Does anyone know an ENGAGING mmo?

Yoruyonaka

Well, obviously the strongpoint of MMOs at this time is achievement. You get a sense of achievement when you build up an excellent character (though this is somewhat destroyed by the fact that any idiot can do just as good just as easily, they just have to spend time on it), get great items, etc.

However, COMBAT in MMOs is terrible. Adventuring in general, really. I mean, the graphics (as a rule, not always) are worse, which kinda puts you off. But the actual controls SUCK. It's point and click. Now, when I first came to MMOs, the pure novelty of the character building and achievement were enough to overpower the sheer dullness of combat and general adventuring. However, that novelty has long since worn off. Now it's just dull. Levelling counts TOO much, skill counts nothing. By levelling up, you become invincible to other players, you get so many 'health points' that they cannot damage you. And combat's still just as dull.

What I'm looking for is a MMO that has the achievement (levelling of some type, ability to obtain or build better items, ability to obtain property, build houses, etc) but the exciting combat and controls of a non MMO. I'm not necessarily saying a MMOFPS, but some type of game that requires your absolute ATTENTION combat. I guess what i'm saying is what a lot of the MMO crowd calls 'twitch' skills. Many say it's a good thing MMOs require no twitch skills, because these types of games aren't fun. But lets be honest, the only people who don't like these types of games (that like games at all) are those who suck at them. I'm sure ppl will say 'oh well, i can get a 20:1 ktd ration in battlefield 2 and can get a headshot every time, but I still don't like twitch games, do you're wrong!' but those people are lying. The reason ppl don't like twitch is because it requires skill.

However, I like 'em. So what I'm asking for (if anyone knows of one) is a mmo that either requires 'twitch' skills (a mmofps, or somehting like it) of just keeps you engaged in combat. I've played some MMOFPSs, but the ones i've played were horrible, bland versions of FPS combat. Neocron, for instance, wasn't really FPS. I mean, it was first person, and it was a shooter, but it was nothing like other FPS games. You didn't even have to hit ppl, just aim close, at a friggin square. Didn't matter where you shot, just aim in their general direction. It felt cheesy. I played a bit of planetside as well, and not only did that not have any of the good parts of the mmo, but the fps combat was lame. It was basically just a crappy fps on a really big server.

I want a good one. I know i've said this a lot, but it's pretty simple Combat is very important to me, which I gather is different from most MMO players, but I still would like to see the skill systems and wealth acruement. But I'd much prefer skills to just ENHANCE your player, rather than define him. Your own playing skill should be the most important thing.

But not just mmofps. I know i'm focusing on that. A good MMORTS would rock, one that keeps all of the fun of the RTS (recource gathering, city building, great strategic combat) and puts it in a permanent world, where you try to set up empires spanning many miles, but which has automation so that you can set orders which your ppl will follow to protect your land while you're offline. Hell, a MMORPG with more realistic combat and more involved combat would be good. Many claim to have this, they all say the same stupid crap, but they all seem to boil down to point and click, with a little bit of frill around the edges. Your own contribution to the fight hardly matters, just your character's skill level.

This was a long winded way of saying SOMEONE HELP ME FIND A MMO WITH GOOD COMBAT THAT DOESN'T SACRIFICE THE GOOD BITS OF MMOs PLZ!!!!!!

nubbins

i could suggest gunz but i wont i hate that game

so ill suggest ballerium its in closed beta right now but its shaping up to be a good mmorts

Inventor

If your looking for something where you are always doing something, and not just sitting around, where teamwork comes in handy. Also something that gives you a real sense of pride after building up your character or town, try looking into Wurm Online.

Everything around you can be effected in some way. Trees to cut down, terrain to raise or lower, you can join towns created purely by players. Build houses from trees and cutting them up into planks. There are so many roles you can play you would never get bored.

Should warn you though, Wurm Online is nothing like "most MMORPGs". If you are looking for the typical kill monster get exp/armor/quest, you probably won't like it.

Yoruyonaka

yeh, i followed that one a while. it did look like it could be good. but they did the same thing planetside did, nerfed the basic genre (rts in this case). they got rid of player building (one of the best aspects of the rts, right below the actual fighting, and this would be even better in a mmo, trying to set up fortifications which could stand even while you were offline) and they took away most recource gathering (I believe you can harvest a lot of things if i remember, but they all turn into money, not different recources).

Worst, tho, imo, is that your guys just dissappear while you are offline. This kinda sucks, imo, because the whole appeal of a mmorts imo is trying to create a lasting, permanent EMPIRE. Setting up the trade and military alliances, troop arrangements, walls and fortress allignments, etc, to control a broad swathe of land (a mmorts could have virtually unending territory, since it could be more or less randomly generated and rts maps are fairly low detail), harness its recources, even control outposts (a gold rich mine, for instance). However, ballerium just went with some cities you could try to take over, took the personal aspect out of it (building your OWN city and your OWN empire). They also had like a sixty person troop limit if i remember correctly.

Still, i'm planning on trying the open beta and possibly playing the game, cuz it COULD still be good despite all of the stuff they cut from the RTS forumula.

What is Gunz?

Yoruyonaka

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Originally posted by Inventor
If your looking for something where you are always doing something, and not just sitting around, where teamwork comes in handy. Also something that gives you a real sense of pride after building up your character or town, try looking into Wurm Online.Everything around you can be effected in some way. Trees to cut down, terrain to raise or lower, you can join towns created purely by players. Build houses from trees and cutting them up into planks. There are so many roles you can play you would never get bored. Should warn you though, Wurm Online is nothing like "most MMORPGs". If you are looking for the typical kill monster get exp/armor/quest, you probably won't like it.

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I just tried wurm. It sounded really good at first. But when i got in it seemed kinda lacking. Okay graphics, for a freebie (tho player models are really really low). Well, it's kinda like everquest, but with some better terrain.

But it was really laggy (players jumping all over the place). The movement seemed cool at first (wobble for the walk made it feel more real) but was a bit too slow (they just need to make it look faster, you can still run in grass ). I dunno. It felt overall kinda incomplete. Which i guess it was since they said it was alpha or something on the site? But not something i'd pay for just yet. With up to date graphics and less lag, maybe. But i didn't even try combat, or get into any of the neat features, so i don't know how they are.

But this isn't really what i'm looking for. That extensive (at least sounding, like i said i didn't get a chance to try it yet, mostly just walked around a bit) crafting system and player run everything is a great component, but I also want great combat to go along with it (be it adventure type, rts type, whatever).