World: I got into this by myself back when it first came out and did enjoy my time with it for a month or two, but then they released the "Aegis" system and that essentially killed my interest in the game... Until my partner suggested we give it a try together. So we grabbed a copy of the game on sale and jumped in together, but even after a few months away, I soon realised just how irritating a lot of the little nuances of this game can be: An atrocious UI system, unintuitive and uninspired character creation and very little to do outside the quest zones and combat.

So, with that list done and dusted, does anybody have any recommendations? There are so many MMOs out there these days, its very difficult to actually find one that's worth sinking significant time into... 

Looking forward to seeing your suggestions! Thanks.

Veerdin

Oops, quick addendum (because I can't find the "Edit post" button) We've also tried Guild Wars 2 but found it too nebulous and unengaging, again. Just not for us, sadly.

Kunai_Vax

Surprised WoW wasn't on your list, considering how many MMORPG's you've played.
It doesnt check all the things on your list but i think its still worth giving it a try if you havent already

Po_gg

Veerdin said:

The Secret World: I got into this by myself back when it first came out and did enjoy my time with it for a month or two, but then they released the "Aegis" system and that essentially killed my interest in the game... Until my partner suggested we give it a try together. So we grabbed a copy of the game on sale and jumped in together, but even after a few months away, I soon realised just how irritating a lot of the little nuances of this game can be: An atrocious UI system, unintuitive and uninspired character creation and very little to do outside the quest zones and combat.

AEGIS did that for a lot of players, so you're not alone in this   there's a mod even, if you use that, it basically "hides" the system from you, it helps a lot for AEGIS-opposers.
UI is totally tweakable as well, and the char.gen got some updates with the barber and the plastic surgeon. But sure, it's not everyone's cup of tea.


Established, pvp put aside, good customization, no kill-a-thon, housing, family system: give LotRO a try. Great game, has all of that, and it is really good for duo play, you can do everything together (opposed to TSW where the solo instances split the group quite often in the early zones).
There was a thread not long ago about nice pairs for duo play, you can check that as well - but in short, warden+champ, or hunter+mini

edit: whoa, so many other posts in the meantime... and @Nyctelios also said LotRO, so that's two votes already

holdenhamlet

I recommend Blade and Soul.  Very similar to TERA which you enjoyed and plenty of options for pretty boy characters. 

p2w in the end and has a severe bot problem, but it's a great game besides those 2 things.

delete5230

Like someone mentioned WoW and LOTRO were not on your list.


LOTRO is a good one but it's a little bit ridiculous easy to duo, same with retail WoW.  With both mobs are way too easy to kill, it gets extremely boring fast.

I would suggest a Vanilla WoW server, the vanilla WoW version is GREAT for DUO's and totally free !!

Aelious

When I think of pretty characters Aion comes to mind but there's a few catches. You can play on the "fast track" server until almost max level which has no PvP but the normal game and highest level mixes the two together. That said the combat system is pretty nice which features skill chains. It can be a little grindy but since the fast track server has a higher xp rate it may not seem like it. Crafting is interesting and the flying/gliding aspect can be fun.

If you try it and you or your partner like support classes the Chanter is incredible. Would be good for a duo anyways (Gladiator/Chanter ftw).

Good luck on your quest!

P.S. If you don't mind cartoony graphics you may try Wildstar as well. Can be fun and is more "on rails" since you mentioned being directed (Aion is too fyi).

Quazal.A

Whilst it doesn't fulfill the 'established' one, I woudl think take a look at revelation online when it hits OBT.
It has marriage system, will have housing, but also has good system where dungeons can be run in various levels depending on your group, it allows things like tutoring so if you did 'blast ahead' and feel that out levelling your partner (which ever one lieks to play most) then at least you can still do most of content together

yes there are daily grinds like killing 380 mobs in dungeons etc, but when yourin a group this takes maybe 15-20 minutes, the game also rewards for grouping together so being in each other groups allows you to earn xp faster

The char customisation is decent (not the best that goes to BnS for me) costumes etc

Yes there is pvp, but im level 58 and so far in about 300 hours game play ive had one jerk try and PK me just a i jumped in a dungeon, but just jump out and bingo, the game has a mechanic to make pking hard to keep going.

Personally think it will be an ok game, wont be groundbreaking, but its quite fun, i dont subscribe to it being P2W altough others might think it is.

TC

RemyVorender

Po_gg said:

Veerdin said:

The Secret World: I got into this by myself back when it first came out and did enjoy my time with it for a month or two, but then they released the "Aegis" system and that essentially killed my interest in the game... Until my partner suggested we give it a try together. So we grabbed a copy of the game on sale and jumped in together, but even after a few months away, I soon realised just how irritating a lot of the little nuances of this game can be: An atrocious UI system, unintuitive and uninspired character creation and very little to do outside the quest zones and combat.

AEGIS did that for a lot of players, so you're not alone in this   there's a mod even, if you use that, it basically "hides" the system from you, it helps a lot for AEGIS-opposers.
UI is totally tweakable as well, and the char.gen got some updates with the barber and the plastic surgeon. But sure, it's not everyone's cup of tea.


Established, pvp put aside, good customization, no kill-a-thon, housing, family system: give LotRO a try. Great game, has all of that, and it is really good for duo play, you can do everything together (opposed to TSW where the solo instances split the group quite often in the early zones).
There was a thread not long ago about nice pairs for duo play, you can check that as well - but in short, warden+champ, or hunter+mini

edit: whoa, so many other posts in the meantime... and @Nyctelios also said LotRO, so that's two votes already

The AEGIS system is what made me stop playing the game. Beyond annoying.

Jill52

Star Wars: The Old Republic isn't as grindy as it used to be and they have a player housing system now called strongholds (you get your first one at level 15).  Possible downsides are how easy it is to solo/duo quests and that some features are locked until you pay for them or subscribe.
So either SW:TOR or LOTRO, as someone else already suggested, are the ones that come to mind which seem to fit your criteria.

7SilentNights

Phanstasy Star Online 2. This is always the game I suggest , that is, if you don't mind playing foreign games. There is a English patch available. Simply download it or use the official unofficial English launcher.

Pso2 has a large, friendly, English speaking community on specific servers/ships. The game also offers many of the things your're looking for.

Character Creator multiple races with their own unique features


Player Housing


Events to keep you entertained 
(like this Hatsune Miku concert) 


(Emergency Quests) like this Mech Battle video


PvP although we haven't received this update yet. I believe it's still being tested.


Friend Partner System
You and your better half will always be able to play with each others character in a party even if they're offline.


*Edit* Also the server the guy in the 1st video is talking about is the SEA server.

The one I'm referring to is the Japanese Server which is much further along and receives frequent updates.

*If you like to give it a try, inbox me and I'll help you (or anyone).*

Veerdin

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. Seeing LotR Online being suggested a lot, which is a bit surprising. We've seen that game here and there but its never caught our attention. Might be worth a try.

Also, in response to some of the posts: We generally avoid WoW for a few reasons: Firstly, the dated nature of the game and the limited customisation is a tad unappealing, and as far as I was aware, it was both a retail and subscription based game with multiple expansion packs that each needed individual purchases. A lot of money investment in something neither of us are sure about.

We did also take a look at Starforge when that came out, but I'm not sure... There's just something about that game that made it feel "wrong", it's hard to explain. It's like they tried to build this huge, intricate world, but then gave little to no context as to why anybody should care about it. Gave me a weird uncanny valley feeling.

Glad to know I'm not the only one that despised the AEGIS system, though. Such a shame, too, TSW was one of the few MMOs I sunk a lot of time into prior to that.

Another game I've spotted is Lineage 2. A little old, now, but I know almost nothing about it. Is it worth a download?

Phry

Veerdin said:

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. Seeing LotR Online being suggested a lot, which is a bit surprising. We've seen that game here and there but its never caught our attention. Might be worth a try.

Also, in response to some of the posts: We generally avoid WoW for a few reasons: Firstly, the dated nature of the game and the limited customisation is a tad unappealing, and as far as I was aware, it was both a retail and subscription based game with multiple expansion packs that each needed individual purchases. A lot of money investment in something neither of us are sure about.

We did also take a look at Starforge when that came out, but I'm not sure... There's just something about that game that made it feel "wrong", it's hard to explain. It's like they tried to build this huge, intricate world, but then gave little to no context as to why anybody should care about it. Gave me a weird uncanny valley feeling.

Glad to know I'm not the only one that despised the AEGIS system, though. Such a shame, too, TSW was one of the few MMOs I sunk a lot of time into prior to that.

Another game I've spotted is Lineage 2. A little old, now, but I know almost nothing about it. Is it worth a download?

Lineage 2 is quite an old game now, but its quite popular in Korea by all accounts, although the game is fairly heavily PVP focused afaik, given how competitive they tend to be it might be a while before you are able to hold your own, particularly if their skills are anything like they are in games such as Starcraft etc. 

Po_gg

Veerdin said:

Glad to know I'm not the only one that despised the AEGIS system, though. Such a shame, too, TSW was one of the few MMOs I sunk a lot of time into prior to that.

Nope, definitely not the one   actually they know the situation as well, after the 'main story' ending in Issue 11 there were 2 more Issues in Tokyo (so with AEGIS), but then Issue 14 was already a non-AEGIS addition, and I think it was mentioned that the big new stuff coming this year won't use the system either.


"...limited customisation is a tad unappealing..." well, LotRO has a massive cosmetic system, and there will be some avatar upgrades as well in the upcoming months.
"A lot of money investment in something neither of us are sure about."  You can play totally free if you don't mind the grind   or subscribe, or go somewhere inbetween the two. With some planning and well-timed purchases, I'd say you can get the whole game for about 30-40 bucks.

As an overall feel check this guy's review from last year, it has some hiccups (like the server count was 29+1 and not 22) but I agree with most of the list. There was a follow-up video with the cons, I agree with those as well (especially big battles and essence system. Mounted combat is actually pretty nice now)
The aforementioned cosmetics is listed as number 6   https://youtu.be/6P8GRp8x2ws?t=4m53s
(and it continues with pvp, but no worries, pvp is something totally secluded and confined, won't interfere your PvE experience :awesome: )

edit: just a note, there will be an update tomorrow, with a massive enhance of the housing system. It uses hooks, but they will change them replacable, anywhere (*there's a range limit though) within the house.

Veerdin

I've got LotRO on the download, but do I understand this right...? Can you play the "Vanilla" WoW servers without needing to purchase the game or pay a sub fee? And when you say "Vanilla" do you mean it just doesn't have expansions in it, or it's original everything? Like original graphics, world, mechanics, ect...? I know that a lot of the expansions made major changes to the game world, for instance. But we'd be interested in having a go at WoW provided there's no pay-wall. That was really what was putting us off the game.

Wizardry

Well first of all,they are ALL grindy,otherwise players would play for one month and be done.
That is how developers keep players coming back,via grindy systems.

Sadly MOST of if not all these grinds are all end game,so the entire game ,except end game has been made meaningless.

However if you can forget the "grind" part because it is in every single game,then i know a couple options.

First of all,i believe everyone should have tried FFXi "sub fee" once in their life before it is gone,npc's you keep/earn to form your own groups of 6,just adding a bunch of new mounts,very deep crafting and itemization best ever was imo as food really does matter,not some superficial after battle thing.Personally i stopped playing on the sub fee server because i don't like end game nonsense "in any game",so on a private i can enjoy whatever i want with no feeling of push ahead.

So i suggest since all the other games are darn near identical,should just play EQ2.F2p so you can test it out.It also allows 1 npc each to join you and they are quite powerful,however i think you need to pay money in some fashion to be able to use them.A deep crafting system with housing and crafted housing items as well.Very big game and just lots to figure out/discover,i highly recommend it.I played EQ2 off/on for a long time over about a well since release lol,so about 10 years or so?

If i had my dream game it  would be a cross between EQ2/FFXI and a touch of Diablo/Runes of Magic "imbues/runes".

delete5230

Veerdin said:

I've got LotRO on the download, but do I understand this right...? Can you play the "Vanilla" WoW servers without needing to purchase the game or pay a sub fee? And when you say "Vanilla" do you mean it just doesn't have expansions in it, or it's original everything? Like original graphics, world, mechanics, ect...? I know that a lot of the expansions made major changes to the game world, for instance. But we'd be interested in having a go at WoW provided there's no pay-wall. That was really what was putting us off the game.

Yes,

The Vanilla is totally free. No tricks what-so-ever

Depending on what free server you play, they have several servers with several expansions (all free).  I totally recommend the vanilla 1-60 server, the others are like retail and way too easy for playing as a duo.  And no matter what everyone tells you they have very few bugged quest, you would barely notice. Also the vanilla 1-60 server is packed 24/7 and is English speaking, some of the expansion servers are eastern euro speaking, and they do seem to understand you if you speak English, but most of the general chat is euro....For this I recommend Vanilla 1-60.

Yes, Its active as we speak.  I just logged on 5 minuets before posting this and its busting with activity. 

Vanilla WOW is the only mmo that fun and challenging for single or duo, all else are made crazy easy !




LOTRO is fun, but too easy.  Both my friend and I tried duoing and we couldn't do it.  All mobs die so fast you have no need to help each other.  Add that the quest are so fast and easy, you find yourself turning quest in too fast and two people playing together is too much running back for turn in's.

Also, its only free to level 20 or so.  After that you will be paying, free play is doable but painful.  It's also my opinion that the game is not as user friendly and bugs more so that Vanilla WoW.


I'll PM you Veerdin

Kyleran

Revelation online might be the game for you.

Catmint

I would think WoW or LOTRO would be best honestly.

Veerdin

So we gave LotRO a try... Sad to say it just didn't grab us, the combat and overall gameplay just felt far too chunky and outdated, and the combat was just boring.

I think I've been spoiled by more modern MMOs in that respect, I don't mind tab-target systems, but the combat in LotRO just felt far too floaty and unresponsive. Paired with the lacklustre character creation and the dated graphics, it didn't really feel fun to play. I appreciate the suggestion, but I don't think that one is for us.

Might give WoW a go, but correct me if I'm wrong... @Wizardry are you saying there are private servers for FFXIV that don't require a sub fee? Because I might actually be interested in playing that game if there's a free version available. It was pretty cool (minus the godawful elf customisation options, I mean holy crap...) but the whole monthly sub thing was a massive turn-off as we tend to be a bit sporadic when it comes to our MMO playing.

Revelation looks interesting, but it being in beta is annoying. Same goes for Bless Online, which has no scheduled release for western audiences yet.

hatefulpeace

Give Wild Star a try, it has decent customization, and isnt that grindy as far as killing the same thing over and over, like you do in Dark age of Camelot, or orginal EQ. 

Prolly the best one to fit your description though is Star Trek online. It customization is up there with Aion, and Black desert. There is no grind, as far as what you consider a grind. The leveling up in that game is based on missions, that are like mini star trek episodes. There is no pvp in that to speak of. The only pay wall is if you want a better ship, but you can earn the cash shop money with in game stuff. I recommend playing it on play station, or Xbox if you are worried about bots. I guess I will put it this way, when there is a xp boost, you can go from lvl 1 to 50 in like 8 hours, all playing interactive missions. The game switches from ground combat to space combat so it gets less boring. 

As far as if you think a grind means doing tasks that are similar over and over, you arent going to find one that isnt like that. MMOs prolly arent your kind of game, you should try VR games if that is what you want to avoid. Resident evil 7 has no grind what so ever, and is a constant thrill. It is single player though. In fact, you should steer away from RPGs all together, because all of them have a grind single player or MMO. Any multi player game is going to have a grind of some kind, even battlefield. I think you would be happier with like a mine craft server. 

Your other option, is to rent a server if you dont have 10mbps upload, and a i7 8 core, and run your own mmo. With totally taking out the grind. Or play wow, and buy a level 90 character, or play eq 2 and buy a level 90 character, or buy a account illegally from a 3rd party site.

That is basically what the wow servers you are talking about are a rented server, but most of those are designed to make the game harder and more grindy. If you want a server with no grind your gonna have to make your own. Most people who play mmorpgs, want a grind, or a grind that can be gotten rid of with cash. 

You can also try EVE online, it has a really good character customization thing. The pvp isnt really forced, I have played that prolly 6 months total over the last 10 years, and never pvped. You gotta like space ships though, and that game is grindy as hell, unless you give them cash. 

Sovrath

Veerdin said:

Black Desert Online: We downloaded the free trial of this because we'd both heard a lot of hype for it. But it was just... too strange. Not to mention that the supposedly "great" character customisation was still very, very limited - If you wanted to be a wizard boy, you had to be an old man, no exception. Not to mention it also features open PvP after endgame and ultimately was too difficult for us to wrap our heads around. 

Point of note Black Desert added a young male face for the Wizard. Additionally you could forgo the quest that gets you to 50 and therefore not have to deal with pvp. Which, in truth, is a pretty non-issue.

However,  don't think you will find a game, you and your partner seem very picky. Perhaps Star Wars the Old Republic or Guild Wars 2?

As far as grind goes they are grind lite.

Nanfoodle

Thing I like about SWToR is you can play 100% of the content teamed. Also with companions you can run flashpoints (dungeons) with just you are your wife. My wife and I do it all the time. 

Leiloni

I'm surprised nobody has suggested GW2 to you yet. It checks nearly all of your boxes. Not grindy, no forced PvP, character customization is pretty decent and you can definitely make attractive characters, a variety of gameplay options, etc. There's a free trial that limits what you can do in game quite a bit, but is  unlimited in time. So you can level as much as you want there before deciding to purchase it.

Rukushin

He mentioned GW2 and said he wasn't interested. I hate to break it to you, but you have to compromise somewhere. You will not find an MMO because your being way too picky. I thought I was picky, but damn!

FFXIV is what I'm playing now and have loved it, but I'm stuck in the end game grind right now which does kill some of it, but new expansion coming out soon and I'm sure I'll be diving in for multi-hour gaming sessions. 

Elder Scrolls Online is another excellent game. It was quite honestly the most immersive MMO experience I have ever partaken in. You felt bombarded from information? I never felt that way at all. Just stick to grabbing up quests and just move through the story at you own pace. It's really not difficult at all. Feels nebulous? Well, it is a fairly big open world so yeah that should be a good thing. Not really a negative connotation there. 

Really the way you described Elder Scroll Online is how I describe Black Desert. I'm surprised you even tried that game cause if ESO confused you then I'm surprised you were abel to get passed the character creator in Black Desert. 

I really think you and your partner need to either reevaluate your checklist for MMOs and what your looking for out of them or just take a break from gaming for awhile and go hiking and canoeing or something because it seems you may be too jaded on MMOs. Which I must say in understandable. We are kind of in the "amazing MMO" drought right now. 

My only suggestion to you would be to try the Vanilla Private Servers. Right now that has given me that sense of exploration and WOW (no pun intended) factor that I rememeber. then again it could all just be nostalgia for me, but I'm loving the complexity of original WoW. It's definitely a nice break from FFXIV.

when it comes to FFXIV sub fee though or just sob fees in general I have never complained about paying a sub fee. I would rather pay a sub fee. Here's the big caveat though....as long as they keep updating the game. When a dev does like Blizzard and goes for an 18 month content drought while charging 15 bucks a month I will never contribute money to them ever again. At least with FFXIV your seeing updates every 3 months roughly. 

Anyways, long story short. Elysium WoW Private Server. That's your best bet. Thats what my wife and I are playing currently when not playing FFXIV.

Leiloni

Rukushin said:

I hate to break it to you, but you have to compromise somewhere. You will not find an MMO because your being way too picky. I thought I was picky, but damn!

I have to agree with this. He's already tried some of the best MMO's out there and if they don't like those, they won't like anything. They're all great games that are very enjoyable. No game is perfect but nothing in life is and you need to look past things that really aren't a big deal and let yourself have fun.