Challenging MMORPG

Pala

Hi guys, are there any challenging MMOs out there? I am looking for something new.

When I say challenging I dont mean grind forever to level up, but that you die a lot if a group you are in isn't able to handle the mechanics of grouping and fighting together.

I do like not being able to go to zones where mobs are too tough for me, I enjoy group play. Not into raiding or PVP. Prefer smaller group gameplay, up to 10 people. 

So anything out there to try?

Vrika

No.

All PvE MMOs have some raid instances at max. level to challenge the hardcore, but below that it's too easy and just about running the content as fast as possible.

nariusseldon

any MOBAs, or pvp games like World of Tanks. 

Kyleran

No, they stopped making MMORPGs with challenging group based open world content years ago.

Some upcoming indie titles are promising to bring it back, we'll see.

Theocritus

Jean-Luc_Picard said:

World of Warcraft.
"you die a lot if a group you are in isn't able to handle the mechanics of grouping and fighting together" - the definition of WoW dungeons and raid.

If you have 5 morons in your group wow is challenging...if you have 5 other experienced MMO players WoW is easy.

Yanocchi

Well, you could try a truly epic challenge of slaying the White Dragon as an Underdark character on the Baldur's Gate server in NWN 2. The server has been running for six years but no one has even dared to try that challenge. There had been preparations for Underdark crusade against Icehauptannarthanyx in some previous years but nobody has dared to try. One does not simply slay the White Dragon as a drow. Whoever can do it would become a legend.


The challenge consists of the following steps.

1. You have to grind a character to level 30 first and find good gear. It takes 100 hours or more for a very experienced player, or 200-300 hours for less experienced players. Most people say that playing in the Underdark is more challenging than on the surface. New players die a lot. The cool part is that any monster in the game has a very tiny chance of dropping the best items in the game. You don't need to raid bosses, just kill any ordinary monsters. However, loot becomes better with higher level of monsters. With 100-200 hours of hunting monsters you should be able to get at least 10-20 nice and 4-5 really nice items for your gear and at least 100-200k gold. People don't usually sell the best and most expensive items on the auction house. Some of the best items can cost up to 100k gold.



2. Then you must get together a group of 6-7 other people who also did the first step.



3. You must find an ancient hidden maze that leads from the Underdark to the surface. It's challenging to find it and survive it. It is hidden and shifts location. It is challenging in a completely different unique way from all the other game content because it uses exotic scripts for things that cause damage to you. You will also need a good rogue to unlock the door, or maybe find the special key somewhere that unlocks the door. Many player characters in the Underdark never get to see the surface even after playing for a whole year.



4. On the surface you can be attacked freely in PvP by people who play with surface characters. Some newbies will just stare at you in awe because they'll never have seen a character emerge from the Underdark before. However, some experienced people or guilds might try to kill you because they are "racists" (in D&D Faerun role-playing kind of way). You would have to stay away from paladins, druids, good clerics, Flaming Fist patrolmen, members of Order of the Rose, possibly some evil guilds and player characters, and some other folk. Drow and duergar emerging from the Underdark are usually automatically considered to be evil by D&D role-playing standards. The roles are kind of inverted. Blackguards are like paladins in the main drow city of Sshamath in the Underdark and they have a house of necromancy right in the center of the city. On the surface necromancy is prohibited by law and paladins uphold the order and hunt blackguards. If you got out of the Underdark to the surface and get killed there, it will be permadeath. You'll have to create a new character and start the whole thing from scratch.

5. You will ,also need to develop a really good role-playing plot to justify your incursion to the surface. Without it dungeon masters will banish you back to the Underdark if they happen to spot you (and they probably will). The cool part is that game automatically detects decent role-playing and awards experience points for role-playing interaction with other player characters (some really cunning and sophisticated scripts running that system). 



6. Facing Icehauptannarthanyx, the White Dragon. Challenging fight, risk of permadeath through PvE to Underdark characters.



All in all, you'd need to be a really exceptional role-player and powergamer with deep knowledge of character builds and group play mechanics. All of the 7-8 people in your group would have to be that.

immodium

Theocritus said:

Jean-Luc_Picard said:

World of Warcraft.
"you die a lot if a group you are in isn't able to handle the mechanics of grouping and fighting together" - the definition of WoW dungeons and raid.

If you have 5 morons in your group wow is challenging...if you have 5 other experienced MMO players WoW is easy.

Just like any MMO that has ever been released.