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Looking For A New MMO? Check Here First!
The Unofficial "What MMO To Play" Thread!
(This is a work in progress. Feel free to post ideas or corrections, I know I miss things or make a mistakes)
Greetings! I speak to you today as a man who has played literally every MMO out there, and has the honesty and condensing skills to bring you a MMORPG list with all the basic information you need to know. We all can agree that trying to find even the most basic answers about game's is hard because the companies only include the uberdooper features. I aim to keep the list as unopinionated as possible. I am also only including current MMO states. For example, pre-NGE SWG won't be taken into account for it's current game state.
So, here you have it, The Unofficial "What MMO Should I Play?" Thread! Use this to compare features without digging around. 
Additions from Taera in blue 
Section 1: Grind
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One of the first things an MMO seeker asks if how much of a grind the game is. Below is a basic list of the newer MMOs and the time is takes to reach level cap in a hardcore setting. Casual play will be longer. It gives a comparison of the game's grind status. Keep in mind, these times are hardcore grinding.
- Lineage II (100 days)
- RuneScape (100 days)
- RF Online (65 days)
- Archlord (60 days)
- MapleStory (60 days)
- Vanguard (35 days)
- Final Fantasy XI (35 days)
- Lord of the Rings Online (27 days)
- EverQuest 2 (25 days)
- World of Warcraft (15 days)
- Star Wars Galaxies (10 days)
- City of Heroes / Villains (6 days)
- Dark Age of Camelot (3 days)
- Guild Wars (2 days)
- Warhammer (10 days)
- Age of Conan (25 days)
- Pirates of the Burning Sea (7 days)
Have a game to add? Post a reply!
Section 2: PvP
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PvP is horrid to some, and everything to others. Below is the breakdown based upon PvP rulesets, rewards, and penalties. Sections not listed have no PVP.
Non-Faction PvP (Kill Anyone.)
EVE Online, Ultima Online, RuneScape, Guild Wars, Lineage II, Fury, Age of Conan
Faction PvP
World of Warcraft, EverQuest 2, City of Heroes / Villains, Star Wars Galaxies, Lord of the Rings Online, Warhammer, Pirates of the Burning Sea
Full Looting
EVE Online, RuneScape, Pirates of the Burning Sea
Arena / Instanced Objective Based PvP
Guild Wars, World of Warcraft, EverQuest 2, City of Heroes / Villains, Fury, Final Fantasy XI, Lord of the Rings Online, Warhammer
Open World Objective Based PvP
Dark Age of Camelot, Warhammer, Pirates of the Burning Sea
Open/Free World PvP (Can be attacked anywhere by anyone)
EVE Online, RuneScape, Lineage II, Pirates of the Burning Sea
Have a game to add? Post a reply!
Note that some games have specific server rulesets, I.E. the Zek server on EverQuest has Open/Free World PvP
Section 3: PvE
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This next section outlines the PvE aspects such as soloing, raiding, grouping.
End-Game Raiding (Nothing to do with necessity, but rather whether a game has the feature)
World of Warcraft, EverQuest 2, EverQuest, Lineage II, Final Fantasy XI, RF Online
Grouping Instances
World of Warcraft, EverQuest 2, EverQuest, RF Online, Guild Wars, Dark Age of Camelot, Lord of the Rings Online, City of Heroes / Villains, Warhammer, Age of Conan
Solo Ability (Ability to level alone effectively)
City of Heroes / Villains, Dark Age of Camelot, EVE Online, EverQuest 2, Final Fantasy XI, Guild Wars, Lord of the Rings Online, Ultima Online, Vanguard, Star Wars Galaxies, RuneScape, Tabula Rasa, World of Warcraft, Pirates of the Burning Sea, Age of Conan, Warhammer
Have a game to add? Post a reply!
Section 4: Crafting
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Here, I have broken up games depending on the depth of the crafting system.
Has Crafting (Of some sort)
City of Heroes / Villains, Dark Age of Camelot, EverQuest, Final Fantasy XI, Guild Wars, Lineage II, Lord of the Rings Online, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft, Tabula Rasa, Warhammer
Deep Crafting (Widely considered to have the deepest craft systems)
EVE Online, EverQuest 2, Star Wars Galaxies, Vanguard, A Tale in the Desert, Pirates of the Burning Sea
Have a game to add? Post a reply!
Section 5: Performance / Graphics
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Not everyone has a supercomputer. Below is a breakdown into sections of different tiers of system needs. They are ordered from "Very powerful PC needed" to "Weak PC needed." These are all based on graphics settings at "high." This list is also good for showing the graphical quality of a game.
Zomg Expensive Computer
Vanguard, Age of Conan
Very Powerful
EverQuest 2, Fury, Warhammer
Powerful
EVE Online, Guild Wars, Lord of the Rings Online, RF Online, Pirates of the Burning Sea
Average
City of Heroes / Villains, Final Fantasy XI, Lineage II, Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft, D&D Online, Archlord, Horizons, Knight Online
Below Average
Anarchy Online, Asheron's Call, Dark Age of Camelot, EverQuest, Shadowbane
Lol. Upgrade Plz
Ultima Online, MapleStory, RuneScape
Have a game to add? Post a reply!
Section 6: Difficulty
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This section deals with the learning curve associated with a game, as well as it's complexity. A complex game will have a lot of information to learn for a newcomer, and will be more difficult to master. A simpler game will be easy to learn and play right off the bat as a newbie.
Very Difficult
Tough
Anarchy Online, Asheron's Call, Dark Age of Camelot, Ultima Online, Lineage II, RF Online, EverQuest, Pirates of the Burning Sea
Average
EverQuest 2, Final Fantasy XI, Guild Wars, Star Wars Galaxies, Vanguard,D&D Online, Knight Online, Fury, Age of Conan, Warhammer
Easy
City of Heroes / Villains, Lord of the Rings Online, MapleStory, World of Warcraft, RuneScape
Have a game to add? Post a reply!
Section 7: My Personal Recommendations _________________________________________________________________
Sometimes the simple facts arn't enough. This last section is a recommendation list based on typical MMO searchers.
"I'm looking for a game with lots of PvE grouping"
There are no MMOs where people always group no matter what. However, there are games where the players tend to group a lot. Below are games where the chat channels almost always have LFG spam.
Recommendation: Everquest 2, World of Warcraft, FFXI
"I'm looking for an MMO without PKs and gankers all the time. PvP annoys me"
Here are my recommendations for an MMO without open PvP, meaning you can walk around safely if you please.
Recommendation: LOTRO, EQ2 (RP/PvE server), FFXI
"I want a game with crafting that matters, not some sidestep in the game that's ignored."
Many people want a game where people actually need crafted goods. Below is my suggestion for games where crafted goods are widely used as much, if not more than looted items.
Recommendation: EQ2, EVE, UO, VG , FFXI, Pirates of the Burning Sea
"I'm looking for a PvP-based game with set objectives"
Here's my suggestion for PvPers who dislike world PvP, but like the idea of working on objectives.
Recommendation: GW, DAoC, WoW, Fury, Warhammer
"I want total PvP freedom where I can attack anyone when I want"
I will also note the looting rules for my suggestion here.
Recommendation: EVE (Full looting), L2 (no looting), Runescape (Full looting)
"I'm looking for a game that's a total sandbox"
Recommendation: EVE, UO, SWG
"I want direction in my gaming, I don't want to wonder aimlessly through the world"
Recommendation: EQ1, EQ2, CoH, GW, D&D, L2, LOTRO, VG, WoW, WAR, AoC
I hope you found my guide helpful in finding an MMO. Again, this is only the first version, updates will be made regularily.
Good luck, and happy gaming.
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Added by Taera:
Great post, NetZoko! Another popular variable for users seeking games is the payment plan. Thus I'm adding on:
Section 8: Payment Plan
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This section deals with the payment options for MMOs.
Free to Play
RuneScape, Anarchy Online, RF Online
Item Shop/Optional Subscription
MapleStory, Dungeon Runners, Most F2P Games
Monthly Fee
City of Heroes / Villains, Lord of the Rings Online, World of Warcraft, Dark Age of Camelot, Lineage II, EverQuest 2, EverQuest, Final Fantasy XI , Vanguard, Tabula Rasa, EVE Online, Warhammer, Age of Conan, Pirates of the Burning Sea
Box/Download/Account Creation Fee
City of Heroes / Villains, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Lineage II, EverQuest 2, EverQuest, Final Fantasy XI , Vanguard, Tabula Rasa
NetZoko, please feel free to update this section
edit, Netzoko: 10-18-08: long needed update, added newly released, mainstream games
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Comments
Damn. Great list. You have my
Can we get this stickied?
Pinned.
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Very well done! Though I disagree with SWG being a full sandbox... but I guess it's as close as you get nowadays except for EVE...
i seem to recall guild wars have faction pvp, if you get factions
Not exactly. Even with the Factions expansion you can still GvG, RA, TA, HA with anyone else, regardless of faction, making it FFA. When you make a toon in GW you don't pick a side to be on.
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too bad you need a good computer for fury when the graphics suck!
Also, a game that I've found is quite fun is Rakion, if you're into the whole Arena/Instanced Objective PvP. Just an option if you're an all PvP player.
Great work, though I have a bit of difference in views.
Its easier to hit lvl cap in Lotro than say EQ2. There are only 50 lvls for Lotro; while 60 for EQ2 is tougher, notably at the end. No way VG is only takes a bit longer than Lotro to get to max level.
There are two aspects to crafting, fun in its own, and usefulness of crafted output. Crafting is v ery simple donkey work in Lotro but the output is very powerful, notably for rings, bracers, and the end tier rare (1-user recipe) weapons and some armor. They are as powerful if not more, than the best drop from super bosses. EQ2, in turn, has a very interesting crafting process, but at end-game, crafted output are getting less and less useful.
PVP is also tricky. Some games provide full PVP and full co-op servers, which means the same game can provide very different experience to the player depending on the server the player select.
Grind (and hence the time to get there) depends on the availability of quests offering huge chunks of xp, and hence also fun for those who want to do something other than shooting the same deer for 10 hours a day. Some games provide enough quests to tie through most of the levels, some games requires extensive mob hunting to get the the end of the levelling tour.
nice works but
for you personal recommendation.
there is 3 point you should change
I'm looking for a game with lots of PvE grouping"
There are no MMOs where people always group no matter what. However, there are games where the players tend to group a lot. Below are games where the chat channels almost always have LFG spam.
Recommendation: Everquest 2, World of Warcraft
should add FFXI ... because it FORCE you to group for xp mostly beside a certain class...
"I want a game with crafting that matters, not some sidestep in the game that's ignored."
Many people want a game where people actually need crafted goods. Below is my suggestion for games where crafted goods are widely used as much, if not more than looted items.
Recommendation: EQ2, EVE, UO, VG
should add FFXI too since most NPC will not offer any items for sell or they sell for ridicious amount. Not to mention FFXI's crafting is environmental bases... Meaning it depend on elemental of the day, direction, moon phases, and luck. While crafting is hard not just giving to you as well, it is not necessary a requirement but crafting is important to keep the economy going. (you won't find loot item in the game to use, most are craft items only)
I want direction in my gaming, I don't want to wonder aimlessly through the world"
Recommendation: EQ1, EQ2, CoH, GW, D&D, FFXI, L2, LOTRO, VG, WoW
should remove FFXI, This game does not include direction.... mostly are guessing game and base on your own researches...
Also FFXI does have PVP... there is ballista and team vs team. These will earn you certain items and mainly faction vs faction. (Just no one play them mostly...since everyone is busy leveling...)
none
I'd like to know how you came up with the time of COH/COV....
how bout you just sum it up and just say FFXI FTW!!!
<Mod edit>
But seriously... why just list those big name MMOs everyone's at least heard about? It'd be more useful for jaded players looking for new games. WoW, EQ, etc... they're old hat. There are loads of good reviews out there to read.
On the other hand, what we need is a good guide for the stuff listed on this site, for example. The full game list. Most of them only have a short one-page description, maybe a couple of fan or disgruntled people posting, and a handful of pics.
" In Defeat, Malice; In Victory, Revenge! "
Guild wars isn't FFA, it's more team based PVP and guild pvp.
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Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!
usless post, edited, ignore this dont read this why did you read this i told you not to
It is FFA, there are no set factions. When you make a character you don't choose a side. You can play with, or challenge anyone to PvE/PvP, making it FFA. Just because you can group doesn't make it FFA.
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how bout you just sum it up and just say FFXI FTW!!!
Thanks! Changes have been made.
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Really nice guide, i think ill try out the games listed which i haven't tried yet. great job (first post here btw)
Hi,
personally i agree with this list and i absolutley love the mmo world!! (lthough my comp is crappy lol)
but i also like rpg like The Elder Scrolls IV: oblivion / knights of the nine / shiverin isles
if someone made an mmo just like elder scrolls with all the dungeons to explore and the AI system (npcs d what they want like rob houses eat/sleep/kill whenever they want) and the combat system in oblivion is great if that was all in there it would be awesome.
i dont know wether everyone would go for that type of mmo but i know i definatley would i think if somone mad an mmo like that the whol mmo world would just rise up to the NO.1 gameplay
Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
Final Fantasy 7
Where is my new version on Asheron's call?
That damn game blew all these freaky new peaces away! the character customization and armor uh! nothing comes close! What happined? I just want something that I can do everything and it still be fun ... Am I out of luck ? can I never again fail and make a bright pink/org. armor set or make my own arrows or perhaps kill 1000's of bugs an hour ... or pvp for weeks on end with out worry of falling behind? ... I fear that there are never going to be games as great as the ones that got us old timers got hooked on. No new games have what old EQ or AC had ... WIll they ever again?
Peace
Bolderdash
Playing: Archlord(omg)
Played....to many to count or name ... or even remember them all ... all though i did install and play Sacrafice for a while the the other day ... who remembers that one?
In some sections, you mentioned RuneScape, in some you didn't. As a RuneScape player, I'll provide you with some information.
RuneScape:
Takes about 100 days to reach max combat level
Has solo ability
Has crafting of some sort, but not deep
Can run on a low end computer (bottom section)
Has a short learning curve
Great list.
____________________
Have played: RuneScape, EQ2 (free trial), Last Chaos, Silk Road, Dungeon Runners.
Currently playing: RuneScape, Dungeon Runners.
The notion that graphics, or anything else for that matter, are anywhere near as important as gameplay/fun is so utterly ridiculous that anyone who shares such a view should be placed in an asylum.
max level times are horribly off
LOTRO is fast and easy to get to max in
In Guild Wars Factions, last of the series i played, you get to 20 in a few hours
just a fyi
Added the info. Thanks a bunch!
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Actually.. If you purchased Guild Wars: Factions you will unlock a new PVP arena called AB (=Alliance Battles) Each guild have to pick a faction, which is either Kurzicks or Luxons. These two factions have to fight again eachother.