Looking for a little advice.

Krivicide

Hey folks,

You guys seem like a knowledgable and friendly bunch, so I was hoping you could help me out. 3 friends and I recently decided to try our hand at a new MMORPG. Two of us spent considerable time on Everquest, and decided that it was time for something different. We're looking for a game with involved combat, where we can all play unique roles and be somewhat self-supporting. If you've got any ideas, they'd be appreciated.

Thanks.

ianubisi

Anarchy Online has some pretty unique class differentiations, most of which can solo just fine but work very well together as a group.  The static content in AO is only so-so, but there's plenty for a team of players to do.

Clever_Glove

Doh!

Your broke the record, we went almost 30 posts without a "I don't like to read reviews, please tell me what to play post".

If you look back a few screens you'll see most posts on this than you'd want to image. Aside from that read the reviews on the main page.

-=-=-=-=-
"EQ was once a great game. I wont deny it, but so was Asteroids. And just like Pong, EQ is obsolete by newer game standards."

A: 93% E: 55% S:3% K: 50%

Games and players have a type. What type are you? click here

ianubisi

That's a fairly specific type of question, seems a fair one to ask.

Clever_Glove

Before posting anything like you should read over reviews of a game, visit the games homepage, read over the FAQ and look over game  message boards. (like this one) 

Just by reading the game FAQ's you should get a good feel for what your looking for. The reviews should help boil down 4 or 5 games that look interesting to 1 or 2.

Now you might consider posting specific questions you might about a game. For example, "I'm looking at playing DAoC, Do you think the X class is fun to play? If not what class do you suggest for a 1st time player."

or

"I like what Horizons says about player housing, but how useful is it really? Is it helpful to own a house, or is it just something to sink your game money into?"

Asking a few questions on elements that peaked your interest you should be able to get down to one game that will become a new addiction.

No matter what, you must do the research yourself. Who knows what you'll get from just asking random people what they like.

If you think this is to much work, witch is better? A few hours of footwork at the start, or 50 bucks and a month or two wasted?

-=-=-=-=-
"EQ was once a great game. I wont deny it, but so was Asteroids. And just like Pong, EQ is obsolete by newer game standards."

A: 93% E: 55% S:3% K: 50%

Games and players have a type. What type are you? click here

Krivicide

I realized when I posted I would get people telling me to read reviews... I really should have stated that I've been through quite a few reviews on most of the options out right now, I just hadn't seen anything that had addressed the specific things that were important to us in a game. (And hell, with the veritable sea of online RPG's that are popping up right and left, it's easy to get bogged down). I'm not really asking people, "What do you like?" I'm asking, which of my options involves innovative, involved combat where ability is important, not just how well geared your character is.

Thanks ianubisi, I'll look further into AO and see if it might be what we're looking for. Any further advice would be appreciated as well.

Stukov

Also an AO player here. You've got quite a few options when it comes to combat...can just use straight out guns, melee, nanos (magic more or less), pets, and so forth. If by involved you mean "have to actually do something while fighting" its a little so so. You can just leave it there to attack, but you'll miss out on special attacks and nanos and such. Hehe, don't really know what else to say about it...feel free to ask if interested.

And as for other games, I've played DAoC, SWG, etc, and I think they're decent when it comes to things like that. DAoC seems to have less variety in combat. SWG is mainly guns/melee, but has quite a bit of variety as well as pets.

Krivicide

By involved, I basically mean that the brain behind the character can make or break a situation, where combat is based on choices and you gotta rely on the proficiency of your group to survive. High-end EQ was close... it's too bad at that point there's no content left unless you wanna join a giant guild.

About AO... how much is available as far as content? How much is there to do, and how much can be accomplished by a small group? Looking on the boards here, there seem to be more positive comments about it than negative, and that's definitely more than can be said for most games. Anyways... your help is appreciated.

Stukov

Hmm, my reply doesn't seem to want to post...lets see if this works.

EDIT: Heres original post:

Well in combat you've gotta be able to think about what you do. I mean, attack one mob and you better watch out for adds and such (I've been killed many a time from not paying attention). Knowing when to use your special attacks and first aid kits can make a difference. But out of combat has even more decisions. First off, chances are you can fill up your NCU (amount of buffs you can have) pretty quick. Deciding which to use can be important. Weapon choice...tons of weapons. Each proffession has several weapons that people really like, but theres a lot more than that. Theres quite a few damage types. If you're fighting someone with a high Radiation AC (armor), a Radiation Damage weapon isn't the best choice...so you've got to consider that. But thats enough babbling about that stuff

Content wise, Rubi-Ka has numerous static quests. And if you don't feel like doing quests, theres always static or dynamic spawns to go hunting at. Still don't like that? Go on missions. The mission system offers a decent variety, though it can be a little repetitive (Enter house at blah blah, kill Blah.) The layout of the missions has some variety, same with the mobs inside, but it is the same thing more or less.

Shadowlands is much more focused on quests (As such, it has no missions.) Currently, some of them are a bit bugged...but they're being fixed slowly with each patch.

And as for small groups, they can do just as much more or less as big groups or soloers (just something more to their level.) With missions, you can choose the difficulty and such, so thats not a problem.

Only warning with AO would be a learning curve. Sure quite a few plays have been driven off by it. You basically start out, choose a side, and get thrown into a n00b area. Theres no real in-game tutorial and such, so it can be a bit hard.

Krivicide

Well, I'm currently downloading the AO trial (the very fact that is even HAS a downloadable trial is awesome it itself), so we'll see how that goes. Really, though, the only complaints I've seen about Anarchy fall into one of two categories:

a) "The graphics suck!" This seems to be a matter of taste really, and graphics have never really been a big concern of mine in the first place.

b) "It was so complicated that I just gave up." A steep learning curve almost seems like a positive thing to me. Also, if the content is worthwhile, it seems like it'd be worth learning.

Anyway, as soon as the trial downloads, I'll give it a go and see what I think. Thanks a lot guys, you've been very helpful.

Stukov

Good to hear. And its graphics are fine, if your system can handle the higher settings :P

And yea, the downloadable-ness is great. Wish every MMORPG did that...not just a trial, but allowing you to buy the key online as well.

ianubisi

I don't understand people complaining about the graphics in that game.  FunCom made a beautiful game.  Some of the vistas in Rubi-Ka (especially the Shadowlands) are spectacular.  Just remember:  Omni-Tek and Clan have >VERY< different looks to them. 

As for the complexity, this is true.  To play the game at optimal ability, you really need to understand how Implants, Buffs, and Quality Levels work.  I recommend these sites for maximum help:

http://http://aovault.ign.com/

http://www.anarchyarcanum.com/