Making it onto this list is a dubious honor, at best. Like getting a bronze medal in the Special Olympics.
Disclaimer: I have a special needs child, so I can make that comment without being "intolerant". Back off me, man.
Weird disclaimer. Special needs child or not, it's a statement that says the Special Olympics have no merit.
I'm not offended or anything, but if you have to leave something like that then the comment may have been better off not made in the first place. I grew up amongst handicapped children and I know they do like to joke about their own conditions and what not. It doesn't have to be all serious business all the time.
But it's not dissimilar to throwing the N-word around while stating that it's alright because you're black. On the Internet we don't really know. Just for the sake of example, not saying that your remark is as worse as that.
Star Trek and Neverwinter? Come on putting them on the list has most of the posters laughing out loud at you. Cryptic is and always will be a lousy studio and since the PW purchase and extremely greedy one!
It was a bad year for MMO's we should just leave it at that.
Gotta agree with you there in regards to STO and Neverwinter. "Best action combat" for Neverwinter? Laughable. STO better than RIFT or EVE Online? Not a chance in hell. Was the above list paid for by Cryptic?
Star Trek and Neverwinter? Come on putting them on the list has most of the posters laughing out loud at you. Cryptic is and always will be a lousy studio and since the PW purchase and extremely greedy one!
It was a bad year for MMO's we should just leave it at that.
Gotta agree with you there in regards to STO and Neverwinter. "Best action combat" for Neverwinter? Laughable. STO better than RIFT or EVE Online? Not a chance in hell. Was the above list paid for by Cryptic?
Under atari cryptic had 10 employes working on STO, under PWE they now have 40. GW2 is good but they could have done more.
Star Trek and Neverwinter? Come on putting them on the list has most of the posters laughing out loud at you. Cryptic is and always will be a lousy studio and since the PW purchase and extremely greedy one!
It was a bad year for MMO's we should just leave it at that.
Gotta agree with you there in regards to STO and Neverwinter. "Best action combat" for Neverwinter? Laughable. STO better than RIFT or EVE Online? Not a chance in hell. Was the above list paid for by Cryptic?
Under atari cryptic had 10 employes working on STO, under PWE they now have 40. GW2 is good but they could have done more.
Mind backing this up with some factual proof? 10 employees under Atari possibly, but 40 currently? Source?
The Atari sale was completed in 2012. And while the game has had quite a few content additions in that time, their ability to fix bugs, add regular content updates and proper testing, is pretty much non-existent. They seem more inclined to add new grind mechanics, and new lockboxes, rather than fixing old bugs or adding regular content updates (i.e stories)
Star Trek and Neverwinter? Come on putting them on the list has most of the posters laughing out loud at you. Cryptic is and always will be a lousy studio and since the PW purchase and extremely greedy one!
It was a bad year for MMO's we should just leave it at that.
Gotta agree with you there in regards to STO and Neverwinter. "Best action combat" for Neverwinter? Laughable. STO better than RIFT or EVE Online? Not a chance in hell. Was the above list paid for by Cryptic?
Under atari cryptic had 10 employes working on STO, under PWE they now have 40. GW2 is good but they could have done more.
Mind backing this up with some factual proof? 10 employees under Atari possibly, but 40 currently? Source?
The Atari sale was completed in 2012. And while the game has had quite a few content additions in that time, their ability to fix bugs, add regular content updates and proper testing, is pretty much non-existent. They seem more inclined to add new grind mechanics, and new lockboxes, rather than fixing old bugs or adding regular content updates (i.e stories)
I play the game, I lurk on their forums. They add bug fixes when can, they have enough missions to get you to lvl 50, many of them repeatable with scaling rewards. Next week they'll release info on expanding season 8 and the 4th anniversary is coming up soon.
Not what I asked. Where's your source on the "40 employees" claim that you made?
I lurk on the forums as well. I've seen recent patch notes, i've seen comments on various bugs in the game. Apparently, it's more important to fix an "invisible shuttle" than it is to fix an often-used ability's "inability" to critically hit. As a lurker of the forum, i'm sure you know which ability I am referring to. As well as the issue of KDF players being unable to access several of their costume slots which they have either unlocked, or purchased.
So tell me; What usually happens when you buy something, and that something doesn't work at all? I usually return that item, get my money back. With STO, that's simply not possible.
//
GameByNightHardware and Technology EditorMMORPG.COM Staff, MemberRarePosts: 811
Hi Guys,
Chris here, I wrote this list. This was indeed hard to write and, adding to that, this kind of thing is always subjective, right? It is also a great conversation starter on how last year played out for all of us. I will try to answer some of your specific questions but if you have others, share them and I'll see if I can explain my thinking.
Originally posted by DamonVile
I wouldn't want to have to be the person to come up with the list for last year.
" Soak yourself in gas and deliver this msg to the fire people "
You picked all the AAA mmos that launched anything in 2013. Congrats for finding them all I guess.
This was a tough year for indie MMOs. I also wanted to keep this closer to "pure" MMOs and not hybrids. These are the games that released something major and/or made significant improvements that made them better options than they have been in the past.
Originally posted by Fendel84M
Trove Alpha should be number one.
Many of us and our readers aren't in the alpha. It's not a released game. Maybe next year!
Originally posted by Ozmodan
Star Trek and Neverwinter? Come on putting them on the list has most of the posters laughing out loud at you. Cryptic is and always will be a lousy studio and since the PW purchase and extremely greedy one!
It was a bad year for MMO's we should just leave it at that.
Cryptic's games are obviously not your cup of tea, Oz ;-) That's fine but the fact is Neverwinter is extremely popular and Star Trek Online has made huge improvements from it's flawed beginnings. The recent expansion is a solid improvement in almost every way. It is a much more compelling Star Trek experience than it has ever been.
Originally posted by Samhael
Originally posted by JudgeUK
Ok then, for the sake of discussion:
Say you had to come up with a top five list for 2013 - purely for the sake of ranking - what would they be?......
I don't think there were five even average MMOs that released in 2013. I might be able to fill a top-five list with "2013 MMOs that I played for longer than 2 weeks" though.
Indeed, new MMOs in 2013 were beyond light. We expanded beyond that to include MMOs that were the best options. This includes MMOs that may have had rocky launches but that have made great strides to become the best.
Originally posted by Sinsilla
How is it possible Wow did not make it to the list? ppl are saying its the bigest mmo out there
WoW is a good game, no doubt. It came very close to making this list. In the end, other games just stood out more. If there was a #11 spot, it would go to WoW, and frankly, it could probably be substituted in depending on your own MMO inclinations. Because it is so familiar and it has generally been more of the same for as long as it has, I didn't feel that it stood out enough to be included. But again, I love WoW. Many of our staffers do too, even if they have moved on.
Originally posted by Onsaboo
Helm's Deep is the most ill received expansion in LOTROs history, just WHY is it on here? No seriously
Because it's not just about Helm's Deep -- and even if it doesn't resonate with some players, it still expands on the game in meaningful, fun ways. The biggest questions I have seen of Helm's Deep stem from it's endgame options and if Big Battles will be enough. Playing through it is generally regarded as quite fun. Not to mention, LotRO still has one of the best game world's out there. I was very critical of it in a Tourist column I wrote a while back. Turbine isn't perfect but LotRO is still one of the best, most content-rich options out there for traditional themepark fans. I was in between it an Everquest 2 and LotRO won out due to the IP and story. Your mileage may vary on those qualities.
Originally posted by Thunder84
Gotta agree with you there in regards to STO and Neverwinter. "Best action combat" for Neverwinter? Laughable. STO better than RIFT or EVE Online? Not a chance in hell. Was the above list paid for by Cryptic?
Nothing on this site is paid for by game companies, ever. That is a gigantic myth and out of all the sites out there, I can guarantee you MMORPG is one of the least likely to accept sway from companies. We have lambasted games advertising currently on the site due to design and taste issues. If that's not proof that our views of our editorial team are protected by management and kept completely separate then nothing is.
To your question, Neverwinter does have some of the best action combat out there. Name some better ones. TERA is the pinnacle to me, Guild Wars 2 is alright, and Neverwinter's functions fine and with a lot of flash. To your other point, why STO is above RIFT and EVE, that has to do with sheer improvement over time. I love RIFT. EVE has an incredible fanbase and is one of the most unique games in the entire genre. Their placement is not a slight against either of them.
To your question, Neverwinter does have some of the best action combat out there. Name some better ones. TERA is the pinnacle to me, Guild Wars 2 is alright, and Neverwinter's functions fine and with a lot of flash. To your other point, why STO is above RIFT and EVE, that has to do with sheer improvement over time. I love RIFT. EVE has an incredible fanbase and is one of the most unique games in the entire genre. Their placement is not a slight against either of them.
In terms of fluidity, Neverwinter doesn't come close to the likes of either TERA or GW2. Which to me, suggests that it can't reasonably be called a "best action combat" MMO. While I haven't played Neverwinter for a few months now, combat was rather stale, and it felt like there was a certain delay between using each ability. "Action" combat, should be about you as the player choosing an ability to attack with, at any given moment, and that attack should go off instantly. I did not get that feeling with Neverwinter.
Neverwinter had/has other issues that bugged me more, which is why I no longer play it. The chief of which, is the extremely poor coding of their engine (used in CO and STO as well). I can run most games on Medium/High graphics with little to no issues at all, some with alot more detail involved. Yet in Neverwinter and STO, I must lower my graphics to LOW for it to not be a slideshow. In STO's space maps, things go a bit better, but not by much. And frankly, their games aren't that super-detailed.
(EDIT: Why was this comment flagged as possible spam, when I tried to post it? o.O)
In terms of fluidity, Neverwinter doesn't come close to the likes of either TERA or GW2. Which to me, suggests that it can't reasonably be called a "best action combat" MMO. While I haven't played Neverwinter for a few months now, combat was rather stale, and it felt like there was a certain delay between using each ability. "Action" combat, should be about you as the player choosing an ability to attack with, at any given moment, and that attack should go off instantly. I did not get that feeling with Neverwinter.
That's not action combat, that's just button mashing. In the real world, here's the list of attack moves that fire instantly:
.
..
....
Oh, that's right, there are none. It takes time to pull a trigger on a gun, swing a sword or thrust a dagger. It's cool that you don't want to ground your games in any basis of reality, whatsoever, but you have to realize that's a subjective desire, probably based on playing some console game, rather than any logic based assessment of what makes "action combat" the most enjoyable.
In 2013 I didnt enjoy playing a single MMO however I did have a lot of fun in Skyrim. A better RPG than all MMORPGs combined.
Hopefully 2014 will change that with several indy, kickstarter backed MMOs being released. MMOs released by established companies are just so sterile and boring which I guess is what mainstream is these days.
However it seems the F2P cancer has spread to indy games as well..
Well, the most interesting thing I have taken away from reading this list was an impression of just how disillusioned with the genre fans felt this year from reading the comments section. And honestly I wouldn't say its an impression only supported by this site either.
I think we are all still hoping for a game that will deliver the wet dreams we have for an MMO and every single time a new game comes out, we discover that the developers have no imagination and shun innovation in the belief that copying the older and succesful MMO's will be give the best cash flow. That has made the MMO genre extremelly stale.
We are finally seeing a few companies that claims to build new innovative MMO's. Lets hope they are not still thinking inside the box.
Next year?
Elder Scroll Online is one of those games that is not going to deliver any real noticeable progression innovation wise. Judging from the released videos and published articles, we will get a new WoW copy (the term used for theme park games in general).
The Repopulation (crazy name), might deliver some new ideas, but also is a low-budget indie game, so we cant expect too much.
Everquest seems to promise dynamic contents, but is still only expanding the box and not thinking outside of it.
Originally posted by Crazy_Stick Well, the most interesting thing I have taken away from reading this list was an impression of just how disillusioned with the genre fans felt this year from reading the comments section. And honestly I wouldn't say its an impression only supported by this site either.
Really though? Let's put this in perspective- say all 46 posts in this thread were complaints about all MMOs released in 2013. Now multiply that number by 10- is that even close to the active number of players in any of the games on the list?
I mean I get that people love to come to forums to complain but their perceptions obviously don't reflect the reality of the genre. If the majority of the genre fans were really that disillusioned by 2013 then there's a hell of a case of Stockholm Syndrome going on.
Comments
How is it possible Wow did not make it to the list?
ppl are saying its the bigest mmo out there
Weird disclaimer. Special needs child or not, it's a statement that says the Special Olympics have no merit.
I'm not offended or anything, but if you have to leave something like that then the comment may have been better off not made in the first place. I grew up amongst handicapped children and I know they do like to joke about their own conditions and what not. It doesn't have to be all serious business all the time.
But it's not dissimilar to throwing the N-word around while stating that it's alright because you're black. On the Internet we don't really know. Just for the sake of example, not saying that your remark is as worse as that.
SWTOR number 4? Wait, i didn't know people were still playing this piece of crap.
Guess the fankids squad from the SWTOR official forums are strong here.
Gotta agree with you there in regards to STO and Neverwinter. "Best action combat" for Neverwinter? Laughable. STO better than RIFT or EVE Online? Not a chance in hell. Was the above list paid for by Cryptic?
//
This is MMORPG.com. That's how. They lose cool points with their readers if they include WoW.
Under atari cryptic had 10 employes working on STO, under PWE they now have 40. GW2 is good but they could have done more.
Mind backing this up with some factual proof? 10 employees under Atari possibly, but 40 currently? Source?
The Atari sale was completed in 2012. And while the game has had quite a few content additions in that time, their ability to fix bugs, add regular content updates and proper testing, is pretty much non-existent. They seem more inclined to add new grind mechanics, and new lockboxes, rather than fixing old bugs or adding regular content updates (i.e stories)
//
I play the game, I lurk on their forums. They add bug fixes when can, they have enough missions to get you to lvl 50, many of them repeatable with scaling rewards. Next week they'll release info on expanding season 8 and the 4th anniversary is coming up soon.
Not what I asked. Where's your source on the "40 employees" claim that you made?
I lurk on the forums as well. I've seen recent patch notes, i've seen comments on various bugs in the game. Apparently, it's more important to fix an "invisible shuttle" than it is to fix an often-used ability's "inability" to critically hit. As a lurker of the forum, i'm sure you know which ability I am referring to. As well as the issue of KDF players being unable to access several of their costume slots which they have either unlocked, or purchased.
So tell me; What usually happens when you buy something, and that something doesn't work at all? I usually return that item, get my money back. With STO, that's simply not possible.
//
Hi Guys,
Chris here, I wrote this list. This was indeed hard to write and, adding to that, this kind of thing is always subjective, right? It is also a great conversation starter on how last year played out for all of us. I will try to answer some of your specific questions but if you have others, share them and I'll see if I can explain my thinking.
This was a tough year for indie MMOs. I also wanted to keep this closer to "pure" MMOs and not hybrids. These are the games that released something major and/or made significant improvements that made them better options than they have been in the past.
Many of us and our readers aren't in the alpha. It's not a released game. Maybe next year!
Cryptic's games are obviously not your cup of tea, Oz ;-) That's fine but the fact is Neverwinter is extremely popular and Star Trek Online has made huge improvements from it's flawed beginnings. The recent expansion is a solid improvement in almost every way. It is a much more compelling Star Trek experience than it has ever been.
Indeed, new MMOs in 2013 were beyond light. We expanded beyond that to include MMOs that were the best options. This includes MMOs that may have had rocky launches but that have made great strides to become the best.
WoW is a good game, no doubt. It came very close to making this list. In the end, other games just stood out more. If there was a #11 spot, it would go to WoW, and frankly, it could probably be substituted in depending on your own MMO inclinations. Because it is so familiar and it has generally been more of the same for as long as it has, I didn't feel that it stood out enough to be included. But again, I love WoW. Many of our staffers do too, even if they have moved on.
Because it's not just about Helm's Deep -- and even if it doesn't resonate with some players, it still expands on the game in meaningful, fun ways. The biggest questions I have seen of Helm's Deep stem from it's endgame options and if Big Battles will be enough. Playing through it is generally regarded as quite fun. Not to mention, LotRO still has one of the best game world's out there. I was very critical of it in a Tourist column I wrote a while back. Turbine isn't perfect but LotRO is still one of the best, most content-rich options out there for traditional themepark fans. I was in between it an Everquest 2 and LotRO won out due to the IP and story. Your mileage may vary on those qualities.
Nothing on this site is paid for by game companies, ever. That is a gigantic myth and out of all the sites out there, I can guarantee you MMORPG is one of the least likely to accept sway from companies. We have lambasted games advertising currently on the site due to design and taste issues. If that's not proof that our views of our editorial team are protected by management and kept completely separate then nothing is.
To your question, Neverwinter does have some of the best action combat out there. Name some better ones. TERA is the pinnacle to me, Guild Wars 2 is alright, and Neverwinter's functions fine and with a lot of flash. To your other point, why STO is above RIFT and EVE, that has to do with sheer improvement over time. I love RIFT. EVE has an incredible fanbase and is one of the most unique games in the entire genre. Their placement is not a slight against either of them.
In terms of fluidity, Neverwinter doesn't come close to the likes of either TERA or GW2. Which to me, suggests that it can't reasonably be called a "best action combat" MMO. While I haven't played Neverwinter for a few months now, combat was rather stale, and it felt like there was a certain delay between using each ability. "Action" combat, should be about you as the player choosing an ability to attack with, at any given moment, and that attack should go off instantly. I did not get that feeling with Neverwinter.
Neverwinter had/has other issues that bugged me more, which is why I no longer play it. The chief of which, is the extremely poor coding of their engine (used in CO and STO as well). I can run most games on Medium/High graphics with little to no issues at all, some with alot more detail involved. Yet in Neverwinter and STO, I must lower my graphics to LOW for it to not be a slideshow. In STO's space maps, things go a bit better, but not by much. And frankly, their games aren't that super-detailed.
(EDIT: Why was this comment flagged as possible spam, when I tried to post it? o.O)
//
That's not action combat, that's just button mashing. In the real world, here's the list of attack moves that fire instantly:
.
..
....
Oh, that's right, there are none. It takes time to pull a trigger on a gun, swing a sword or thrust a dagger. It's cool that you don't want to ground your games in any basis of reality, whatsoever, but you have to realize that's a subjective desire, probably based on playing some console game, rather than any logic based assessment of what makes "action combat" the most enjoyable.
I dunno..
Like was said before in the comments, this list is mainly the only games that weren't F2P cash ins in 2013..
Does that make them less than the best of the year? Or are you saying that it was just a bad year in general?
In 2013 I didnt enjoy playing a single MMO however I did have a lot of fun in Skyrim. A better RPG than all MMORPGs combined.
Hopefully 2014 will change that with several indy, kickstarter backed MMOs being released. MMOs released by established companies are just so sterile and boring which I guess is what mainstream is these days.
However it seems the F2P cancer has spread to indy games as well..
My gaming blog
I think we are all still hoping for a game that will deliver the wet dreams we have for an MMO and every single time a new game comes out, we discover that the developers have no imagination and shun innovation in the belief that copying the older and succesful MMO's will be give the best cash flow. That has made the MMO genre extremelly stale.
We are finally seeing a few companies that claims to build new innovative MMO's. Lets hope they are not still thinking inside the box.
Next year?
Elder Scroll Online is one of those games that is not going to deliver any real noticeable progression innovation wise. Judging from the released videos and published articles, we will get a new WoW copy (the term used for theme park games in general).
The Repopulation (crazy name), might deliver some new ideas, but also is a low-budget indie game, so we cant expect too much.
Everquest seems to promise dynamic contents, but is still only expanding the box and not thinking outside of it.
Really though? Let's put this in perspective- say all 46 posts in this thread were complaints about all MMOs released in 2013. Now multiply that number by 10- is that even close to the active number of players in any of the games on the list?
I mean I get that people love to come to forums to complain but their perceptions obviously don't reflect the reality of the genre. If the majority of the genre fans were really that disillusioned by 2013 then there's a hell of a case of Stockholm Syndrome going on.
There weren't any good MMORPGs in 2013.
Rehashing old crap or expacs for ancient games don't really qualify.
Neverwinter was and is complete garbage and an insult to D&D. F2P needs to go away - it's is horrendous for MMORPG design.
FFXIV is an insult and the epitome of dumbed down, generic, rewards for doing less than nothing, console-influenced trash.
If FFXIV is your #1 for the year you know it was a bad year for MMORPGs. Garbage winning by default due to lack of competition is sad.
Premium MMORPGs do not feature built-in cheating via cash for gold pay 2 win. PLAY to win or don't play.
Guild wars 2 should be 1st.
NWO and FFIV should not be in the top 5.
Jst sayin'.
>>SMITE<<
>>Strife: best ever MOBA<<
>>Rift: FREE Ally of the Ascended Pack<<
I've played all of these MMO's including a few not on this list. I perfer Guild wars 2 the most. Here is my top 10 of the year: