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Whats the best mmorpg ever?
Ragemaster
Member UncommonPosts: 131
Hi all. Im a longtime mmorpg player, started with everquest and went up from there. The latest game Iv played is Star Wars Galaxies, however, just by viewing their message boards you can get a sense that the community is very angr and that SWG is going down hill.. bugs run wild and people flame so much SOE has active people to delete unconstructive posts... not to mention all the nerfs.
My question to you is, whats a FUN, good MMORPG that has good customer service, is NOT a level treadmill, has stuff to do besides whack creatures, and has good pvp features? IF there is such an mmorpg at all? Please post what you think is the mmorpg worthy of "best mmorpg ever" and WHY. Also, please state how much it cost price wise and what company made it. Lets get a good discussion going here. Also, please do not post regarding to beta or unfinished mmorpgs... while WoW looks promising so did SWG when it was in the beta... oh well. So what is the BEST MMORPG? Please tell us
Comments
sounds like you need a big mmorpg change... well sims online has everything but the pvp, unless you consider gettin people to come to your place and not other peoples places. not sure about customer service though, never needed them.
the best mmorpg to me is dark age of camelot, but thats basically what you described as not wanting.
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IMHO it would have to be Dark Age of Camelot. I know alot won't agree with me, but for me they did almost everything right. I'm a big quest feind and loved doing their quests. The rewards were always on target for the intended level unlike most games. Also, for many classes soloing was possible, although not as quick for leveling as a group of course. They also got it right with the dragons...Dragons ought to be the nastiest thing you can find in the game and they were in Camelot.
It was also the first game ever that I actually enjoyed they pvp.
I've played EQ, DAoC, AO & now SWG. I have enjoyed them all, based on their own merits.
I liked EQ (Everquest) only because it was my first MMORPG, and I was truly fascinated by the world and its inhabitants. I hated the economy, and to get anywhere you had to hack 'n' slash your way to excel. There were really no goals driving PvP during the time that I played.
DAoC (Dark Age of Camelot) - It was great in that crafting was emphasized a bit more, providing more of a social economy. PvP had a goal of "capture the flag" type play. Guilds also meant a bit more as alliances could be formed. There was a complete "social" aspect to the game in that organization of groups and leadership was paramount for success. What I disliked was the PvP aspect in the lack of balance to the classes. This seems to be a common thread in all PvP related MMORPGs. "Fear the Mez!" Also when engaged in a full scale battle, many times the zones would crash. At times you would log back to find that your whole battle party had been slaughtered. Not a pretty sight. PvP became a joke and any sort of roleplaying being in battle went out the window with ridiculous tactics such as "zerges". Static horses were somewhat unrealistic. Perhaps the rideable mount has changed since I last played...pre Atlantis.
AO (Anarchy Online) - There's a lot of great things about AO. I liked the social aspects and the ability to run some great roleplaying events. Their best feature is their ARK program where players volunteer their time to solve issues within the game. Get stuck? Petition and you will find an ARK standing in front of you in less than 5 minutes to help. Have other issues, you will have a response the same day if not within just a couple hours of your petition. ARKs also ran events to further the storyline of the game. The entertainment guilds were fantastic, hosting a web-based radio station specifically geared to the inhabitants of Rubi-Ka and providing entertainment at the local establishments such as Reets Retreat. Having contests, giving away prizes and really getting the community involved. I was fortunate enough to have hosted a Spring Fling Event. I called upon Gridstream Productions and they even aired a commercial for me. It made it more of a realistic environment than any I had experienced. I would have to say that this game really has potential of being the best out there. The only thing I didn't like was the PvP...too many twinked characters making it impossible for a casual player to really have an affect. I left prior to the expansion of Shadowlands for SWG. I would have stayed with AO as well, but I can only manage one MMORPG at a time.
SWG (Star Wars Galaxies) - To me, it's still new...it has it's balance and bugs...but overall, I like it well enough to continue playing to see what's coming in the future. This game has so many professions that it's no wonder the devs can't keep up with the demands. It is the most versatile game that I have experienced. You can choose to become a part of the Galactic Civl War or not. You can immerse yourself in so many different areas and find something that fits your style. The crafting and economy is the best I've seen. You aren't required to kill a thing in order to excel. That's what I like about it. The roleplaying aspect is there, you've just really got to find the right guild, the right server, the right people. They are out there. It's the first MMORPG where I feel that I have truly developed my character in a roleplaying sense.
I guess it all boils down to your playing style. Everyone is different in their likes and dislikes. Every game is going to have it's downfalls. If people would stop and smell the flowers once in a while they might find something that drives their fun factor a bit further. In every MMORPG that I have played it seems to be all about "keeping up with the Jones'". I have been a victim to that thinking once or twice.
My best MMORPG experience to date has also been DAoC, but like SatansDisciple said, it pretty much embodies everything you said you don't want in an MMORPG.
I hate to say it but I don't think you are going to escape that formula as every currently released mmorpg all boils down to the same basic formula, no matter how much they try to dress it up. I can't speak for any of the games comming out because no matter what they may claim, no one can know for sure what the actual game play will be like before it is released (just remember SWG was the next big thing to revelutionize the mmorpg world and we all see how that worked out heh)
My only suggestion would be to try out a couple of the games that have free trials and see which one fits your fancy. I believe currently all the following have free trials:
Horizons
Anarchy Online
Neocron
Dark Age of Camelot
Eve
You might find something that you like in that bunch and there may be a couple that I have missed.
NOTE: you may need a credit card for some of those trials and I believe Eve you can only get the trial from an existing subscriber but someone here might be willing to hook you up with one
∙name: EViLD0G
∙clan: [EXE]
∙playing: EQ, SIMS, AC, AC2, DAoC, FFXI, RS
∙planning: Ryzom
From my experience having played mmorpgs since the beginning of everquest (pre kunark) I have found Dark Age of Camelot to be most worthy of being top-notch as far as mmorpgs go at this time.
DAoC is the only mmorpg that I came back to after taking some time off, the others including EQ, Shadowbane, AC2, SWG and many others have simply been too rediculous to make a second effort.
Several of the things that I loved about DAoC we're the following:
Leveling - Wasn't as hard as EQ as far as 'powering' though to be the best. DAoC let you have fun (pvp, neat spell effects etc...) at much earlier levels allowing those without endless amounts of time to ENJOY an mmorpg. I mean isnt that why we play video games... to have FUN?!?!
Economy - DAoC allowed players to craft not only armor and weapons but you could be an alchemist, a spellcrafter, a siege crafter (making catapults and other such destructive machines) and many others which I have not stated. This alone made a significant difference in the way players communicated and effected game-life at an economical level.
PVP - Realm vs Realm combat was awsome, it allowed players to level for a purpose... to not only cooperate better in groups and teamwork but to affect the course of gameplay. For instance taking relics to strengthen your realm meanwhile engaging in HUGE battles. Unfortunately Mythic Entertainment never remedied the 'zerg' tactic which forced me to quit playing but none the less this game stands out far above the others.
Grouping/Raiding - In DAoC was more than being the 'elite, uber' people but you could have up to 8 players in an exp party and with battlegroups you could communicated admist the onslaught of other realms meanwhile everyone shares equal realm points etc...
Overall Dark Age of Camelot has seemingly been a learning experience for most games as it took mmorpg'ing to the next level when it was introduced and continues to evolve even to this day. I highly recommend this game above all others at this time.
-- As a side note, the one big thing that I absolutely disliked about Mythic Entertainment was how they were constantly 'nerfing' the classes so every month there was a 'better' class in which most flocked to and then IT had to be nerfed and this on going dilema of the so called 'nerf bat' ruined the game for those who started at the beginning (including myself, who bought DAoC first week it was introduced). Over the months that passed most classes became balanced and the game equalled out again.
If Mythic ever reads this post I would suggest only one thing that they should have done and that is instead of 'nerfing' a particular class and ruining the enjoyment of those who played it, they should have 'ubified' or strengthened the others which would not only make the game more balanced but would be a positive change instead of a negative 'nerfing'. This inturn would most likely have brought players BACK to playing the game instead of QUITING till the 'nerf bat' settled down.
Let me know what you think -
resilience
the original Lineage: The Blood Pledge...
anybody who has played it long enough to get over the out-dated graphics knows exsctly what im talking about...
it had crisp gameplay, the best community i've ever seen, fun siege/war systems, hugh boss fights, massive world, great music (after they got rid of the old school midi stuff they played in beta) and just all in all a great game for anybody willing to overlook the graphics (oh ntm it was and still is the biggest MMORPG in the world)
for the new wave of MMORPG's im going to say that both WoW and Lineage 2 will be changing that though... WoW will probably be the biggest MMORPG in America/Canada due to the faact its made by a great company, and it has the warcraft logo slapped on it (although it makes me wonder if anybody would give a crap if it didnt have the names backing it up), but Lineage 2 wont be too far behind, finally giving fans of PvP a reason to stay with MMORPG's (ntm the best graphics currently around in an MMORPG)
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I am new to the mmorpg world but I do have a few opinions.
Planetside is a big upset and I really would rather play cards.
SWG was overly anticipated making it the terrible game of glitch and bugs it is today.
DAOC was great...........FOR TWO WEEKS along with Anarchy Online
The only thing that I can say is that if one of the new MMO's such as Lineage 2, City of Heroes, WoW, or EQ2 doesnt step up to the plate, the mmorpg world could be destroyed.
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The anticpation of death is far worse than death itself.
[img]http://www.bowlingfortruth.com/images/banner.gif[img]
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If you wait to do something until the last minute, your more efficient since it will only take 1 minute.
The first Asheron's Call
I tried the 2nd, ended up back in the first. Went and played Shadowbane for a few months, then returned to AC1.
I have tried a few other MMORPG's but none of them suck me in like Asheron's Call. Which I think is mainly due to fast pace of the game, and the ability to solo with any char
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Omol da'Ox
The Blooded
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Omol da'Ox
Sims Online:Hated It
Helbreath=Good at first......then gets kinda boaring around lvl 80
Planetside=Not a mmorpg really and was good...only works with a REALLY GOOD COMP like an Alienware
Pristontale=Free but Fun
FFXI=WANNA TRY LIKE HELL!
Anarchy Online=Favorite,even with Shadowlands
It's sad but true the best mmorpg out there right now is DAOC. However if you're not looking for a lvl tread mill this game is not for you. Infact I'm willing to say that you avoid all present mmorpgs entierly as most of them are composed entirely of this "tread mill".
Here are a list of a few games you might want to check out in the future.
World of Warcraft: Ok I know everybody is jumping onto this band wagon, but there is a good reason for this. The game promises interesting quests and lots of them. Infact unlike games like DAOC or Everquest, World of Warcraft is making the questing be the folcal point for all of it's game play. Remove the kill this creature over and over again grind that you get from almost all other mmorpgs out there to date. Also they have some real interesting ideas in the pvp department, and in items selection. It's not promising anything revolutanry in the way of game play, but blizzard hasn't let me down yet and are renowned for profecting entire genras of games. Look for this game to be huge.
Ultima X: Odyssey:
All right I know what you might be thinking, "Ultima online sucked and there is no way in hell I'm going to try a sequal. " Because honestly, when I heard about this project thats exactly what I said to myself. However after doing a bit of resurch I have come to find that this isn't just another Ultima Online Expansion. This is an entirely diffrent game, with a whole new way of thinking as far as the mmorpg genra is considered. First of all you have their questing system, which supposadly has npc seek out players in order to do quests. This means that a player won't have to stumble through a endless town, ala FFXI, looking for someone who may give them a quest. No players will be confronted with quests when the are apprate for that characters lvl.
In addition to this the game also features a whole new style of combat system. In UX:O combat happens more like Morrowind, where each swing of a blade is determaned by a timer on the weapon. The longer you delay between swings, everytime you click on a mob, the more accurate and harder hitting your attacks will be. Targeting is done with a redical cone instead of a block creature interface. So it's going to behave more like a fps in that mater.
I could go on and on about the changes forever, but why when all of it is posted on their websight. If your looking for something totaly diffrent this may be your game.
Lejendary Adventures:
Where you like me and expected a hell of a lot more from swg than you got. I mean where the hell is the diplotmat class. Why did factions basicaly turn into everquest with less sides. If you were wondering where the character distinction is, then you might want to look at this game. Gary Garax is putting together some real sound idea, I don't know weither or not it's going to be ready for 2004, but it sure as hell sounds nice. Take a look at this FAQ if for no other reason than to be reminded of the ideaism that flooded our beings back when we were reading about SWG in development.
Finaly I would like to end this already way to long post with a quick review of most games out there.
Anarachy Online- Lots of stuff to do and a very intresting world. Unfortently even after years is still buggy at times and the grind is verry present here.
Asheron's Call- Coolest Player Base Ever!!! Rotten Graphics and even worse sounds. The world is fun to explore and the combat isn't bad. Unforently when your playing you really get the feeling like this game has passed it's prime, don't bother.
Dark Age of Camelot- It's the one I and almost everybody else, besides EQ users, keep comming back to. This game offers 30 + classes if you include all three realms. Excellent PVP, and decent PVE. Unforently this game is what you would call grind central, and only the most hard core of gamers are even able to navagate the Atlatis. Not to mention even with the graphic update the character models still seem blockish the sounds can be just plain obnoxious, although the fire ball wosh is very nice, and the music is aweful. All these things aside it's still a lot of fun, honestly there is a reason it's currently sitting at number one one mmorpg's list of games.
Earth and Beyond- Vomit! I'm not going to waste anymore of this post on this POS!
Everquest- It's the giant that wouldn't stop. For the most part anybody who plays on everquest will experance and excellent player base, and while customer support isn't fantastic it's one of the best you'll find in the buisness. The game has tons of stuff to do, expessaly with the new Dungeons of Norath expansion. Still even with "instance zones" EQ very much feels like a dated game. While they may have improved the graphics on the player models, the teran is very tiring and who the hell wants to look for a corpse. Also lets not forget that while you can find a million things to do in EQ PVP isn't one of them. At least any form of PVP I would say had any appeal. Honestly EQ isn't a bad game, but dispite it's many expansions it's feeling it's age.
FFXI: This game has a fantastic look, Square Enix really out did themself with the terain and the monsters. Character models are some of the best looking in the entire industry and the animation is top notch. The one character being able to do all classes thing is a fantastic idea. And the multiclass thing, god how long have I waited for you. Unfortently for Square this game is not without it's problems. The game still has no pvp. Travel takes hella long, expessaly at low levels. There are literarly only 16 diffrent types of character models out there, so you end up looking like everybody else. GRIND!!!! GRIND like you wouldn't belive. Most of the player base is between 12-16. The other half doesn't speak english
. Did I forget to mention that all additional characters past the first one costs a dollar, and you don't even get to pick which server you start on. Serriously Square Enix WTF!!!
Horizons- Graphics that are totaly nonexcaptable with a modern game. The worst customer support ever. Obnoxious interface, and uninteresting creatures. On the postivie side it did have a nice stress free quest system. The crafting system in Horizons in only rivaled by SWG and the player races are pretty interesting. Unfortenly I'll have to agree with one review I read when they said, "Most of the Non-Dragon races look like they're trying to knee themselves in the chest when the run." Honestly there are better things out there than this don't bother with it.
Planetside- Why is this even considered an mmorpg. I mean it's like tribes only on a grand scale. Hell it's not even as fun as tribes and I didn't like tribes. This game shouldn't be purchased instead you may wish to check out battle fiend 1942 or coutnerstrike. For both games have a much larger player base and are always good times. Plus you don't have to pay to play.
Ragnarok Online- A fun little secret of mana esk game. Graphics aren't bad for what they are and the game can actually be quite fun. Unforently the players are awful and botting is rampant. I have a friend who lvled a chaacter 40 lvls without even sitting down to his keyboard. I was fine dealing with the boters when it was in beta, but now that it's pay to play I stay stay the ^&%# away.
Shadowbane- Talk about concepts gone wrong. This game had many brillaint ideas to bad they never got a dev team worth a shit. This game is aweful from the sounds and interface, right down to the core gaming mechanic. Honestly it's no wonder it's selling for 5 dollars and it's been out for less than a year. Look for Shadowbane to go the way of the Dinosaur later this year.
SWG- You've played more recently than I have. I didn't think it was a bad game, just Star Wars doesn't do it for me, and it was far to easy to gain SKills in that game. I don't want to be maxed out in a month.
Ultima Online- One of the first and I'm suprised it's still here. BUG CITY!!!
Anyway those are just the mmorpgs I've played, and my thoughts on them I hope it's been helpful. Now if you excusse me I've gotta smoke
. Night all!
There is no such thing as BEST MMORPG.
Every opinion above is subjective and you may have completely different one once you try the game. Some people will say SWG is best MMORPG ever and some will say it's worst.
One way to find out is to do some research. You have nice list on the left side here click on them, go to producer web site, read features, look at screenshots then check community forums.
Very often however screenshots look great, features are very interesting but when you log on - game just plainly sux (in my opinion).
After years of playing MMORPG I learned one thing. No other MMORPG will be like your first one. You will always be seeking that thrill when you first time logged in, met first person in there, killed first critter, done first quest. And it will never feel like it was for the first time, it's just the way it is
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And besides, like it or not, people do try to "win" massively multiplayer RPGs. The rules of engagement are something like this:
* If there is a status bar, make it grow bigger
* If there is a number, make it higher
* If it moves, either get a mission from it or kill it
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And besides, like it or not, people do try to "win" massively multiplayer RPGs. The rules of engagement are something like this:
* If there is a status bar, make it grow bigger
* If there is a number, make it higher
* If it moves, either get a mission from it or kill it
Well I joined mmorpg back in 1997 i think it was with UO when it was new.
Now first main problem i noticed with post 2000 crowd coming to mmorpg is that they have a ill defined sense of what a mmorpg should be like and about.
Not only the players but also the new developers shipped into this expanding market.
A mmorpg is about character development and his interaction with the environment and other players.
A common thing that occured after EQ was the scream don't make anymore level threadmill we don't want it.Naturally the developers saw this as something they needed to address and thus all mmorpgs made post DAoC are extremely easy to level.
In the past only a very small minority ever had the time to reach maximum level in 1 or 2 months.So their cry for more content was very little.
But take AC2 in less then 3 months half the players were 50.I think the first 50(max level) was in under 10 days!So in no time we all were eating up the end game faster then it could be written.Then of course we all screamed nothing to do in a few months.
Same is happening to all the new mmorpgs.
Also people have very little patience in a game.Folks pick up a mmorpg for 1 or 2 weeks and declare it boring.MMORPG is a step ladder thing.If I played EQ only for 2 weeks I would be here telling you how bad the game is .MMORPG takes time .
Personally I think the best mmorpg of all times and even now are all the older ones like EQ and DAoC.
The newer ones were all bent left and right to the demands of folks and in the end all came out not much better then a piece of junk.
I'll have to agree with Entico comment, "There is no BEST MMORPG." He's right, because everyone has their favorites and every MMORPG has it's Pros and Cons. For me, right now FFXI is the BEST MMORPG in my book. Oh yeah.. there are complaints for the game, but OVERALL FFXI is simply the best. WHY? Let me tell you.
Besides having some of the best graphics, sounds and gameplay of most other MMORPG, FFXI is probably the most BUG FREE MMORPG game on the martket. SquareEnix releases patches to fix issues I've never even heard of or seen before. Every quest works, no serious issues with crafting, mounts, Auction House, inventory, chat, lag, fighting, spell casting, guilds, mog house options or anything else that have plague other games. The customer service is also top notch. SE keeps gamers informed. Unlike the foolish developers at AE (Artifact Ent.) who have ignored their subscribers for the past month, SE service is top notch.
The game is also fun to play. The main issues people have were mentioned in this thread. Not being able to pick your server, GUI was fustrating to start, very long install, serious GRIND when leveling (I don't mind this though), forced grouping, very slow travelling, no auto-stacking for inventory, force to play with foreign player who don't speak English, etc., etc.. I've heard all the complaints. Some of them I agree with and some I don't .
Still the game plays with almost zero bugs. Most of the issues people have could be fixed if SE wanted to. They aren't bugs, but gameplay feature changes. Compared to a game like Horizons or Shadowbane, FFXI is like a breath of fresh air. I would say that Horizons is the WORST MMORPG ever released, with Shadowbane and Sims Online not far behind.
Honestly though, the BEST MMORPG has yet to be released. With World of Warcraft, Lineage 2 and EverQuest 2 just around the corner, so the BEST has yet to come.
Xander
Xander
http://mmoreinsight.wordpress.com -- A Glimpse Into The World of Massively Multiplayer Games.
I think what everybody is saying is, if your thinking about jumping ship to a New MMORPG wait till the big boys have come to bat. There is no point in placing your bets on last years ponies, which out of all them FFXI and SWG where the only ones really worth anytime.
I'm currious which next gen MMORPG are you looking forward to playing the most.
Besides UOX, I'd love to play every single MMORPG game you have listed in your poll. I actually have 3 of them pre-ordered, so I'll be playing them eventually anyway. The only other game I might give a try is Guild Wars. The one I want to play the most though is World of Warcraft. If this game actually lives up to the hype it will easily surpass EQ & FFXI in subscribers. Crossing my fingers.
Seriously though, there are so many MMORPG's coming out that it'll be impossible to try them all fully. Most likely I'll stick with 2-3 of them for a couple years and then move on to something else.
Xander
Xander
Xander
The best MMORPG I ever played was the original Everquest PVP server. Rallos Zek, before they messed it up and put in level restrictions etc.
IMO if you're going to make a PVP server then it should be an unrestricted PVP server. No level restrictions, and full looting of your slain foes corpse.
Of course there will be people complaining about high level players killing them, and stealing all their equipment. There is only one reasonble response to these complints and that is to kindly inform them that the pvp server is not for them, and they should go play on the carebear server.
*Signature*The Pessimist says the cup is half empty. The Optimist says the cup is half full. The Pragmatist says the cup is half full of air. The Engineer says the cup is operating at 50% capacity. The Psychologist says the cup is your mother. The Punk Kid also says the cup is your mother. The Cricket Player says his cup is definately full. Everyone knows that Pamela Andersons cups are full. The Defendant says it was like that when he found it. Me, I just ask the waitress for a refill.
Currently Playing :
Legend of Mir - Lv 36
Metroid Prime - Too dam hard!
Final Fantasy X2 - wickid!
Legend of Mir 2
Lancelot 40 Warrior
ShadowLight Guild