Suggestions?

Woodwind88

Hey all,

Just looking for suggestions on a good 2+ player computer roleplaying game. I was excited about two worlds at first but since it's release have heard nothing but negative comments... in the past several years have played EQ, SWG, EQ2, Horizons, WoW, and EVE as far as MMOs go. Just a bit bored at the moment and looking for the next thing, i'm wanting to try Vanguard out as i'm a big fan of EQ but have heard mostly negatives as well as far as content, still giving it a go soon but would like your opinions on some other games to try out. Looking forward to WAR but until then...

 

Thanks guys,

Woody

MarleVVLL

I just returned to EQ and found out that it is a nightmare now.

 

However,

 

a progression server seems to be in the making so I'm waiting for that.

Aelfinn

Like most genres, all MMORPGs have their strengths and weaknesses. You have so far played a fairly wide variety of MMOs. Which of the ones you listed above particularly perked your interest and why? The more information on the subject you give us, the more likely we will be able to help you find something you may enjoy.

Of the good games you didn't mention, I'd like to tentatively point out Anarchy Online, Guild Wars, Ultima Online, LOTRO, Auto Assault, and City of Heros/Villains, mainly just to fill out the rest of the spectrum. The first four are, in their own way, the ones most similar to EQ in playstyle, since you mentioned you enjoyed that one. (in the case of AO, the similarity is only because of a particular expansion radically different from the rest of it). WAR and AoC also currently appear to be the two top contenders for games still coming out, well, of those likely to be released inside of the next decade at any rate.

Woodwind88

Well EQ I found pretty fun as it was my first MMO and that is where I aquired my love of MMOs. I'm big into the medieval fantasy scenario and EQ had a fairly large world with alot to do in the way of grouping and so on. SWG being a futuristic type was just something different, I did like how you could change professions anytime you wanted, that made game play pretty versatile seeing as you could combine professions. What I also found that I liked about SWG was how the resource system worked for crafting. The minerals, ect. would be changing and based on what quality of materials you used the outcome of the item you made differed. EQ2 of course was like EQ but with better graphics, ect. I think what turned me off was that it was still pretty fresh and I found as a paladin I was somewhat gimped in the early days. When I was leveling my guardian my friends started to leave and well I eventually got dishearted and quit for WoW. EVE had a very new concept as far as MMOs go. I loved that the universe of EVE was so massive, which alot of freedom as to wether you wanted to simply mine asteroids or something more dangerous like becoming a pirate against other players. I have thought about going back to EVE several times but haven't made the commitment as of yet. WoW made things pretty fun as you could die and not have to worry about xp penalties, ect. and it put just enough of a light hearted spin on things. WoW also did pretty well with instances and PvP but being lvl 70 and having mostly completed the end game aspects it is getting a bit boring until Wrath comes out. Horizons was different but seeing as it was browser based well it didn't work so well. Also some classes (such as the elemental archer) were wayed OP'ed back in the day, I left horizons after getting a Chaos Warrior fairly high.

All that being said I will pretty much give anything a fair shot. I have heard that CoH and CoV are a bit repetitive, taking on the same missions and not having much to do but in all fairness I have never played it myself, only going off what I have heard from friends. I am cursious about Final Fantasy Online but haven't looked into it much yet...I have heard of the others you mentioned, have some friends that played them but I never really had the time as I was focused on some game or another at the time.  I appreciate everyones input on some lesser known or unlisted games that have some good stuff to offer.

 

Aelfinn

Originally posted by Woodwind88


Well EQ I found pretty fun as it was my first MMO and that is where I aquired my love of MMOs. I'm big into the medieval fantasy scenario and EQ had a fairly large world with alot to do in the way of grouping and so on. SWG being a futuristic type was just something different, I did like how you could change professions anytime you wanted, that made game play pretty versatile seeing as you could combine professions. What I also found that I liked about SWG was how the resource system worked for crafting. The minerals, ect. would be changing and based on what quality of materials you used the outcome of the item you made differed. EQ2 of course was like EQ but with better graphics, ect. I think what turned me off was that it was still pretty fresh and I found as a paladin I was somewhat gimped in the early days. When I was leveling my guardian my friends started to leave and well I eventually got dishearted and quit for WoW. EVE had a very new concept as far as MMOs go. I loved that the universe of EVE was so massive, which alot of freedom as to wether you wanted to simply mine asteroids or something more dangerous like becoming a pirate against other players. I have thought about going back to EVE several times but haven't made the commitment as of yet. WoW made things pretty fun as you could die and not have to worry about xp penalties, ect. and it put just enough of a light hearted spin on things. WoW also did pretty well with instances and PvP but being lvl 70 and having mostly completed the end game aspects it is getting a bit boring until Wrath comes out. Horizons was different but seeing as it was browser based well it didn't work so well. Also some classes (such as the elemental archer) were wayed OP'ed back in the day, I left horizons after getting a Chaos Warrior fairly high.
All that being said I will pretty much give anything a fair shot. I have heard that CoH and CoV are a bit repetitive, taking on the same missions and not having much to do but in all fairness I have never played it myself, only going off what I have heard from friends. I am cursious about Final Fantasy Online but haven't looked into it much yet...I have heard of the others you mentioned, have some friends that played them but I never really had the time as I was focused on some game or another at the time.  I appreciate everyones input on some lesser known or unlisted games that have some good stuff to offer.
 

All right then, nothing really pops into mind as a perfect match, but then again its rare that anything does these days. Let me explain a bit more about the suggestions I had earlier.

Auto Assault is mainly just different. Its not particularly deep, and there are a number of annoying bugs, but if you're looking for a destruction derby, its not bad at all. For instance you can ramp off of a jump to crush an opponent and anything around him, and at the same time be blasting the crap out of 2 or 3 other targets while sending minions after even more. I found it fairly fun for a while, but set it down again pretty soon. It has a post-apocalyptic setting.

Guild Wars is fairly fun, but also rather limited. Its main challenge is in A.) deciding what skills will be best suited for the task at hand and how best to use 'em. and B.) acquiring most or all of the available skills so that you actually have plenty of choices with A. There is plenty of PvE involved, but the game heavily revolves around PvP. A soloist will not get far in the game, even using the available minions in place of other players, their AI  is... rather pathetic. That was my one real gripe with the game, finding a truly good and efficient team without prearranging one was about as easy as finding a working Cray supercomputer on the market for less than a hundred bucks. Finding a team just good enough to get the job done isn't too hard, but that's a different matter.

CoX can be rather repetitive in some ways yes, its main strength is in terms of customization, both when it comes to  character stats and abilities, and in terms of visual appearance. Again, I found it rather fun for a time, but put it down before too long.

LOTRO is quite possibly the best fantasy game of the past 2 years. Think a cross between EQ and WoW in Tolkien's fantasy world setting. It is quite good in a number of ways, I primarily didn't like it for two reasons, one, because I'm a big John Ronald Ruel Tolkien fan (can you guess why he used his initials?), they did a very good job with the background lore, but it still never quite fits into the ongoing storyline, two, because it was simply too easy for my personal taste, I'm a big fan of being challenged by the games I play, also why I never liked WoW.

Anarchy Online is rather... interesting. I've never quite found an MMO that has such a rich and interwoven storyline, right down to references in the item descriptions. Its primary strength is in terms of character customization in terms of stats and abilities, there are 48 class/race combinations, and literally billions of possible setups among these, of course, the by far larger portion of the possible setups are unviable to play, and the differences between the rest can be negligible, but in the end there are still many possible and unique builds that would work quite well. Its other strengths are in terms of the world, its size, the environment, the music, your freedom in terms of what to do, and its ingame customer service, which is still quite possibly the best available in MMOs. Its weaknesses are mainly technical in nature. It is 6 years old and showing it, the graphics, while well designed and thought out, are subpar for today's standards. The game is also partially incompatible with the newer graphics cards, making it lag a little on machines that ordinarily wouldn't see a bit of it. It is also difficult to master, the learning curve here is very high, although if you've played and enjoyed EVE, you won't have a problem with it. These and other technical issues would have been fixed long ago, but the developing company is fairly new to the field still and doesn't really have a ton of resources to bring to it. Funcom simply doesn't have the money and manpower to fix Anarchy Online while simultaneously developing the new Dreamfall (already out), Age of Conan, and The secret world (way down the road).

Czzarre

Sometimes it can be fun going back to an old game and looking around after a long absence. I went back to DAOC just to walk around and look about. Caught up with old friends and saw what they made new. Perhaps just rying an old game, only signing up for 1 month, have your fun, and then go back to a different game you used to pay, for only a month, etc. By the time your done, a new crop of games will be ready.

Torrential

xxthecorexx

i know it's an old game, and you might cringe at the thought of it, but have you tried Anarchy Online ?

i just started playing a week ago and so far.. i'm impressed. the graphics really aren't even as bad as you might expect them to be, and in some places (rome blue) they're even kinda impressive.

set up a froob (free) account and check it out.