LF Grind MMO with longevity

Andbrik

I played Runescape for years and somehow never got bored of it.  I think that 'somehow' was the fact that the game takes AGES to level everything to max.  The great thing was that leveling felt rewarding, with new abilities/items/areas to access upon completion of each part of your journey.

 

My issue with modern MMORPGs is that the excitement of progression dwindles so quickly due to relatively quick leveling and/or lack of variety.  I have played dozens of MMOs since quitting Runescape, but none of them can keep my interest.  I would love to hear suggestions for games that you think line up with these preferences:

 

1. Large variety in gameplay and ways to level

2. Longevity / Grind

3. Decent graphics preferred but not required

4. Decent playerbase preferred but not required

 

My one inclination is to play EVE again but I would like some input.  Thanks in advance.

 

bcbully

If you don't want spaceships, try Age of Wushu. I see 1 1/2 years progression atleast before looking for an expansion. This cool thing is is that this is still beta a lot of the game not even in. That 1 1/2 may be more.

Andbrik

I have Age of Wushu downloaded and am having a hard time understanding all of the game mechanics.  I wish the tutorial was better  tbh.

bcbully

Originally posted by Andbrik
I have Age of Wushu downloaded and am having a hard time understanding all of the game mechanics.  I wish the tutorial was better  tbh.

Yeah, if it had a maual it be 500 pages. Treat your school like a guild, and ask a lot questions.  You really have to feel your way around for the first couple weeks. By that time you should know enough to fill a day.

sculler

If you've never played Everquest, I would definitely give it a try.  The first one or the second one - although I prefer the first one myself.

Hothlove

Originally posted by sculler
If you've never played Everquest, I would definitely give it a try.  The first one or the second one - although I prefer the first one myself.

If you choose the first everquest I would reccommend the progression servers. These are back in time and everything expansion is not unlocked yet so you have a chance to get to meet the other players one day.  On the progession servers the exprate is slower than on the others but they upped it alittle but still slow. On the regualr servers you will find a hard time to solo to max lvl since it gets more and more hardcore to solo, so grouping is required. Also Everquest is best played grouped because classes needs eachother(bard for regenerating and wizard for dmg, cleric for healing and warrior for tanking).

Everquest 2 is your regular wow like mmo with quest and max level is reached within a month like wow. Also it's a pretty weak sequel to it's predecessor though some players find it fun with more things to do and more classes. The game still cant be run in max gfx settings very good by any computer you can buy, since it's single core optimized and require a cpu with 5 ghz speed.

The kings of grinding games is really any asian mmo's like Lineage2 and Aion. But beware it is usually like this: grind for 6 levels unlock 1 or 2 abilities. Grind for 8 levels unlock 2 abilities. Then grind for another 7 levels and unlock 1-2 abilities. And every level. takes way longer and longer. Finally it takes months to gain a level grinding in the same spot. Any free asian MMO are pretty grindy. Beware the playerbase in most of them drops low after a year of release. I would'nt go for any of these types unless you really like anime/manga.

Lord of the rings online takes long to level and the graphics are pretty decent.

Benedikt

if you dont care that much about graphics, i would go with Asheron call 2, Istaria or Ryzom

wr036

Going to second Asheron's Call 2 and Ryzom.

In my opinion, Ryzom is pretty close to a more fluid, fully fleshed out 3D version of Runescape. This is one of the few MMO's that captures the essence of a "virtual world" rather than a game. There are no classes; you level skills. This is NOT a game to try and solo to max level in 2 weeks, because it won't happen. Ryzom is a game where you need a group to progress without going insane at higher levels. Gathering and crafting is also very robust and a huge facet of the game, as all items are crafted. My favorite part of Ryzom, despite being released in 2004, is that I still stop and take in the environment on a regular basis. It's like a living, breathing piece of art.

Asheron's Call 2 is somewhat closer to the themepark model, but still a hugely open game by today's standards for MMO's. Haven't played this one quite as much as Ryzom, but I just started up again on the beta servers. I'm actually torn between these two games right now., but this is a welcome problem, as opposed to being completely burnt out on the MMO genre.

Lovely_Laly

seems Vanguard is somehow similar to runescape, may be take a look, it's f2p now.

Aion is grind but not sure if it fun tho, f2p now, so you can look.

I played runescape too and was sure it's the best ever game (log ago), since I discover you don't need grind to get fun!

anyhow good luck!

Andbrik

Thanks everyone for the responses.  I am currently playing LOTRO, a game I have tried a few times before, and am thoroughly enjoying it for now.  From what I've read here Ryzom seems like it could definitely be of some interest, so I might check that out as well.