CandyLover

There are alot of MMORPGs out right now. Everquest 2, World Of Warcraft, Lineage II, Star Wars Galaxies, City of Heros, Guild Wars, DAOC etc etc. Which one do you guys prefer and do you have any reason behind? Or did you just pick one out of random?

I picked everyquest 2. Sony has has alot of experience with games and this is currently there newest MMORPG. I have hit the cap of level 50. It took a very long time and I enjoyed it the whole way. Raiding is made very good in this game. I like it alot, the only problem I can find with it is, besides raiding Epic Dragons all the time. There really isn't any other end game content.

__________________
The sweet isn't as sweet without the bitter.

MontanaXVI

the only one I have ever played, EQOA (Everquest Online Adventures) for the PS2.


Played it from beta up until the announced price increase this month at which point I closed the account down. The in game CS was weak, the zones had TERRIBLE lag, raiding any type of a boss mob consisted of getting cons on someone attacking as an assist off them then sitting looking at nothing while you cast your spells/heals.


It was a great little community though, and those who were loyal were very tight knit and looked out for each other, everyone has to deal with some kind of greifers of fools in an mmorpg but all in all it was a great 2+ year run.

__________________
Spank you very much

NeverBorn

I like Guild Wars..casue you know its good and free.

Zeraph

I've played most of them. Mostly theyre the same when you get down to it. Keeping in mind your first MMO will nearly always be your favorite and usually the people you play with have more of an influence on the fun than the game itself. Guild Wars I wouldn't consider an MMO, it's more like Diablo 2. I liked CoH and WoW the most. CoH because I like super heroes and their costume custimization is so far beyond any other game. WoW is the classic MMO with a lot of the annoying stuff gone, but it still needs a lot of work. Still too many timesinks.

As evidence by the amount of posts I think youll find most people in this forum like WoW the best.

Most MMOs really don't have any good end game content, unless you love raiding (I don't know anyone who actually likes it). This genre still needs a lot of work.

YaWhateva

I dont understand how guild wars isnt? Its all online, with lots of people, and its an rpg. Isnt that the exact meaning of a Massively Multiplayer Online RPG? I mean sure it doesnt have some of the stuff that a normal MMO has, thank god, because I dont want to go searching for copper to mine. But it does have features that arent MMO.

BTW Guild Wars is really fun.

__________________
“If the Americans go in and overthrow Saddam Hussein and it's clean, he has nothing, I will apologize to the nation, and I will not trust the Bush administration again.” - Bill O'Reilly

"This is my United States of Whateva!"

Mantus

I keep hearing conflicting opinions about Eve Online. Some say it's amazing others say it gets boring fast.

My favorite MMO to this date is or rather was Neocron. Despite the bugs, gliches, crapy graphics and all that jaz; it was a very well thought out and intresting game. Most importantly it was cyber punk so I didn't have to fight any god damn elves or orks...

I am wondering if Face of Mankind will ever make it to the shelves.

Lasereth

Most MMORPGs are fundamentally the same. World of Warcraft is probably the best, but the game lacks the atmosphere that others have. WoW has an amazing combat system and great controls and pretty graphics..and a terrible online community. The flametacular community combined with the "I'm a videogame, watch me load levels" atmosphere really turn it off for me. It's also too easy. There are many, many level 60 idiots in the game.

EverQuest had an incredible atmosphere. You felt like you were actually in a fantasy world. In WoW, I'm constantly reminded that I'm playing a videogame. In EQ, it always felt like I was a part of an actual world. EQ was also very hard to level in and strict on the death penalty. In other words, you had to be skilled to gain levels. In WoW, you just right click and rake in the EXP while not learning a damn thing about your class. EQ was a vast, expansive world that is many times the size of WoW. WoW is much more detailed, but sometimes vast, open space that allows you to literally get lost is more fun than a videogame level-type setting.

Ragnarok Online had a really nice economy. I played the Open Beta and I really liked the capitalistic feel the game had. You could make as much money as you want and buy the gear you wanted if you knew how economics works. I hate to compare every MMO to WoW, but WoW is basically the standard now. In WoW, you could make gold easily if you were in-the-know, but there's not much you can do with it. You can't buy gear to make your character stronger...each piece of equipment had a level requirement on it. I realize this makes the game more fair, but there's nothing like saving up a large quantity of gold to buy one piece of uber equipment that set you apart from others. This is absent in WoW and present in Ragnarok Online.

The Realm, one of the pioneers of MMOs had a cool atmosphere as well. I liked how a level 300 player could take down a level 1000 player if they were skilled. Skill means nothing in most MMORPGs. The Realm also allowed low-level players to have a chance at finding magical items that sold for a lot. The strong economy in this game made it addicting.

Lineage 2 I was addicted to for a while but only because it was free. I liked the simplicity of it in the beginning, but I really hated the free-for-all PVP system. Anybody could kill you if they wanted to and you dropped an item everytime. That made the game not fun.

I suppose that's all of the MMORPGs I've played. It's obvious that I prefer MMORPGs that have a very immersive atmosphere, that allow capitalism, and have strong economies. EQ is probably the most addicting MMORPG I've played. WoW is the best even though the atmosphere ruined it for me. It's a tie between EQ and WoW, simply because WoW has 90% of the MMO problems refined to perfection while EQ makes you leave the real world and enter true fantasy.

-Lasereth

__________________
"A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert

boatin

I play Asheron's Call 2. Sadly not on anyone's list... It's a game that has struggled due to a waaaaaay to early launch and problems beyond description. They have been working mightily to fix things, and I believe it's over it's hurdles.

I love the uniqueness. There are 22 character classes, and although the core 'classes' are the same (tank, damage dealer, healer, buffer, debuffer), there are variations on each: pet class, melee/magic/missle for each. So there is a lot of differentiation. You could be missle damage dealer or magic DD, or melee DD. Same with debuffer, etc.

Not only that, they are creative as well. The Juggernaut wields a two ended bladed weapon, the Hive Keeper throws wasps, the Zealot wields double handed 'claws', etc. There are lots of classes that are unlike anything in any other game I've seen.

The best news is that with the xpansion pack just released, there is more to do than I CAN do. Finally!

If you've played before and were frustrated, I'd encourage you to come back. Lots has changed.

Xazy

I loved EQ, I loved a lot more of the actual racing for mobs, while in WoW everything is instanced. WoW had the advantage of coming after, and being able to see the mistakes and fixing any complaint one might have with EQ. I have a 60 char in WoW now, and play that yet I do not have that same desire and yearning to play as much as I did in EQ. Could be because i was in a power raiding guild, but I think I realized in WoW the 60+ game is only really about raiding.

In EQ, there was at least some room made with their AA point system to expand your charachter... Their problem was that there was so many bugs in the system, that WoW had it right you had to build it all a new.. So I will say WoW wins since they have the better system, the instances (which removes the competition as much, except to say who did what first... and I think most people prefer not to involve in a race for a spawn).

But I guess fo rmyself WoW is to hang out more with friends, as a part time thing.. EQ was an addiction that I miss at times.

n0nsensical

EverQuest 1999-2003 RIP

__________________
"Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded." --Abraham Lincoln

FngKestrel

One that doesn't get much mention is A Tale in the Desert. It's not combat based and there's a scripting language that allows on the fly changes to the law system in place. I played the beta and found it more fun to make laws than harvest flax.

reconmike

Still playing DAoC, have been since original release. Have sold a few accounts to try the others.
But I still end up back in it, reactivating a dormant acct.
I have tried WoW, too much like a cartoon, and the PvP sucks, if I want to kill npc's constantly I can pop something into xbox or ps2. I have friends who play telling me since Battle Grounds came out it is like a half hour wait to zone into them, if I want PvP (and thats the reason I play mmorpg) I want to find a fight at that moment.

__________________
Where is Darwin when ya need him?

Johnny Pyro

Guild Wars is sweet. Its also free. I like my Necro/Warrior. New and free updates are also a bonus.

__________________
"From delusion lead me to truth, from darkness lead me to light, from death lead me to eternal life. - Sheriff John Wydell

bigbad

I've tried Runescape, DAOC, AO, Neocron, EQ, Lineage 2, Matrix Online, and WoW, and the one I found most fun was DAOC, back when it first came out. I've quit and come back to it numerous times, all the changes they've made really ruined it for me though so I'm currently playing WoW.

Beltruckus

I have the most fond memories from eq, first one i played didn't know anything, everything was new and fun. You felt like it was a real accomplishment from getting a lvl, unlike wow where it's WAY easier. Seems to me that WoW is going down the route that daoc took that was NERF everything. atm i'm paying for eq and wow.

__________________
The most important things are the hardest things to say. They are the things you get ashamed of because words diminish your feelings. Words shrink things that seem timeless when they are in your head to no more than living size when they are brought out. -Stephen King

Kostya

Guild Wars all the way baby!

I'm sure Wow and EQ2 are good too, but I am poor.

Mantus

What about Anarchy Online? Any one tried it?

FngKestrel

I mentioned ATITD earlier, but I should also give props to Guild Wars as well. There's some great continuity in the game between sections and the skill system is pretty fun. It reminds me of how much fun I had making decks in Magic.

jaco

I just headed back to Daoc with the introduction of ToA free servers and limited range on buffs and the buffer has to be in group. which fixed the two biggest problems with pvp on normal servers, the hellish time you had to spend in toa pve to become competitive and the buffbots. Its still my favorite game since it was built on the concept of pvp which few others are.

__________________
"How soft your fields so green, Can whisper tales of gore"
"Thou art god"

MrFlux

I've only played WoW and Ragnarok Online (back when it was free). Didn't enjoy Ragnarok, enjoy WoW immensely.

__________________
flux (n.)
Medicine. The discharge of large quantities of fluid material from the body, especially the discharge of watery feces from the intestines.

LuciferJones

OK, I haven't played WoW very much due to the fact that my first play on them was on friends accounts since at the time, I was poor and unemployed (employed and planning to play now)......its true, its easy, and if ur not talkative and charming, pretty straight forward and annoying, but its still fun, and sometimes funny (Leeroy Jenkins).

Played EQ and it was and still is the best MMORPG around, I mean, its HUGE!!! and the community is fantastic, the only major killers are that since Sony got so money hungry that they charge too much and dish out expansions like trading cards, the questing was pretty annoying in the beginning (newb quest for armor and stuff) but the economy and community were just amazing and I will be a fan of Everquest forever.

Neocron was intense and very awesome, I played beta and loved the graphics, only because my computer was able to handle the intensive higher standard graphics at the times (no retarded polygons for me!!!) it seemed to have a bit of a learning curve for MMORPG standards but was still awesome, the community was sweet and very original, and also it was the only game that had a legitimate Red Light District.

One that I doubt any of you heard of was Endless Ages, I played that during Open Beta and was in love with that game, it mixed sci-fi and fantasy games sooo well, such a fun game to play, it didn't have much of an economy beyond buying ammo for your gun, but the community was intense and fun.

Planet Side was a kickass game too, though not a RPG, it was still tons of fun and an awesome FPS as well, though they now nerfed a few things, its still an awesome game thats worth playing.

City of Heroes is SWEET!!!, i mean.....SUPER HEROES MAN!!! wut more can you say, you got to put you fashion creativity through rigorous work to create an amazing outfit that looks awesome, and the gameplay was fantastic as well, I mean, easy to learn, good community, pretty good economy and fun to chill out and play on a cool peaceful day :P

Ragnarok is fun with the right community, i mean, the economy is great and the people were fun, the leveling and fighting was a bore though, it was the most hack and slash type of game ever, no major skills needed, you just needed to be stronger, but its still extremely fun to play.

DAoC was and still is a blast, I mean the RvR was killer, even if you didn't like PvPing, you still got a form of it by going to the defense of you nation, the whole thing was beautiful in its creation, the buffs you got for the most keeps and relics were intense and just a blast to play, I wish there were more people who played DAoC.

and last but certainly not least, Guild Wars, its free and very good, good community and very good gameplay, I'm going to be excited with its expansion since it will slowly bring diversity to the game (hopefully) I have been apart of its great community and its got some great gameplay, it definitely a good game.

beyond this there are probably a trillion beta or gold games that i tried out as well, i like mmorpg since it almost never ending since I'm and very good at the whole console straight forward way of playing things, I don't have enough of an attention span for such things.

Other games that I wasted more then a day or but less then 3 days are: Rubies of Eventide, Flyff, R.O.S.E Online, PSO: Phantasy Star Online, Maple Story, Planeshift.

MMO FO' Life!!!!!!!

bookerV

Best for me was EQ. Played for about 3 years. Kickass game. VERY immersive.
Other MMO's I played that get honorable mentions:
EQOA
DAOC
WoW

__________________
"That's why you're the judge and I'm the law-talking guy."

Lionel Hutz

Jinn

Best PVE for me was (without a doubt) EverQuest. It was perfect timing in my life, and was very immersive. Likewise, it was incredibly challenging (1999-2000) and I loved that hardcore aspect of it. Now they seem to be dumbing down the games.. which is nice now with my casual gaming..

Best PVP for me was (without a doubt) Asheron's Call. This game had the most amazing PVP / Community I've ever seen. The PVP took HUGE amounts of skill to conquer, and it could happen anywhere from mountain tops to huge plains.. lots of chasing and healing.. calling your "gang" for help and using your own specialized portals to get the hell out when things got bad. Likewise, the ethics of PVP - PK, nonPK or neutral.. was all dictated by the community. If the population hadn't taken a huge drop, I'd probably still be playing it.

Currently playing EQ2, and while I like it better than WOW.. MMORPGS are phasing out for me..

__________________
"I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

Catdaddy33

For me, EQ holds is still the best. I haven't played it in a couple of years, but as has been stated it has the best atmosphere of any MMORPG. Sure it had many issues (some fixed and some not and some made worse) and the grind was horrid. Some of the best times I had playing ranged from large raids all the way to solo exploration. A huge world to explore, the thrill of running across a unknown zone, some of the best times was exploring Luclin after it was released. I found myself spending way to much time playing so I quit after a 13 hour ToV raid on a worknight.

I played EQ2 and just couldn't get into it, it didn't have the same feel as EQ1, of course its a completely new game. In EQ1 I had numerous zones to level in no matter my level, it EQ2's current state there are far fewer. I played till level 31 and got tired of seeing the same packed zones everyday.

I like WoW, but it's less group friendly than EQ. The community is much more annoying and immature than any MMORPG I've played. Even worse than the Counter-Strike community. I enjoy being able to play for an hour and logging off.

City of Heroes was a blast and consumed much of my summer last year, the problem was it became very repetitive and there really wasn't anything else to do besides level.

Planetside was my drug for almost an entire year, even though its a MMOFPS, had a lot of fun playing PS.

braisler

My first/only MMORPG was/is Guild Wars. I know that some do not classify it in this category, but I think it fits. You don't go adventuring with a TON of other players on the screen the whole time, but I like its system just fine.

Guild Wars is the best game I have played in a LONG, LONG time. How much do I like it? Well, my wife and I started playing a little bit a few weeks ago. We both tried it out and liked it pretty well. We started playing more. We started disagreeing about who was going to play online after work. I bought a second account and started staying late at work some nights so we could play together. We bought a second computer with a good graphics card and wireless access for $1000 so we could both play at home (ironic since I picked up GW originally so that I could save the monthly fees from other MMORPGs). We spent somewhere in the area of 15 hours last weekend doing nothing but playing this freakin' game. Next I am going to have to hire a maid, a chef, and a gardener to keep our house running smoothly.

So, yeah. GW gets my (underinformed) vote.

__________________
---
You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother.
- Albert Einstein
---

pacaveli

i dunno if anyone else would consider it a MMORPG but i think diablo 2 is always a great game to play and it's similiar to most of those games

__________________
Check my blog out. Basically me talking about video games

http://gginsights.blogspot.com/

blar

the only one i really played was Ragnarok and i liked it but it gor boring fast

Jadedfox

I played AC2 for about a year. Loved it despite its flaws (and there were, as you said, numerous). I'll consider coming back when

a. The total server population during peak hours surpass 200 people.

b. The chat system is working

Best MMO in my opinion? WoW hands down. Whatever comes in second isn't even close.

--jaded

__________________
There is no fucking you, there is only me.

bonehed1

I have played most of the mmorpg's out there and I have to say by far that WoW is my favorite.....EQ used to be till they came out with a new expansion every damn year which is stupid IMHO.

__________________
Stuff is Good

boatin

Come on back!! Populations are still too low, of course. But we're well over that number on Frostfell. And clearly climbing - I bump into truly NEW people all the time now. That was unheard of 6 months ago.

Chat system totally works. Trade, region, global, fellow, alleg, kingdom, tells, and adding a pk chat in Aug 3 patch.

If you left when chat died, you won't believe this game now. I wouldn't even know where to start describing what's gone on... soooooo many changes.

I honestly believe if this game were released NOW, in this shape, it would be one of the premiere games out there.

Hear the Call....

Architeuthis

Ultima Online, my first MMORPG and by far my favorite. I have played or beta'ed almost every MMORPG released until about a year ago.

Ultima Online is the ONLY computergame that has ever produced a serious adrenalin rush in me. From getting hunted and killed by PKs for the first few years to "grow up" and form a group of PK hunters later on is without a doubt the best computergaming experience in my life. It has also resulted in friendships, still active, with people from all over the world.

I wish that some of the newer generations of MMORPG had chosen to mimic UO over EQ. Unfortunately we are left with a lot of games that "owe" more to EQ than UO. A bad bargain in book.

That being said, there has been games that has made some things right. DAoC is a good example, the PvP in that is probably the best in the genre at the moment, but DAoC has issues of balance that flaws the good PvP system. It also has ToA. Trials of Atlantis, an expansion that introduced PvE elements that made you do Masterlevel quest for 10+ hours at a time in huge groups of people who contributed little besides more lag.

One game that WANTED to make everything right was Star Wars Galaxies, it failed miserably, despite having one of the best MMORPG designers at the helm, Ralph Koester aka Designer Dragon from Ultima Online.
IMO SWG is the biggest MMORPG dissapointment so far.

World of Warcraft is probably the MMORPG that has gotten most things right (at release) so far. So many things are well thought out and you can feel that the designers has had serious experience with the other MMORPGs out there. The
"Craftsmanship" is incredible. Now they have to do well in the ongoing development of the game and they have what will probably be the standard for years to come.
WoW is also chockfull of humor, one thing that is somewhat absent from a lot of the competition..

damn..got longer than i anticipated

queedo

Star Wars Galaxies!

__________________
If you think you can or you can't, you are right!

CyCo PL

Best MMORPG ever, I'd probably have to say WoW... A lot of people like to complain about the lack of "endgame" content, but WoW has just as much endgame content as any other MMORPG, if not more. I like that blizzard is focusing more on what actually matters, and that is class balance. WoW was made for PvP and has the best class balance I've seen out of any MMORPG, except maybe Guild Wars, which I don't even consider an MMORPG. Guild Wars is more like Diablo II, but instead of using battle.net, you use towns.

Asheron's Call's PvP server was great for the first couple months it was out, although very unbalanced. Everybody played mage-archers or pure mages, until turbine made some PvP "balances" that made archery utterly useless and saturated the PvP server with melee characters. Before they made the changes, melees were utterly useless, but it was better that way. All of the PvP battles were ranged, and it created some truly epic battles. The terrain on AC was great for PvP as well, because it was so vast. You could literally run for hours and not hit any walls or zone borders, because there were no zones. I also liked how spells and arrows could be dodged, so it actually added a level of skill to PvP. In pretty much every MMORPG out today, if you target a player and cast a spell on him, that spell is almost guaranteed to connect, unless it is resisted. They didn't have that in AC. To hit somebody with an arrow, the arrow has to actually hit them. To hit somebody with a projectile spell, the spell has to actually hit them. Turbine should have used the unique gameplay and stat/skill system from AC and ported it to AC2, instead of ripping off a diablo 2 style "skill tree" system for AC2. But hey, why do you think AC2 failed, and AC1 is still going (maybe not going strong, but still going nonetheless)? AC1 brought something new to the table, while AC2 tried to be an EQ ripoff (although I would compare it more to AO), and AC2 failed for it. Goes to show you that pretty graphics and trendy gameplay features never make a good game, innovation and originality make a good game.

trache

I currently play EVE Online: The Second Genesis.

I'm not one for action, first person shooter games. This one has a little bit more mental numbers-type intelligence going for it. A lot of strategy, module swapping, economy based number crunching etc. If you're one for a normal paced MMORPG, this one may be for you. It's a cross between Star Control II and Trade Wars 2002.

The next expansion is currently being added to the game as I type and should be ready in about an hours time.

There is a no-hassle one month free trial. Check it out: EVE Online

If anyone is interested, my in-game name is Lochlann.

__________________
"You looked at me as if I was eating runny eggs in slow motion." - Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip

chriswin8

DAoC 4 life. Or untill they turn it off.

__________________
I reject your reality, and substitute my own.

doubleaught

I'm curious about your levels comment, do you mean the loading screen when you enter an instance or switch continents? Other than there are no loading screens...

The "too easy" bit I do not agree with, it's as easy as you make it. If you constantly raid dungeons designed for 5, of course it's gonna be easy. Or, take something like Dire Maul - run it with 4 instead of 5. I've seen a video of a hunter and a priest 2 manning a tribute run.... that's not exactly easy my friend.

Even with pvp there is always room to improve. The server with my current main is only 5-6 months old and was one of those which received transfers from an original retail server. PVP has changed dramatically, where horde pugs used to roll alliance pugs we now get our asses handed to us. So I joined a pvp guild and while we're underequipped compared to these guilds with nef/rag/ony on farm status, we still beat them since our strategy is better. But it's not easy... pretty much one mistake and you're done. I enjoy wow immensely!

Um, yes. Most definitely. But then again there are idiots in every online game, so.... /shrug.

Zeraph

This last month I've really started to like City of Villains, the City of Heroes counterpart. When I first tried it in beta I disliked it, but a month later I broke down and got the game because I love making characters with their character creation process (best hands down in any game, my characters have become a kind of mild art form, I've won many costume contests.) Then I started to like the other aspects though, and have been enjoying it ever since. Once I got into some of the deeper story lines around lvl 20 missions got a lot more interesting. Still not for everybody Im sure, but I really enjoy it, especially coming from WoW where greed reigns supreme.

CyCo PL

edit: nevermind, I realized that I already replied to this thread and said the same thing.

Stiltzkin

I've played some free MMOs (Maple Story, Silk Road Online), and have friends who have played EQ, EQ2, and I have two friends who are obsessed with WoW. But even after talking to them about these MMOs, for me, when it comes right down to it, FFXI still trumps everything. I really believe this. In my FFXI linkshell, we had some members that left FFXI for WoW about half a year ago, and now half of them have returned from WoW to FFXI, claiming it is too easy and just got boring. Granted, FFXI can get boring too, but I still think it is one of the best MMOs ever, if not the best, MMO. Why? Well, sure, it is my first MMO, so I'm biased, but it seems like FFXI is the only MMO that really stands out. Sure, its economy is going straight to hell, just like other economies, but at least on my server there is a large group of people making a conscious effort to not buy overpriced shit off the Auction House so those f*ckers won't keep inflating the economy. And I also got lucky that I found my way into a really cool linkshell (guild, as it seems to be known in most of the MMOs). I've actually met most of them in real life and have hung out with them, so I feel like I'm actually connected with the people I play with. Also the fact that me and my tightly knit circle of friends all started playing FFXI around the same time probably makes me even more biased towards it. I like how any race can do any job, and can be good at it, given the right gear and enough smarts to know how to use your race's strengths towards that job class. I also like how you don't have to level up just to unlock quests. And you don't have to be a certain level in order to pick up a craft (also known as a "trade" in other MMOs). And FFXI has a ton of end-game content. There's Dynamis, Limbus, Sky, Sea, and Moon, all of which are extremely time consuming and should keep any high-leveler occupied for years.

Cardenal

Rose (the beta, at least) was great. It was lighthearted, to say the least, and was easily approached with a casual attitude for those just dabbling in MMOs. I guess the fact that it was free helped that casual feel immensely.

But ya...gameplay. Its simple, you kill bugs...a lot, though it does develop into a better RPG as you play along. I can't say much about its depth, though, as I did play it for its simplicity.