A few weeks ago I just started playing WoW for the first time ever, which actually surprises my friends because they all assumed I’d already been playing for years (it is exactly the sort of game I would play). I hadn’t because in the past I generally avoided subscription-based games. I thought the free trial was interesting enough that I got a one month subscription, I’ll see how that goes and decide if I want to spring for BfA.
So, what MMORPGs are everyone playing these days? I’m open to suggestions for other games to try out. A friend recommends FF XIV, so I think I’ll try out the trial version of that. FWIW, I have Path of Exile, but haven’t played that in awhile.
I’ve played FFXIV for two years, and I enjoy it a lot. The story is very good (though there are some too-cutesy anime elements), and the graphics are gorgeous. They just launched a new expansion (general release was today, in fact), so its going to be a zoo there for a few weeks.
One downside is that there is no free to play option after the 30 day trial period. Not only do you have to subscribe, but you also need to buy the game software (though Square Enix does offer sale prices on the software regularly).
I did the lighting for the Fan Festival here in Las Vegas last November. I was impressed with the fanbase (very dedicated, very into the game mythos, etc.) and with what I saw of the game so I wanted to check it out myself but I found trying to sign up with their service embarrassingly difficult and zero customer service, of any kind. I was disappointed, because the game really did look good and look like fun but I couldn’t even get my account verified so I could log in.
WoW is still playable and entertaining, but it isn’t very challenging anymore, IMO. I stopped playing last November in favor of Rocket League.
I haven’t played them in a few years, but I had a lot of fun in Rifts and Star Wars: The Old Republic. I think they’re still free-to-play, but if so you’d probably need to pay for them up front.
That’s a good point, and one that I’d kind of forgotten about. The way that Square Enix handles buying the game is unintutive and confusing – you buy the software from the SE online store, but you then have to buy a game-time subscription from a completely different online store, specific to FFXIV (and that store has a very confusing interface, and doesn’t explain things well at all). I chalk at least some of the confusion up to it being a Japanese game, with their procedures and instructions only impefectly translated to English.
I’m sorry that you had issues trying to get onto the game; it’s something that I had to struggle with, too (and I was helped by a friend who had gone through the hoops before).
I used to love SWTOR – it was the first MMORPG I’d ever played, and when I first started playing it, 5 1/2 years ago, I thought it was awesome. I was part of a big, active guild, and had a blast with the game for a couple of years.
But, Bioware started moving developers off of SWTOR to work on other projects (particularly the Anthem action RPG), and it really showed. The writing declined in quality, as did the animation, and the length of time between releases of new material got longer and longer (and what was released wasn’t very good, IMO).
Most of the friends I’d made playing SWTOR felt similarly, and have moved to other games now (some to FFXIV, some back to WoW, etc.) I know that there is a F2P option for the game (and there was that option for as long as I played it), though F2P players lose a lot of the “quality-of-life” benefits (limited credit balances, only a few characters, can’t access some content). But, I think that F2P players who had subscribed at some point in the past do get more benefits than those who have never paid for the game.
I too eagerly await World of Warcraft Classic, August 27. I started playing WoW in the first couple of months after it was released, but I just got tired of the constant rework of class mechanics, which obviated most of what I had accomplished previously.
When I’m in the mood for a fun, easy-to-pick-up-and-put-down MMORPG, it’s Guild Wars 2. Buy once, no subscriptions (but there are paid DLCs).
Let me add to the chorus of recommending either City of Heroes (Homecoming) and World of Warcraft (Classic).
City of Heroes let’s you design your own superhero (or supervillain) with costumes and powers. There is a lot of customization available! So much that you’ll eventually want to get an app like the Pine/Mid Hero Designer to help you plan things out. But first, read a basic guide (like this one), jump into the game, and see how you like it. The in-game Help channel has many experienced players willing to help out new and returning players. While playing the game right now is free, there’s also a risk that its owner will assert their rights.
The original World of Warcraft was an excellent game. The current version is an end-game treadmill and has veered very far from the original. The original was more focused on the journey rather than destination. Each class had its own quirks and a lot of flexibility on how to choose their talents and gear. Things were not stream-lined, so you have to train up your weapon skills, collect reagents for spells, and other busy work that made it feel more like a world and less like a game. I recommend a site like Classic Wowhead for info on the game. Note that it doesn’t open until end of August, but that means you can start with the main surge of players if you like.
Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll check these games out. I’ll look into CoH for sure. So far I’m having fun with WoW, though it definitely has the feel of an older game that’s a bit past it’s prime, and I’m always coming across little broken things. “What’s this key I picked up somewhere for? The vendors won’t let me sell it.” “Oh, that’s for an old quest they took out years ago, but they never removed that drop.”
I’m also not really against subscriptions as much as I used to be, so long as there’s a way for me to demo the game before signing up. I prefer to try a game out first to see if it will be something I’ll stick with long enough to justify a recurring subscription.
I have about 700 hours in Elite: Dangerous! It’s spectacular in VR, too. I didn’t think of it as a MMORPG, though I suppose in a way it is. What private group do you fly in, if I may ask? I fly in one from the Elite facebook group, though I fly solo when I’m exploring outside The Bubble (for the high-res screenshots).
I’m in one of the branches of Mobius; I think we’re up to five now, not counting the ones on the consoles. Private groups are hard-capped at 20,000 members so a new branch of our group gets created whenever we start to fill up.
NB: joining their message board is a requirement for joining the Facebook group, not the in-game groups.
Oh, I also have my own group. Currently just my main & my alt to transfer stuff from the former to the latter. Yeah, I bought a second account during a Steam sale so I could have one in the bubble and out rather than being limited to one or the other.
FWIW, the Producer that had been in charge of SWTOR for the past couple expansions got shuffled off to Anthem a while back (good riddance) and all of the recent moves seem to be going in the right direction.
Content is still slow to come out, it’s still got the budget of an 8-year-old game that never really met initial expectations but is still at least profitable, but there is a new expansion due in September, and they’ve announced that some of the more annoying F2P restrictions will be raised (not sure if that will come with the expansion or before).
City of Heroes is my favorite MMO, and I’ve been spending a lot of time on the Homecoming servers, but others have already talked CoH up.
For something quite different, there’s The Secret World, set in a modern-day world where most conspiracy theories, urban legends, and myths are at least semi-true. You play as a member of one of the secret societies who are vying for power even as their agents try to stem the tide of the Apocalypse. There’s a strong Lovecraftian theme underlying everything, with regions focusing on various supernatural and adventure themes. (Roughly: Stephen King/Lovecraft New England, Indiana Jones/The Mummy Egypt, Dracula/James Bond Transylvania, Japanese horror Tokyo.) The writing is quite good, especially for an MMO, and missions flow pretty naturally.
Mechanically, you can swap between roles (healer, tank, dps) by switching out weapons, and you can develop builds for as many weapons as you want for a single character. That makes for a lot of flexibility and not much incentive for making alts. (About the only reason to do so is to catch cutscenes and lore unique to each faction.)
I can’t say much about the current state of the game, because I haven’t played it much since it got a major revamp into The Secret World: Legends. However, it’s not because I particularly disliked the changes, but because I didn’t feel like starting my character over at the time and have been distracted by other shinies since.
if you want to play the final fantasy online game … the easiest way to play it is on the ps4 because sonys store handles everything payment related … and you just pop in the disc install and go …
Dc universe is free to play… and there’s TWO ad&d games online both free ad&D eberon and Neverwinter… it depends on what flavor of AD&D you prefer eberon seemed more closer to the tabletop … but try both
Oh EverQuest and anarchy online is free to play and still online (although i dont know if project 1999 took off) if you want very old school games
there’s rift whos company makes about 7 or 8 free games that youll learn about when you dl their client tera and my.com has a ton of free games to play also hope that helps
if you want to play the final fantasy online game … the easiest way to play it is on the ps4 because sonys store handles everything payment-related … and you just pop in the disc install and go …
Dc universe is free to play… and there’s TWO ad&d games online both free ad&D eberon and Neverwinter… it depends on what flavor of AD&D you prefer eberon seemed more closer to the tabletop … but try both
Oh EverQuest and anarchy online is free to play and still online (although I don’t know if eqs fan-made project 1999 took off) if you want very old school games
There’s a game called tera … and guild wars 2 has been mentioned…Oh yeah I think the base elder scrolls online is free (i might be wrong) and it’s free to play
there’s rift whos company makes about 7 or 8 free games that you’ll learn about when you dl their client and my.com has a ton of free games to play also hope that helps… there’s tons more like i think even battle tech has one and mechwarrior has a separate one …