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Looking for the right fit.
Alright, I've been looking to start playing a new MMORPG for some time now, I am always cautious when starting one because when I start one I'd rather find one that I will enjoy and stay with rather than play for a few weeks then forget about. I have been playing MMO's for a while now, my first game was WoW. Among other games I have played - Star Wars Galaxies, Tabula Rasa, Guild Wars, Lord of the Rings Online, EVE Online and Age of Conan.
I want a game that will offer me solid and ever-changing game play (expansions and updates periodically), a strong player base (this is important for me as I am always paranoid on spending money on a game that no one plays), lots of classes/races/skills/exploration and less griding and more immersive play. I am also a large fan of games with heavy crafting systems and economies.
It might sound like alot, perhaps hopelessly searching for the perfect game (but I'm not the only one). However I think there might be something out there for me, also would be great if it was 10/per month or less. (But I would spring for 15 if I really liked it.) I have seen a few that are in my mind worth looking in to, 1) Warhammer Online, 2) Aion, 3) Champions Online, 4) Global Agenda.
Any ideas?
Comments
Only things I can recommend are older games.
Eq2. Has a small but loyal fan base (From what I can tell) They release expansion packs pretty regularly. They also have quite a few race and class choices.
Ryzom. Skill based sandbox. Was dead in the water, found a new publisher. It has something called Ryzom Ring which allows for player made content. Pretty small, but again, loyal fan base.
Fallen Earth. Relatively small player base (Assumption) that plans on having quite a few expansions. It is crafting centric, but it's hard to guess how its economy will turn out. Only one race, but plenty of skills and little exploration.
Warhammer brings to mind DAOC. I really don't know when the last expansion was for that though...
Champions Online, for me, isn't a long term game. It has/will have a good player base, lots of skills, and some exploration. I don't foresee there being any real sort of economy though.
I would write WAR off if I was you; it's hemhorrhaging subs and is in most respects a pretty uninteresting game.
Aion is .. ah, screw it, I'll risk the wrath of the Aion fanboi and say that it's a very similar experience to WoW but with shinier graphics and a far more "asian" feel. I have to constantly fight the urge to refer to it as CHOW (Chinese WoW). It seems a fairly solid game and on paper should do very well; if NCSoft don't balls it up.
Champions Online is an interesting one for a few reasons; one is the way in which it handles population control; it's a single server split into many instances (capped at 50-200 simultaneous players). It's always crowded. Not sure about its long-term appeal yet, the gameplay is fairly simplistic and the end-game is uncertain.
Playing: EVE, Final Fantasy 13, Uncharted 2, Need for Speed: Shift
If you like PVE, Champions is a good choice, but its PvP is bad
If you like PvP, WAR is a good choice, but its PVE is below par
Aion has solid PVE and PvP but it is not released (open beta starts in a week). Also it does have many elements from WoW ...which is a good thing...and a bad thing depending on your feelings about WoW
Age of Conan is also a solid choice you may want to look at
WAR and AoC have free trials available. AION has stated on their boards that they will make open beta accounts available for those who didnt prepurchase the game....however this may require a subscription to fileplanet or something (not sure)
Good Luck
Torrential: DAOC (Pendragon)
Awned: World of Warcraft (Lothar)
Torren: Warhammer Online (Praag)