Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Any good MMORPG which does not require huge time input ?
johnsl
Member Posts: 3
Hi,
I suspect that this question is similar to many I read in this forum, but I couldn't find a specific answer or recommendation.
I am looking for an MMORPG which is rewarding for a player who only wants to spend an hour or two per week.
I don't really have a lot of time to play - and I can relate to the folks complaining about the levelling grind - but I'm looking for something more specific; a way to play for a couple of hours without feeling that I am being completely left out because I can't stay longer each time, and without having to do exactly the same thing each time for several sessions (which in may case would be weeks) - I have played EQ, AC2, Project Entropia and a couple of Free Trials - but I there doesn't seem to be any way to play them for a limited period without repeatedley loosing contact with the people I meet because they have gone so much farther that I can no longer usefully play alongside them.
Just to add a bit of controversy to the discussion; for the past couple of years it has occurred to me that the time in my life when I really want to spend time immersed for many hours in an MMORPG will be when I am too old to do anything in real life. If I have to spend hours running across the plains of Norrath let it be when my legs are so weak that the best I can do in real life is walk across the room. If I have to spend weeks planning to wield a monstrous weapon against an awesome Lord of the Dark let it be when I can hardly raise my hand to swat the fly sucking on the drool running down my chin.
In the meantime I have a life to live and children to feed, but once or twice a week I'd like to spend an hour or two in a virtual environment, if for nothing else than to preparte for my dotage.
Any recomendations on the first point or comments on the second ?
J.
Comments
I'd recommend another genre, RPG. There you can progress through the games at your own pace.
But if you really want to play an MMORPG, you've got to find something without forced PvP, since you wont be hanging with even the average casual player.
SWG (Star Wars Galaxies) comes to mind. There are LOTS of bad things I can say about it, but if you only plan on playing 2 hours a week, you might really enjoy this game. Really, the things wrong with it are livable if you're not dealing with them all the time. SWG wore on me more than anything, and I figure if I was playing 2 hours a week, I'd probably still be playing it.
There's CoH (City of Heroes), as well. There is no pvp here, and the sidekick/mentor system will enable you to play with high lvl gamers even if you're just a noober. Strictly because of that, I think a 2 hour a week-er would be best suited to CoH.
Now, I haven't played all the MMORPGS out there, so in no way am I saying that these are your only two choices.
These happen to be the only two games I've actually played that someone could not only surive, but ENJOY themselves without having to invest all that time.
Good luck, and happy game hunting!
If you find something you like, let us know!
I really hope that *insert game name here* will be the first game to ever live up to all of its pre-release promises, maintain a manageable hype level and have a clean release. Just don't expect me to hold my breath.
There really aren't that many Big Name MMORPG's that can suit the player who play's an hour or two a week, your best bet is text MMORPG's, as those really don't suck up a lot of time.
New PR rep for the North American Version of RYL
www.planetwidegames.com
No.
"I can tell you with no ego, this is my finest sword. If, on your journey, you should encounter God. . .
. . . God will be cut."
- Quentin Tarantino, Kill Bill
EQII
Requiiem, Templar
Neriak
Yeah i think CoH will be good for people with limited time, the character creation screen will take your first 2 hours tho
its wonderful.
Also SWG is pretty good if you forgive the bugs and problems everyone complains about. And although the levelling is pretty quick with only 2 hours a week you wont notice that particular problem.
Muahahahahahahaha
2 stars sucks
i want my 5 stars back!
MUAHAHAHAHAHA
One or two hours per week is not enough time to spend on an MMORPG... You would be much better off playing a single player game that is played online multi-player.
In an MMORPG, it is not enough time to meet poeple, and group, make friends, join a guild, etc... If that time is once a week for two hours straight, you might get a little leveling playing in, but you would never be able to play with the same people each time you log in. You would spend 30 to 45 minutes finding people to group with, then only have an hour or so of time to spend hunting.
If you spend 30 minutes online 4 or 5 times a week, then you do not have enough time to get anything accomplished. In EQ you could log in, do some shopping, memorize your spells, and travel to the dungeon you wanted to explore and have used up your 30 minutes.
As I read this post, I immediately thought exactly what someone else already said - heh.
~FG };^>
Thanks,
I will look at CoH - I had been intending to get SWG whet it cam eout, but by the time it arrived here (Ireland) the reviews had put me off - though ther eis supposed to be a space expansion coming which may tempt me to look again having read the comments above.
I just don't get any satisfaction from single player games - it seem to amount to eithr being fast enough to kill the next mob (which I'm usually not in these) or knowing the sequence of events from a cheat sheet to get through it, or both.
I know mmorpgs sometimes have these features, but reflexes tend not to have to be quite so fast (mine aren't) and the better ones don't have cheat sheets as much as a body of information to get the most out of it.
The intermediate solution of the small scale online environments - multiple personal servers with up to 32 or 64 players don't inspire me much because they tend to be very reaction based as well, and the other players feel more like good (or sometimes very bad!) AI than real people.
Anyway thanks for the help.
Interesting that nobody commented on the MMORPG for the over 80's - It just seems to me that once computer literate people and the the generations fed on the Sci Fi and Fantasy upsurge since the 1950s/60s get into their decrepitude that an online virtual environment to imerse themselves in would be ideal.
I certainly hope I'll be there instead of stuck in front of a television with some brute of an orderly refusing to chenge the channel in a drab room full of other 80 year olds with bags and tubes hanging out of unmentionable places in the slow but inevitable queue to die.
J.
I would say World of Warcraft, but it's far from being released. I say World of Warcraft becuase of the "Rest" that allows players to play about 6-8 hours before your character is exhuasted and doesn't gain much exp + bonus'. This will eliminate power lvling [sharing accounts with others to lvl up]. It will also allow players that don't play alot to have a more even playing field with other players. Since they are testing this function it may not make it in the game so keep that in mind.
________
WoW / iRo
Blink182, Greenday, MxPx, Yellowcard, Bad Religion, Transplants, Rancid, NFG, Shyne Factory, Moone, Anti-Flag, Sabline, T.O.T.S, Brand New, Not by Choice, Finch, Sum41, The Distillers
____________________________________________________________________
I agree with the Eve comment. I dont have the time (between work and grad school) to play all the time, but in eve over the last two weeks (14 day trial). I have done some misssions, mined some stuff, travel a lot, and purchased a good mining frigate and a decent frigate more aligned with combat. Its been fun and I havent played more than 2 hours at a time, and I have not joined a corporation (guild) for any help. I will probably join a corp in the future.
BTW, The skill system is great. Sometimes I quickly log in and select the next skill so its trained while I am at work or whaterever. So glad unlike other MMORPG's I dont have to run around and kill stuff over and over and over to gain levels. That is one of the biggest things for me. Also, I like PvP so once I build up my char a bit I will check that out as well.
Your best bet is to wait for Guild Wars to come out. I am what is considered a 'casual' player'. As a casual player I get to spend maybe 5 hours a week on the computer if I'm lucky. I have recently come to the realization that the majority of MMORPGs are total RIP OFFS for the casual player. This is because most game companies can't ascend past the time-spent/level based system. The pricing for these games are also screwed up which is why I refuse to pay for any more MMORPGs.
Example: If a game costs $12.99 a month to play it and I play it for 20 hours during the course of the month I have really played $0.65 per hour to play the game. In the mean time hard core gamer Joe Shmoe gets on and plays the game for 150 hours the same month. Joe Shmoe pays $0.09 per hour to play the game. What is wrong with this picture? The hard core gamer is using way more system resources during the course of the month and because the game may be level based, he/she is getting more level and better gear so that I can't even think of competing against them.
So there is no point in even bothering with pay to play MMORPGs because they are designed to royally rip you off. That is why I am hoping the Guild Wars turns out to be all that it is said to be. It's free and more strategy based then level based.
Actually, even if it turns out that Guild Wars is level based. As long as it remains free-to-play than it is #1 in my book.
If you're going to consider your advancement in comparison with others as a measure of your success in your goal then you will be extremely hard pressed to find a MMOG that suits your requirements. I think you have painted yourself into a corner on this need.
If your heart isn't completely set on an MMORPG, a first person multiplayer shooter may be a better way to go. Such as counterstrike,soldier of fortune, america's army (currently able to download full multiplayer version from many sources)
This way you can get your interaction with others but don't have to worry about the guy/gal you were bonding with last week while you were lvling together is 20+ lvls higher because they're a hardcore player........
All of the above recommendations are very accurate. However, the problem with SWG is that with your limited time you would be forced to spend most of your time online maintaining harvesters or paying maintenance on your house (unless you went straight fighter).
So far, I think your best bet would be to play CoH.
EDIT: I just thought of something else. If you are into fps, you can also try Planetside. With Planetside, you can log on and within minutes be with a group attacking a base for an hour and then log off. You would definitely get plenty of bang for your buck.