I always struggled to enjoy WoW, even from launch. After the magic of the colorful graphics and musical score wore off, I began to smell the stink of repetition. By the time level 20 rolled around, I was bored out of my mind. In most traditional sword-and-magic fantasy games, I get bored at level 20. That’s when large grouping used to become the only way to feasibly survive.
I also hated the lack of customization. I don’t like being forced to have pouty lips and a gigantic bustline, and I could never get into the Horde side (we had a brief, successful stint when they introduced the blood elves) at all.
Now I’m apathetic. I do like how it plays on Snow Leopard (I’m a Bootcamping Mac), with all the little extras, but the game just couldn’t win me over after playing it again last winter.
And here’s the real problem! I don’t like PvP. I don’t like raids. I don’t like guilds. I don’t like quests to get ridiculous-looking armor. That’s end-game WoW all over!
So, City of Heroes was my choice for awhile, but that game suffered many of the same issues. At least I could -attempt- to look unique. That game was ruined by two things: a bad stint with some friends of my husband and the advent of Champions Online.
I don’t agree that Champs lack story. It has plenty of lore and every faction has a detailed storyline, it’s just not as apparent and often lies buried under puns and humor. I don’t mind that at all. You have to dig and read a little outside of the game.
I’ve tried just about every MMO on the market, from DAoC to FFXIV to Horizons and Ryzom, and I have to say that Cryptic is my favorite studio.
Champs has everything I want, even support for the most nerdy roleplayer. You aren’t stuck with a power set. You can even fine tune your powers and revamp your character entirely if you end up needing to for story purposes or even on a whim. NOTHING is locked. And while you do see a few freaks, most people are happy just to be typical. Good! I stand out more.
I’ve also recently taken a shine to Star Trek Online for many of the same reasons, with the added bonus of a really catching ship-battle system. I never was into Trek, but this game changed my mind. Now I’m even watching the shows to learn more.
And while I really want Bioware to turn me into a believer, I’m having my doubts about SWTOR. I fear it’s going to be closer to WoW in terms of shallow appearances and play style, but I won’t turn away until I’ve actually tried it.