Guild Wars is a fun game and I played it for about a year., however, it is an exception and it is totally free to play. Maybe because it was made by an US based game company and knew the game market they were aiming for - NA. NCSoft was just the publisher. Most Asian made F2P games have item malls and the best gear comes from the malls. Guild Wars isn't like that.
Indeed, Guild Wars is very reasonable. I haven't played it for a year or so, but I still have it on my PC. I'll go back to it one of these days, for a change.
The one F2P game I found, and this after trying over a dozen, was Runes of Magic. It actually has begun to grow on me. All the others I tried were very sub par IMHO.
edit* as another above me said, Guild Wars is another exception. I just usually don't lump it in as a F2P as you do have to buy the game itself.
The only way to enjoy an Asian grinder, and the only reason to play one, is if you just get a kick out of combat and the game world on a basic level. A decent F2P like Neo Steam isn't really any more shallow or silly than older games we consider classics. Do Rolling Thunder, Castlevania IV, or Shadow of the Ninja really have much more to offer? Not really, but we enjoyed it for what it was. Now we expect more, especially from games in a genre known in the West for depth and variety. I love RF Online and Rohan: Blood Feud because they're pretty & charming and the weapons flash around nice and make satisfying sounds. I don't play them to get treasure, build a character, crunch stats, or heaven forbid interact meaningfully with other players. I play them because sometimes just fighting monsters and robots for the hell of it is plenty for me. Don't expect an F2P to substitute for a WoW or an EQ, but maybe also don't write them off as the fun diversions they can be if you're lucky enough to find one that isn't genuinely terrible. With that in mind Mabinogi, Zu, and Cronous are also pretty good. I hasten to add that Atlantica is NOT.
LOL, you are totally right about the combat of game can be so good that it keeps you playing. I think thats one of the main reasons that Lineage 2 has kept me playing for so long. I was playing the Aion Beta over the weekend and my legion leader asked me what I was doing through chat. I told him that I was just outside killing stuff. My clannies thought that something was wrong with me because I was not out questing. I told them that I am a person that enjoys combat over questing so when ever I get tired of questing I just go out and explore and kill stuff. If a game does not offer this type of gameplay where I can quest or just kill stuff and still get good xp then I will not play it.
I play Guild wars, F2P, no shop. Atlantica Online, limited shop. Street Gears, only clothes and a santa outfit, Dragonica, no shop yet afaik..I can name 10 games like this which do not go beyond cosmetics. ...
Some minor nits.
I'm not sure it's fair to put GW together with the F2P games. You buy the GW games and explansions. It is true it is free to play and has no monthly sub. But it does have a cost, namely the game itself. As far as I know most F2P games are free to download and to play (and then comes the itemshop stuff).
To say GW has no shop is a truth with modifications. There is a shop where you can buy extra character slots, extra storage, skill packages, pets, make-overs and more. It's not a traditionel item-shop, but there is a shop (well, they have to earn cash somewhere, right?).
I personally see Guild wars in a place between the traditional sub-based mmog's and the traditional f2p mmog's.
In GW that shop is more of a service oriented nature and not items like most RMT based F2P games.
I thought I covered that by saying it wasn't a traditional item-shop and by mentioning what was in the shop (even if I left out the items, that can be bought there)?
Edit: It was not my intention in any way to sound like I was against GW. I like the game and even if I normally prefer to avoid item-shop games and F2P games, I think the team behind GW was able to find a decent middle-ground.
I simply don't think of GW as a F2P game and I don't lump it together with those.
I play Guild wars, F2P, no shop. But there is a shop.. Atlantica Online, limited shop. Limited, but still there. Street Gears, only clothes and a santa outfit (Still a shop), Dragonica, no shop yet afaik Because it's in Beta right now..I can name 10 games like this which do not go beyond cosmetics. But still have shops (that sell cosmetics). WoW does go beyond cosmetics because you can change gender (true), buy mounts (wrong), change name and move servers. Now ask yourself, would you as an employee want to administer these changes to millions of people everday, since it were free? Or would you want to bring that down to maybe thousands of people by charging a small fee? Besides, players were requesting these from Blizzard. EQ also goes beyond gender because you can buy XP potions, armor SoE.. duh. EQ2, same things Same company as EQ. Lineage 2, has cash shop, gender change, cosmetic, items, namechange 30$. Lineage2 has also been out for years, and players requested these! http://www.livegamer.com/ Account trading services to buy and sell accounts...Let's see who's a member....Oh Funcom, Acclaim and SoE....what do you know..../surprise Nothing new. It's ridiculous to point to F2P and QQ about F2P while P2P does the exact same thing and even charges a P2P monthly premium. I don't see any QQ. Just people deciding to stop playing F2P.
I play Guild wars, F2P, no shop. But there is a shop.. Atlantica Online, limited shop. Limited, but still there. Street Gears, only clothes and a santa outfit (Still a shop), Dragonica, no shop yet afaik Because it's in Beta right now..I can name 10 games like this which do not go beyond cosmetics. But still have shops (that sell cosmetics). WoW does go beyond cosmetics because you can change gender (true), buy mounts (wrong), change name and move servers. Now ask yourself, would you as an employee want to administer these changes to millions of people everday, since it were free? Or would you want to bring that down to maybe thousands of people by charging a small fee? Besides, players were requesting these from Blizzard. EQ also goes beyond gender because you can buy XP potions, armor SoE.. duh. EQ2, same things Same company as EQ. Lineage 2, has cash shop, gender change, cosmetic, items, namechange 30$. Lineage2 has also been out for years, and players requested these! http://www.livegamer.com/ Account trading services to buy and sell accounts...Let's see who's a member....Oh Funcom, Acclaim and SoE....what do you know..../surprise Nothing new. It's ridiculous to point to F2P and QQ about F2P while P2P does the exact same thing and even charges a P2P monthly premium. I don't see any QQ. Just people deciding to stop playing F2P.
No one really cares about the fact there is a shop...its the fact that you end up paying more than a P2P and it ends up being a rip.
A P2P that uses RMT is half way to a cash shop. Changing server should be charged for it stops ‘server hopping’. Name changing is dubious and gender changing nonsensical. Potions and mounts are pure cash shop.
P2P MMO’s are adopting a RMT revenue model to bolster their profits. This is not surprising as companies always seek, quite rightly, to make more money. But when this changes the nature of the game we are playing then we need to object as loudly as we can.
Bottom line, if too much RMT is brought in, drop that game.
I have tried many F2P Asian games and I just finished with my last one - Neo Steam(which really isnt a Steampunk game). You have to grind and grind and grind to get anywhere in these games and then you have to put up with bots and all manner of BS. So I am done. No more Asian created grinders for me.
I have tried Neo Steam as well and it is a very unfinished and unpolished game.
Not even fit for Beta but more of a late Alpha, imho.
oh really? i bet you should think twice because not all asian mmos are all the same, unlike the Atlantica online there many things that you need to try because there are always enhance and update the game and add new system features for the game. well for me p2p mmos are also good but they always have rmt right??? ^^
I have tried many F2P Asian games and I just finished with my last one - Neo Steam(which really isnt a Steampunk game). You have to grind and grind and grind to get anywhere in these games and then you have to put up with bots and all manner of BS. So I am done. No more Asian created grinders for me.
I have tried Neo Steam as well and it is a very unfinished and unpolished game.
Not even fit for Beta but more of a late Alpha, imho.
yeah i remember hearing allot of people say that when it was first released, its one of the reasons it was closed down and the re launched a few days ago .
I have tried many F2P Asian games and I just finished with my last one - Neo Steam(which really isnt a Steampunk game). You have to grind and grind and grind to get anywhere in these games and then you have to put up with bots and all manner of BS. So I am done. No more Asian created grinders for me.
Most asian mmo's aren't designed to play alone. Also it emphasizes less on leveling up and questing. If u don't have a steady group of online friends or friends you can goto PC Cafe's with... it won't be fun for you.
I have tried many F2P Asian games and I just finished with my last one - Neo Steam(which really isnt a Steampunk game). You have to grind and grind and grind to get anywhere in these games and then you have to put up with bots and all manner of BS. So I am done. No more Asian created grinders for me.
Most asian mmo's aren't designed to play alone. Also it emphasizes less on leveling up and questing. If u don't have a steady group of online friends or friends you can goto PC Cafe's with... it won't be fun for you.
PC Cafe's - I live in the US and have 3 putes here. I don't need a cafe. Sorry.
I have tried many F2P Asian games and I just finished with my last one - Neo Steam(which really isnt a Steampunk game). You have to grind and grind and grind to get anywhere in these games and then you have to put up with bots and all manner of BS. So I am done. No more Asian created grinders for me.
Most asian mmo's aren't designed to play alone. Also it emphasizes less on leveling up and questing. If u don't have a steady group of online friends or friends you can goto PC Cafe's with... it won't be fun for you.
PC Cafe's - I live in the US and have 3 putes here. I don't need a cafe. Sorry.
That's my point, people in US generally play from home individually. The whole point of GOING to a PC Cafe is not for the computer, it's for the environment and the ability to play with friends. (kinda like... going to the arcades with buddies but not really...) It's a place to hang out etc, and when u go with them, you don't sit there to do quests or grind alone, but to do mass raids, gank, pvp. Plus what's the use of 3 computers when you still... alone? Like I said, Asian MMOs aren't meant to be played alone. No need to apologize for being alone with 3 computers.
There's plenty of "Western" made grinders as well. We gotta stop with this labeling.
I have tried many F2P Asian games and I just finished with my last one - Neo Steam(which really isnt a Steampunk game). You have to grind and grind and grind to get anywhere in these games and then you have to put up with bots and all manner of BS. So I am done. No more Asian created grinders for me.
Most asian mmo's aren't designed to play alone. Also it emphasizes less on leveling up and questing. If u don't have a steady group of online friends or friends you can goto PC Cafe's with... it won't be fun for you.
PC Cafe's - I live in the US and have 3 putes here. I don't need a cafe. Sorry.
That's my point, people in US generally play from home individually. The whole point of GOING to a PC Cafe is not for the computer, it's for the environment and the ability to play with friends. (kinda like... going to the arcades with buddies but not really...) It's a place to hang out etc, and when u go with them, you don't sit there to do quests or grind alone, but to do mass raids, gank, pvp. Plus what's the use of 3 computers when you still... alone? Like I said, Asian MMOs aren't meant to be played alone. No need to apologize for being alone with 3 computers.
There's plenty of "Western" made grinders as well. We gotta stop with this labeling.
i prefer playing mmo when i have a couple people within physical reach from my chair :P
problem is most of my friends are console fanbois and hate subs >.>
Comments
Indeed, Guild Wars is very reasonable. I haven't played it for a year or so, but I still have it on my PC. I'll go back to it one of these days, for a change.
The one F2P game I found, and this after trying over a dozen, was Runes of Magic. It actually has begun to grow on me. All the others I tried were very sub par IMHO.
edit* as another above me said, Guild Wars is another exception. I just usually don't lump it in as a F2P as you do have to buy the game itself.
Wellcome back
/me gives a beer
:-)
LOL, you are totally right about the combat of game can be so good that it keeps you playing. I think thats one of the main reasons that Lineage 2 has kept me playing for so long. I was playing the Aion Beta over the weekend and my legion leader asked me what I was doing through chat. I told him that I was just outside killing stuff. My clannies thought that something was wrong with me because I was not out questing. I told them that I am a person that enjoys combat over questing so when ever I get tired of questing I just go out and explore and kill stuff. If a game does not offer this type of gameplay where I can quest or just kill stuff and still get good xp then I will not play it.
Some minor nits.
I'm not sure it's fair to put GW together with the F2P games. You buy the GW games and explansions. It is true it is free to play and has no monthly sub. But it does have a cost, namely the game itself. As far as I know most F2P games are free to download and to play (and then comes the itemshop stuff).
To say GW has no shop is a truth with modifications. There is a shop where you can buy extra character slots, extra storage, skill packages, pets, make-overs and more. It's not a traditionel item-shop, but there is a shop (well, they have to earn cash somewhere, right?).
I personally see Guild wars in a place between the traditional sub-based mmog's and the traditional f2p mmog's.
In GW that shop is more of a service oriented nature and not items like most RMT based F2P games.
I thought I covered that by saying it wasn't a traditional item-shop and by mentioning what was in the shop (even if I left out the items, that can be bought there)?
Edit: It was not my intention in any way to sound like I was against GW. I like the game and even if I normally prefer to avoid item-shop games and F2P games, I think the team behind GW was able to find a decent middle-ground.
I simply don't think of GW as a F2P game and I don't lump it together with those.
No one really cares about the fact there is a shop...its the fact that you end up paying more than a P2P and it ends up being a rip.
March on! - Lets Invade Pekopon
I thought Atlantica and Runes of Magic were about the only 2 there were worth my time.......
A P2P that uses RMT is half way to a cash shop. Changing server should be charged for it stops ‘server hopping’. Name changing is dubious and gender changing nonsensical. Potions and mounts are pure cash shop.
P2P MMO’s are adopting a RMT revenue model to bolster their profits. This is not surprising as companies always seek, quite rightly, to make more money. But when this changes the nature of the game we are playing then we need to object as loudly as we can.
Bottom line, if too much RMT is brought in, drop that game.
I have tried Neo Steam as well and it is a very unfinished and unpolished game.
Not even fit for Beta but more of a late Alpha, imho.
oh really? i bet you should think twice because not all asian mmos are all the same, unlike the Atlantica online there many things that you need to try because there are always enhance and update the game and add new system features for the game. well for me p2p mmos are also good but they always have rmt right??? ^^
Luminary: Rise of the GoonZu player
I have tried Neo Steam as well and it is a very unfinished and unpolished game.
Not even fit for Beta but more of a late Alpha, imho.
yeah i remember hearing allot of people say that when it was first released, its one of the reasons it was closed down and the re launched a few days ago .
March on! - Lets Invade Pekopon
Most asian mmo's aren't designed to play alone. Also it emphasizes less on leveling up and questing. If u don't have a steady group of online friends or friends you can goto PC Cafe's with... it won't be fun for you.
Most asian mmo's aren't designed to play alone. Also it emphasizes less on leveling up and questing. If u don't have a steady group of online friends or friends you can goto PC Cafe's with... it won't be fun for you.
PC Cafe's - I live in the US and have 3 putes here. I don't need a cafe. Sorry.
Most asian mmo's aren't designed to play alone. Also it emphasizes less on leveling up and questing. If u don't have a steady group of online friends or friends you can goto PC Cafe's with... it won't be fun for you.
PC Cafe's - I live in the US and have 3 putes here. I don't need a cafe. Sorry.
That's my point, people in US generally play from home individually. The whole point of GOING to a PC Cafe is not for the computer, it's for the environment and the ability to play with friends. (kinda like... going to the arcades with buddies but not really...) It's a place to hang out etc, and when u go with them, you don't sit there to do quests or grind alone, but to do mass raids, gank, pvp. Plus what's the use of 3 computers when you still... alone? Like I said, Asian MMOs aren't meant to be played alone. No need to apologize for being alone with 3 computers.
There's plenty of "Western" made grinders as well. We gotta stop with this labeling.
Most asian mmo's aren't designed to play alone. Also it emphasizes less on leveling up and questing. If u don't have a steady group of online friends or friends you can goto PC Cafe's with... it won't be fun for you.
PC Cafe's - I live in the US and have 3 putes here. I don't need a cafe. Sorry.
That's my point, people in US generally play from home individually. The whole point of GOING to a PC Cafe is not for the computer, it's for the environment and the ability to play with friends. (kinda like... going to the arcades with buddies but not really...) It's a place to hang out etc, and when u go with them, you don't sit there to do quests or grind alone, but to do mass raids, gank, pvp. Plus what's the use of 3 computers when you still... alone? Like I said, Asian MMOs aren't meant to be played alone. No need to apologize for being alone with 3 computers.
There's plenty of "Western" made grinders as well. We gotta stop with this labeling.
i prefer playing mmo when i have a couple people within physical reach from my chair :P
problem is most of my friends are console fanbois and hate subs >.>
March on! - Lets Invade Pekopon