Reccomended MMORPG

[Kyzarius]

Hey all!!!

My wife and I are avid MMORPG players, we have actually played City Of Heroes/Villians for a few years now. Its great of course, and nothing beats being in a marriage where we both enjoy these things.

WELL...we tried WoW and hated it, the 30 minutes of runtime to do anything was so boring we almost died. Now we are hunting a new game...something to alleviate that which comes with any MMORPG over the long term. We have 5 max lvl toons in CoH and well, the game just gets repetitive.

so...anyone have any reccomendations, we are looking for...

1) A game with a fast paced combat engine, not very turn oriented.

2) quick travel, really dont like plodding on some trail for an hour just to get to the mobs i want to fight for lvling or quests

3) decent lvling pace...

4) the "Exploration factor" WoW had this, we really want something with a massive world to explore.

5) looting equipment is something we enjoy (obviously since i like FL)

6) Pkill isnt neccesary in our MMORPG's but if its there we like it to be well balanced and thought out.

So, anyone playing a game or have played one that shares these traits...remember we are spoiled..COH has an EXCELLENT game engine that is very smooth and glitzy.

thanks all!

Your local Kyz.

[Behrens]

Forsaken Lands, I hear.

[Kyzarius]

Forsaken Lands' date=' I hear. [/quote']

hah, yeah...i heard of those guys...

wife though doesnt like txt based, so i have to stay branched into the graphical universe.

[Grishnak]

Hey all!!!

2) quick travel, really dont like plodding on some trail for an hour just to get to the mobs i want to fight for lvling or quests

4) the "Exploration factor" WoW had this, we really want something with a massive world to explore.

Something about having your cake and eating it too...

[Kyzarius]

not really, coh provides this now...

i have actually been looking at guildwars...seems very diabloish (diablo being the first game i ever got my wife into on the pc)

anyone play guild wars?

[Guest emp_newb]

Never Mention That Damn Name Again! Diablo Needs To Burn In Erm, Isadora's Bathroom

[goldbond]

for the shallow, circular game that diablo was, i would absolutely love a III

[Dead Voodoo Doll]

for the shallow' date=' circular game that diablo was, i would absolutely love a III[/quote']

Absolutely. But I'll take a StarCraft II first. In fact, I'll take a sprite based one. Just make it.

[Kyzarius]

hey for its time and genre IE, a very linear single player game with multiplayer stuck on the end like a nose on a butt cheek, diablo II was an awesome game.

[Chromatic]

I love starcraft. But on guildwars, I like it a bit, it got old for me, it's like WoW meets DnD.

[Cycel]

Age of Conan just opened up signups for Beta. You may need a video card capable of running DX10 though, which means an nVidia 8800 series. They may be offering a beta on the DX9 version, though that may have just been for display at conventions (before DX10 was available).

And I'll agree in a heartbeat, WoW sucks.

[Kinicky]

Guildwars -

Here's teh scoop on that. I played it for a while, and if you like story-based rpgs set in an mmo-like environment, then this is your game. However, lets make a few distinctions.

It is not exactly an MMORPG. It is in the sense that it has a lot of people, but that's it. The only interaction you have with other people are in towns - think of these as graphical chatrooms, because that' abotu teh extent of it. You can chat with other people, maybe buy or sell goods, and form up parties. Then you go outside the town, and you are virtually cut off from the rest of teh gaming world. The reason is that the areas beyond towns are 'instanced', which means that only you and th emembers of your immediate party exist in them. Nobody will ever surprise you and try to kill and take your stuff, because nobody else is out there, except your allies and mobs.

There is, however, a PvP element in Guildwars, but they take place in arenas. You form up a group of people, challenge a group of other people, and then click 'start'. When it says 'go', both teams run out into an arena and try to killl eachother or capture the othe team's flag. You both know that you are coming, and you both know your strategy before it happens. Some people like that, but I enjoy hunting and surprising my enemy.

Also, it is rather linear. In most every MMO, you can go almost anywhere in the world. Granted, there are areas you may not WANT to go - for example, the level 2 running into the middle of a group of lev 50 aggro mobs... but you CAN. Here, the towns open up in a linear fashion as you complete missions that develop a story line. Now, I like story-based RPGs, but not in an MMO. In an MMO, I want to develop a kick-*** character, maybe put an RP behind it, connect up with other players in a guild, and kill other players. And then, maybe take their stuff and taunt them with it. Of course, I'm a dick in teh gaming world. Makes up for being nice in the real world, I suppose.

Overall, Guildwars is a decent game, but don't mistake it for an MMO. The only thing it has in common wit ha full MMO is that there are a lot of players. That chat. And run around. And... pretend to pvp.

Hope that helps.

[Rensvert]

I have heard really good things about Lord Of The Rings: Shadows Of Angmar while it does not get hit shelves till the 28th of this month, I do believe that it will be probably be one of the better MMO's out there. Plus you get to explore the wonderful world of Middle-earth up close. If I was going to play a MMO it would be this one.

After all it mixes Tolkien's master-piece with video-games its bound to be a winner.

Rens

[inscribed]

...

Guild Wars is a great game. Not really a MMORPG, as has been pointed out. ArenaNet calls it a cooperative online rpg (CORPG). It has some beautiful areas to explore, the story is pretty good, the level cap is 20, and with the hundreds of skills available in the game (you can only carry eight of them at a time), each character turns out pretty unique. If you are looking to play an online RPG with your wife, Guild Wars is pretty much the ideal game with the option of going through the game with NPC henchmen or other players. The Prophecies and Nightfall chapters are the best (the Nightfall story takes place chronologically after Prophecies), with the Factions chapter being a 'meh'. Also, the development team is pretty involved with the community, much like here on FL. You can find them posting on any of the top community forums on a daily basis, asking for input and responding to ideas and questions.

The PvP is limited to arena matches, as was stated, but contains a very involved metagame, as well as a large variety of battle types (capture the flag, guild battles, random and team arenas, hero battles, etc). A lot of detail given to balance between all the classes, similar to FL. They also have a yearly guild tournament with a $100,000 grand prize. Easy to pick up the basics but hard to master.

Highly recommended.

[brsingr]

I have heard really good things about Lord Of The Rings: Shadows Of Angmar while it does not get hit shelves till the 28th of this month, I do believe that it will be probably be one of the better MMO's out there. Plus you get to explore the wonderful world of Middle-earth up close. If I was going to play a MMO it would be this one.

After all it mixes Tolkien's master-piece with video-games its bound to be a winner.

Rens

if you buy pre- release, you can get permanent subscription for $200 US

[Dizz]

Wow, what a moneypit.

[brsingr]

meh. saw it on the box in hastings. you get in-game items, too, and something else that escapes me at the moment

[Chayesh]

Massive online games I've tried outside of FL:

Puzzle Pirates - very cool, but VERY repetitive...still a cool game if you want something to do.

Guild Wars: I agree. Nothing close to anything resembling RP and vastly controlled environment...you have more freedom playing Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights IMHO.

9Dragons: a new release by Acclaim that's in open beta testing. Think Guild Wars but martial arts based rather than medieval hack and slash.

Bots: also by Acclaim...never really got the point of this one.

2Moons: also by Acclaim...just finished closed beta with open beta about to begin...hope it's better than the aforementioned two.

Slavehack: Not really graphical, but you simulate hacking other computer servers, either imaginary companies or even other players. PvP is constant and immediate in realtime. Too bad the game is somewhat lame. I lasted a week before I got bored.

Bottom line: after life in FL, everything just seems to be lacking something in my mind.

[Kinicky]

Shadowbane is actually an incredibly open-ended MMORPG. Character development is highly unique and, while you may have people find a powerful combo that everybody copies, you have the ability to make characters with skill sets which nobody else even tries. It's full PvP - once you get off newb isle (at lev 20) you go into the 'real' world', where you are open to getting PKed by anybody of any rank, even th elev 75s when you are lev 20 (or lev 1 for that matter, if you choose to get off newb isle). However, because ti is so massive, when you learn where to level up and get someone with track in yoru group, you can egenrally stay alive.

Much like FL, when you die, everything on you can be looted. You keep whatever you are wearing, but it takes damage that must be repaired or it will eventualy break. This is offset by the fact hat you have a bank (think FL locker) with almost unlimited capacity. It's also free now, and a full MMORPG.

The downside? Because it is so PK intensive, it draws more from powergamers than RPers, so you will be hard pressed to find people pursuing an RP. Not impossible, but difficult. It also has a steep learning curve, and can get buggy at times, causing lag. But since it is free, I would recommend checking it out at the very least. I had played it since beta testing it, and it is my favorite MMO by far. I missed teh RP element, though, and made my way back to FL.