Looking for a new MMO, with... key needs considered.

DreadTooth

Hello!

My wife and I are looking for a new MMO to play in between our already limited time spent playing games currently.

However, there are a few conditions we are hoping all exist within a great MMO somewhere:

First, it has to be on PC OR it needs to be two-player Xbox One (Does that even exist in MMO format?).

Second, it has to be for the casual, sometimes player (We aren't spring chickens anymore).

Third, it can't be geared just for men or just for women (You know what I mean, trolls =P).

Fourth, it will need to have the option of the two of us playing together while completely ignoring everyone else, if we choose.

(Optional) Fifth, low install size or option for low graphics (I don't like this, but my laptop (not PC) sucks).

So long as it has one thru four of the above needs, and preferably if it has any RPG element to it, regardless of the theme (medieval, space etc.), then PLEASE suggest to me below!!!

Thank you everyone!

Kyleran

ESO, one of you plays on the XBox and one uses the good PC.

DreadTooth

Kyleran said:

ESO, one of you plays on the XBox and one uses the good PC.

Do they share the same server or can we see each other in game on PC/Xbox One?

DreadTooth

Aori said:

Low install size is an issue for an MMO. ESO definitely isn't one with a low install size. How low we talking?

I'd try Rift, definitely one of the smaller folder sizes of MMOs that I know of and it should run on a potato. 

Well, one laptop is basically a powerhouse and is fine, the other is a pc version of a Chromeook with maybe 4gb to spare for a new game and would need lower graphics as well. The Xbox obviously is fine either way.

Rift has been around for a while, right? How easy would it be to jump into, or enjoyable, at this stage?

Kyleran

Well he did say the low install size was a limitation of his laptop, not his desktop.

Can't answer his other question about split platform players being able to interact.

Phry

I would suggest SW:TOR, its a game where you can go pretty much through it all just grouping with one other person, filling out the rest with companions etc. Heavily on the storylines so for the RPG experience its pretty good, and its very casual friendly, even better, you can try it for free before buying in with a sub etc. or just not sub at all if you just want to do the main storylines and not that bothered about Operations or PVP etc.
It runs reasonably well on low end systems as far as i know, its not exactly a new game after all.
Most importantly though, its a fun game. Worth a try if haven't already.

Loke666

Aori said:

DreadTooth said:

Well, one laptop is basically a powerhouse and is fine, the other is a pc version of a Chromeook with maybe 4gb to spare for a new game and would need lower graphics as well. The Xbox obviously is fine either way.

Rift has been around for a while, right? How easy would it be to jump into, or enjoyable, at this stage?

A Chromebook isn't going to be playing any MMO.

That said, Rift is alright with friends so since you have someone to play with I think it'll be a decent go. It is free to start but it requires 20-30gb of space and that is fairly small for an MMO. 

Well, specc wise it could run a game like Guildwars. besides, there are many different chromebooks and some of them have acceptable specs.

If you have one with a I5 processor you can run GW2 on it (my 7 year old Vaio runs it fine at mid settings+), I think it is better for duo play then ESO & Rift.

If you have a really cheap you either have to do with something 10 years or older. Worth to note about GW2 though is that the CPU is more important then the GFX card there (something that at least fit my laptop well, I did get a good CPU of it's time but the cheap GFX card is hopelessly dated).

To be honest might it be a good idea to buy a few year old desktop cheap, MMOs are usually not so demanding and most people know someone who have newly retired computer collecting dust.

DreadTooth

Thanks for the replies. I can set the desktop up no problem, just makes my life easier if I can sit next to the wifey while we game.

I've heard good and bad things about both games, so obviously I am intrigued already for those two titles.

ESO has the graphics and newer content models but has the initial cost (discounted now! $38 for gold!) and Rift is free and I'm guessing is using expansions to add in the new content models.

Thanks to the both of you! I'll have the Mrs. take a look tonight and see which one I get to play

Oh how I miss playing the real MMOs, I can't wait!

DreadTooth

Phry said:

I would suggest SW:TOR, its a game where you can go pretty much through it all just grouping with one other person, filling out the rest with companions etc. Heavily on the storylines so for the RPG experience its pretty good, and its very casual friendly, even better, you can try it for free before buying in with a sub etc. or just not sub at all if you just want to do the main storylines and not that bothered about Operations or PVP etc.
It runs reasonably well on low end systems as far as i know, its not exactly a new game after all.
Most importantly though, its a fun game. Worth a try if haven't already.

I tried so hard to stay away from this one, because of my dire love of the first SW game, SWG. However, I must admit, we are both Star Wars fans... Aww dangit. Is it still vibrant with players? I remember a year or two in it was reporting to be hemorrhaging players.

As for the PC, yeah it's not actually a Chromebook, just runs like one. It's an HP Stream 13, so it has minimal specs and a 32gb SSD, which after the win10 upgrade leaves me with between 0 and 5gb of space, depending on compression and how regularly I delete the update install files. Thanks Microsoft. I considered getting a wifi HDD. I will ultimately end up setting up the PC.

Ok well, in that case, now that I've thought about it out loud which obviously is always the best way to think (har har), We'll be playing on PC and laptop with no spec/size requirements.

Wizardry

You hit FFXi on the nose except for the small install as FFXI is a giant game being older than most anything on the market,except a few of the original mmorpg's.
I play FFXI for free,can't get anymore casual than that and with all sorts of changes/additions there is even a fun factor or NEW factor.

Another game would be EQ2,offers everything you would want from a game plus as a duo tandem with the npc each will have,it is like a 4 man team,the NPC's are quite strong.In FFXI retail version they also have npc's/Trusts,you can basically have a full 6 man group with just the two players,however it is a heavy end game gear grind but you can ignore that and still have plenty of months of gameplay,more like years which would hold you over until something else comes around.

DreadTooth

I do appreciate the help and suggestions. We are both excited to try a couple!

We're going to go with her laptop, and I'm going to fix my PC (MSI A78M-E35 'any BIOS update perma crashes it' problem).

I do have a couple of questions though!

For ESO, this one is definitely newest and should have a good population, but are there differences in servers? And what server would you recommend for USA west coast with high population still? It sounds like there was a lot more magic users early on because of the design, which they've now fixed apparently. I understand playing a healer, especially playing a tank, from the very beginning is slow leveling, however, is it still possible and which of the two has more so I can play the other? I like to be needed so I can help more often.

Rift is probably the oldest game we would play, considering FFXI and EQ2 are (?) over 10 years old I think and at least FFXI has had a dwindled population for a long time now. Any suggestions for getting into Rift? How does it work exactly? I know that's a big question but, levels? classes? skills (talents or UO-style)?

We might try SWTOR, but there is one burning question. How long do they maintain the Star Wars license? SWG had the exclusive license for quite a while but the release of WoW really cut into the player base and SWG's attempts to expand gameplay came with other changes that kind of ruined it. If SWTOR has a long while still until the exclusive license expires, and any current expansions or major game changes haven't destroyed the 'great MMO' feel, we would definitely give it a chance!

Thanks!

laxie

SWTOR is still going strong. The conversion to Free-to-Play did wonders for them. They are still committed to creating new content. There is a new expansion coming out this winter. It is soloable for the most part, with two people being able to do the large majority of the content. Electronic Arts has an exclusive license with Disney for Star Wars video game rights. SWTOR is backed by EA, so it falls under this giant license. To my understanding, it's not going away any time soon.

SWTOR feels very much like a WoW-era game. It follows the same design, with the exception that it focuses a bit more on the story (and is Star Wars).

ESO is also doing great. I used to play a healer and was doing alright. The fact that you can heal yourself is quite helpful in many situations. I could not solo some of the challenging content, whereas some hybrid class perhaps might. With that said, if you play with your wife (or group for the difficult dungeons), it won't be an issue at all. Very different to SWTOR in terms of gameplay. It feels a lot more like a traditional single player RPG game, with the massively multiplayer as a feature.

I played RIFT a long long time ago. It was very similar to WoW. Unlike SWTOR, it does not focus on the story. So the question with that one is, why would you play it over WoW or over SWTOR. Don't mean to anger any fan. For me personally, it did not have a unique enough feature set.

Strangely enough, Trove also ticks all of your boxes. It's not an RPG by most measures, so I'm not sure if you're interested in it at all. Definitely unique and interesting in its own way. It is casual, soloable, has group content, allows you to play on your own, if tailored to both genders, has low hardware requirements and has a decent population. That said, it is not a "classic MMO" experience.

Tgiordano92

I'd say GW2. Hits casual right on the head, also you can ignore people if you want easily, since everything is pretty much soloable. besides dungeons, etc.