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LF MMO to play with my wife.
Grimlock22
Member UncommonPosts: 21
So, the wife and I are ready to dive back into an MMO, but are undecided on which one. Here is some brief background on us. My wife has been playing MMOs since EQ 1. She and I played WoW from launch through TBC, then we started having kids and she stopped playing WoW. I continued playing WoW through MoP, albeit much more casually. Through the years we've tried out most of the new MMOs. We've tried Rift, SWTOR, GW2, FFXIV ARR, Age of Conan. We usually play a month or two and then stop.
We are looking for suggestions on a casual-friendly MMO to play. When I say casual-friendly that means a game we can play for 1-2 hours a night (not every night) and feel a sense of accomplishment. We both have extensive experience raiding and are competent players, so being challenging is okay. My wife has no desire to go back to WoW, so it has to be something other than that. The game should have a good community, with a lot of content. It's a bonus if the game has other options besides just leveling up, grinding gear just to raid to grind more gear.
We are not looking for a game that requires lots of time-sucking grinding. We both feel grinding does not equate to hard, just time consuming.
Any suggestions?
Me Grimlock King!
Comments
Well you are describing Gw2. Good thing is you already have it so maybe dive in that without paying anything. Either way from what you've listed IMO you've played all games that are worth being played at the moment.
Out of that list I could say ArcheAge as well but it feels very grindy. The other one i could add is maybe Tera but make sure you pick the class you want to play the msot from the start because its terribly linear. Playing it for once though is not a bad idea.
Gw2 hasn't changed much for the past 2 years. They've added some new permanent personal stories, revamped "New Player Experience" and added another item tier which is not needed at all. I know that last sentence doesn't make much sense to you but its true.
Well i would think that as they have already tried GW2 , it failed to provide the experience they are looking for....
You dont list EQ2 there ... really great game for a couple to play ... so rich in lore and questing.. Housing is top-notch crafting viable..
Mercanary system will provide you and yer wife with your own lil group if you want to try some harder challenges also ...
And on another note Archeage , i am currently playing .. and it may be the biggest grind in any game i have played .. End game which you will get to qwikly even at a casual pace is a massive grind for everything.. Now this isnt bad , if you enjoy that .. the rewards usually are worth the time..
IMO you are going to sell yoru game short if you are worried about grinding.
The reason has nothing to do with tough or hard it has everything to do with making each level or skill level satisfying and meaningful.
If for example you worked hard to get a really nice piece of gear that is good for level 10 but you already out level it within a couple hours it made that item almost worthless.
My fave game of all time was FFXI "i no longer play it" because every thing i did ,every item i got lasted for a long time,it made everything i did feel satisfying.
I really cannot offer a realsitic suggestion for you because it seems you enjoy the WOW esque Themepark ride of chasing quests/yellow markers.
However i will mention a game i am playing now and enjoy it a lot,however it's main enjoyment is grinding tons of various skills and classes none of which is hand given,you have to wander around and talk to npc's and gain favor from them.I only mention this because you said your wife doesn't want to play Wow anymore and almost every single game is exactly like Wow in that linear questing sense and racing to end level to grind gear.
To me gaming is all about the ride not the race to end level and that is why i enjoyed FFXI and now Gorgon which btw is totally FREE no cash shops as it is in Alpha phase and developed by a VERY small team,like maybe 3/4/5 people.It uses the same FFXI system of sub class only done a lot different.
There is a LOT to discover in Gorgon,sort of makes not having a very extensive Wikia a good thing because you can't just look up all the answers,it leaves everything to discovery.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Give ESO a try. Especially as you want to play together.
There is a lot to see and discover in the game if you are not in a hurry and take the time.
If you are in a hurry then you can just follow the story line lvl at a reasonable speed on the usual theme park guide rails.
For me I find the game fun and relaxing, I have explored every nook and cranny, found every quest, finished all areas up to vet 14, have almost 10,000 achievement points, been in Cyrodiil had some PvP fun done all the PvE stuff there is to do in there, maxed every craft except alchemy, finished every group dungeon, got some alts most are vet lvl 1 is also vet 14. However the 1 thing I can say is having played since CBT1 I am still having a blast, I have barely touched Craglorn, have loads of quests still to do in Cyrodiil, I am in a guild that has a blast and helps its members with anything they ask and I still come across stuff I missed.
So if you want a game that you can relax have fun together in at your own pace ESO is definitely worth a look.
Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I should clarify that we are not opposed to giving a game we've played in the past another try. We are looking at FFXIV right now, but not sure.
I should also clarify that if anything the totally linear, Wow-style questing to level up just to get gear is not really what we want, but are not totally opposed to it for a good game.
I've just now heard about Project Gorgon and it does sound interesting.
Several have mentioned EQ2. How do you feel it's different from WoW? My biggest issue is it seems EQ2 and WoW are basically the same game.
How do you feel about Star Trek online? How about Neverwinter nights? We've never tried either of those and were wondering about how people felt.
Me Grimlock King!
While I cannot really talk about "normal" MMOs without being unbiased, I am more than willing to preach the few good games what we have found the perfect pastime with my partner/friends.
Since it's important to feel some kind of accomplishment, even with only a hour or two of playtime, I heavily recommend the following games, starting with RPGs and then moving to MMOs;
RPGs: Neverwinter Nights 2, Divinity: Original Sin
MMOs: Dungeons & Dragons Online, Guild Wars 1
These are some pretty alternative choises and all feature unique gameplay compared to the more "mundane". I also would like to stress the option of playing all with a buy to play option. DDO is an unique flower as it's own game, you get to play it for a good, long while for free and then you can consider if you want to buy "extra" content or not.
Questions? Thoughts? Please, throw me a bone.
PS. I would advice against touching Cryptic's Neverwinter Online, but as an old D&D-geek, I am biased. Then again, the game is free to play, so I'll change my opinion to; Give it a shot for free.
PPS. Decided to add videos from TotalBiscuit as examples of gameplay from Divinity & DDO.
Divinity: OS - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuF8ruhjlTY
Dungeons & Dragons Online - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-YnAIKYbVE
We?re all dead, just say it.
I suggest The Secret World. Playing it with my GF and so far we've been having fun. 8)
My wife's comp is a bit older and won't run ESO very well, so that one is out for us. We are leaning towards FF XIV, but are even concerned she can run it well, and because we are not sure we want to play the total themepark, level to max, then grind gear to raid, rinse and repeat.
As games that seem a bit different what are people's take on games like STO, DC Universe online?
Me Grimlock King!
You might want to try SWTOR. It has really improved since it turned F2P. There's a steady flow of new content, player population looks healthy and many old technical difficulties have been resolved. On top of it, no entrance barrier.
Neverwinter Online is also F2P and a solid MMORPG to try with your wife.
GW2 is a beatiful game, but I can't shake the feeling is getting stale (no real content updates in form of expansions, only "living story"). If you don't care about playing long term, it should be high on your priority list.
I will Suggest Rift again There is a new lvl 65 upgrade now..from 60 to 65.
Or Tera if you like to mash keys on ur keybord...im more in to 1-9 and macros
Both SWTOR and Rift are up for consideration. My fear, such as it is since they are free to play, is the feeling of sameness. They are both typical themeparks where you level up then raid or die. We are kind of looking for something a bit different, but not completely like eve online.
Me Grimlock King!
I find SWTOR nice to come back to from time to time especially since the level cap has been increased and they added housing. RIFT felt to much like WOW to me so I gave it up. TSW is OK, the combat feels a little off which is not good for a combat game. But some of the quests are interesting.
I levered one character up in Neverwinter and that was it for me. Worth checking out and the player created quests are great. STO is ok but they keep adding more and more stuff to it so it's hard to just jump in, play it for a few hours and jump out. Plus it's very buggy now that they released the new expansion. I would wait for them to fix stuff. I'd recommend Marvel Heros as it's a great game to play casually, tons of drops, good story line. You don't have to craft to play well because the drops are so good.
Because LOTR is ftp, it's not bad.
Happy hunting.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
Look no further OP here is the list you are looking for :
Death is nothing to us, since when we are, Death has not come, and when death has come, we are not.
Swtor is as much WoW to me as Rift if we are talking about features/mechanics. Rift is clearly inspired by WoW, but some differences would be dimensions (housing), less PvP, more class building and customization features, Ability to switch roles at any time, etc.
Swtor does have many unique features, but it feels like WoW to me in general as well.
Looking forward to: Crowfall / Lost Ark / Black Desert Mobile
rpg/mmorg history: Dun Darach>Bloodwych>Bards Tale 1-3>Eye of the beholder > Might and Magic 2,3,5 > FFVII> Baldur's Gate 1, 2 > Planescape Torment >Morrowind > WOW > oblivion > LOTR > Guild Wars (1900hrs elementalist) Vanguard. > GW2(1000 elementalist), Wildstar
Now playing GW2, AOW 3, ESO, LOTR, Elite D
I suggest to everyone a gem of a game in pre alpha and open to play for free. no cash shop either.
Project Gorgon - projectgorgon.com
You dont lvl your character, you level skills by doing them. paced to give a great feeling of accomplishment even if you only had just an hour to play. The community is the best i've seen since early EQ1. Lots help everyone. This game does not hold your hand, you discover things, including the skills you want to lvl up in. I've been playing 7 weeks and find new stuff everyday! Truely enjoying this MMO in its early stage. Try it, most will find it very fun and entertaining! < like fighting a skeliton and suddenly it says, "i'm bored and tired of this , then stops atk'ing you and walks away! rofl .... All kinds of funny stuff to discover, like when was the last time a boss turned you into a Cow! ROFL!! ( it can be undone ) > Try it!
FFXIV is a great game but I would not really recommend it if y'all got tired of WoW. I personally do not have fun with FFXIV, but it really is a quality game if you like that kind of style.
My recommendation would be ESO 100%. I have a ton of fun playing with friends through dungeons, PvP, etc.
Other options:
DC Universe: It is a very fast and fun game, especially for open world PvP.