Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Group heavy (not just endgame) MMO?
Yes i know i must sound like a crazy person...asking for an MMO that is big on grouping an the community....what do i think this is....the 90s!?
I'm sure it's been asked before, but its been a while since ive put in much time into any MMO lately that ive gotten bored of. Me and my friend have been scouring around for an MMO that gets us even a slight amount of, "oldschool" if you will, very group focused and community driven MMO. We are both old FFXI vets who played for years, personally i started with EQOA on PS2 for a while, then XI for far to many years. Next we jumped on XIV for a while but it never clicked, felt to hand holding and simple for leveling (very solo) and endgame felt to much of the same few events over and over...which involved spaming a rotation and dodgeing glowing floors.
So now brings us back to the hunt for something to be like the old EQOA/FFXI days, but not as harsh in some ways. We get it wont be the same, but still want the depth and very group/community driven game we enjoyed so much.
Here's what were looking for i guess:
1) group focused, even while leveling. Solo stuff is fine, but grouping should be encouraged.
2) some depth, doesnt have to be crazy, just not brain dead like recent games seem to make it (ilvls in 14 bugged me)
3) preferably a game with a good selection of classes. I like playing mixed jobs like support/DPS or battlemage type stuff.
4) We prefer the fantasy genera, but were open to things.
5) F2P, B2P, P2P....dont matter, were working young adults, a monthly fee dont hurt, but we try to make sure its good before we slap down 60$
6)Graphics are not a big deal, but they still matter, a game that doesnt look like crap and preferably something newer or even in beta, i like to play it when its still fresher.
I know most games tend to be very newbie friendly, heavy on solo and/or very much heavly inspired by WoW and some of what im looking for may not exist (hell FFXI is a shell of what it once was) but im hoping the more knowlageble folk here might know of a diamond in the rough or a very soon upcoming game we can mess with.
Let me know what your ideas are, il let you know if we happen to play it already (we have tried a lot at this point). Thanks for whatever you can come up with.
Edit: also ive grown tired of the quest spammer games, stated playing Aura Kingdom...and holy jeez its like it should be playing itself offline.
Comments
I seem to recall that Vanguard was pretty group heavy, back when it came out.. I don't know what state it is in now but may be worth checking out
That was one i had interest in, but i couldnt run it when it came out. Now its sadly shut down iirc.
Age of Wushu/Wulin.
Very group focused, mostly PVP. The problem is, it is a lot about scheduled events...
Leveling wise there isn't a whole lot out there anymore. I would probably say something like EVE which doesn't really even have a traditional max level end game might be a good option. You can get into group heavy activities pretty quickly if you find a good corp.
EQ2 has a strong progression raid focused endgame with hundreds of guilds competing for standing against each other.
Oh so it is.. that's sad, I liked that game
Lineage 2.
A few words.
The content from 1-85 (max level is 99) can be passed solo for about a week, then you "ascend" to your final profession. From then on it can take months even years to get to 99. The content is ordered in such a way that there are 2-3 quests you can do solo, every other 85+ zone is group content. Heavy group content, you'd need a full group of 7 players, 1 being reserved for a buffer.
Open world pvp with penalties to Pkers, clan/alliance wars and castle sieges. Crafting is very viable. Enjoy.
Although if you have an SSD I suggest you to install it there. You can thank me later.
The game has hardly any quests. Outside the "main storyline" (that is up until lvl85) the best way to level up is in a group doing open raid bosses and just generally hunting group places.
lineage2.eu if you live in Europe
lineage2.com if you live in NA
I personally gave EVE a try and it just didnt work for me. I have a lot of respect for the game and i can see why it works for people, but something about it didnt click.
EQ99 looked pretty amusing TBH, but i dont think i could get my friend to bother with it. I do miss that oldschool setup though. XI for both of us went down the toilet with the mini expansions and even more with the newest one. Its not something we care to return to, but will always have a place in our hearts. A bunch of us who played still talk about those old time, good and bad every once in a while, still getting us amped up when we hear that old playonline intro on the PS2 when you first set it up or from the guy who made the FFXI recollection vid.
We are also pretty much pure PVE guys, i probably should have mentioned that. We havent tried Wushu, but havent heard anything great about it either.
About Lineage 2 I'm not suggesting it in any way, but you might find some larger private server running old (Pre-Goddess of Destruction) more fun.
Although if you are into flashy combat and graphics and AoEs and buffed up numbers, you will certainly like the post-GoD game. Which starts after lvl 85 and the content before that level is a bit trivialized. But still you can find challenge there, especially in the raids.
vanguard is no more.
While a lot is PVP, the only worthy part of the PVE is raiding.
I would give it a shot, especially if you have friends to come along. The combat mechanics are interesting which can make raiding very challenging and refreshing.
I tried to like Lineage 2 back in the day but what drove me away was i saw more bots than players.No matter where i went there was an auto bot waddling in and out of the city.I reported many and they simply did not care,so i have a pack with myself,if the developer is lazy and does not care about it's game,then i don't care about it's game.
The bigger problem right now is older games are dead ,everyone is hanging out at end game levels.IMO that means there is no game anymore,you cannot just hangout in 1-2 zones and call it a game because it is not.I believe it is for that same reason why so many gamer's keep hopping to every new game,they like that feeling of tons of players all around from the start to finish.
Another example is EQ2,when players go back to do old content they are mentored way o/p,and even when not the content is too simple for them,so why even bother,however a new player cannot really enjoy the game without that hustle and bustle of players all around.However you can still enjoy the challenges if you do not bring high level players with you but then yes it will feel empty and barren.
Project Gorgon:It is pretty cool for an extremely low budget Indie game,has some nice ideas/classes but like all other games,fails the grouping aspect.You do however want/need to group if going to take on dungeons and sadly that is where the best loot is,which is design i don't agree with.The grouping however is not even close to what you witnessed early FFXI,it is really more or less soloing within a group and getting bonus xp just for being grouped up.
Bottom line is if you are looking for a long term game in grouping,it does not exist.However if you just want something you can have a lot of content but same as all the other games "hand holding" linear questing,then i highly suggest EQ2.You will not get a better game than EQ2 doing what it does "Wow clone".As mentioned Vanguard was really good but does not exist anymore.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.