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Looking for a PvE game!
Since leaving WoW for the 3rd time just after WoTLK, and deciding after reading their expansion plans that I am not setting foot in Azeroth again, I have been round most major mmos.
I am searching for a game with really great instances, raids at endgame with less of a focus on PvP.
This year I have been to:
EQ2 (Reactivated accounts, but couldnt pick up old characters again) twice
LOTRO(Really want to love this game, but havent managed to get into it) twice
WAR(Dont mention this)
AoC twice.
Aion in beta and release (not my thing)
Alganon (enjoying so far)
DAOC (Love the game, hate the buffbots)
Eve (my reserve backup game in case of emergencies)
I do not mind if the game is old, or is one of the ones on my list, I just want some suggestions for a great pve game!
I would love it if it had crafting or housing, as I love EQ2s crafting so much!
It needs to have good instances, challenging encounters and good endgame raids.
I am not so into non medieval type games, but am willing to give anything a shot
Help!
Comments
Per your stipulation, the only thing left thats AAA P2P quality would be Vanguard. Give it a try, it runs on PvE, has a huge world to explore, the best crafting ever, better than EQII even, massive dungeons to explore, though entirely open...nothing is instanced. You can own your own plot of land, build a home on it, or even a boat and sail the oceans.
There are even raids at end game too since thats your thing...
Thanks, I will look at vanguard again, I popped in for a brief visit earlier this year, and was impressed by what I saw.
Vanguard.
If you're looking for a definitive PvE experience, this is the game. Massive and seamless (non-instanced) world without zones, fully-controllable flying mounts, mounts galore, more of a "thinking" game than most modern mmo's, and so many quests it could make your head spin. No linear path to follow. And also exploration...lots of exploration with many hidden, unmarked dungeons and interesting locales, and music and ambient noises that are fitting to their respective areas. Three spheres of gameplay, non-instanced housing and buildings, player crafted houses and ships, etc. Lots to do and see in this game.
EDIT: lol, responded before my post. D'oh! Well, hopefully you find VG to be something you enjoy. ^^ It's a unique experience for sure. If you want the most popular servers, check out Seradon or Xeth. Halgar (EU server) isn't as populated, and Sartok (FFA-PvP) is very empty, sadly.
Might as run through a few "problems," though, that I suppose could be a turn-off to players not used to/desiring these elements.
The World:
Vanguard has a, literally, massive world that is more realistically spread out than in games that have worlds based on zones and instances. Vanguard's world, Telon, has no instances. It has no zones, unless you count each massive continent (or the "smaller" archipelago called Kojan) as its own zone. Instead these massive continents are divided into "chunks" that load particular data when you cross into them, but it's all seamless and non-instanced. You see a mountain in the far distance, guess what? You can go there. If you've the means, you can even climb (or fly) to its peak.
Each of these continents has their own unique flavor that crosses all chunks. Thestra is more of your "traditional" western fantasy landscape. Snow-capped mountains, rolling hills, forests, rivers and streams and lakes, tundra (in the north), swamplands, etc.
Kojan is more of an asian-themed, tropical, lush-jungle environment. It has some mountains and rolling hills, but think lush greenery, cherry blossoms, lots of islands, etc.
Qalia is more of a middle-eastern theme. It has some islands on the outskirt, but the mainland is mountains, lots of deserts, interesting rock-faces, maybe some oases, and lots of canyons.
Each continent is very unique, but also has variation within the continent depending on where you travel to.
THE PROBLEM:
This isn't for everyone. Some people have a strong desire to see lots of people bursting at the seams everywhere. Zoned games, admittedly, facilitate this very well since players are all kept closer together by the zones and funnel points themselves. That's not necessarily a bad thing for people looking for that...but no one should expect that in a game like Vanguard (and games like Vanguard are very rare, if they exist at all...VG is, even to this day, unique in the package it offers).
Going into VG, expect to feel "alone." VG has a smaller population than more popular games already, but even if it was as popular as other games, you'd still face that same feeling, because people can and do spread everywhere. There are multiple paths players can go and no linear, set-path to follow...so people spread out across a massive continent, and then multiply that by there being two other very large land-masses, each with their own multiple level-ranges of content. That's not to say you'll never run across people...I play on Seradon and will run across other adventurers on a fairly frequent basis (depends on the area), but it's never a "population bursting at the seams" feeling...it's more realistic (I think).
THE SOLUTION:
Be proactive if you want a social experience. The nature of the game world is such that you will have to. Join guilds, use the chat channel, use the social window ("O" key), bring friends with you, make friends...but the key is getting out of that shell that is so easy to settle into. If you don't, expect to solo (and soloing is very viable in VG...although you'll miss out on a load of other content as well that is designed with small groups, full groups, and raids in mind).
The Difficulty:
Vanguard might not be the most "hardcore" game in existence...but it doesn't normally hold your hand and tell you everywhere to go. You have the freedom to determine that, but with that freedom comes "responsibilities" as well (if you will). There aren't glowy-trails that lead you from destination to destination, and you will need to pay attention to the tutorials and quest text to learn where you need to go. VG is an explorer's dream, and exploring crosses into the quests...the quest text and the npc text leading to that quest will usually give you all the information you need, but sometimes you'll be left to find a person/thing that you need.
Combat is slower-paced than in some games and there is more of an element of strategy in many aspects of gameplay. You will also die, and dying can become very painful. You will have corpse-runs to make if you want to reclaim a good portion of experience lost to dying (won't reclaim all of it) or you can choose to summon your corpse at an altar and take the experience loss. Which can be painful, especially if you don't learn from your mistakes and keep dying.
There are some waypoints for certain quests and npc's, and in some cases you may need to ask guards for directions...but again, there's no glowy-trail leading you there. You may get a blip that shows up on your compass, and you can follow that, though.
Travel is also very significant in VG, even with the existence of Riftways. They'll help with intercontinental travel, and travel to various points within each landmass, but even with those expect some serious traveling. Thankfully you can get access to a horse relatively early on (level 10 I believe), which makes it better.
Then there's the sheer depth. You have three spheres of gameplay: Adventuring, Crafting, and Diplomacy. Each one is leveled up independently, and each one has its own gear. Each requires some element of strategy and thought. Crafting is not point-click-boom, there's your item. It's waaay more involved then that. If crafting's your thing, VG has a very good crafting system. Diplomacy is a strategy-based card-game style sphere that, if you love getting deep into the lore of a world, is the way to go for learning the lore.
THE PROBLEM:
Not everyone wants a harder game. Some people want to just jump in and not have to struggle, they want glowy-trails and handholding. Not necessarily a bad thing...it's their money and time, but for me I prefer a "harder," deeper game.
THE SOLUTION:
Well...not really a solution for this since it's just the way the game is designed. You either like it/appreciate it or you don't. But it does always help to remember to pay attention and read, read, read, and to ask for help when you need it.
Yeh i would also say check out vanguard, another game you might find interesting is champions online or fallen earth but this one doesnt have instances or raids since its a totally open world, but the main focus is pve.