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Yes, it is a "Which MMO" thread, but hear me out...
Hi there MMO players. I am looking for input to choose an MMO, but please hear me out it is a little more complex than it looks. Please don't go off into whats better or worst, since this is mostly about what fits us best. Read on...
I have 4 brothers. We would love to play together more often, but, as you can imagine, taste for game is diverse and thus creates a problem. They have tasked me find an MMO where we can play together often, and we can all learn together (hard for me to join Camelot now were two brothers have years of experience).
- Two brothers are heavy into Dark Ages of Camelot. One has 6 years into it, the other around 4.5. They are both also ex Diablo 2 players, and like some strategy like Age of Empires. They don't play first person shooters, it makes them dizzy.
- Bro#3 is stuck on Age of Empires 2. He hasn't really experienced MMOs. He did like to play Quake (but wasn't very good at it). He also has the least amount of time to get into the game, which brings up simplicity. I don't see him investing enough to be a L99 anything...
- Brother #4 plays anything. He is just glad to be able to play. Likes Quake 3 (another stuck in the past) and plays AoE2 with B#3.
And then there is me. I was also a Diablo2 addict. I got into Guild Wars, main attraction been the no monthly fee thing, and I also find the graphics just great. I am mostly (99%+) PvE player. I like Supreme Commander and other strategy as well. Have played through Dungeon Siege, tried some Titan Quest.
So what would you recommend? I really like the "no monthly fee", and do expect free moving camera angle. I don't know what the AoCamelot crowd is into (loot? PvP mostly?) but they seem very religious about it. One problem I see is that if it is simple enough for 2 of them, it won't be challenging enough for the others, so... humm....
If you just tell me "The Camelot guys might like XXXXX", i'll be glad to go research it.
Thanks.
Comments
WoW lol
I would recommend you buy them all guild wars and have them try it out, that is the best free MMO out there that they could get started on. It's simple to play.
Dungeon Runners is a good dungeon crawling game, very easy to get into, and it's only 6 dollars a month for the premium version. It is free also, you don't have to pay the fee for those of your brothers that don't want to pay.
Actually to be honest, any game by NCsoft is really good and simple to get into, you don't have the huge crowds like WoW with the leet speak and heavy raiding, and it's very simple to learn. Pick up and play kinda games like CoH should appeal to them, and grouping is very simple and easy.
I suppose LOTRO is a good on too, as far as basic MMO structure. I didn't like it personally but its very popular.
Phantasy Star Universe is also kinda fun, it's a different style of play. This is one you'd have to research to see if it's worth your time.
Good luck!
WoW or LOTRO would be an easy choice even Everquest 2 , while I have played all 3 me & my friends are all waiting for "The Chronicles of Spellborn"
you could allways try before you buy http://www.xtremetop100.com/in.php?site=1132207999
Well WoW fits a couple of your requirements, namely that it's very easy to get into, it's not something that any of you appear to have any experience with so you would all be learning together and you said several of you liked Diablo II and WoW has a lot of similarities with that game. The obvious downfall is that it's not free 2 play, but unless you are going to go Guild Wars, I can't recommend anything else that is free 2 play.
Thanks for the replys.
I also think that GW would be a good choice, but then they will think I am biased towards it, or that I have an "advantage". I don't feel it is that way as long as I use my experience to help them vs take advantage of them. I do have a lot of weapons, materials, and know many areas. And I never PvP, so that would be new to all of us.
I haven't considered WoW, but I am not sure why. I did like the old Warcraft games, but once they went 3D and later the MMO I fell away from them. Maybe it is worth a look.
One consideration I have is to get into a newer game (one growing or just getting started) vs an older game (by the time I learn enough DAOC, there might not be players anymore)...
and it is already hard to find players at some of the early parts of GW...
I was reading around and heard that you have to play DAOC past L30 or over (about) 60 days to get the real experience (vs the 14 day trial, hardly a long test). I know you can put a couple of weeks into GW and get a good sense of it. What about WoW? If I "try out" WoW, how long would you say is a good test?
Thanks for all the input, leads. Appreciated. I find it very hard we will find a game to please all 5, but if we can get 3 in with some visits from #4, that would be quite a step forward.
Try Asheron's Call 1
I'd say your best bet lies with WoW.
It's the most healthy MMO out right now, and it honestly has a lot of depth to it. The neat thing about World of Warcraft is that it can be time-consuming and deep or simple and easy all at once. The Camelot Brothers will like spending their time getting the best gear and probably take up tradeskills, while the other two might just be into the easy playing.
Be sure to join a PvP server. Although you're a PvE'r, your DAoC brothers will feed off the PvP and without it they'll get bored quickly. Heck, make it an RPPVP server. That way you touch all the bases at once.
Oh, and for a good test for WoW I'd say level 20 gives you the best sense of the game. But you can pretty much feel the flow of it before then; it just isn't as interesting until level 20.
If you already have 5, you got your team made. Population size is nothing to you, but chats and competition for pulls (kidding). In many games, 6 makes a full group, so you can pull in a random player to fill the final slot or just go hunt with 5. You 5 are brothers, close coordination can make up for the 6th slot. Trust me, a bad PUG is worst than 2-boxing.
WoW is an all rounded game, but some players feel turned off, b/c the game is infested with leet kids, you know the kind. Good thing is you do not need to group with them, bad thing is they make gaming experience sometimes unforgettable, in the wrong way. DAoC might actually work for you, since you have no issues with low population, and you are mainly into PVE. Levelling is very easy, and your inactive brother can easily pick up even with intermittent periods of inaction. City of Hero/Villain is another option, easy to level, PVE mostly and quite different from elves and dwarves. Sure LOTRo is nice, polished and easily beats WoW in terms of ease to play and lore. The trouble is, none of these games are free. LOTRo offers $10 a month monthly, and should be the cheapest, till the discount expires.
GW is by far the most polished free game, unfortunately the large number of expansions means it will cost a lot just to buy the boxes, and with the new boxes coming so regularly, it might actually cost more than a normal monthly over the long run. The otther F2P games will shade in comparison to this mega titles, and for you and your brothers, after tasting DAoC and GW, you might find these F2P titles lacking.
Since you are still hunting, why not download the free trials of each major title and have all your brothers go fool around for a bit. Its free and maybe you all can find a common game of interest by trial and error.
I'd say try the 14 day free trial of Wow. I am sick of it now, having played it for 3 years like it was crack (8 hrs a day every day), but to be honest it is a great game that would definately be a lot of fun to a new player.
My only criticism about wow is that it is mostly dungeon-based so you gotta run things a lot. And crafting is a bit of a turn off when you factor in cost vs. gear you make. Much better off running the right dungeon a few times.
Wow character classes do offer a great way for different style players to play together. You either have dmg dealers, healers or hybrids. As well, you get talent points after level 10 which let you customize your character even further, buffing certain spells or giving you additional abilities. I would recommend a class that suits your play style... if your a pure dmg dealer and never want to heal and will have someone else do it as you quest/raid, then go warlock (castor), rogue (melee). Hunter's also do a lot of damage via ranged, but are not as popular these days it seems. Druids are my favorite class, they are able to tank, melee dps, castor dps or heal based upon their customizable spec you apply. If you want to heal and buff the groups, go priest, shamans or palladins. Warriors are decent dps and the 'tanks' in the game (along with feral druids).
Hope this helps!
well for group play i recommend guild wars or guild wars factions.
I could recommend RF Online (rising force online) as it is a free game and it is a constant PvP with PvE, and its RvRvR. So you have a choice of three races and its easy to learn after a week of play as you find out how to upgrade gear/weapons and it does have a cash shop.