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One MMORPG To Rule Them All?
Draiken
Member Posts: 23
I've been avidly studying this site for the past few weeks trying to find a game worth playing. I'm somewhat of an MMO enthusiast and have played several of the most popular games, including:
Star Wars Galaxies, The Matrix Online, The Sims Online, Lineage II, Shadowbane, EVE Online, City of Heroes/Villains, Final Fantasy XI, Guild Wars, Planetside, Second Life, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft, Neocron, Jumpgate, D&D Online, and some betas as well (Lord of the Rings Online, etc).
But I have to say, reading the forums on this site doesn't do any of these games justice. Instead, the curiousity of new and old players is plagued by forum trolls and video game pessimists. What people fail to realize is that everybody has a different favorite game and that it isn't worth shooting down other games to prove your point. If you are a WoW fan, then be a WoW fan. Don't camp other forums just to bash the game for what it is. In all honesty, every game has its die-hard fans. So try and be respectful and shower some praise on your own games rather than trying to turn others away from their interests.
I've sampled an entourage of MMO's over the past few years, some good and others not. What I learned most from the experience is that video games take time to mature. Despite what you might think, MMO developers release a game with their best intentions. They craft the game according to what they think the audience will enjoy and put it up for beta. This is where the first reviews come from. Beta testers provide feedback on the forums and emails and if deemed necessary, the developers consider making changes. After the game is released, the changes and add-ons continue month by month to fine tune the game to perfection.
Remarkably, many MMO's fail when it comes to maturing a game, and this isn't because they aren't listening to their customers, it is because it is impossible to please everybody. For every one player that loves a new skill revamp you will have ten complaining about unbalanced classes. That is just the way MMORPG's work. The people who troll these forums are part of that overwhelming percent of players who are never happy with the games they play and always ask for more. They bash the developers for "ruining" games or not delivering what they promised and haunt every forum they come across in an attempt to intercept potential subscribers.
After all, they do know everything about the game don't they?
But the real point of this thread isn't to bash the supposed know-it-alls of the gaming industry, its to ask for some serious opinions on some various games. I've been reading reviews, re-reviews, forums on both this site and the game's own legit forum boards to try and get a true evaluation of playability. What I've compiled are some concerns and questions about each of these games. Rather than post these in the specific boards for each game I thought I'd put it over here. Whether you've played the game since launch, from beta, or even a simple trial, I want to hear what you think.
~*~
I bought this game back near when it launched and was a bit overwhelmed. I knew nothing of the storyline or world, and it seemed to resemble nothing from the original games. The environment was massive, which I enjoyed, but I had a very hard time getting into the game. Now that I look back on it, I never really gave the game a chance and am looking to re-subscribe come January. Reviews that I've read say that the game is very group oriented, especially after level 10 or so. Others have stated that botting has become a current problem and ruined some end game content for players. My questions are as follows:
- Is botting a common problem at all?
- How is the game's community? Is there roleplaying? Events?
- How do you like the job and support job system?
I actually played this game for awhile. I'm a huge Matrix fan and love the game not for its content or playability, but for its community. Roleplaying seems to be a big part of the game, and that has always appealed to me. The Live Events team is outstanding, and although I've heard rumors that they cut down on their active participation in-game, its still a great feature. The game itself isn't one that you can spend all day playing, and I think that if I do decide to pick FFXI as my primary MMO that the Matrix Online would be a great support game that I could spend a few hours playing when I get the chance. For those of you still subscribed to the game, I have a few questions.
- How have the recent patchs affected the game both positively and negatively?
- Is there anything specific that the players are looking forward to in the upcoming months?
- What is your favorite thing about the game as it stands today?
This is another game I sampled back at its release. The one thing that drove me away was the griefers. I can't even recall how many times I was PK'd as a low level character. I was on the outskirts of the starting city killing some creatures when I was sniped by some max level archer... one hit kill. I had no idea that the game had open pvp like that, and so I made not of that and kept playing, making sure to stay away from that area. But the guy just followed me around and kept killing me as if he had nothing else to do. I looked at this as some foreshadowing for how the game would be in the future and figured I'd bow out early, but looking at the screenshots and reviews of the game now have rekindled my interests.
- Reviews claim that the game is very grind oriented. Does it work, or is it painfully tedious?
- Is the game group oriented at all?
- What is your favorite feature in the game?
- Are castle raids worth it, or overrated?
- Is the skill system developed?
- How diverse is the equipment?
~*~
That just about somes it up. I was just curious as to what other gamers thought of each of these games. I could probably guess the negative things that people would say about them, but that isn't necessarily what I'm looking for. I want some real reviews from people who have spent time playing these games, not corporates who are trying to sell it or flamers who are trying to belittle it. Thanks in advance to everyone who contributes.
- Draiken -
Comments
>__<
but somehow you've got a point there.. hehehe..
(why did i read all of it..)
H.&D.
You could not have chosen 3 worse MMORPG's in that list mate..
Lets start at the top shall we?
Final Fantasy 11...WoW what a shitfest, exscuse the language. It was totally slow gameplay, fighting system was hyped so much because the freedom of movement but it sucks really badly...Doesn't even feel like a modern MMORPG, feels like a game from Dreamcast. Follows no real story line, no Roleplaying, lots of botting and an aweful community. I love Final Fantasy games but this totally ruined the one shot at an online version.
Matrix Online
Played the beta, thought it was good. Got the game played for 2 or 3 weeks. Really isn't as good as expected. Quests are aweful and have no depth. The storyline sucks majorly. Community is once again unwilling to help or group. Crafting system sucks, skill system sucks.
One good thing about it is, climing to the top of buildings and doing backflips off them. Did that for 10 minutes before I deleted the game and cancled my subscription.
Lineage II
Oh dear.... If I don't say this about this game then many others will. They ruined it after the 2nd to last past thats out. Totally boring, PvP system is the only good thing in it. Leveling system is ok but it's hard to level when you get like the max leveled players killing you for fun when you just start. Total grind fest as if I am not mistaken created by Korean gaming company? It is seriously the biggest grind fest I have ever played. It's terrible.
If I had to choose out of these 3 or smashing all games I could every play and I own. I would smash them all. If I had a gun to my head I would chose Lineage II for the PvP system and thats it.
Hope this helped.
wonder why you choose these 3 games but from 3 games i think L2 is best FFXI is terrible game matrix to simple.
And offcorse your carebear so dont play open pvp games ganking is part of these games so dont whine or cry about it like a little kid:P
Hope to build full AMD system RYZEN/VEGA/AM4!!!
MB:Asus V De Luxe z77
CPU:Intell Icore7 3770k
GPU: AMD Fury X(waiting for BIG VEGA 10 or 11 HBM2?(bit unclear now))
MEMORY:Corsair PLAT.DDR3 1866MHZ 16GB
PSU:Corsair AX1200i
OS:Windows 10 64bit
Final Fantasy XI: Make no mistake. This game IS Everquest. It is very heavily based on the Everquest idea. It is, Imo, improved on many points over Everquest, but at it core, its an Everquest clone. If you enjoyed Everquest, chances are big you will enjoy this game as well.
You won't really get anywhere without a group in this game. This also has a downpoint, unless you have a set big linkshell with enough members around your level, finding a group can be a pain and can be quite a chore, especialy because there isn't a lot to do without a group.
The community is actually excellent in the game, and don't be surprised if you get offered help when you start out. It happened to me everytime I created a new character. The only real problem is that your also stuck with japanese players on the server, and none of them speak english. There isn't a lot of room for roleplaying.
Final Fantasy XI is an excellent game if you enjoy grouping. It his, however, a very time consuming game. Its not a game you can just jump into. The grind is quite tough. The final Fantasy feel is there, but its more based on Final Fantasy 1 - 6 then 7 - 12
The Matrix Online: Pretty decent game, not a lot to say about this game, played it for a few weeks. Very repetive, combat is pretty intresting, quite a lot of room for roleplaying..thats really all there is to this game.
Lineage 2: Imo, an excellent game and by far the best out of the 3 you listed. Yes, the game is very grind based, but not any more then Final Fantasy XI. The game is pretty much open to solo players and group players alike. You can solo if you want, but at higher levels, its better to just join a group. You will also have more fun that way, and your more safe. Because make no mistake, Lineage 2 is a pvp game.
My favorite feature is by far the clan politics that are avaible in the game. There are daily fights between clans & alliances who are at war at each other. Clans can take over castle's and contrll the taxes in that area.
Castle raids are defenitly worth it. Nothing beats a castle raids with hundreds of players at the same time
Skills and equipment..Not really a good thing. You just learn all the skills for the class you have, which aren't really a lot of them. Equipment..well, there isn't a lot of equipment customization.
<
Many thanks to those of you have offered some feedback. Just as I figured, I got alot of the same information I've gathered from my own experiences and several sites. Some confirmation was all I needed. Sometimes you wonder whether your impressions of a game are accurate or if you just had a personal bad experience.
I should've stated in the beginning that I did not choose these three games because I think they are the best in any way. Our current gaming community is plagued by an evergrowing ensemble of weak games. I could go into this in more depth but it would only remind me how angry I am at the video game industries. Like I said in my first post, I've played alot of the major MMO's on the market. One of the big exceptions would be the Everquest series, but I'd probably end up opening up a Dark and Light account before I succumbed to that. The real reason I'm looking into these three is because I never really gave them a chance, and I've been hearing lots of positive reviews on them lately. I've played the Matrix Online and understand the type of game it is now. PvP seems to lack a bit, and the grind to level 50 is full of repetitive missions, many of which you end up doing alone. I was a part of the Winter Brood clan when I played, and they helped make the game a great experience. They're very roleplay oriented and helped me get used to the game which is why I wouldn't mind returning to it as a support game. Final Fantasy XI and Lineage II were my main two picks because they are both hailed as difficult games. From what I've heard, they both require a great commitment of time and ultimately encourage teamwork to achieve much of the end game content. Few other games offer that kind of gameplay whether you're able to solo everything or just aren't able to find teammates.
I'm not completely unaware of how these games operate, especially The Matrix Online. I played the game alot last year and was just wondering if any new developments have come along since the site's boards are kind've vague. I was mainly curious as to what FFXI and L2's subscibers thought of the different aspects of both games.
Now let me pitch some new ones to you:
#4 - City of Heroes / City of Villains - #4
Saw this game being played in a store and fell in love with the graphics. Some of the end game areas look really cool, and the effects go a long way as well. What I experienced while playing the game was a bit different, however. First off, there are no items. This makes complete sense seeing as how this game revolves around heroes, but it is a big change from your standard MMO's. The second thing I noticed was the lack in diversity amongst skills, missions, and mobs. Missions in particular were painfully repetitive and non-eventful. I understand that later content gets a bit more interesting, but the path there is as epic as a broken toothpick. However, the game does boast a great community and very fun gameplay. You can't beat playing a hero in a game.
#5 - Ultima Online - #5
One of the oldest games in MMO history. I bought the samurai expansion and installed it but found the game hard to get into. I'm sure some of the old school gamers have some valid opinions on the game, so toss out anything you've heard about it if you could. I am very curious to see how the game's players like it.
#6 - ??? - #6
Lastly, if you could recommend one game, which would it be? Try and keep it geared towards games that are already released. Back up your suggestion with reasons rather than the usual: "This game is super l33t and pwns all other games!" statement.
Oh, and forest-nl, I'm not a carebear and I didn't whine. Never been called a carebear actually. But your maturity and impressive use of punctuation hints that you might be a huge Carebears fan, so I'll except the title graciously.
It's better be hated for who you are, than loved for who you aren't.
