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MMO experience poll (for wow players, not haters)
Swiftblade13
Member Posts: 638
Many MMORPG members would have us believe that WoW players are all 12 year olds who have never touched an MMO before... I for one am a long time MMO veteran and I'm wondering how many others are too.
Vote!
Grymm
MMO addict in recovery!
EQ,SWG preCU,L2,EQ2,GW,CoH/CoV,V:SOH,
Aion,AoC,TR,WAR,EVE,BP,RIFT,WoW and others... no more!
Comments
SWG and Guild Wars were the only two MMOs I played seriously before I played WoW.
Tried: LotR, CoH, AoC, WAR, Jumpgate Classic
Played: SWG, Guild Wars, WoW
Playing: Eve Online, Counter-strike
Loved: Star Wars Galaxies
Waiting for: Earthrise, Guild Wars 2, anything sandbox.
I played EQ, Lineage 2, EQ2 and Lotro before starting with WoW. Have also played AOC, WAR, Vanguard EvE and COH. WoW is to me the most fun game overall of the above.
I played Everquest and Ultima Online before playing WoW for the first time.
Since then, I've played EQ2, CoH/CoV, Guild Wars, and Auto Assault, along with several free trials and short periods in F2P MMOs.
But most of the players I talk to in-game claim WoW as their first MMO. This being a site for players who like the MMO genre as a whole, rather than just one particular game, I think you'll find a rather biased sample on MMORPG.com.
I'd always wanted to play UO ever since it came out. It just sounded like the most amazing game ever. I didn't have an internet connection at the time though, and wouldn't have been able to afford the subscription anyway.
Once I started working and could afford a subscription, I started looking at MMORPGs generally. UO had been overtaken by the new kids on the block at that time (SWG, EQ1, DAoC, WoW) and I couldn't make my mind up which one to play. I read an article on WoW that peaked my interest, and that's what swung it. I've never looked back since. Things might've been a lot different had I chosen one of the other games.
Interestingly enough, I see noone has mentioned MUDs, MUSHs, MOOs, et al. I also haven't seen anyone mention Meridian59. (At least if I recall its name correctly, I never played it personally.)
As to how many MMOs I have played? No clue really. I'm sure I've forgotten some over the last 18 years.
Started in 1990 on a DiakuMUD, from there the next 'long lasting' MMO was Asheron's Call...list goes on from there.
As to 'hating' WoW, I don't personally HATE WoW, I just don't enjoy the direction they've taken the MMO. In short, my reallife friends and I have been avid RPG PnP players for going on three decades. WoW has seemingly taken the direction of it's not new adventures, it uses the same dungeons and creatures upgraded in difficulty and level. (See the concept of Heroic Dungeons.) I could go on about WoW, but I know that is the point of this vote/thread.
In short though, I'd personally welcome the return of MMORPG as opposed to the common MMOs these days. I loved Asheron's Call and will tip my hat to Turbine for their aggressive content schedule. In the three years I played, they added new content every month. They added new adventures and new world events. They even added new puzzles to solve inside dungeons and instances. I don't know if they still adhere to that doctrine but if they do, it would explain why the MMORPG was still running a few months ago.
I was pretty much hardcore EQ for several years (5 or so I think), then EQ2 for around a year, then I moved onto WoW.
Been playing WoW on and off ever since.
That's not to say I haven't played other MMORPGs during that time, I had a several month stint in EVE, and probably a dozen other games for shorter periods of times, most of them crap - excluding Planetside but that's kind of dead now. WoW is, for me, still the king atm and has been since 2005 and probably for years to come.
People who say WoW is just for kids know it isn't true, they're just saying that to try and downplay the game for their own embittered reasons. I've personally met a greater proportion mature people in WoW than I did in my entire pre-WoW MMORPG experiences.
In fact manyt of the criticisms levelled at WoW on this site are without any basis in reality, that's not to say there aren't problems (repetition, grinding, other problems inherent with MMOS), but the stuff people say is mostly stuff just to insult the game - ESPECIALLY that WoW players have never played another MMORPG and don't know better.
Look at the poll, the results speak for themselves. God, I remember the huge mass-exodus of top EQ1 guilds (FoH, Triton, etc) and those were the HARDCORE guilds, to a more casual game. LOTS of players in WoW came from older games - my entire guild included. Of course not EVERYONE left their games for WoW, and of course it introduced millions to the genre - but those millions are not DUMB people or kids by default - that's ridiculous, which is why dealing with absolutes such as 'WoW players don't know any better' is ignorant and false.
Still waiting for your Holy Grail MMORPG? Interesting...
I've played the following MMO's in this order I believe. I have also tried at least the demo of a few others, but for less than a day so I don't really count those.
Earth & Beyond
EvE Online
Dark Age of Camelot
Anarchy Online
City of Heroes
World of Warcraft
Lord of the Rings Online
Auto Assault
Tabula Rasa
Guild Wars
Warhammer Online
Yes, Earth and Beyond was my first MMO and yes it still holds a special place in my heart, mainly because it's the only Sci-Fi MMO that I've ever enjoyed. I could never get into EvE because of the whole skill system based on time thing, It's just not for me and the fact that ships fly "realistically" rather than something like out of Star Wars. Yes, I know that's how it really works and yes I still want it to work like Star Wars...it's just more fun that way. I played Auto Assault thinking it would be something like my beloved Earth and Beyond only with cars, man was I wrong about that. Tabula Rasa had some promise, but it needed something....SPACESHIPS!!! How can you have a good Sci-Fi without spaces ships I ask you? Put in a little ship to ship action with multiple planets to move between and you have a hit on your hands in my opinion. I'm still hoping that Blizzard is gonna attempt a Sci-Fi with their next MMO, I think they know how to do a good Sci-Fi.
I will try and list the games I have played (with played time):
Ultima Online - (2-3 months)
Asheron's Call 1 - (4 years)
Everquest 1 - (1 month)
Anarchy Online - (1 month)
Dark Age of Camelot - (4-5 years)
Asheron's Call 2 - (Beta Tested and less then 1 month)
Shadowbane - (less then 1 month)
Lineage 1 - (Less then 1 month)
Lineage 2 - (4-6 months)
Hostile Space - (3-4 months)
World of Warcraft - (on and off for 4 years)
Planetside - (less then a month)
City of Heroes - (2-3 months)
City of Villians - (1 month)
D&D online - (1-2 months)
Final Fantasy XI - (10 minutes)
Archlord - (a couple of days)
Age of Conan - (2 months)
EVE Online - (5 to 10 minutes)
Guild Wars - (2-3 months)
Hellgate: London - (1-2 months)
Lord of the Rings Online - (1-2 years Maybe longer I started as an Alpha Tester)
Pirates of the Burning Sea - (Beta Tester)
Puzzle Pirates - (2 days)
Toontown Online - (few days)
RF Online - (2 weeks)
AutoAssault - (Beta Tester)
Tabula Rasa - (Beta Tester)
Ragnarok Online - (1-2 days)
The Saga of Ryzom - (1 day)
Star Wars Galaxies - (2 weeks)
Everquest 2 - (2-4 months)
Second Life - (5-15 minutes)
Vanguard: SOH - (2 months)
Warhammer Online - (2 months)
2Moons - (less then 1 month)
9Dragons - (2 months)
Dungeon Runners - (1 month)
Pirates of hte Carribean - (Beta Tester)
Sword of the New World - (1 week)
Mythos - (Beta)
I know I am missing some but that gives a pretty good idea of what I have and haven't played. Of these games I played pretty much every single one when they launched (or in beta) except for Lineage 1 and Everquest 1 (I always loved Asheron's Call 1 way more then EQ1).
If I was going to give my top 5 games currently on the Market I would say:
1. Lord of the Rings Online
2. Asheron's Call 1
3. Dark Age of Camelot
4. World of Warcraft
5. Everquest 2
Honorable mention to Lineage 2, Age of Conan, and Warhammer Online. All games that I would of stuck with longer if it wasn't for a few things.
The three games I placed above World of Warcraft have never come close to it on Subscriptions, but I personally think overall they were better games.
They might not of been as polished as WoW but they were more unique and had more positives in my mind. Part of WoW appeal in my mind is they do a lot of stuff well, but they aren't exceptional in any area.
That seems to be the same feeling I get from other players as well. WoW has a lot less faults but isn't the best in any particular are.
For example:
Raiding. WoW is very good at raiding but the word I hear (No personal experience) is that WoW's raids pale in comparison to EQ1 raids. The difficulty is lower and the "Epic feeling is as well". I have also heard that FFXI is better for "High End" raids.
PVP. There seems to be a feeling that DAoC's RVR was superior to WoW's pvp and that Guild Wars is superior to WoW's arena play. Also AC1's Darktide server and UO was superior in the "Hardcore" PVP community.
Crafting. I have heard that SWG, EQ2, Vanguard, and numerous other games have better crafting. (I am not a big crafter so I am basing this on what I have heard of other game's crafting and the fact that prior to WoTLK I had a Max Jewelcrafter, Miner, Blacksmith, Leatherworker, Engineer, Herbalist, Enchanter, and Cook)
Storyline/lore. This one is a no brainer in my mind. LOTRO has the best Storyline, lore, and story driven questing of any MMO.
Loot. Honestly I don't know of a single game that does static LOOT better then WoW. Blizzard has years of practice with Diablo how Loot really engages players and keeps them wanting more. Personally I think Asheron's Call 1's RoG (random Object Generator) loot that had a chance to drop from any monster was superior but I am probably in the minority on this one.
World Exploration. Wow's scenary is very pretty but the world is almost a "World on Rails". It isn't as confined as Guild Wars or Age of Conan. But there isn't the world exploration of games like Asheron's Call 1, Vanguard SOH, and many others.
I am sure I could go through more points but I think people can probably see the point I am making. World of Warcraft is not the Single Best game in pretty much most of the different areas of a MMO but they are always right near the top which overall puts them over. Sure they might not be the Best at every aspect but hey top 5 in every aspect makes you the best overall.
I think that their lack of weaknesses combined with such aggressive advertising and built in fanbase (from Battle.net) is what has lead to WoW being the industry leader.
Currently playing:
LOTRO & WoW (not much WoW though because Mines of Moria rocks!!!!)
Looking Foward too:
Bioware games (Dragon Age & Star Wars The Old Republic)
Well Cabe.
It is obvious you didn't play WotLK.
I've never seen anything like it, Believe me. The world lore is incredible in the new expansion.
Grizzly Hills is like a western movie. Everything came together in this expansion. MMORPG's are not based on novels, they are based on active playing video games and Bliizard made a record breathtaking world design.
Fanboy? I've seen returning players in RL and everyone agreed WotLK was awesome as a design and development.
Just look at the reviews on the web. Eurogamer.net : read it and know what you miss.
Are you wanting to know in what order WoW is in our playing lives? Or what order from when we first started playing MMO's?
And not all WoW players are 12 years old. Only the ones who play alliance.
OMG, thank you for perpetuating the stereotype with your thread title.
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
I've also heard people say that they didn't like WotLK as much as they thought they would. Since I don't currently play WoW I can't comment on it personally, but I'm just saying there's always people on both sides of things.
As an alliance player, I've got to say that just because we go out of our way to murder the BloodElf faction, we are not in fact 12. We just hate blood elves. If you rolled a Tauren or Troll (I hear those races are still available, though I've seen little evidence) you'd see that we do not, in fact, actually go out of our way to grief you and might actually help you out.
It's only blood elves where we do things like drag 6 mobs into their AOE and other grief-y actions. And lets face it, they all deserve it.
In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own.
-Thomas Jefferson
You mean amazing lore like Alliance Death Knights?
Yeah that is quite amazing.
Currently playing:
LOTRO & WoW (not much WoW though because Mines of Moria rocks!!!!)
Looking Foward too:
Bioware games (Dragon Age & Star Wars The Old Republic)
EQ, DAoC, AC, AC2, EQ2, then WOW.