I played WoW a bit after its initial release through the first couple xpacs. Getting the MMO itch again, but I know the WoW I grew up with doesn’t really exist anymore, so now I’m pretty out of touch.
For those of you playing / recently played an MMO, which one? How’s the community? How’s the lore? Gameplay in pve/pvp/rvr?
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FFXIV
I don’t PVP so I can’t speak to that but the lore and PVE is solid. Gameplay is very classic MMO. The releases continue to be ranked and reviewed higher with each one that comes out. Players are strongly encouraged to help new players (sprouts) via the mentoring program. Community has been so good, very helpful, never seen anyone rage or get angry at a new person, or anyone for that matter. Very LGBTQ+ friendly. TONS of fun stuff to do on the side between chapters like glamour or housing for folks that want a chill experience or you can do savage raids or hunts for the more hardcore game play focused players. Me and a friend love to just run around to all the apartments and houses to check out everyone’s place from time to time. Some are really amazing. I’ll throw mine and my buddy’s apartment in that ring we put a lot of work in and did some really cool tricks to make the space feel bigger and more unique. Some people turn their houses into cafes or dance clubs, some require RPing when you visit some don’t. They are pretty fun to go to. From time to time they’ll have giveaways for gill or items at the parties.
BONUS: It’s totally free up to level 70 so you have plenty of time to figure out if the game is for you.
I’m not playing right now, taking a quick break but I’m in the NA server Sargatanas. The name is Obi-Bun Kenobi, I think I have the address to my place in my Adventurer Plate. I leave the apartment unlocked so people can use it for g-posing or just to have a nice place to hang. Come check it out sometime!
XIV is the WoW that respects your time.
the pvp is pretty fun but suffers from not being a primary focus of the devs or the community and lacking basic things like a duo queue Balance and skills is entirely decoupled from pve which means there’s virtually no cross-value to doing both pvp and pve aside from unique cosmetics
This fucked up pay to win one called “Life”. Shit is hard as hell and I don’t think the devs even care about balance.
Oh my god don’t even get me started on this game.
Get this, you know how over time you get fatigue points and can only get rid of them by eating food items you’ve previously gathered? Well, when doing this one day last week my character nearly fucking died because of some race condition glitch where mid-swallow they tried to breathe for some unknown reason and because the devs, in their infinite fucking wisdom, decided that while there are two completely separate and incompatible systems for food and air, they must accessed via the same hole, but clearly not at the same time!
The mind boggles, I hope someone was fired for that blunder.
I’m sorry but this is actually pretty fucking funny!
Git gud noob
Not that hard: Iddqd, idkfa and you’re set
The ones I’ve been playing on and off over the past few years are Guild Wars 2 and Lord of the Rings Online.
GW2 is a really nice game to just pick up and play without needing huge time investments. It has a fun gameplay loop and well designed zones to explore. Haven’t gotten around to playing the new expansion yet, but I hear it’s pretty good.
LOTRO is great for that traditional MMO experience. The community is very friendly and surprisingly active. It has a nice atmosphere. They are also frequently giving away the expansion packs, so you get a lot of content for free.
Lotro used to be a fantastic MMO, I gave a big chunk of my life to that game.
I quit playing after Mordor though, game just got too pointlessly difficult, even on landscape, lost all the fun I had with it.
I quit playing after Mordor though, game just got too pointlessly difficult, even on landscape, lost all the fun I had with it.
Pretty sure they significantly balanced the difficulty down at some point after its release.
I second Lotto, as it’s really great with the more community-focused aspects of MMOs. On my server, you can always find a endgame raid or dungeon group. With the recently added scaled difficulty landscape settings, you can make the landscape content harder or easier for you. Unfortunately the game is aside from the endgame content most times a single player experience. Lower level content is mostly dead, except in between major expansions, when endgame content is not that much requested as the next expac is coming in soon.
LOTRO would absolutely be my jam but the server performance is absolutely horrendous and the UI desperately needs at least an update for its fonts. It’s a real shame.
FFXIV is a fantastic game, with a fantastic free trial that lets you play the entire base game for free (and i think they recently expanded that to the first expansion too), and its beautiful as hell, has a fantastic story, and doesnt require a super computer to run.
They actually just expanded it to the second expansion, so you now get the base game of A Realm Reborn, as well as Heavensward and Stormblood included in the free trial.
It’s also releasing for beta on Xbox later this year (currently it’s PC and PS4/5) so there’s due to be a new influx of players as well, so it’s a good time to start playing. That and the new expansion is due out in the new year too.
Oh, neat. I thought it was the first expansion, but hte second?
Thats a whole lot of content for free.
Apologies for my accidental misinformation.
No stress! It’s only changed recently (like it was only announced at the NA Fanfast a few months back), so nothing wrong with having missed the change!
Is it cross play with consoles?
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Yup, this is right. Everyone plays on the same servers regardless of the platform you’re on, but any expansion you purchase is tied to the platform (so Mac, PC, PSN and soon presumably Xbox). So if you personally want to play on multiple platforms you need to buy multiple copies of the game.
However that only applies to the initial purchase. FFXIV being an MMO still has a monthly subscription fee (unless you’re on the free trial, which isn’t time limited and includes the base game plus the first two expansions), but you only pay that once a month per account, regardless of how many platforms you play on.
Pretty much everything is stored on the server as well, so regardless of the platform you log into, your character will be the same. There’s a small number of things that are kept client side (things like your gear sets and your UI setup), however there is an option to upload your settings from one client and download them on another (so for me for example, my PS5 is my primary device but I sometimes play on PC, so I’ve copied my PS5 settings to the server, and then downloaded them onto my PC, all through the game client).
GW2 for the past 11 years, except for a stretch where I played ESO for a few months.
Community’s mostly great. Cooperation between players is strongly fostered by the game’s design (no kill or resource stealing, no competing for drops, etc), so players tend to get along in almost every PvE situation.
Lore is good, but not nearly as expanded upon as Warcraft’s.
Gameplay is what makes it IMO. Skill effects and some gear skins can be a bit obnoxious, especially when you’re in large groups for open world and World vs World, but it’s still enjoyable. Don’t play normal PvP, so can’t comment on that.
Check out FF14. Great free trial option. Community is overwhelmingly good (though none is perfect). PvE is pretty damn good, especially once you get to late/end game. PvP is not the best (IMO) but it is very active if you do like it. Has a couple different modes including a 5v5 push the objective mode and a 24v24v24 objective capture mode. No RvR.
Kinda boring/typical MMO at first, but really picks up. With the free trial can play the base game and first two expansions for free, plus get the jobs (classes) from those (most of the ones in the game) up to level 70. Including crafting/gathering jobs. Can easily spend 1000+ hours just on the free trial if you choose to maximize it, but the expansions and sub are worth it IMO. And unlike WOW you van access all those classes on one character and switch with the press of a few buttons.
And the next expansion is summer of next year, so you do have time to catch up if you decide you want to get into it.
Old School RuneScape, getting in a clean 7 hours a day
It’s one of the best! And I feel it really holds up well as a modern game with classic design.
Actually the wow you know does exist, they’re called Classic servers and have a huge community.
But I stick to retail servers, wow has come a long way and I think it’s the most fun it’s ever been nowadays.
To each their own tho.
Season of Discovery for WoW classic also looks really interesting. It was just announced and is starting soon I think!
It actually does look super interesting! Like I said, I’m not really into the classic servers, but that Season just might get me. It looks like it can be really fun with the right crowd.
If the server allows wow tokens then no, the wow op knew doesn’t exist anymore. Wow tokens killed guilds and much of the end point of it.
I think you’re kinda missing the forest for the trees, my friend. The game is still there.
Yeah, many guilds have died along the way. That just kinda happens. Join a new one, there are shit loads of 'em.
I’m not missing anything having experienced it both in the original time and now. People mostly no longer play it for the fun of it at end game, they have to “make everything worth their time” because the experience itself isn’t enough for them anymore.
That makes it a very different overall experience to play and not the same game at all. It’s very toxic in fact like a lot of modern multiplayer games can be these days unfortunately.
I don’t have time for MMOs, but the only one that didn’t completely feel like a waste of time was FFXIV.
It’s been years since I played but can’t recommend GW2 enough if you didn’t try it yet. One of the more unique thempark style MMOs with the focus on dynamic events instead of quests - the events branch out into other events, with different branches based on if you succeeded or failed with some dilogue in between (do stick around when events end!). Lore is rich and story is nice (it has ups and downs).
The game had its rough patches and reinvented intelf several times but now it seems its in a nice place.
Also, I figured I would plug [email protected] - it’s not much active unfortunately, but seeing as there are somr MMO enjoyers here there could be some activity to be had if you don’t yet know it
how does the newest xpac stack up? I’m a longtime player but just lately my interest has waned, but it tends to come and go and it’d be nice to know whether the newest content is worth coming back for. compared to the other xpacs I feel like they did eod dirty with how little time they gave it before releasing another full expansion (hell, path of fire got essentially two full living story releases)
What’s out so far is good.
It’s split up so that the releases after launch continue the main story of the expansion and are included in the price, so no more buying an expansion then having to be playing at a specific time or pay for the follow-up story.
The next part releases tomorrow, so we’ll see how that stacks up.
I did not play it but I heard good things. I recommended it because I played it extensively at launch and up to the first xpac. I fell off a bit after, but still played everything up to Icebrood Saga. It’s a great MMO with tons of content just for that.
The game had issues with how they want to do content delivery, they constantly went to reinvent the wheel for ot to bite them at the end each time. From what I heard it is quite simple now - buy xpac once a year, get xpac and living story like updatesfor the year. No logging in to unlock, no buying episodes if you miss them. You basically soft-subscribe for a years worth of content. On the other hand the xpacs will be smaller and without elite specs, but they plan to unlock different existing weapons for the classes.
That’s not such a bad model. And three elite specs feels like the right number - gives you some variety in your playstyle choices without risking overlap with what already exists.
Maybe if i ever get some free time from work ever again (lol), I’ll try to dive back in.
Indeed. The stories are supposed to be self-contained too which should help people to return. Considering it myself but I used to play it so much I sadly overdosed for life it looks like
WoW Ascension on the Area 52 server. This server is classless, you can pick any ability and talents you want. Plus there are mystic scrolls you can find in the world which when equipped (you can have 17 equipped at once, 1 legendary, 3 epic, then a bunch of blue or green) and these enchants completely change how abilities work to allow for you to make incredibly cool custom classes.
It’s full of fresh ideas, I love it a lot!
Is this a blizz backed server or more akin to what classic was before blizz fucked ‘em over?
It’s a separate company, I don’t understand how they don’t get sued into oblivion, but they update the game all the time, it’s feature rich and has so much to explore. The website is ascension.gg. They also have an alpha server which cost money to get access to with 21 brand new classes, none of the old classes, new ability, new talents.
Not sure what you mean. Ascension is a private server, not run by Blizzard.
I enjoyed classic wow through TBC but when wotlk dropped I lost interest. I just started on ascension wow area 52 a few days ago and it’s a really interesting spin on the classic experience. I’m enjoying it but I don’t think I’ll play it as seriously as I did for classic wow and classic TBC.
Really curious to try out this season of discovery thing though. I might resubscribe just to try it out.
I went and set this up after seeing this comment. I will say, it’s wild and I’ve had a blast playing it. The community is awesome and I have no idea what I’m doing but that doesn’t seem to matter at all.
I’m so happy someone tried out Ascension based on my post! I’ve been playing around in there for a few months now, nothing hard core, just trying different specs or build ideas. At first it does feel very overwhelming, but they’ve made changes to the talents to sometimes make them a bit more agnostic or if the talent says “Increases Pet Damage” it’ll generally apply to any pet. That combined with the ability to search for any ability or talent based on keywords or phrases like “All Damage” to find talents to increase damage mitgation all combines to allow you to think up interesting specs and try building it your self.
The other thing I adore about this system is, in normal WoW, there has always been the meta, if you’re a fire mage and you want to raid you better be specced this one certain way or your trash. Well in Ascension, the options are so god damn wide open that no you could very well come up with unique build that is better then anyone has made before. Also people can’t see your spec in game, so there just isn’t that rigid expectation of choosing the “right” spec.
Also check out prestiging , it’s fun to loop back to level 1, level back up and earn rewards. Or prestige , and pick a Ironman challenge, where you get 1 life and need to accomplish a certain goal like, kill hogger before level 10 or you fail. I’m working on an Ironman Challenge called “King of the Jungle” where you get 1 life, and need to kill the final tiger boss in the Stranglethorn Vale big game hunt quest line before level 40!
Over all, it’s just a very well thought out and daring approach. On top of Ascension’s Area 52 server that I’m on (Free pick classless), there’s also the Thrall server which is also classless, but instead if free pick you get a selection of 3 or 4 abilities when you level and you try to assemble your build using those cards. I have some friends that positively love the draft server, but it isn’t my cup of tea.
I was the same way. I quit WoW after WotLK, and started looking into it again about two years ago. Then I saw the bad reviews and how the story tanked. So I looked around at the other big ones, and FFXIV looked interesting. The story is kind of average until you get past level 50 stuff, but it gets really good. Shadowbringers is just a masterpiece. Easily as good as any other FF title you’ve played. I came for the graphics, and stayed for the lore. Compared to WoW, the graphics are great, that is.
The PvE is good, especially when you consider that you don’t need an alt. If you make it to level 60 and find you don’t like the class you picked, you can just start with a new job on your same character and continue. So you can pay all classes without going back to the newbie tutorial zones. Plus, you will “level sync” to old content. Making the level 20 dungeon worth running as a level 89. It’s not instantly forgotten, dead content.
PvP isn’t as good as WoW. It’s fun, and I do it daily, but there’s no rock paper scissors mechanics or supreme balance like back in the day in WoW.
I don’t feel like I’m on a treadmill, and I’m not pressured to log in every day or fall behind. I can play casually, take a break, and not feel like I’ve lost out. Some people are hardcore raiders, but those days are behind me.
I would never go back to WoW now. I like it better overall than I ever did running Molten Core, or Burning Crusade even. Which was pretty peak WoW, imo.
I still play EVE online, having a lot of fun in faction warfare these days.
A video came out on the history of the game recently, just a cool 6 hour deep dive. https://youtu.be/BCSeISYcoyI?si=1sKdXt8oPRUTbzs1
I’ve also gotten into Guild Wars 2 recently and I’m a little addicted. The game just feels great: nice community, events are engaging, so much stuff to do but at the same time not demanding like games can be sometimes.
Guild Wars 2 is great!
I’m biased because I’ve been playing it since launch, but I’ve also dabbled in the others and simply couldn’t justify a sub fee when
a) there are so many other games I’d like to play simultaneously and not feel guilty doing so b) there’s no gear treadmill! It really sucks in games like WoW where I want to check out the older content to get up to speed and just the zones were dead. Conversely, I’m doing map completion with my wife in GW2 and even the core maps had a bunch of people running around doing dynamic events and world bosses. The game feels so much more alive!
All the activity in every zone I visit really does just feel so great. There’s no better sign a game is alive and healthy. It was totally that which hooked me.
All the activity in every zone I visit really does just feel so great. There’s no better sign a game is alive and healthy. It was totally that which hooked me.
So true! It’s a game that really respects your time and there are always people around to help you if you get stuck.
Welcome to GW2, I genuinely hope you continue to enjoy your time here!
GW2 is my mmo home world. I started with wow but things changed when I realized Blizzard was always playing catch up with arenanet. There were a few months where blizzard made dragon riding easily accessible but once you hit max level the world content wasn’t as good and the retail community became more toxic and elitist than ever, so I switched back.
I’d recommend watching Josh Strife Heyes videos on MMOs, but if you want an overview, the biggest ones are WoW, FFXIV, and Guild Wars 2. I’d recommend the latter.
I dislike MMOs that require friends, working together, joining other people. I’m not knocking it. It’s just not for me.
So the closest things to MMOs that I like are more single player but with people. Kinda like people who go to coffee shops with a laptop.
The list:
Fallout 76. I jump back in every few months to check out my house and then leave. I played for about 350 hours before I felt like I did everything.
New World. It got pretty good! Honestly I just like chopping wood. Maybe 100 hours?
Elder Scrolls Online. The combat is so “floaty”. But if you can get passed it, the story is really really really good. Maybe 400 hours?
Old School RuneScape is a mostly solo MMO. Essentially single player with people, like you described wanting.
