Best and Worst Beginning Game Experience

Amathe

Best: EQ, Kelethin, the tree city, Faydark Forest below. Mosy haunting melencholy place ever. Music was awesome. 

Worst; All of them that began shouting at me "Hurry! Hurry! We have to do this, we have to do that, before it's too late! And here I am, snuggled into a hoody, with a newly opened beer, in no hurry to do anything.

You?

Scot

Best: The Shire in Lotro, roleplaying etc.

Worst: Villas in AoC, doubt you still need to do them now but back at launch it was a grind.

Quizzical

Probably the worst first impression I've had of an MMORPG was for Aion.  As with many games, there's an intro screen and you have to click somewhere to load the game.  The problem is that clicking didn't do anything.  It took me a while to figure out that where the game drew the mouse pointer assumed one monitor resolution, and where it recorded a click if you clicked the mouse assumed a different monitor resolution, so that if you clicked a mouse, the game thought that the click was somewhere far away from where it looked like the pointer was.  With the mouse misbehaving like that, I had to figure out how to open settings and change the monitor resolution so that the two assumed resolutions would agree before I could do much.  Once I actually got into the game, the game itself was a little better than that, but not a lot.

If you want to exclude things that are flagrantly broken like that, then I'll go with ESO.  The many ways that ESO had botched the new player experience as of when I tried it would make this post long enough that no one would read it, so I'll just leave a link to a thread that explains it:

https://forums.mmorpg.com/discussion/475718/bad-first-impressions/p1

To this day, ESO is the only game that I've ever demanded a refund for.

Scorchien

Mine is Ultima also , and still is best 24 years later ..

 Worst   (insert)  Asian F2P cash shop game .. all the same , all shit

Ungood

Worst:

EQ.

• Kelethin, falling out of the tree city to my death.
• Dying in Surefall Glade, because some Diseased Wolf attacked me and Holly Windstalker proceeded to turn me into a pincushion, and realizing I have no idea where my body is.
• Making it to level 30 as a Druid, and finally realizing that Half Elves sucked at Druids, and needed to Re-Start again, for the ungodly numbered of time.

Well EQ was quite the learning time for me.. all the other MMO's went easier as time went on.

Best:
GW2. Norn Guardian. You start off and it's a Celebration, a Great Hunt!  and you are one of the young champions chosen to fight Issormir the ice wurm! 

And then you get called "Slayer!" I loved this at the start, because it was like this set up that I was this hunter, this warrior, this SLAYER. I really liked that because I had just been playing DDO, where you wake up from a ship wreck naked with some thief that just took all your stuff, and you're this nobody that stumbled into a town that needed someone to kill some fish people... congrats, try not to be one of the many bodies that adorn the halls of the crypt.

So I love this idea that we as players were set apart, we were not "Average Joes looking for some Gold" we were the starting young hunters! the New Slayers! Loved that, but to be fair, I didn't realize it was going to steamroll into some super campy story line where I was the chosen dragon slayer and savor of the world.

But that start.. Oh I loved that little start off in GW2, that pat in the back to make you feel like you were not some nameless adventurer destined to die in a crypt.

I also loved how when I finished the Sylvari opening story, I was naked and was like "Umm where is my clothing?" I laughed so hard at that..

WhiteLantern

Worst: Human Paladin in WoW
rerolled to
Best: Dwarf Hunter in WoW
Had similar experiences in WAR and LotR. Finding that right avatar can make a big difference in how you perceive a game.

cameltosis

Best: Lotro (archet).

Not that the starting zone was anything particularly special, but I am a huge LotR fan so simply being able to wander around breeland, meet with Aragorn, go to the Prancing Pony etc was an amazing experience. I also enjoyed the combat a lot, it was nice having some challenges straight out of the gate too.

Worst: SWG (pre-cu).

My first MMORPG, starting experience just sucked. Dumped on Tattooine with no clue what was going on or how anything worked. No quests. No tutorial. Proceeded to get my ass handed to me but the smallest, most pathetic creatures around, each death also making me weaker and weaker with no clue how to get better. Luckily, a RL friend came a rescued me after about 2 hours, showed me the ropes, gave me some credits and some gear. Then it started getting good :P

Nebless

Worst:  Dark Age of Camelot.  Quest number 4 or 5 of the intro was a mandatory 'Group with Someone' quest.   I can't stand mandatory grouping, dropped the game right then and there.

Best:  Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising.  Granted it had the common 'you wash up on the beach without anything on you' start.  But the first quest givers dialogue was 'There's a lot of others worse off than you on this beach, go and find what you need amongst the dead'.  I liked that take on things.

Nebless

cameltosis said:

Worst: SWG (pre-cu).

Dumped on Tattooine with no clue what was going on or how anything worked. 

But, But .... you had a Melon!

Po_gg

Scot said:

Worst: Villas in AoC, doubt you still need to do them now but back at launch it was a grind.

Question was beginning experience   Agree though, villa grind was such a bore...

Best, as much as I love LotRO and the Shire, for me it was AoC's Tortage, hands down. Still used to roll a new character occasionally just to play it through.

The other, I'd split in two parts.

Worst due to the game: any random eastern MMORPG with dull writing, dumb mechanics, auto-pathing, etc., bonus (negative) points for browser-based.  To name one as the worst, let's say One Piece.

Worst due to the community: EVE.  (Kyleran, look away for a bit )

Of course it was more than 10 years ago (maybe 15?), so it ain't about its current status, but at that time it was toxic as hell... I started with friends, one was veteran, helping each other, etc.  - yet, after a couple months nobody stayed in the game besides that one long-time player, and everyone said the awful community as the reason of departure.

Game itself was fine, the learning curve really steep but it was part of the fun.

Too bad the players made it into a cesspool... I believe those were the times when EVE's bad rep was cemented for the later years.

Mendel

Po_gg said:

Scot said:

Worst: Villas in AoC, doubt you still need to do them now but back at launch it was a grind.

Question was beginning experience   Agree though, villa grind was such a bore...

Best, as much as I love LotRO and the Shire, for me it was AoC's Tortage, hands down. Still used to roll a new character occasionally just to play it through.

The other, I'd split in two parts.

Worst due to the game: any random eastern MMORPG with dull writing, dumb mechanics, auto-pathing, etc., bonus (negative) points for browser-based.  To name one as the worst, let's say One Piece.

Worst due to the community: EVE.  (Kyleran, look away for a bit )

Of course it was more than 10 years ago (maybe 15?), so it ain't about its current status, but at that time it was toxic as hell... I started with friends, one was veteran, helping each other, etc.  - yet, after a couple months nobody stayed in the game besides that one long-time player, and everyone said the awful community as the reason of departure.

Game itself was fine, the learning curve really steep but it was part of the fun.

Too bad the players made it into a cesspool... I believe those were the times when EVE's bad rep was cemented for the later years.

Tortage was about the best of the new experiences in any MMORPG.  I may have to reinstall AoC and give it another go.  After the 'intro' piece, it got pretty ordinary and tedious as I remember.  I guess it's time to see if there's another senior moment waiting for me.

I recently ran a character through EQ1's newbie island, cause I had never done it before.  The Glooming Deep dungeon was really a substandard experience, compared to some of the original beginning zones (like Qeynos Hills, or Kelethin) or even the newer Serpent's Spine expansion generic starting zone.

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TwistedSister77

Best:  Another for Age of Conan Tortage, amazing story and graphics... liked the combo system & lore.  Sorceress blowing up the island volcano... heck yes!  Under hall & White Sands PVP.. watch out.  Women were hot, like Conan likes

Worst:  Ultima Online... confused as crap and brutal... but that was also the charm and excitement of my first, and one of the first, MMORPGs.   No YouTube's, or wikepedia on how to play.

TwistedSister77

remsleep said:

Best - AoC Tortage

Worst - Wildstar (RIP)

Agree with AoC, I played wildstar... why did you find that the worst?  I only played the "good guy" side (forgot the factions, lol).

Sovrath

Best? Huge Lineage 2 Siege for Aden Castle. It was something like 32+ clans against 36+ clans. And I had two friends there, neither really video game players, passing me beers while I fought.

Worst? Well, probably not "really" the worst but Chronicles of Spellborn. I just finished the completely dull tutorial only to then get to the game proper and be asked to run to various towers to get some sort of list from each. Uninstalled right there.

That could have been more about the mood I was in after I finished the tutorial but it was so dull. Completely beautiful game though.

I guess that's as far as playing the games.

As far as what was offered?

First time I entered Cruma Tower. Loved the energy of all the groups going on and how it was all laid out, people selling wares for those grinding, etc.

Worst? Lord of the Rings Online, the starter area was dull.

Theocritus

Amathe said:

Best: EQ, Kelethin, the tree city, Faydark Forest below. Mosy haunting melencholy place ever. Music was awesome. 

Worst; All of them that began shouting at me "Hurry! Hurry! We have to do this, we have to do that, before it's too late! And here I am, snuggled into a hoody, with a newly opened beer, in no hurry to do anything.

You?

My best is the same exact thing......I remember I didnt venture very far before running into an orc and having to try to make it to the lift guard before I died......From then on it was personal between the Wood Elves and teh Orcs......

The worst? For me it was FFXIV.....I remember starting in some kin of town and got a quest....Well I didnt really feel like doing the quest immediately I wanted to see the town first...Every direction I went it said you CANNOT go that direction and I was thinking "why not?"...It just rubbed me the wrong way...i am not a fan of games on rails....I like freedom to do what i want.

Amathe

@Theocritus in FFXIV:

Iselin

Best entry for an MMORPG for me was starting LOTRO as a human seamlessly going from the tutorial to the starting area near Bree that continued it. I was hooked on the game and story instantly.

Worst? Can't remember much about it honestly but it had to be Anarchy online which was confusing and very buggy. I'm sure it has improved but I tried it at release and didn't last long at all. My memory of it is that it was broken as hell.

Sovrath

remsleep said:

TwistedSister77 said:

remsleep said:

Best - AoC Tortage

Worst - Wildstar (RIP)

Agree with AoC, I played wildstar... why did you find that the worst?  I only played the "good guy" side (forgot the factions, lol).

I logged in and it felt like full on assault on my senses with some dude screaming "well done cupcake" or something. Sound and voice over way over the top.  was just running around this space ship? Looking thing, doing the worst tutorial quests with most obnoxious sound and vfx. I remember the color palette just being awful with bright neon greens and just looked like a color wheel vomited on the screen. 

I remember getting a migrane and uninstalling - was the only mmorpg that ever made me actually ill just by trying it out 

The tutorial area of Wildstar actually made me mad. It was so dull and "same old same old" that I wondered "what the heck were the developers thinking? This isn't fun!"

Sometimes  wonder if they just "do stuff" because other games have done it.

Tokken

Best is UO. Seemed like the world was so BIG. My first mmorpg game.

Worst: PUG's in WOW

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Cryomatrix

Worst: Lineage 2 and their bots

Best: Too many to count. 

Po_gg

Sovrath said:

remsleep said:

TwistedSister77 said:

Agree with AoC, I played wildstar... why did you find that the worst?  I only played the "good guy" side (forgot the factions, lol).

I logged in and it felt like full on assault on my senses with some dude screaming "well done cupcake" or something. [...]

The tutorial area of Wildstar actually made me mad. It was so dull and "same old same old" that I wondered "what the heck were the developers thinking? This isn't fun!"

I really liked Wildstar, I wouldn't put it in the "worst" bracket, yet... I have to agree, the new player experience was a mess, kinda.

The story and characters were fun, world was nicely built, even the colour palette a hit-or-miss (either fine or already too much), but the rest... the best term I've heard about it in reviews was sensory overload.

It's fine if a game has a truckload of mechanics and systems. Can be fine even if they drop all of those onto the player at once. Just the way Wildstar did it, ended up in a mess.

It felt like playing pinball, from the perspective of the ball, being tossed left and right all the time.

Then about level 20 or so it got better, and for a second character you knew already what to ignore, etc., but yep, Wildstar's "beginning game experience" as the question says, definitely wasn't a good one.

Maybe not the worst, especially not with the heavy competition (cough*eastern games*cough) in mind.

Not good but not terrible either.

Pala

Best - i liked Swtor played all the classesto see their beginnings
Worst - FF14, feels pointless and forced

Scot

Po_gg said:

Scot said:

Worst: Villas in AoC, doubt you still need to do them now but back at launch it was a grind.

Question was beginning experience   Agree though, villa grind was such a bore...

Best, as much as I love LotRO and the Shire, for me it was AoC's Tortage, hands down. Still used to roll a new character occasionally just to play it through.

The other, I'd split in two parts.

Worst due to the game: any random eastern MMORPG with dull writing, dumb mechanics, auto-pathing, etc., bonus (negative) points for browser-based.  To name one as the worst, let's say One Piece.

Worst due to the community: EVE.  (Kyleran, look away for a bit )

Of course it was more than 10 years ago (maybe 15?), so it ain't about its current status, but at that time it was toxic as hell... I started with friends, one was veteran, helping each other, etc.  - yet, after a couple months nobody stayed in the game besides that one long-time player, and everyone said the awful community as the reason of departure.

Game itself was fine, the learning curve really steep but it was part of the fun.

Too bad the players made it into a cesspool... I believe those were the times when EVE's bad rep was cemented for the later years.

Villa's in AoC were a blip in what was otherwise a great MMORPG, but that's what makes them really stand out, the rest of the game was really good. The community is always a big factor but since the launch of WHO (where the community was not bad just not good) I have made sure to insulate myself my being in a great guild. That way when I was in later MMO's the state of the community did not matter so much.

TwistedSister77

Scot said:

Best: The Shire in Lotro, roleplaying etc.

Worst: Villas in AoC, doubt you still need to do them now but back at launch it was a grind.

Villas access was about level 50... of 80.  Not intro.

Ps - I got 2 purples from villas = top gear for other games... pre-raiding.  AoC gear was a mess because of pre and post item 1.6 patch.  It introduced true gear stats (the original launch didn't have much item stats, per the Director... he didn't want gear to matter, but it did... gem stacking... which made 1 hit kills for tanks just charging players with 1 button from 10 yards away, or archers 1 combo kills from stealth... etc.  ).

It's completely different now.